Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
One first-inning run was all the Cleveland Indians (26-27) could muster early on against Walker Buehler Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers (29-21) took advantage of their drastic advantage on the mound for a 10-2 win.
While Buehler would work into the ninth inning, Aaron Civale lasted just 1 1/3 innings as he gave up five runs on five hits and three walks. After a three-run first inning in which Mookie Botts drove in one with a double and Corey Seager drew a bases-loaded walk, Gavin Lux tagged Civale for two more in the second inning. With one on and one away, Lux sent Civale to the dugout with his 8th home run of the season. Finishing Saturday 2-for-4 with a walk, Lux drove in three runs while scoring three runs and is hitting .335 this season.
Replacing Civale on the mound for the Indians was someone named “J Johnson,” who is not listed on the team’s current 40-man roster so I assume it must be Jim Johnson. Anyway, he pitched two innings giving up just one run before another mystery pitcher entered the game. “J Broussard,” who might be former Dodger minor leaguer Joe Broussard, walked two and allowed two hits leading to three more runs in just 1 1/3 IP.
“We didn’t put up much resistance,” said Indians sad manager Terry Francona.
Two of the runs were driven in by a double off the bat of Buehler, who is hitting .261 this season with a homer and five RBIs. All of that is better than Enrique Hernandez or Tyler White, who I single out only because they appeared in this game and I can see that their numbers are worse.
When he wasn’t busy at the plate, Buehler was shutting down the Indians after a rough start. Oscar Mercado reached to lead off the game and moved into scoring position with a stolen base, allowing Tyler Naquin to give the Indians their only lead of the day.
From there it was a pretty smooth outing for Buehler, ending with nine strikeouts to one walk and six hits across 8+ IP. Naquin reached base against Buehler in the ninth, eventually coming around to score against Ross Stripling, who cleaned up the final inning. Other than Naquin’s 3-for-4 day, Cleveland’s offense managed just five hits, with the middle of the order going just 1-for-10 with a walk.
The Dodgers tacked on one more run off of Oliver Perez in the eighth, while Seager finished yet another multi-hit game 2-for-3 with two walks.
It is Julio Urias against Carlos Carrasco on Sunday as the Dodgers hope to complete the sweep. Urias will look to rebound following the rough start earlier in the week against Philadelphia.
