Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers got back in the win column on Thursday afternoon in Seattle with a 6-1 victory over the Mariners.
Clayton Kershaw picked up right where he left off after the solid 7-inning start in Anaheim with a curveball fest that netted 11 strikeouts in seven innings on 96 pitches (63 strikes). The supreme southpaw passed Don Drysdale on the Dodgers all-time K list while picking up his third win of the season.
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Public Enemy No. 1 was in the house at T-Mobile Park.
Kershaw made Dodgers franchise history in the bottom of the 3rd with his 2,486th career strikeout to match Drysdale on the all-time Dodgers K list. In the 5th, he passed Big D with whiff no. 2,487.
Kershaw had his off-speed stuff working so well, his slider and curve slicing through the Seattle lineup.
The Dodgers’ offense came in to the game OPSing .642 vs. left-handed pitching, but they roughed up left-hander Yusei Kikuchi in the 3rd after going down in order against him in the first two innings.
The Boys In Blue got the first two men on with nobody out to start thanks to an Enrique Hernandez single and a walk to Austin Barnes. They got a huge break at the plate when Matt Beaty got an extra pitch vs. Kikuchi when the home plate umpire incorrectly called a foul ball on a two-strike swing. Beaty didn’t strike out twice and knocked a ground-rule RBI double over the right-field wall instead.
The Dodgers scored again on a passed ball by catcher Joseph Odom with Mookie Betts at the plate.
AJ Pollock drove in the third run of the frame with a RBI single, and Cody Bellinger added to the offensive onslaught with a two-out RBI single to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead.
Corey Seager couldn’t leave Seattle without his brother Kyle Seager showing him around, and Corey’s brother got the Mariners on the board in the 4th with a solo shot vs. Kershaw.
Scott Servais had to take Kikuchi out in the top of the 5th after he walked the bases loaded. The Dodgers took advantage of another mistake behind the plate by Odom, scoring their fifth run of the game on a Taylor Guilbeau wild pitch.
Cody Bellinger hit his second dong in as many games with a solo blast to right field in the 8th vs. Ljay Newsome in his MLB debut. Belli reached base safely three times, and it looks as though he’s back to doing MVP things.
Jake McGee struck out two in the 8th for a scoreless frame, and Adam Kolarek shut the door on the Mariners in the 9th.
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The Dodgers are now 19-8 and 11-3 in away games after taking three of four to the Mariners this week. They increase their lead in the NL West to 5 games.
Next up: The Dodgers return home for a three-game set with the Colorado Rockies. Walker Buehler (5.21 ERA, 6.35 FIP) looks to bounce back after a rough outing last time out vs. the Angels. Jon Gray (1-2, 5.74 ERA, 4.68 FIP) gets the ball for the Rockies with first pitch at 6:40 PM PST.
