Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The road trip continued in New York after a successful 3-1 start in a series win against the Marlins, and the winning continued as well as the Dodgers took the series opener in a “playoff preview” against the Mets, 4-3.
The Dodgers have now won three in a row.
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Despite not actually being good for the Dodgers, Andrew Heaney‘s night started off rather hilariously. A Brandon Nimmo single led the game off and was followed by a bunt single from Starling Marte that resulted in the game’s first run when Heaney made an ill-advised wild throw to first that Freddie Freeman wisely avoided trying to field.
Marte actually ended up at third on the play and Heaney hit the next batter to corner the runners with nobody out, but he actually got out of it with only a 1-0 deficit thanks to a pair of strikeouts and a caught stealing.
On the other side of things was Taijuan Walker, who kept the Dodgers quiet until the 3rd. Austin Barnes led the frame off with a single and Mookie Betts stayed hot with a double to put a pair in scoring position. Things looked bleak after back-to-back outs without advancing the runner, but Max Muncy walked to load the bases, Joey Gallo got hit by a pitch to tie the game, and then Gavin Lux came up big with a single the other way for an early 3-1 lead.
Unfortunately, while Heaney continued to miss bats, he also gave up some loud contact. He gave up solo shots to Marte in the 3rd and Mark Canha in the 4th to tie the game up at 3-3.
Heaney also had to escape danger in the 5th after a pair of singles cornered the runners, but he worked out of it by doing what he had been all game: missing bats.
That was the end of the road for Heaney, as the Dodgers presumably don’t want to push him given their pitching situation: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 8 K, 85 Pitches.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers had been relatively quiet since the 3rd, though Trayce Thompson did knock out Walker with one out in the 6th with a double. Seth Lugo entered and actually loaded the bases with two outs after a pair of walks, but managed to escape without damage.
The 7th started with Joely Rodriguez giving up a shift double to Freeman, who advanced to third on a groundout. Will Smith then pinch-hit for Gallo and was intentionally walked, but Lux made the Mets pay with a single back up the box for a 4-3 lead.
Tommy Hunter then entered to put out the fire but initially added to it by issuing a walk to Thompson to load the bases, but secured harmless outs from Cody Bellinger and Barnes to keep the deficit at one.
Speaking of the pen, Heath Hembree got the 6th for the Dodgers. I honestly did not know he was even in the organization. He gave up a pair of singles, but ultimately got a scoreless frame. Alex Vesia followed with a scoreless 7th despite a walk, no surprise since he hasn’t given up a run since mid-July. Speaking of not giving up runs, Evan Phillips got the 8th securing a 1-2-3 frame on 11 pitches to continue his magical season.
While the bats couldn’t get any insurance, and went 2-for-11 on the night with RISP, it didn’t matter as the vaunted Jake Reed secured the save. He gave up a single to start the inning but then got a double play on a pitch that was ball four and then a comebacker to end the game.
PUMPED
Never in doubt.
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90-38 on the year and 45-22 away from home.
| TEAM | CHASE | GAMES |
|---|---|---|
| Astros | MLB | 8.5* Up |
| Mets | NL | 9 Up |
| Padres | NL West | 20* Up |
*Game in progress.
Tomorrow should be a fun one with Tyler Anderson facing Jacob deGrom in a pitchability against sheer dominance matchup at 1:10 PM HT/4:10 PM PT/7:10 PM ET.
