Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Another four-game series with the Diamondbacks, another win to start things off, as the Dodgers actually scored to back Dustin May this time around in a rematch of the second game of the season, notching a 5-2 win that felt closer than it should’ve.
That’s now three in a row for the Dodgers.
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In his season debut, Merrill Kelly didn’t allow a run, but he also only lasted 3.2 innings and was in constant trouble. This time he made it through 5.2 innings, but allowed runs more in line with the rest of his career against the Dodgers.
After the bats went down quietly in the 1st, the 2nd started with a lead-off walk that was in danger of being stranded. However, with two outs the bats rallied, as James Outman tallied a single against the shift and Chris Taylor got on top of a fastball at the top of the zone for a single and a 1-0 lead.
The scoring continued in the 3rd with some help from the D-backs. A Freddie Freeman double and a Will Smith walk set the table for a threat, but Max Muncy seemed to end it with a hard-hit grounder that lined up for a double play. However, Kelly got his feet jumbled and whiffed on a throw from Geraldo Perdomo (tough error) to plate Freddie.
J.D. Martinez then stepped up and made that hurt worse with a double to left that Muncy was somehow able to score on before J.D. did his favorite thing and ran into an out at third.
3-0.
After a couple quiet innings, Kelly was suddenly into the 6th, which is where trouble reared its head again. A double by Dills and a walk by J.D. had him in trouble, and again with two outs the Dodgers struck after Outman lined a 3-1 pitch to right for a run at a 4-0 lead.
So that was a nice cushion to give May, who was stuck with a no decision in his season debut despite seven impressive shutout innings last time out. The run support today would’ve been enough last time out, and was more than enough this time around as well.
Through five innings, May had allowed just two baserunners, hadn’t faced a hitter with RISP, and had retired nine in a row.
He was cooking. Unfortunately, all that came to an end in the 6th, where a lead-off four-pitch walk was cashed in immediately by a Josh Rojas double to cut the lead to 4-1. Thankfully, May then worked out of that trouble without further damage, posting another impressive line: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 83 Pitches.
The offense got that run back in the 7th, as the bats didn’t stop against the D-backs pen. Freddie did some lefty-on-lefty crime with his first homer of the season, going oppo to make it 5-1.
But the Dodgers pen gave it right back in their half of the 7th, with Alex Vesia continuing to struggle a bit this year. He allowed a triple that eventually scored on a passed ball, and also gave up a double, which knocked him out of the game.
Dave Roberts went with Yency Almonte, who got a groundout to start, but then walked the number nine hitter to bring the tying run to the plate. That almost cost them as Rojas bombed a no-doubter to right … foul by a few feet probably, and Almonte later got him to fly out to end the threat.
The Dodgers couldn’t get further insurance in the 8th or 9th, despite loading the bases in the latter frame, which also involved a weird non-call that involved Mookie Betts being hit in the head that was overturned on review.
No matter.
To close the game out, Dave started with Phil Bickford, who seemed like an odd choice after a day off. It seemed odder after a lead-off double and wild pitch, but Bickford was also suddenly sitting 96-97 MPH and rebounded with authority in the form of two strikeouts and an infield pop to escape.
The save chance in the 9th went to Evan Phillips, who cruised through a 1-2-3 frame that was punctuated by a strikeout to end it.
W.
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WAHHHHH!
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5-2 start is quite nice.
Tomorrow is another rematch, though of a much more famous variety with Clayton Kershaw facing Madison Bumgarner at 3:40 PM HT/6:40 PM PT/9:40 PM ET. Hopefully the result is the same as last time.
