Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a sweep of the Mariners, the Dodgers opened a series against the Tigers by bombing almost-friend Eduardo Rodriguez behind J.D. Martinez‘s two dingers in an easy 8-3 win.
They’ve now won four in a row and the most relevant part of the game was arguably Miguel Cabrera getting his gift.
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As mentioned, almost-Dodger Eduardo Rodriguez started for the Tigers and had one of his worst outings of the year. After a clean 1st, J.D. Martinez truly returned to us with dinger number 27 on the year for a 1-0 lead.
Just Dingers is truly back now. pic.twitter.com/SwWCrqd2Gf
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
In the next inning, it was Miguel Rojas starting a rally with a one-out bunt single, which led to a Mookie Betts walk, Freddie Freeman single to load the bases, and Will Smith sacrifice fly to double the lead. Finally, it was Just Dingers again with dinger #28 to make it 5-0.
Went away for just a bit and came back to 5-0. pic.twitter.com/J2er005MJd
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
On the other end, Lance Lynn was looking to bounce back and he was doing that early, taking Dave Roberts‘ advice and letting it eat. The strikeouts ramped up, which helped him keep things scoreless despite a pair of baserunners reaching in the 1st and 2nd, plus a double in the 3rd.
The Tigers got just a single in the 4th, and Lynn got the first two batters of the 5th as well. However, back-to-back singles followed and then a homer from Taylor Rogers all of a sudden made it 5-3. And that was it for him after just five.
Just Dingers for @_JROG_. pic.twitter.com/onnccASzvV
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 19, 2023
Back to the Tigers, Rodriguez actually exited the game after allowing a single in the 4th, as he had discomfort when trying to stop his throwing motion on a call of time.
Their pen got a quiet rest of the frame and a 5th as well, but in the 6th the Dodgers rallied with two outs again. A Max Muncy walk and Chris Taylor infield single was followed by an Enrique Hernandez single to push things to 6-3.
Enrique Hernandez pushes the lead back up to three with a single. pic.twitter.com/Fl9R5R8uoa
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
They continued to add on in the 7th, as Rojas smacked his 5th homer of the year to stay hot. Then Freddie turned a walk into a stolen base of second, advancing to third on a wild pitch, and then scoring on a Martinez single to make it 8-3.
I dunno but I'm here for it. pic.twitter.com/SqdVbgeVV3
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
J.D. smoked a ball through the infield for another run for the Dodgers and RBI for him. pic.twitter.com/41VLFwLQ9H
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
That was where their scoring ended, but it was more than enough.
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The pen continued to impress, even if it was the Tigers.
Alex Vesia got the 6th on just nine pitches, including a strikeout, and Caleb Ferguson one-upped him in the 7th by striking out the side.
Shelby Miller than got a clean 8th as well, and Joe Kelly finished the game in the 9th with yet another clean frame and two strikeouts.
Dodgers pen closed by getting the last 12 batters in order, including seven strikeouts.
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) September 19, 2023
Nice.
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| NL | RECORD |
|---|---|
| Braves | 96-54 |
| Dodgers | 92-57 (3.5 GB) |
| Brewers | 84-66 (12 GB) |
*Either still playing or will play later.
Same team, same time tomorrow at 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PMET. God, I love the West Coast. There are no scheduled starters for tomorrow but Ryan Pepiot will likely be the bulk boi at some point.
