Aug 6-8: Our “cousins” come for a freeway series. They always treat us badly, as the Dodgers struggle to score against the Halos, year in and year out.
Game 1- Just as predicted, Dodgers can’t score boo, even with a stacked lineup (except for Barnes) that didn’t include Belli (until Mookie left the game for sore hip). So they wasted a good effort by David Price, Treinen and Jansen (looked better at 95 velocity). But we go into extras, where Dodgers suck due to no one left in the pen to rely on — although I would have saved Graterol for the 10th. Cleavinger gave it up on his first batter, but we still could have tied it if Muncy had caught that popup (a catch he makes 9 out of 10 times, but not against the Angels). Give the Dodgers a little credit for battling for 1 run in the bottom of the 10th, but Pujols whiffed badly and red hot AJ hit a sharp grounder to end it. Dodgers now an unbelievable 1-12 in extras, and that beat goes on.
Game 2- Reversal of fortune, as Dodgers come back for a 5-3 win. Dodgers offense bookends with 2 early and 3 late, with the game winner a 2-run double by CT3 to drive in Seager and Smith. Urias one bad inning (surrendering 3, 2 ER) cost him a win. Highlight was Graterol rocketing a 102 mph tailer (2-seamer) for a swinging K past PH Shohei Ohtani. Lowlight was Muncy dropping yet another popup for a go ahead run. Big picture: how delightful to watch Trea Turner fly all over the field and play stellar 2B. He stole 2nd without hardly a play, and made a flying catch of a popup to end the game. And for fun: a Turner to Turner to Muncy turned DP (who cares about Tinker to Evers to Chance).
Rubber game 3- Dodgers dominated this game 8-2 (8-11-0), starting with leadoff Trea Turner scoring all the way from 1st on a squirter through the infield by Muncy — speed kills. Followed by hits from AJ and JT, so 1st 4 reached and 2 scored. 2nd inning was highlighted by a PH 3-0 blast from Tio Albert good for 2 more runs, making it 5-0 after 2. Buehler struggled all game with fastball command and had to rely on his slider for the most part — giving up 2 runs on 4 hits through 6. Dodgers then trotted onto the mound an assortment of never heard of newbies (our 143 pitcher, or so it seems): Quackenbush (no, not Groucho Marx) and then Biehl — where do they keep coming up with these guys? Other excitement was a fan on field chase that ended badly for him. Add a 2-game Belli bomb streak, with today’s blast about 430 feet — some hope.
So now, on to Philly.