Sep 13-15: Dodgers need a sweep of this NL’s worst team. But they have been Snakebitten this season.
Game 1- Dodgers leadoff with a Mookie double (love it!). Gotta score him. Muncy moves him over on a warning track fly. Up to Trea, who works count full and walks. Cleanup is Seager who smacks a sharp grounder through the shift to drive in the 1st run. Trea takes 3B. 2nd Turner comes up and rakes a double to left, scoring both runners standing up: 3-1. Batting 6th — oh no, not Belli again: weak out (#2). G Lux gets a turn: comebacker to end it. Dodgers strand a pair in the 2nd (Kersh swinging bunt hit, Mookie walk). Seager and JT chase the high cheese for K’s, Belli fly out, in the 3rd. G Lux still hot with a leadoff single interesting he 4th. pop fly falls in for Barnes, sac bunt by Kersh, to get 2nd-3rd with 1 out. Mookie sac fly to RF barely scores Lux (good hustle!). But wait, upon review umps reverse call — unbelievable! He was clearly safe (terrible call!). Still 3-1. Hot G Lux 2nd up walk. Barnes feasts on a hanger to bang into LF corner and score galloping Lux (this time!) — once again 4-1. Beaty PH gets HBP. Mookie another long fly out moves Lux to 3B, but now 2 out. Then they Max out on a high pop. Dodgers keep squandering, which can bite you in the end. Dodgers bat 3-4-5 in the 7th, and play 2 flies up, and then bombs away solo by JT (his 25th) for a 5-1 lead. Belli given 2nd life on a botched foul pop ropes a double into the RF corner (long time coming). Dodgers leave them cornered. In the 8th, Mookie HBP, Muncy another long fly out to the track in LF. Trea finally gets a hit to corner the runners again, but Seager strands them (3 un.). Still 5-1 going to the 9th, as the Dodgers leave 145 LOB (so it seems).
Pitching: Great to have Kershaw back on the mound. He is a little rusty in the 1st, giving up a hard double and a single on an ill-advised 0-2 pitch (that should never happen!) for a run. Belli bad throw lets runners move up to 2nd and 3rd. Kersh holds. 2nd: base hit, sac bunt, K to end it — curveball looking good (no sliders?). Kershaw very efficient into the 3rd. Hanger banger long fly to LCF as Lux and Belli collide — Lux holds on to it. (That should never happen! who coaches these guys? sloppy.) Kershaw gives up a 2-out double in the 4th, but ends the inning with a K on his best slider — and final pitch (44). Great 1st outing for the K-man. But wait, Roberts weirds out by bringing Kersh out to start the 5th, only to pull him after one pitch (and 1 out) — give him a chance for a fan ovation. Bickford finishes the 5th leaving a man on 2B. 6th, Vesia gets into some traffic (hit, BB) but pitches very well out of it with K’s. 7th setup goes to Knebel. After a K, ouch — 4-pitch walk, into the heart of the order. Marte blasts a high fastball to deep RCF that Belli tracks down on the track (whew). Flyout. Still 4-1. 8th for the hold goes to — wait, Mitch White? Why White? He’s hit hard but at ’ems for 3 outs (we were lucky). Jansen on paternity leave, so the closer is Treinen — wait, no, it is still White. High cheese K on Beer for 2nd out. Long fly ends it. Dodgers win 5-1.
[comment on Belli’s stance change: first, what took so long? Dodgers wait 5.5 months to suggest a change to Belli’s swing or stance? really? I have been suggesting for 5 months that Belli keep his hands higher, don’t drop the barrel, and don’t lunge or collapse his stance. his stance adjustment just takes care of the last item. Belli needs to be forced to hit the other way — beat the shift, and hit inside the ball. pulling the ball into the shift is useless, no matter how hard he hits grounders. but dropping his hands and the barrel makes him miss high fastballs constantly, or at best pop up.]
Game 2- Muncy gets an unlikely double to RF. Trea follows with an even more unlikely double poked down the RF line. Sad that D’Back’s rookie 1B hurts his arm diving for the ball and has to leave game. Seager in the Turner sandwich, walks, but runners are left on: 1-0. Dodgers get 3 runs in the 3rd: 2 on a Muncy mash, 1 more on throwing error (no wonder D’Backs are worst team), but 1st-3rd threat is ending by Belli hitting into a DP (sad): 4-0. Trea turns on one for a solo in the 5th: 5-0. Will Smith solo’s in the 6th for Dodgers’ 3rd HR: 6-1. Dodgers recover 2 of the 3 runs surrendered in the 7th by loading the bases on 2 walks and a hit, followed by back to back sac flies (JT and Will): 8-4. Good to see Pujols get a PH chance and single in the 8th. Mookie is due (1-4) but grounds into a DP.
Pitching: Gonsolin making another start looks great in 1st, with 2 K’s and in order. Gonso gives up no hits through 3, then a leadoff hit in 4th is left on via deft pitching. Tony also gets through the 5th, with totals of 0R, 2H. Relieved, Dodgers pay the Price for a run in the 6th, on 2 hits and a double. Price K’s last 2 to hold on for only 1 run. Bruihl is ambushed by Dodger killer Marte for a 3-run homer in the 7th (uh oh) — cuts the lead to 6-4. Treinen efficient in the 8th. New daddy Kenley for the 9th, with a clean inning. Dodgers win 8-4.
Game 3- Dodgers go down in order in 1st, but score 1 in the 2nd on 3 hits and a walk to load the bases for Urias to hit into a DP. (Maybe they should have had Julio bunt for a safety squeeze — at least stay out of a DP.) 3rd: Muncy single but throw out stealing! Walk to Trea, who steals 2B on a very close play, but is left on. Dodger 3rd JT leads off with a hit, followed by a Smith double. 1 run scores on a Belli ground out, and another on a G Lux single. Mookie cranks a long fly to LF that is robbed of off the fence to end it. So Dodgers re-take the lead at 3-2. Leadoff rope into the RF seats by Muncy again (34th) for 4-2 in the 5th. Dodgers load ’em up with 2 out but G Lux leaves them. Dodgers tack on a run in the 6th for 5-3. Pujols PH leads off the 8th with a sharp 1-hopper to SS. Mookie finally on board with a double. Steals 3B. Muncy shallow fly, Mookie should have tried to score but held (would have made it). Trea should bunt for a hit to score the run, but fishes for a K. No runs.
Pitching: Urias going for his 18th win. Retired side in 1st. One left on 1B in 2nd. Ugh Urias: gives up 2 runs in the 3rd after allowing a free steal of 2B with a runner also at 3B, then gives up the predictable hit for 2 runs (instead of 1). Urias good through 5 (2R, only 76P), but inexplicably gets pulled! Bickford gives back a solo jack to trim lead to 4-3 in 6th. Vesia for the 7th was sailing along until gamus interruptus by fans on the field for a 10-minute delay. Vesia was visibly thrown off, and his first pitch hit poor Gavin Smith on the elbow painfully. Vesia replaced by Kelly for the final out. Still 5-3. Treinen for the hold in the 8th facing 2-3-4, starting with Ketel Marte who has been tough on the Dodgers. Marte works the count full and walks on strike 3 (should have been). Karma gives Dodgers an eraser: DP. But then another walk on a full count, and more good karma as a liner is caught by Trea to end the 8th at 5-3. Jansen for the save, and he sparkles a nearly immaculate inning, K-ing the side. Yay, Julio gets his 18th W.
Off day tomorrow — traveling to Cincy.