Sep28-30: Final week, last 2 series. Gotta sweep both. Will the Padres lay down for us or for the Giants?
Game 1- Dodgers face old friend Yu Darvish. Leadoff back to near back doubles by Mookie and Trea, to score 1. Trea advances to 3B, but then gets in a rundown half way to home on a grounder to 1B by Muncy — another running blunder by Trea (should have stayed at 3B). Dodgers get lucky though when Manny throws a slider into RF after tagging out Trea, and Muncy goes to 3B anyway. 2nd, JT leadoff walk, AJ out, G Lux hit. Buehler to sac bunt, but appears reluctant and takes a K (bad AB). Mookie swings 3-0 for a foul (not sure I like that), then takes a walk to load ’em up. Seager in a big AB flies to CF, leaving 3 on. 3rd, Trea leadoff infield hit, JT gets his 2nd walk, and AJ comes through again with a long single to plate Trea. Pads IBB G Lux to lead ’em up again, only to have Buehler K again to end it. (7 LOB through 3!) 2-0. 5th, Muncy leadoff walk. Smith K looking. JT long lash caught in RF. WP Max to 2B — RISP. AJ (BA at .300), gets pitched around for a walk. 2 on, 2 outs for G Lux, who chases a high one and flies meekly to LF (10 LOB). 6th, Seager walks with 2 outs, and Trea gets his 3rd hit. Muncy again leaves him on — on a K. Dodgers get 1 on in 8th, and a surprise PH by Belli for 3rd out on a grounder. Trea got half the Dodgers’ hits and was the only one to score. The rest of the team not hitting, except Lux. Dodgers left minions LOB and RISP — exasperating waste of opps.
Pitching: Hoping Buehler is back — and he is. No hits through 4, then an infield hit in the 5th, erased on a DP. 6th Buehler gets 2 on, 1 out, then another around the horn DP. Still 2-0. Walker still in there in the 7th. Gives up an oppo chopper down 3B line for a double after Trea misses the tag (did 2 things wrong), but makes up for it with an over the shoulder catch of a popup. Buehler great 7: 0R, 3H. Kelly dominant 8th. Treinen makes one mistake — belt high to killer Cronenworth for a solo splash. Now a 2-1 nail biter. Treinen makes an outstanding pitch to K PH to end the game — a 2-1 win.
Game 2- With Scherzer on the hill one would expect another low-scoring game, but a slugfest breaks out. Dodgers score a whopping 4 in the 1st, on a pair of doubles, single, and 2-run homer by hot AJ. They tack on an additional run in the 2nd on another Seager double to drive in Mookie. But then the Padres unexpectedly come back on 2 homers to cut the lead to 5-3. Then 5-5 in the 4th, when the Dodgers go 1-2-3 (after unexpectedly letting Scherzer hit for himself — mistake methinks), and go in order again in the 5th. Infield hit by CT3 in the 6th stranded by Belli K (fans on yet another high fastball) and Pujols PH fly out.
Down 4 in the 7th, Mookie hits his longest home run of the season (421 ft) for a solo run. Down 3 with 2 to go. (And since the Giants won 1-0, looking grim.) Rinse and repeat in the 8th: Muncy hits a solo HR, for 9-7. But wait, there’s more: AJ blasts a solo too, for his 2nd HR of the game, for 9-8. Next, CT3 just misses it for long fly out. Oh My: ice cold Belli goes yard too (1st since Aug 12) — 4th solo HR in last inning+ — to tie the game at 9! Not done yet: JT PH double off the LF wall. Wait, there’s even more: Seager belts a 2-run HR for the 4th of the inning and an 11-9 lead! Who put ginger in the Dodgers’ tea party? Wham bam! Craziest game of the year? And not over yet.
Pitching: Scherzer sails through 2, but gets roughed up in the 3rd for 3 runs on 2 home runs (uncharacteristic). His pitches getting too much of the middle of the zone with not enough movement. Max Scherzer getting hit hard again in the 4th, giving up 4 hits (season high 9 total and only 1 K) but saved by a strike-em-out, throw-em-out DP (in spite of Smith’s throw tailing badly again). Still smacked for a ground rule double scores the 4th run, to make it only 5-4. Compounded by 2 bad Dodger errors on grounders, the 2nd one by Seager allowing the tying 5th run to cross. Max lost his command completely, and looks done — stick a fork in him (and the Dodgers). Ugly 5-5 tie through top of 4th. Max finally gets it back for a clean 5th. But gets hit hard again in the 6th, capped by a long triple for a run to CF that Lux should have caught — it landed in his glove but bounced out when he looked for the fence too late. Gotta look for the fence early, find it, then catch the ball. Now Lux is hurt too (not just his pride) since he is not schooled in the art of “find the fence” (poor guy).
Padres take the lead in the 6th 6-5 (ugh). Graterol finally makes an appearance in the 7th, but is done in by horrible pitch calling: Grat hit 101-102 with heaters on the corners (unhittable), but they have him follow with curves that he can’t control for 2 walks, and then 2 hangers for 3 runs! Game over at 9-5. Adding insult, Padres steal 2B on yet another bad tailing throw down by Smith (doesn’t he practice?). Then adding more insult, Smith gets crossed up on a high fastball for strike 3 that nails the plate umpire square in the mask. What high school is this? Price settles things down in a 1-2-3 8th. Jansen for the save in the 9th K’s the side on 10 pitches — unbelievable!
Game 3- Can’t top last night’s game, but here we go, right where we left off: leadoff back-to-back homers by Betts and Seager. That makes it 7 HR’s in last 11 AB’s! (Is that a record?) Trea gets a hit (16 straight games) but is caught stealing. 2-0 after 1. 1-2-3 in 2nd. Red hot Seager gets a 2-out double in the 3rd, but Trea flies out: 2-1. Dodgers’ home run derby continues in the 4th with 2nd pair of back-to-back homers, this time by JT and AJ (how alphabetic): 4-1. (All 5 runs in game via solo HR’s.) After a 1-2-3 5th, Dodgers score 3 in the 6th on a Trea infield hit, Smith and JT RBI singles, AJ sac fly, Belli RBI single: 7-3. In the 7th, super hot Seager goes yard again for his 2nd solo — last night he had 2 2B, HR; tonight 1 2B, 2 HR. 8-3.
Pitching: Catman Gonsolin starting and is good through 1. But Tony living in the middle of the zone too much and gives up a solo on a center-cut fastball. Then walks the pitcher (stupid to throw curves to him). But gets Tatis to end it at 2-1 after 2. 1-2-3 in 3rd. Tony tosses a good 4th, but serves up a gopher ball to NL HR leader Tatis who pummels it 467 ft on top of the LF pavilion roof! Gonso leaves in the 5th, up 4-3, replaced by Graterol (what is Roberts thinking?). Knebel goes a clean 6th, but in the 7th gives a walk and is replaced by Kelly, who walks Tatis but K’s Manny. Evan Phillips hurls a clean 8th, and does same in the 9th.
Dodgers win 8-3. Sweep the Padres (for the 3rd straight time!). Win #103, to keep pace with Giants (still 2 back). Dodgers hit 5 HR’s tonight, after 6 last night = 11 total in 2 games. Seager and AJ hit 3 each.