Roger Arrieta
Dodgers Finish Off the Rangers in Wild, 11-Inning Game
A little old school rough and tumble at the plate? Some fancy foot work to get a walk-off win? The Dodger’s Wednesday night victory against Texas had all that and more.
Things started off normal enough. Kenta Maeda, just coming off the DL, looked solid in the early innings. Justin Turner, also recently off the DL, homered in the bottom of the first to start things off for L.A. Yasiel Puig scored in the second on a rare catching error from Adrian Beltre at third.
Yet the Dodgers wouldn’t score again until the walk-off in the 11th.
Things got a bit interesting in the bottom of the third. With Matt Kemp at second, Enrique Hernandez hit a two-out single to right. Kemp rounded third and headed for home as Robinson Chirinos snagged Nomar Mazara’s bullet from right-field. Kemp had no chance, yet Chirinos, blocking the plate, got plowed through old-school baseball style by Kemp. It all went down just as you’d expect previous to the Buster Posey rule…
That’s when tempers flared. Kemp’s initial expression seemed to indicate a bit of “hey man, sorry, but you were blocking the plate,” but whatever Chirinos chirped back didn’t sit well with Kemp. Fists flew, benches cleared, and Kemp and Chirinos were both ejected.
The Rangers tied things up in the fourth. One of the two runs was scored on a very tight play at home (was Beltre safe…?)
The Dodgers went to the bullpen in the sixth, getting solid work from Edward Paredes, Scott Alexander, Josh Fields and Kenley Jansen through the ninth. With the game still tied at two, Erik Goeddel and Adam Liberatore took care of the tenth and eleventh, respectively.
With one out in the bottom of the eleventh and the bases loaded, Austin Barnes (who has really struggled as of late) tapped one in the infield that Ranger’s pitcher Matt Bush could have easily turned for a double play. Yet the throw home took catcher Carlos Perez off the plate and Hernandez, coming in from third, did a little dance to avoid Perez’s tag and get the walk-off. The call was challenged by the Rangers but upheld.
The Dodgers won 3-2 and face the Giants for three games in Los Angeles starting Friday.
