Jim Cella
SAN DIEGO—The Dodgers once again proved the old adage, “it’s not how you start the game, it’s how you finish it”. Los Angeles was no-hit through the first five innings but then got two unearned runs in the sixth and added single scores in the last three innings to beat San Diego 5-2 and even the 3-game series. The Dodgers are now 8-4 on the year while the Padres fall to 7-5.
GAMERECAP: It was a pitcher’s duel to start the second game of the series as righthanders Dustin May and Dinelson Lamet showed off two of the better young arms in the game. May gave up single runs in the fourth and fifth on only two hits while Lamet didn’t allow a hit through five frames. Lamet extended his no-hit bid to 5.2 innings after he retired Joc Pederson and Max Muncy to start the sixth. The game turned with two outs when Justin Turner was hit by a pitch and then Cody Bellinger broke up the no-hitter with a looping line drive to center field. Corey Seager followed Bellinger’s base knock with a 9-pitch at-bat that ended with a game-tying single to center. With the runners taking off on the 3-2 pitch, Turner scored easily from second and Bellinger used his speed to slide in safely at home after Padres’ catcher Francisco Mejia dropped the throw.
The Dodgers won the game with another 2-out rally in the seventh. Austin Barnes reached second base after a throwing error from reliever Craig Stammen and then AJ Pollock came through with the game-winning RBI on a double down the right field line.
Los Angeles added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Bellinger scored for the second time in the game when he singled to right to start the eighth. He moved to second when Matt Beaty was beaned by a Tim Hill off-speed pitch. Chris Taylor followed Beaty’s at-bat with an RBI single to center on an 0-1 off-speed pitch. Pollock would finish off the scoring when he hit a solo home (412 feet) to lead off the ninth. It was his third home run of the season and third in the last six games.
The Blue Pen shook off a tough outing in the first game in San Diego and went 3.0 innings with only one hit in Game 2. Pedro Baez pitched the eighth and then Blake Treinen struck out the side in the eighth after hitting Josh Naylor to start the frame. Kenley Jansen finished off the win by throwing an economical 1-2-3 ninth.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
SERIES STUFF: Los Angeles returned to its normal winning ways against the Padres on Tuesday night. The Dodgers have bested the Padres in the season series for nine straight years. That is tied for the most consecutive years with winning a season series against a divisional opponent in MLB history. Last year the Dodgers posted a 13-6 record against the UPS-clad Padres. LA has now won seven of the past nine games vs. SD and holds a 478-400 advantage in the all-time series.
MAY DAY: May, who wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster, became the first Dodger pitcher to start three games this year – and he has improved in each outing. May had his best stuff of the season on Tuesday and, at one point, statueized former Dodger Manny Machado on a 2-seam fastball that broke two feet to finish off the top of the first. May struck out five of the first seven batters he faced and finished with a career-high eight Ks in the game. He had seven Ks in his first two starts combined. The eight strikeouts are also the most by a Dodger starter this season. The victory was May’s first of the year and he now has a 2.63 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP in 2020.
HE SAID IT: “That’s my goal, to make the other pitcher look worse than I do.” —Dustin May on what happens when he gets in a duel with the opposing starting pitcher.
HE SAID IT 2: “I just throw it and let it come out of my hand. I just grip it and rip it.”—Dustin May on how he gets so much movement on his 2-seam fastball.
HE SAID IT 3: “It was pretty nasty. The one to Machado when he struck him out was filthy.”—AJ Pollock on Dustin May’s stuff on Tuesday.
NO BOOTS ALLOWED: The Dodgers have yet to make an error in August (knock on wood). Los Angeles posted its fourth straight game without a defensive miscue on Tuesday. They have now played 35 consecutive innings without an error. The Dodgers have only made three errors on the year which is tied for second in MLB among teams who have played at least 10 games. LA has a .993 fielding percentage which is the top mark in the NL and second best in MLB.
HURTS SO GOOD: It’s not the kind of record you like to brag about – and it certainly doesn’t feel good to do it – but Turner stepped into Dodger history on Tuesday. He became the Dodgers’ all-time leader in getting beaned when he was plunked in the sixth inning. Turner has now been beaned 74 times in Dodger Blue which surpassed the old mark of 73 set by Zach Wheat (1909-26). Turner has now been hit by a pitch on 89 occasions in his career (15 with the Mets). If you are wondering how many more times Turner has to “take one for the team” to break the MLB record, that would be 198. Good ol’ Hughie Jennings (1891-1918) was beaned 287 times. Jennings’ “Hit Me Again” tour stopped in Brooklyn for three seasons when he played for the Dodgers in 1899, 1900 and again in 1903. Craig Biggio is the modern-era leader with 285 HBP while Anthony Rizzo and Shin-Soo Choo lead all active players with 151.
ALL HE DOES IS HIT: Seager’s game-tying RBI single in the sixth upped his hitting streak to seven games. He is now tied with Mookie Betts who sat out his second straight game due to a sore index finger on his left hand. Betts has also hit safely in seven straight. Seager’s season average dropped to .356 after his 1-for-5 performance on Tuesday which dropped him behind Pollock for the team lead in hitting. Seager is hitting .379 during the last seven games.
I’LL TAKE THAT: Pollock took over the team lead in hitting after starting the game on the bench. He entered the game and proceeded to go 2-for-2 with two huge RBI. It was his third multiple-hit game of the year and he is now hitting at a .364 clip. He also leads the team in OBP (.417) and OPS (1.174).
HE SAID IT 4: “I’ve put a lot of work into baseball and there is a point where it is just overdoing it. This has forced me to have to go home. I have to flip that switch off and be a Dad.”—AJ Pollock on the difference at the plate this year because of the time spent away from summer camp because of the birth of his daughter Maddi.
ON DECK: The Dodgers will go for their third straight road series win when they face San Diego on Wednesday at 6:10 p.m. LA will send its winningest starting pitcher in 2020 to the mound for the series finale. Ross Stripling is 2-0 in his two starts and cards a 2.92 ERA with a tidy 0.81 WHIP in his 12.1 innings pitched. Stripling is 4-5 with a 3.57 ERA in his 15 career appearances against the Padres. The stats get better when he pitches at Dodger Stadium South. He is 3-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched at the pet shop. San Diego will hang their hopes on the right arm of veteran Garrett Richards. Richards, who is in his 10th year in MLB and second in San Diego, is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 2020. He opened the year by going 5.0 innings and 73 pitches against Arizona on July 26. Richards is coming off a 5.2-inning, 90-pitch outing at Colorado on July 31. In spite of having pitched for the Angels for the first eight years of his career, Richards hasn’t squared off against the Dodgers since 2015 and has only faced LA on six occasions. He has done well in the match-up. Richards has a 1-0 record, a 1.78 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP mark in 30.1 innings pitched vs. Los Angeles.
IN THE HOLE: The Dodgers will head back to Los Angeles after Wednesday’s game and begin a 7-game home stand starting on Friday. The opponents for the seven games at Dodger Stadium will look familiar. LA will host the Neighbors from the North for three games and then welcome the Squad from the South for four games. The Dodgers and Giants split the opening series of the year on July 23-26. Since the opening weekend San Fran has gone 3-5 in games against Texas, San Diego and Colorado.
The Dodgers are tentatively scheduled to start Julio Urías in the opener on Friday and then follow with Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. The Giants will counter with Jeff Samardzija, Johnny Cueto and Kevin Gausman.
