Jim Cella
LOS ANGELES—Home runs by Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith and Edwin Ríos powered the Dodgers past San Francisco 7-2 on Friday. Los Angeles trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the third, but then scored six consecutive runs to take the opening game of the 3-game series. The win is the eighth in the last 10 games and moves the Dodgers to 10-4. The Giants lose for the fifth time in the last six games and drop to 6-9.
GAME RECAP: The Giants struck first in the series opener as they scored a single run in the third when Mike Yastrzemski split the gap in left center for a 2-out, run-scoring double. The Dodgers, who left runners on second and third with no outs in the first, used the first of four long balls to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Betts started the rally by belting a 2-2, off-speed pitch into the left field stands. Cody Bellinger followed Betts with a single to left field and advanced to second when San Francisco left fielder Darin Ruf overran the ball and was charged with an error. That extra base would cost Giants’ starter Jeff Samardzija in the very next at-bat. Justin Turner jumped on the very first pitch and hit a top-spin single into left field that plated Bellinger. Los Angeles pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fourth when Muncy broke out of his recent slump by depositing a 3-2 fastball half way up the Blue California tarp in right field. Chris Taylor continued the hit parade with a single up the middle and then Smith put the 5-spot on the board with his second homer of the season. The Dodgers built the lead to 6-1 without the aid of a hit in the fifth. Bellinger walked to lead off the frame and then Samardzija hit Turner and Kiké Hernández in a span of three pitches. Taylor brought Bellinger home with the dreaded fielder’s choice RBI.
The teams finished off the scoring by trading solo shots. Wilmer Flores made the score 6-2 when he hit his third HR of the year in the top of the sixth and then Ríos blasted the first pitch of the top of the eighth into the right field bullpen.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
STREAK STUFF: The win is the third in-a-row for the Dodgers which tied the longest win streak of the season. LA also won three straight from July 28-30 against Houston and Arizona.
SERIES STUFF: The Dodgers have now outscored San Francisco by a combined total of 15-3 in the first games of their two series in 2020. LA blasted the Giants 8-1 in the season opener on July 23. The teams have now played five times this year and Los Angeles has outscored SF 29-12. The Dodgers are 9-6 against the Giants at Dodger Stadium in the past two seasons.
OBSCURE STATS OF THE DAY: The Dodgers are now 7-2 when they go yard at least twice in a game and are 9-3 when they have at least one HR. LA is 4-2 when their opponents score first in 2020 and 5-1 in the month of August.
JUST ENOUGH FOR JULIO: Dodgers’ starting pitcher Julio Urías had just enough stuff to get through 4.0 innings – his shortest outing of the season – and 78 pitches. He had at least 14 pitches in all four innings and got out of a first-and-second jam in the second with 27 pitches. His biggest at-bat grind came in the fourth when he finally struck out Flores after a 12-pitch AB. Urías, who didn’t factor in the decision, gave up three hits and two walks while striking out a pair. His one earned run dropped his season ERA to 2.40.
HE SAID IT: “I thought he worked a little bit harder than he needed to. Julio limited damage but he was a little bit too fine tonight for me. He wasn’t pounding the strike zone and getting ahead as much as we like.”—Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts’ analysis of the start by Julio Urías.
FLORO FLOURISHES: Dylan Floro pitched a scoreless fifth inning to earn the win for LA. It is his first victory of the season and first since Sept. 25 of last year when he got the “W” against San Diego. Floro is now 12-7 in his career.
THE FOUR ZEROS: Floro was one of five relievers used by the Dodgers in the game – and four of those kept their season 0.00 ERA mark intact. Scott Alexander, Joe Kelly and Jake McGee all entered the game without an earned run on the year and all four left the game the same way. Alexander got the final two outs in the seventh and gave way to Kelly, who got three of the four batters he faced in the eighth. McGee finished off the game by hurling a 1-2-3 ninth and struck out two in the process. The quartet has combined for 20.2 innings pitched without conceding an earned run.
FINGER LICKING GOOD: Betts didn’t miss a beat after returning to the offensive lineup for the first time in three games due to an injury to the index finger on his left hand. He opened the game with a double and a homer in his first two at-bats and finished by going 2-fo-4. He has now hit safely in eight straight games which ties him with Corey Seager for the longest hitting streak of the year. During those eight games, Betts is hitting .394 with three HR, seven RBI and seven runs scored. He upped his season average to .306 and his extra-base total to nine.
BABE RÍOS: Ríos became the sixth Dodger player to hit three homers in 2020 when he went deep in the eighth inning. He now has seven homers in 63 at-bats which is 1.0 for every 9.0 at-bats. To put that in perspective; Babe Ruth hit 1.0 for every 11.8 at-bats (stat courtesy of MLB Pipeline). Ríos had four HR in 47 AB in 2019 and already has three in 16 AB this year.
DOG DAYS OF AUGUST: Muncy came through with only his second hit of August on Friday. He entered the game with a .055 (1-for-18) average in the second month of the season but then homered in his second at-bat of the game. Muncy went 1-for-4 in the series opener and is hitting .182 (10-for-55) in his team-high 14 games this year. The good news is that four of his 10 hits on the year have left the yard and he leads LA in HR.
CAT DAYS OF AUGUST: While Muncy is struggling in August, catcher Will Smith has been on a tear. Smith started the year by hitting .077 (1-for-13) in his five games in July. The calendar turned to August and he has five hits in his 13 at-bats in four games. His .385 average this month has upped his overall season mark to .231.
DARN DISCOMFORT: Seager left the game with one out in the top of the third inning while the Dodgers were in the field. The initial diagnosis was lower back discomfort. Seager flied out to left field in his only at-bat of the game which ended his 8-game hit streak and 12-game on-base string. Seager had reached safely in all 12 games he had played in 2020. Seager continues to lead the team in hitting with a .340 average and is tops in on-base percentage with a .389 mark.
HE SAID IT 2: “Right now he is in that day-to-day category and hopefully we will know more tomorrow.”—Roberts on the status of Corey Seager.
ON DECK: The Dodgers will look to continue their hot ways in August when they host the Giants on Saturday at 6:40 p.m. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be a match-up between the original Opening Day starters with Clayton Kershaw facing Johnny Cueto. Kershaw was pulled from that start because of back soreness but Cueto faced the Dodgers on July 23 and gave up one earned run and five hits in 4.0 innings pitched. He left the game unhappy after manager Gabe Kapler pulled him after four frames. Kershaw has since recovered from his back ailment and looked like the Hall of Famer in his first start on Aug. 2 at Arizona. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and wound up going 5.2 innings. He threw 81 pitches, allowed only three singles and struck out six. Kershaw is 23-12 in 47 starts vs. the Giants. He has a 1.74 ERA and a 0.868 WHIP. Since facing the Dodgers in the opener, Cueto has started two more games and doesn’t have a decision. He has gone 8.2 innings against San Diego and Colorado and has given up six earned runs (6.48 ERA) and nine hits. Cueto owns a 7-9 record in 21 lifetime starts against LA. He has a 3.49 ERA and a 1.148 WHIP in those 21 games.
