Jim Cella
LOS ANGELES—The new extra-inning tie-breaker format is just fine with the Dodgers. Max Muncy’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly scored Chris Taylor to give the Dodgers a 6-5 win over the Angels on Saturday. Kenley Jansen struck out AL MVP Mike Trout on three pitches to end the game as the Dodgers won for the fourth straight game. The Dodgers are now 2-0 in extra-inning games this year and the victory ups their overall record to 15-7 – good for a 2-game lead in the NL West. The Angels fall to 7-14 on the season.
GAME RECAP: Unlike the opener, the Dodgers fell behind early on Saturday and spent time having to play catch-up baseball. Trout drew first blood when he did what Mike Trout does best. He crushed Walker Buehler 2-2 curve ball over the fence in center to stake the Angels to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The lead would be short-lived as the Dodgers tied the score in the second. Cody Bellinger started the inning with a single to center and took second when Muncy walked. Kiké Hernández kept the merry-go-round going with a 6-pitch walk to load the bases. Austin Barnes struck out but then Mookie Betts did what Mookie Betts does best – coming through in the clutch with a 2-out run-scoring hit. He punched the very first pitch he saw to left field which enabled Bellinger and Muncy to score to deadlock the game at 2-2.
The Dodgers took a 4-2 lead in the third when Muncy came through with a 2-out single down the left-field line that plated Bellinger and Taylor. The Angels got one back in the bottom of the third. Anthony Rendon 1-hopped the wall in left field for a double that scored Tommy La Stella. The Dodgers caught a break on the play as Trout, who was on first, would have easily scored from first if the ball had stayed in play and not bounced into the seats.
The Angels forced the Dodgers to play catch-up for a second time when they scored two runs in the fifth to grab a 5-4 lead. La Stella and Trout drove in the runs that would eventually chase Buehler from the game. After three scoreless frames for the top offense in the majors, Betts once again tied the game. This time he came through with a solo HR on a 1-0 fastball to lead off the seventh inning.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
Neither team would get a runner past second base for the final two innings and the game headed for free baseball. The new extra-inning, tie-breaker rule was put into effect in the 10th with Taylor starting the frame on second base because he made the last out of the ninth. The Dodgers’ good fortune to have the speedy Taylor on base paid off when he stole third on an 0-2 county to Muncy. Muncy turned on the very next pitch and sent it to the base of the wall in right which easily scored Taylor on the tag-up from third. Jansen made short work of the Angels in the bottom of the inning. He got David Fletcher to fly out to right on the very first pitch and then struck out La Stella and Trout to record his sixth save of the season.
SERIES STUFF: The second win of the 3-game series gives the Dodgers another series victory for the year. LA is now 5-0-2 in their seven series this year. They also extend their series unbeaten streak to 13. LA is 10-0-3 in series dating back to the end of last year.
STREAK STUFF: The win pushed the Dodgers’ win streak to four games. That’s the longest victory string of the season. LA had 11 streaks of at least four wins last season with their longest coming in the final seven games of the year.
ROAD TO UTOPIA: The Dodgers also extended their road win streak to four games. They also claimed the final two games on their last away series at San Diego. LA is now a “Bob Hope-and-Bing Crosby-like” 9-2 on the road this year. They have the most away wins of any team in the majors this year.
OBSCURE STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Dodgers have outscored their opponents 40-11 after the sixth inning of play in games this year. With Betts’ solo shot in the seventh, they have a 10-1 edge in that inning alone.
GUESS WE’LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT TIME: Buehler had an up-and-down outing in his fourth start of the year. He only went 4.2 innings (lowest of his three stats in August), but threw a season-high 89 pitches. His biggest mistake was leaving the curve in the vicinity of Trout who pounced on it like a bear on an all-you-can-eat salmon buffet. Buehler allowed six hits, four earned runs and also struck out four. He has yet to earn a decision on the year but LA is 3-1 when he is the starter.
HE SAID IT: “It was a death-by-1000-cuts kind of a game. I felt I made a bunch of good pitches but I didn’t get the result I wanted.”— Walker Buehler on his outing.
HE SAID IT 2: “He’s really close. I really think his stuff is good. I really think that next one he is really going to hit his stride.”— Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Buehler’s outing.
THEY’RE BAAAAAAAACK: A night after having their scoreless inning streak come to an end, the Blue Pen came through with another bagel and earned their seventh win of the year. Jake McGee pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up his second victory of the year. He also extended his unearned run streak to 8.2 innings (thanks Colorado). Caleb Ferguson started the relief parade when he took over for Buehler in the fifth. He went 1.1 innings and only allowed a hit. Brusdar Graterol followed with a similar 1.1-inning, 1-hit outing before McGee got the win and Jansen recorded the save. The Dodgers’ relievers have now pitched 89.2 innings on the year and have only allowed 13 earned runs. If you’re scoring at home that is a measly 1.31 ERA. Opposing hitters are only hitting .189 against the Blue Pen.
HE SAID IT 3: “I think ours is definitely one of the best.”—Mookie Betts on the success of the Dodgers’ bullpen this year.
THE STATE OF KENLEYFORNIA: Jansen is now 6-for-6 in save situations this season and lowered his season ERA to 0.91. Opposing batters are hitting .100 against the Dodgers’ all-time closer and he has a crisp 0.64 WHIP for the year. His save on Saturday was the 307th of his career which is second among all active pitchers (Craig Kimbrel, Cubs, 346) and 26th on the all-time MLB list. He needs three more to tie Goose Gossage and get into the Top 25.
DOUBLE-HIT DANDY: Betts came through with another multi-hit game for the Dodgers. He went 2-for-5, drove in three runs and upped his team-leading average to .309. Betts has six multiple-hit games this season. He leads the team in RBI with 18 (8 in the last 3 games) and HRs with eight. He is tied for 11th in MLB in RBI this year and is tied for fourth in home runs.
HE SAID IT 4: “He’s just a great all-around player. I don’t know how many more superlatives you can add.”—Dave Roberts on Mookie Betts.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DANDY: Justin Turner’s single to left field in the seventh extended his team-best hit streak to 10 games. He has a single hit eight of those 10 games and is now hitting .280 for the year.
BREAKING OUT OF THE FUNK(Y): Muncy entered the game hitting .169 and had only four hits in his last 36 at-bats (.111). He was also 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the month of August. The tides may have turned for the back-to-back, 35-HR man as he came through with a clutch 2-out single in the third which put the Dodgers ahead 4-2. He also came through with the game-winning RBI when he brought home Taylor in the 10th with the sac fly.
BELLI BUSTIN’ OUT: A night after hitting a pair of homers, and breaking out of his season-long hitting slump, Bellinger posted another 2-hit game – and continued to barrel up the ball. He recorded his second 2-for-4 game of the series and is within striking distance of the Mendoza Line for his season average (.195).
KEEP ON TRUCKIN’: AJ Pollock was the third Dodgers’ hitter with more than one hit on Saturday. He went 2-for-5 and is now hitting .292 on the year. It was his sixth multiple-hit game of the year.
ON DECK: The Dodgers will go for the 3-game sweep on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. It will be another “May Day” for LA as Dustin May is set to make his fifth start of the year. He is 1-1 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.169 WHIP. The Dodgers are 3-1 in his four starts with the loss coming in his last outing against San Diego. May has never faced the Angels but has a 1.23 ERA in his 7.1 innings pitched against American League opponents. Julio Teheran will try and put an end to the Angels losing streak. The right hander is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. He has started two games this year but has only pitched a total of 4.2 innings. The Angels are surprisingly 1-1 in those two starts. Teheran, who pitched for Atlanta in his first nine seasons in the majors, has never beaten the Dodgers. He is 0-6 against the Boys in Blue in his eight career starts and has a 5.33 ERA with a 1.31927 WHIP.
