Roger Arrieta
PHOENIX—Gavin Lux started the Dodgers’ scoring on Tuesday and he also finished it. In between his first two homers of the year there was a whole lot of weird, drama-filled action. Los Angeles rallied from a 4-run deficit in the seventh inning and then had to hang on for dear life to a 4-run lead in the 10th inning to come away with a 10-9 victory in the series opener at Arizona.
Lux hit a solo homer in the second inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 and then his 3-run blast in the 10th proved to be the eventual game-winning run. The series opener featured 12 walks by the Dodgers, a combined 20 hits and four errors and one highly-discussed blister as LA avoided their first 3-game losing streak in over a year.
The Dodgers, who lost the last two games of their series against Colorado over the weekend, are now 31-12 on the season. Arizona loses for the 17th time in their last 19 games and drops to 15-28 on the year. They are in last place in the NL West and own the second-to-worst record in the NL.
GAME RECAP: The quick version of the game recap reads as follows: Lux homer, Arizona 5-spot, Walker Buehler blister, teams trade runs, Dodgers’ put up four to tie the game but it should have been more if not for the “Web Gem of the Year” by Josh Rojas, Tim Locastro has a major brain freeze, Lux pops a 3-run blast, Kenley Jansen gives every Dodgers’ fan a hear attack.
If you want to read the exact details of all the run-scoring plays, feel free to check out the play-by-play on your favorite sports site.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
OBSCURE STATS OF THE NIGHT: The Dodgers are now 4-1 in extra-inning games and 5-1 after having an off day.
BUHELER’S BLISTER OF A GAME: Buehler cruised through the first two innings. He retired the side in order in both frames, and the generous Arizona radar gun had him clocked at 100 mph on numerous occasions. He started the third by getting a fly out to No.7 hitter Stephen Voght and then the wheels fell off. He gave up a homer to the No.8 hitter and two consecutive singles. A throwing error allowed a third straight batter to reach safely and then Kole Calhoun sent Buehler to the showers with a 2-out, 2-run HR to left field.
His final stat line read: 2.2 innings pitched, five runs, two earned runs, four hits and only two Ks.
The biggest news of the start was that the blister on his throwing hand was looked at during the disastrous third inning. He is not scheduled to miss a start and he reassured the media after the game that it didn’t influence his pitches on Tuesday.
HE SAID IT: “I think right now we’re just trying to figure it out how to deal with it. I have the utmost respect for our training staff and we’ve handled it well so far… just find a way to make sure it doesn’t get any worse. I feel good with the baseball in my hand.”—Walker Buehler on the blister on his throwing hand.
HE SAID IT 2: “I just wasn’t making the pitch I needed to make at the right times.”—Buehler on the outing and whether his blister played a part in the third inning.
HE SAID IT 3: “Walker is going through something he’s never gone through before. Just managing the workload and making sure he is ready to make the next start and then in the October. I do expect him to make the next start.”—Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts on Buehler’s blister and the upcoming plans in the rotation.
LUX-Y CHARMS: Lux has been steadily improving in the batter’s box since being recalled from the alternate training site at USC on Aug. 29. He started his 2020 season by going 0-for-7 in his first two games and struggled with a .118 average (2-for-17) over the first five games. He has looked more comfortable at the plate in his last four games and is hitting .333 (5-for-15) during that stretch. He also hit his first and second homers of the year on Tuesday which were only the second and third extra-base hits of his first 32 at-bats this year. Lux is now hitting .219.
HE SAID IT 4: “I just didn’t feel comfortable at the box at that time. Just going to USC and getting at bats on a daily basis really helped.”—Gavin Lux on coming into the season and not being on the roster to start the year.
HE SAID IT 5: “I just love that he’s thinking more – yes, yes, yes.”—Roberts on the change in the mindset of Lux in the last few games.
JUST KEEP WALKING: The Dodgers drew a season-high 12 walks in the opener. AJ Pollock, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Edwin Ríos and Austin Barnes all had two walks each. The previous season high for walks was eight. LA had one 12-walk game last year and that also came against Arizona but it was at Dodger Stadium in the second game of the season. The Dodgers have walked 168 times this year which is second most in the NL (Cubs – 170).
MUSICAL CHAIRS FOR HITS: Unfortunately for Corey Seager he would have been the only one of the nine Dodgers’ hitter not sitting on a chair at the end of the game on Tuesday. He was the only hitter in the Dodgers’ lineup who didn’t have a hit in the game. He went 0-for-4 and saw his 9-game hit streak come to an end. LA and the D-Backs both had 10 hits. Lux had three of the 10 for the Dodgers and no other player had more than one hit in the opener. Don’t worry too much about Seager, he still leads the team in hitting with a .322 average.
ON DECK: The Dodgers will look to post their seventh straight win over the D-Backs this season when they take the diamond in the second game of the 3-game series on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. It’s time to break out the No.22 jerseys once more as Kershaw Day comes in the middle of the week. Clayton Kershaw has quietly been putting up Cy Young numbers while all the national media focuses on former Dodgers and starters in the east. Kershaw is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a 0.722 WHIP this year. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 15 innings and is on a 4-game win streak. The only bad news for Dodger fans is that Kershaw will be throwing in one of the two parks where he owns a losing record. Kershaw is 7-9 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.183 WHIP in his 18 starts at Chase Field. LA will face righty Taylor Clark who is 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.171 WHIP in his 27.1 innings this year. He started the season in the bullpen but was moved to a starter on Aug. 24.
