Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — The New York Mets came into this series on a roll. But, so far they’ve only managed one run in 18 innings. On Thursday, it was Tony Gonsolin who held the Mets at bay. On Friday, it was Tyler Anderson‘s turn to show the New York hitters what a real pitching staff looks like. Thanks to six scoreless from Anderson in this one, the Dodgers were able to ride thee home runs to a relatively easy 6-1 victory.
Anderson continues scoreless streak
While the power from the Dodger bats was nice, the story of this game had to be the continued dominance of Tyler Anderson. After being sort of a ho-hum pickup during the offseason, Anderson has become one of the true highlights of the the first half of the Dodgers’ season in 2022.
In Friday’s game, he ran his scoreless streak to 26 straight innings, and really, if not for that clunker of a start against the Phillies, Anderson would be working on a near-perfect season. As it is, he ran his record to 7-0 tonight, and lowered his ERA to 2.59. His line for a very nice and efficient 81-pitch outing: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K.
Back end of the lineup comes up big
While the top of the lineup has been on fire for much of the season, the scoring in the this one was almost exclusively due to the 6-9 hitters in the batting order. In the bottom of the 2nd, Cody Bellinger got the Dodgers on the board with a two-run shot to right. In the 4th inning, fresh callup Zach McKinstry celebrated his return to the the major league club with a two-run home run of his own. And, in the 8th, Chris Taylor put the game on ice with a solo shot to left field.
Sandwiched in the middle of all that power was another run that the Dodgers scratched across in the 7th when Mookie Betts hit a single and went to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch, and finally scored on Trea Turner‘s infield single. Add it all up and it was six runs for the home team in this one. On the other hand, the Mets only got one solitary run, on a solo shot from Pete Alonso that didn’t really lead to anything else. In all, Anderson and three Dodger relievers held the Mets to just five hits on the night.
Buehler looks to get back on track on Saturday
These two heavyweights have two more games in LA and then don’t see each other until they lock up for three more in Queens in late August. On Saturday night, Walker Buehler will take to the mound against lefty David Peterson. On a big stage like this one, Buehler looks to discover the elusive dominance that has been largely missing from his game this season. Peterson had a good April, but a much less effective May. He doesn’t tend to get very deep in games so look for the Mets bullpen to figure into the results. Game time 7:10 pm.
Cans of Corn…
- Can we just take a minute to appreciate what a find Tyler Anderson has been for this ballclub?
- Trea watch: 2-for-4; hitting streak extended to 26 games
- Caleb Ferguson got into the game for the first time since his callup, but lacked command and had to be bailed out by Daniel Hudson, who got a four-out save.
- After his great start on Thursday, Tony Gonsolin now has enough innings to qualify for the ERA leaderboard. He is in first place in the National League and 3rd in all of MLB with a 1.59 mark.
- Clayton Kershaw will start for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday, his first game in four weeks. If all goes well, Kersh could be back on the active roster by next weekend.
- Muncy and Heaney, on the other hand, are headed to Oklahoma for some rehab work. Their timetable for return is more open-ended.
