Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — The Los Angeles Dodgers are a machine. The machine doesn’t always fire on all cylinders, but when it does, look out. There is almost nothing it can’t do. After getting out to a 5-1 lead they saw the whole thing nearly evaporate when the bullpen gave up three in the seventh inning to the Padres. But what did the Dodgers do? They came back in the bottom of the same inning, and before an out was recorded, they casually hung a four spot on the board to win going away. Their 9-4 victory over San Diego was enough to secure the series win, and send the Dodger fans who braved the 100-degree weather home happy.
Caleb sharp, but Pepiot falters
The evening started out great, but then went south quickly. Caleb Ferguson came on as the left-handed opener, and he was fantastic. He struck out the side on just eleven pitches. But, sticking to the pre-scripted game plan, Ferguson was pulled after the first and gave way to rookie Ryan Pepiot, who was just activated earlier in the day. And it was not an appearance that Ryan’s mom will be texting her friends about.
Almost from the get-go, Pepiot struggled with his command. He was getting deep into counts and even when he got ahead of hitters, he lacked a put-away pitch that could end the at-bat. He got some help from a nicely turned 1-6-3 double play in the second inning, but in the third, the wildness caught up to him. He walked two in the inning between a couple of outs, but then trouble.
Manny Machado hit a ball deep into the hole at short that Trea Turner made a play on with a diving stab. Trea leapt to his feet and gunned the ball across the diamond, and if Freddie Freeman had come up with the tricky hop, the inning would have ended. He did not, the ball bounced past him, and Aaron Nola scored all the way from second on the play. Just like that, it was 1-0 Padres. Hey kids. Here’s a tip. Don’t walk people, mmmmmkay?
Pepiot walked a couple of more guys in the fourth before Dave Roberts brought in Alex Vesia to haul his bacon out of the fire. It was not a great outing, even if the scorebook said zero earned runs at the end of it. The final line on Pepiot: 2+ IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K.
Big inning gives Blue comfortable lead
After the Padres failed to score in their half of the 5th, the Dodgers got to San Diego starter Mike Clevinger big time in the bottom of the frame. Will Smith got things started with a leadoff home run, his 21st of the year. That tied the score, but the Boys in Blue were just getting started. With one out, they loaded up the bases on a walk, a Joey Gallo single, and a HBP to Chris Taylor that may or may not have hit Taylor’s bat for a foul ball. Then, Cody Bellinger showed some good plate discipline and drew an RBI walk to put the Dodgers in the lead.
That turned the lineup over for the big boys at the top and chased Clevinger from the ballgame. Mookie Betts greeted reliever Luis Garcia by ripping the first pitch he saw in the air to center, plenty deep to score a run from third. Finally, Trea Turner hit a wounded duck of a single that landed in the perfect spot in left field to clear the bases. The Dodgers were now up 5-1 and it seemed like they might be headed toward a second laugher in a row. You could almost see Hanser Alberto preparing to throw the 9th.
Bullpen lets the Friars back in the game
With Pepiot out so early, Dave Roberts had a whole mess of innings that he needed to cover in order to win the game. Things started out great, as Alex Vesia and Chris Martin both were solid in their outings. However, in the top of the 7th, soon-to-be-ex-Dodger Heath Hembree ran into some trouble.
Hembree got a couple of outs in relief of Martin in the 6th, but he wasn’t nearly as sharp in the next inning. He gave up a couple of singles between two outs, and so Dave Roberts moved once again to make a pitching change. This time, it was the usually reliable Evan Phillips on the mound.
And Phillips just didn’t have it in this one. He got Jurickson Profar in an 0-2 hole, but then Profar managed to sneak a ball inside the right field foul line for a run-scoring double. On the pitch before the hit, Will Smith had a play on a foul ball near the netting, but couldn’t come up with it, setting up Profar’s heroics. And, thanks to some lackadaisical defense from Mookie Betts on the throw, big Josh Bell was able to lumber all the way home to make the score 5-3. Next up, Jake Cronenworth came through with a second straight run-scoring double, and suddenly this game, which had seemed basically over a few hitters ago was now a one-run contest. Phillips got out of the inning on a called strike three to Trent Grisham (that wasn’t a strike) to limit the damage, but the Dodgers were now in a dogfight with the Padres.
Dodgers explode and put away the Friars
Almost immediately, the Dodgers got to work in the home half of the seventh. Adrian Morejon came in for the Padres and immediately issued a walk to Will Smith (never a good start — see Ryan Pepiot above). Max Muncy followed up the free pass with a solid single to right that pushed Smith to third, and the Dodgers had runners cornered with nobody out for Justin Turner.
Turner, as we all know, is in the middle of a serious hot streak, and this at-bat was no different. On the first pitch he saw, Turner ripped a double past a diving Manny Machado to give the Dodgers an all-important insurance run. Muncy held up at third, but the Dodger were in very good shape to blow the game wide open.
And pinch hitter Trayce Thompson was happy to oblige. Inserted into the game for Joey Gallo, Thompson watched the first pitch from Morejon miss inside. Then, Morejon threw a second straight heater to Trayce and this time, it was center-cut and tasty. Thompson put the perfect swing on the ball and hit yet another one of those majestic shots to left that have become his calling card. The ball landed halfway up the pavilion, and when Thompson touched home, the Dodgers were up 9-5. It was Thompson’s eighth home run and 29th RBI of the year. Small sample size and all, but his slugging percentage of .564 only trails Mookie Betts among the Dodgers. What a find this guy has been.
“He’s been huge, man,” Mookie Betts said of Thompson. “Playing great defense, timely hitting. He’s been hitting all year, so it’s not luck. He’s a really good player.”
Bickford and Kimbrel close it out
The big inning basically took all the wind out of the Padres’ sails. Phil Bickford pitched a scoreless 8th, and Craig Kimbrel threw 1-2-3 9th to close out the ballgame and secure the series win. Credit where credit is due. Over his last seven appearances, Kimbrel is the proud owner of a 1.35 ERA. That will play in the postseason.
This is the Dodgers 10th win against the Padres in 13 games, so even if they get swept twice the Dodgers still win the season series. Sorry Padres, better luck next year.
Here come the Giants…
After securing the series win, there will be no time to rest on the Dodgers’ laurels. The rival San Francisco Giants roll into town on Monday to begin a three-game set at the Ravine. We’re back to the regular rotation now, as it will be Heaney, Anderson, and Kershaw to go up against Logan Webb, TBA, and Alex Cobb. The Giants are still mathematically alive for a wild card spot, but it’s a 0.6 % likelihood that they do. A good series and the Dodgers can shrink that chance down to zero. Game time Monday: 7:10 pm.
Cans of Corn…
- Looks like both Pepiot and Dustin May need to enroll in Clayton Kershaw‘s strike throwin’ school pronto.
- When he gets ahold of one, Trayce’s swing is so pretty.
- ESPN mic’d up Mookie for an inning in this one. Very entertaining.
- Can’t be overstated what a big deal the Vesia hold was for the flow of this ballgame. Big outs from Alex tonight.
- Not sure what happened to Phillips in this one, but he wasn’t exactly helped by the defense in his inning.
- Juan Soto got two well-hit singles in the late innings. Looks like he’s leaving town at exactly the right time.
- Because MLB doesn’t do Game 163 anymore, the Dodgers’ magic number fell from 12 to 9 with this win because they have won the season series with the Padres.
- Six more games with San Diego to go. It’s conceivable that the Padres fall to the 6 seed, or don’t even make the playoffs at all. We’ll see.
