Steve Webb
PHOENIX, AZ — Tyler Anderson is pitching like a Cy Young candidate this month. After getting shelled against the Phillies in LA, Anderson has been lights out his last three starts. He’s given up just two earned runs over his last 21 innings, winning each of the games. In Sunday’s contest, Anderson pitched six shutout innings and the Dodgers got a home run from Will Smith and manufactured a couple more runs en route to a 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. The win completed a four-game sweep of Arizona, and finished this long road trip with an impressive 8-2 record.
Smith wins AB, homers for first run
The Diamondbacks threw the crafty Zach Davies at the Dodgers in this one, and he had a pretty decent start, holding the Dodgers to just 4 hits over 4.1 innings. However, the Dodgers made their hits against him count. They got their first run in the top of the second during an epic Will Smith at-bat. Smith and Davies battled for eleven pitches until Smith finally won the match-up. He got out over the plate on the twelfth pitch of the AB, one that he could extend his arms on and he drilled it over the fence and into the infamous hot tub area in right center field. He rounded the the bases and touched home plate with the Dodgers’ first run of the afternoon.
Freeman and Turner deliver in third
The Dodgers’ big inning, if you could call it that, came in the top of the third inning. Gavin Lux led off and did what he’s been doing more of lately — he went the other way, banging a nice single into left center. Austin Barnes walked, and quickly the Dodgers were in business. Then, in the “good” baserunning section of the game, both runners moved up on a Mookie Betts flyout to left.
With runners on second and third, Freddie Freeman quickly fell behind Davies 0-2. However, Freddie Freeman is, well, Freddie Freeman. He reached out and poked a single into left field to score Lux and move Barnes to third. Barnes then scampered home when Trea Turner hit a hit bouncer to third that Josh Rojas had no play at the plate on, and had to go to first. They got just two singles in the inning, but thanks to heads up baserunning and patience at the plate, they converted those two knocks into two runs for the visitors.
Anderson tosses six scoreless
Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson had it going on. It was almost a carbon copy of his brilliant start in Washington, DC the last time through the rotation. He threw a lot of strikes, had a great changeup, and kept the D-backs off the board over six shutout innings.
Anderson did scatter five hits, and D-backs had baserunners in almost every inning, but nothing really came of them. The biggest threat they had was in the sixth when they had men on first and second after Trea Turner rushed a potential double play ball. However, three pitches later, Anderson got another double play ball from Geraldo Perdomo to end the inning. It was a solid start, something that is becoming increasingly common from T.A.
Price, Phillips, Kimbrel finish off the D-backs
Stuck on three runs for the second straight night, the Dodgers had to rely on the bullpen to keep the Snakes from mounting a late-inning comeback. Price gave up a hit, but pitched a scoreless 7th inning. Phillips was aided by a double play in his inning, but also kept Arizona off the scoreboard.
Finally, it was Kimbrel time. Which has not been the most relaxing time of the game for Dodger fans this season. After a three-pitch strikeout on the shortstop Perdomo, Kimbrel grazed the foot of Alek Thomas to put a runner on. Daulton Varsho was put into pinch hit and flew out weakly to left. Okay. Two outs.
However, David Peralta wasn’t quite ready to shower. Pinch hitting for the catcher Herrera, Peralta bashed a gapper to right center that Mookie Betts couldn’t quite track down. When it was all over, Thomas had scored and Peralta was on third with a triple.
Here we go again. So now, it was 3-1, and tying run was at the plate in the person of rookie Cooper Hummel. And, to be honest, it was a bit of a mismatch. The veteran Kimbrel started him off with a fastball right down the middle that Hummel watched land in the glove for strike one. He watched a couple of pitches land inside and had a foul tip to run the count to 2-2. Then, Kimbrel just froze him. He threw a perfect pitch on the outside corner. Strike Three. Game Over.
Back home for the Pirates
The Dodgers won’t waste any time before the next series. They take the quick flight home on Sunday evening, and then start a home stand with a three-game set against the Pirates, a team that actually took a series against the Dodgers earlier this month. Which I’m still a bit salty about, to be honest. I have a feeling that the struggling Pirates will not be repeating that feat. Walker Buehler will try to bounce back after a couple of pedestrian starts recently. After the Pirates, it’s the Mets for some must-see TV against the two best records in the National League.
Cans of Corn…
- Veteran Kevin Pillar played his first game in Dodger Blue on Sunday, fulfilling a lifelong dream of the LA area native. He didn’t get a hit, but had a fantastic diving catch in left field.
- It will be interesting to see what happens to Anderson once Heaney and Kershaw return to the rotation. Spot starter? Six-man rotation?
- Trea Turner extended his hitting streak, but got picked off second base. Baserunning has been very inconsistent in this series.
- Mookie very quiet for the first time in a while.
- At 33-14, the Dodgers now have the best winning percentage in baseball.
