Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Riding hot bats up and down the lineup, the Dodgers completely obliterated the Giants on Wednesday, winning by a score of 9-1. All sorts of good things happening in this one. Let’s jump right into it.
Gonsolin gives up solo shot, but goes five strong innings
After much secrecy and debate, it was finally announced that the Dodger starter would be exactly who we thought it would be, Tony Gonsolin. And the Cat Man didn’t disappoint. It was what we should come to expect from Gonsolin by now. A lot of baserunners, but nobody scores. Other than a solo home run by Brandon Crawford on the first pitch of the second inning, Gonsolin kept the Giants off the scoreboard. His line for the night: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K.
Dodgers take the lead with two early runs
The Dodgers did not let the Crawford dinger get them down. In fact, they came up with a nice rally of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Mookie Betts started off the fun with a seeing-eye single that squirted through the infield. Freddie Freeman followed it up with a walk. Then, Trea Turner hit a looping single into left field that scored Betts and moved Freeman to third. Will Smith followed it up with a single of his own, and four batters into the inning the Dodgers would have all the runs they would need in this one.
Dodgers tack on in a big way in late innings
With the starters in, the score stayed at 2-1, but the Dodgers began to feast on Giant pitching once Alex Wood was out of the ballgame. They got a Mookie Betts solo home run in the sixth, and then in the seventh inning, they exploded for four runs. The big hit in the inning was a Freddie Freeman two-run triple. Then, in the eighth, Max Muncy got a most welcome solo home run of his own. If the Dodgers can get Max going, they will be close to unstoppable.
On to the Windy City…
The Dodgers will have a travel day on Thursday, and then then have a weekend series in Chicago against the Cubs. The games are day games on Friday and Saturday, so plan your weekend accordingly. Then, on Sunday, they Dodgers will be on ESPN for the Sunday night broadcast.
Cans of Corn…
- Tony Gonsolin’s ERA is now 1.64, good for fifth place in the National League.
- Mookie looked very good tonight. Keep it up!
- The ball isn’t flying. That’s a fact.
- Cody Bellinger had a couple of nice catches in the outfield and a well-hit double to the gap.
