Steve Webb
MIAMI, FL — Sandy Alcántara is a beast. The Dodgers found that out on Saturday. The rest of the Marlins? Eh. Not so much. Without their ace, the Dodger hitters were all over the Marlins’ pitchers on Sunday afternoon, romping to a 8-1 victory. Julio Urías and three relievers held the Fish to just two base hits, and the Dodgers got production up and down the lineup to coast to an easy win in Miami.
Mookie does it again! JT adds on in first.
Mookie Betts stepped in to lead off the top of the first riding an incredible hot streak, and in his first at-bat, he didn’t get any cooler. On a 1-1 changeup from Marlins starter Edward Cabrera, Mookie drilled a line shot to centerfield. The ball sailed over the head of Marlins outfielder Peyton Burdick and landed in the green grass of the batter’s eye for a leadoff homer. Mookie rounded the bases with his 31st homerun of the year, and his fourth of the weekend.
The Dodgers were determined not to have a lone Mookie Betts homer be their entire output in this one, so they got right to work the second Betts had crossed the plate. Maybe a little flustered from the Mookie homer, Cabrera promptly issued a four-pitch walk to Trea Turner. After a strikeout from Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy ripped a single to center to push Turner to third. That brought up Justin Turner, who has continued to come up clutch all summer. He did it once again in this case, ripping a run-scoring single to left. The rally ended there, but after being on the wrong side of shut out last week, Julio Urias was glad to take the two-run advantage as he took the mound.
Trayce goes yard to push the lead to three
Trayce Thompson got the start in centerfield on Sunday, and he made the most of his opportunity. In the 2nd inning, he got a sweet four-seamer from Cabrera and just demolished the pitch. He hit one of those majestic Thompson shots down the left field line that banged off the foul pole for his 7th home run of the year. That upped the score to 3-0 and gave Urías some breathing room. There would be plenty more breathing room to come.
Urías gives up home run, but not much else
Once again, Julio Urías was on cruise control in this game. He was getting some nice cutting action on his fastball, and had the Marlins off balance for much of the afternoon. He walked a few more than he wanted to on the day, but kept those runners from advancing past first base. The lone blemish on a nice day was a solo shot from Brian Anderson in the bottom of the fourth to bring the Marlins a run closer at 3-1.
Other than that, nada, as they say en Mexico. Because of the walks, it was the most pitches Urías has thrown all year, 101, but all in all, another great outing from the Dodgers’ star lefty. His line for the afternoon: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. How this guy has been so under the radar nationally for so long is practically scandalous.
Big inning puts the game away for Dodgers
With Julio Urías dealing on the mound, the Dodgers sent him to the bench with a big lead. In the top of the sixth, the put a three-spot on the board and essentially put the game on ice for the Dodgers. Max Muncy led off with a single, but it seemed like he might be stranded at first when the next two hitters were retired in order. However, the Dodgers came up with a nice two-out rally. The team got back-to-back walks to load up the bases and then started to do some damage. Hitting out of the nine-hole, Austin Barnes drilled a two-run single into centerfield. It’s nice to see Barnsey have a nice stretch here. He’s hitting .320 in his last seven games with two homers.
Finally, Mookie Betts came up and on the first pitch of the AB, ripped his third his of the day, and RBI single into left to score the Dodgers’ sixth run of the afternoon.
Pitching shuts down Fish, Dodgers tack on in 9th
Brusdar Graterol, Chris Martin, and Alex Vesia finished things up on the mound in relief of Urías, and the Dodgers put a two-spot on the board in the 9th just to rub things in a bit. They got a run-scoring double from Justin Turner, and an RBI ground-out from Gavin Lux to finish off the scoring for the Boys in Blue. In all, the Dodgers got up early, and just coasted the rest of the way, proving that Marlins sin Alcántara are not much of a match for the game’s best team.
Gonsolin goes for the series win on Monday
In one of those weird scheduling things in 2022, the Dodgers are not traveling on Monday, but playing one more game against the Marlins as they finish up this wraparound series. It will be Tony Gonsolin on the mound for the Dodgers. First pitch is slated for 3:40 PDT. Let’s get that series win and go into Queens with a head of steam.
Cans of Corn…
- This game was a Peacock exclusive, and they weren’t getting my $4.99, so thanks to Tim Neverett and Jose Mota for bringing me the action. Just like old times when the radio was the main way anybody got baseball.
- Trea Turner was mic’d up for an inning and nearly botched a groundball. Let’s not do this in games that matter, mmmkay?
- Mookie was 3-for-5 in this one. His OPS is now over .900 for the year.
- Freddie had two hits in this one. JT, and Max Muncy were both 3-for-5.
- Freddie Freeman went to the warning track twice with hard-it balls but had nothing to show for it.
- In the fifth inning, Trea Turner took a scary shot off the top of helmet. To show he was okay, he promptly stole second on the next pitch.
- In his four appearances after returning from the IL, Brusdar Graterol has an ERA of 0.00. Looking very good.
- Chris Martin pitched the 8th inning after being on the shelf for a few days with some elbow issues. He gave up a hit, but pitched a scoreless inning.
- Pitching rotation not set for NYC yet; we’ll keep you posted.
