Steve Webb
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — For a year and a half, Giants starter Logan Webb has been something of a mystery to the Dodgers, giving up only six earned runs in his last five starts against the Boys in Blue. So, the team entered the game with memories of those solid performances dancing in their heads, and figured that runs would be at a premium in this one as well. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Dodgers got all over Webb in this one, roughing the Giant ace up for six earned runs in the first five innings. The Dodgers coasted from there, cruising to a comfortable 8-2 win in the opening salvo of this four-game series at Oracle Park.
Giants get on the board with cheap run
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Dodger starter Andrew Heaney had a hard time getting off the field in the bottom of the inning. First, he hit leadoff man Darin Ruf in the foot to put a man on. Then, Heaney retired the next two hitters and seemed to be on the verge of scoreless inning. But, Wilmer Flores banged a single into left and Luis Gonzalez got a bunt base hit on a bang-bang play at first, and the bases were loaded. Finally, Heaney got squeezed on a pitch in the next at-bat and ended up giving up a walk to push the first run of the night across.
Max impact for the lead
San Francisco didn’t have the lead for long. In the top of the third, Max Muncy showed why the Giants are his favorite opponent. Jake Lamb started things off with a one-out single to right. After Gavin Lux flied out to the gap in left center, Muncy dug in for his first at-bat. Webb tried to sneak a 2-2 change-up by him, but Max timed it up and put a great swing on the ball. It carried to straightaway centerfield and looked to be headed right for the fence.
Centerfielder Austin Slater leaped and tried for the ball, but it just evaded his glove and landed on the other side of the wall for a two-run jack. Max Muncy had haunted the Giants once again.
Outman sparks three-run rally
Maybe we should just call them the “Big Four,” huh? James Outman continues to excel in his first days in the Show. Monday night, he picked up right where he left off on Sunday, by banging the first pitch that he saw into left for an opposite field single. That turned the lineup over and the second time around went even better for the Dodger hitters. To start things off, Mookie Betts smashed a double over the head of Luis Gonzalez in left.
Then, Trea Turner hit a sac fly to easily score Outman from third. Freddie Freeman kept the line moving with an opposite field single of his own that scored Betts. Finally, Will Smith finished off the scoring with a double that scored Freeman all the way from first. That is the Dodgers working at maximum efficiency right there.
Heaney keeps the Giants off the board the rest of his night
Andrew Heaney settled down nicely after the rocky start. He didn’t give up any further runs after the first, and managed to get through four. With a nice lead and a pretty strict pitch count, Doc decided to pull the plug on Heaney’s night right there and then. Though he didn’t get the win on Monday, he continued to show progress on his way back to full strength. The sights aren’t dialed in as precisely as he would like yet, so hopefully we’ll see improvement in that regard in his next start against the Padres on the weekend. His line for the evening (74 pitches): 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.
Dodgers tack on two more
With the game turned over to the bullpen, the Dodgers continued to attack the San Francisco pitching staff. Trea Turner his a solo shot in the 7th and Freddie Freeman got his third hit of the game in the 9th to drive in the Dodgers’ eighth run of the night with an RBI single. In all it was an 11-hit attack by the Dodgers. Hitting stars of the evening were Freddie Freeman (3-for5, 2 RBI), Trea Turner (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI), Will Smith (2-for-4, 2 RBI), and Max Muncy (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI).
Outman continues his insane start
And we couldn’t let the post go by without mentioning how James Outman did in this one, his second big league start. There was no home run on Monday, but it was almost as good as Sunday in every other way. The rookie outfielder was 2-for-2 with a double on the night, and he reached base all four plate appearances, getting a walk and getting hit by a pitch in the other two. At the moment, Outman is hitting .882 with an OPS of 2.542. No biggie.
Anderson to start on Tuesday
Trying to keep it rolling, the Dodgers send Tyler Anderson to the mound on Tuesday night. And TA just might be the hottest pitcher the team has right now. In July, Anderson posted an unreal 1.11 ERA. He’ll toe the rubber against our old buddy Alex Wood. It’ll be a lefty vs. lefty match-up so look for Doc to stock his shelves with his right-handed batters. First pitch on Tuesday will be 6.45.
Cans of Corn…
- Outman’s start hasn’t been matched by a Dodger since Casey Stengel did it way back in 1912. Wooboy!
- If you don’t watch Freddie Freeman every day, you only get a hint of what a complete baseball player he is. He’s been simply fantastic all year.
- New Dodger Chris Martin made his debut in blue on Monday. Gave up a home run to Wilmer Flores in one inning of work.
- Yency Almonte. Nails.
- Lots of moves today. San Diego picked up All-Star closer Josh Hader. Frankie Montas went off the board when he was picked up by the Yanks, who are pushing all the chips in this year.
- Only one move involving the Dodgers today. The team traded reliever Garrett Cleavinger to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league outfielder German Tapia, who’s having a pretty good year in rookie ball this season.
- In a pre-game interview, Blake Treinen said that he’s planning to throw to hitters again Wednesday in SF. Says he’s confident his shoulder has healed. It’s about building arm strength, stamina and getting his pitches game-ready.
- Trade deadline tomorrow. Should be an interesting afternoon, to say the least.
