Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — The Dodgers ownership of the San Diego Padres continues apace. On Saturday, the Dodgers finally got to Yu Darvish, banging out three homers in the first inning, and riding that hot start to a victory. Tyler Anderson returned to form after a couple of shaky starts, and the Dodgers coasted to an easy 7-2 home win.
Dodgers ambush Darvish in 1st
Padre starter Yu Darvish came into Saturday’s contest in a bit of a roll against his former team. He had a 2.00 career ERA over at Dodger Stadium ever since he walked off the mound in his disastrous Game 7 start of the 2017 World Series. But today, he must have been having flashbacks in the first inning, because the Dodgers were all over the righty ace’s breaking stuff.
After a Trea Turner strikeout, Freddie Freeman ripped a two-strike pitch into the seats in right field. Will Smith followed it up with a solo shot of his own that just cleared the fence in right center. And then after Max Muncy nearly went yard, Justin Turner kept the beat going by pulling a line shot into the seats in left. Wow. A handful of pitches into the game and already it was 3-0 Dodgers.
Dodgers keep the pressure on
The three runs were a good beginning, but the Dodgers were just getting started in this one. They tacked on two more against Darvish in the 2nd and 3rd before he finally settled down. In the bottom of the 2nd, the team benefited from a little shoddy defense in right field that turned into a Gavin Lux double. Trea Turner banged a single into left for a two-out RBI. Then, in the 3rd, Justin Turner singled and came home on Jake Lamb double. Lamb hit a slicing ball into left field and Jurickson Profar just missed a fantastic catch. Instead, it was another run for the Dodgers and a 5-0 lead.
Dodgers take advantage of walks
After those early innings, Darvish seemed to lock in a bit better and the Dodgers went scoreless through the next three frames. And when the Padres got a few baserunner and scored a run off Anderson in the seventh, it looked like it might be a ballgame again. However, Brusdar Graterol came in and struck out his old nemesis Manny Machado to strand two runners in scoring position.
Then, the wheels sort of came off the apple cart for the Padres in the bottom of the frame when new reliever Ray Kerr walked the bases loaded. And in a bit of an encouraging sign, the Dodgers were able to cash in two of those three base runners on sac flies. Max Muncy hit a screamer into right that was barely snagged by Nomar Mazar for the first out of the inning. Then, Justin Turner drove in his fifth run of the weekend with a fly to center.
Anderson has great outing
The three homers helped, but Tyler Anderson was much better than he was in his last two outings. He was efficient, getting ahead early and inducing a lot of soft outs in 6.1 innings. He only gave up one run on that sac fly in the 7th, and that was that. His line for the evening: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.
The rest of the pen was good, though a little shaky in spots. Reyes Moronta gave up a long blast of a home run to Luke Voit, but that was it. Alex Vesia gave up a walk and a hit, but managed to close out the game without giving up a run.
Kersh for the sweep on Sunday
Now winner of 14 of the last 15 games against the Padres, the Dodgers try to close out the sweep on Sunday afternoon. Young McKenzie Gore gets the ball for San Diego. He’ll be toeing the rubber against the not-so-young Clayton Kershaw. Kersh will be looking for a bounce-back start in this one, coming off a Coors Field start in which, his own words, he “sucked.” Let’s hope for a decidedly un-sucky finish to the series before the pesky Rockies roll into town. 1:10 first pitch on Sunday. Back on SNLA.
Cans of Corn…
- Chris Taylor exited the game with a foot contusion. Hope it’s nothing serious.
- JT’s OPS is up to .779 over the last 30 games. That’ll work.
- Muncy absolutely destroyed that sac fly to right. More solid contact. Just didn’t get rewarded with a hit.
- Dodgers seemed to be sitting on Darvish’s off-speed pitches in this one. Darvish was a little reluctant to throw the cheese.
- Dodger pitching has held the Padres to just four runs in the first three games on the series.
- The further we get from Atlanta, the more Freeman will become a part of this team.
- Because of the Taylor injury, Doc says Mookie will probably play right field when he returns.
- Giants 8.5 back right now. Nearing the point of no return.
