Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — There are a grand total of TWO offensive highlights for the Dodgers on Saturday night, but that was plenty in this one. Max Muncy hit two long home runs to provide all of the runs in a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. And, thanks to a strong start from Emmet Sheehan, the Dodgers’ arms kept the Reds in check all night, and the Boys in Blue knotted this weekend series at a game apiece.
After a horrendous start down in Texas on the last road trip, Sheehan hit the mound looking for a big-time bounce back against the Reds. And he did just that. He pitched five scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and a walk while striking out five. And as he walked off the mound after the fifth he was in line for the victory. If not for a shaky outing from Caleb Ferguson he would have gotten just that. Still, as it is, a very encouraging sign for a Dodger that will be on the bubble should any more starting depth be added to the roster before Tuesday night.
The reason Sheehan was in line for the win at that point was the one hit the Dodgers got in the game in the first five innings. After leadoff man David Peralta (subbing for an ailing Mookie Betts) led off the game by reaching on an infield error, Freddie Freeman replaced him on the basepaths when he grounded into a fielder’s choice. After Will Smith made the second out of the inning, enter Max Muncy from stage left.
Reds starter Luke Weaver started Muncy with a pair of high fastballs, only one of which found the strike zone. Then, the righthander went to a changeup that sailed very wide to put Muncy ahead in the count 2-1. Weaver went back to a cambio, but it just hung up pretty for Muncy, who proceeded to wallop the ball about 400 into the LA night. On their first hit of the game, the Dodgers were up 2-0.
“Max is a big cog in what we’re trying to do,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “It was pretty much Max Muncy and Emmet [Sheehan] versus the Reds tonight. He had a big night. He had a big night and we couldn’t figure [Reds starter Luke] Weaver out clearly, but we scored enough runs to win a ballgame.”
That early lead held up until the sixth when an Elly De La Cruz double and TJ Friedl single off Caleb Ferguson put runners on the corners with nobody out. Fergie got a strike out of Matt McClain, but when Kevin Newman flew out to short right, Jason Heyward made the questionable decision of trying to throw out the speedy De La Cruz at home rather than take the safe bet of holding Friedl at first. The ball sailed high over catcher Will Smith’s head, allowing Friedl to advance. That little poor decision ended up costing the Dodgers a run when Spencer Steer blooped a two-out single into center. Gifted 90 feet by Heyward, Friedl easily scored on the play and the game was tied.
That’s when the real fun began. Come on in, Joe Kelly! To thunderous applause, the newest Dodger reliever took the mound, tasked by Dave Roberts with getting a big third out in the inning. And of course, him being Joe Kelly and all, he immediately threw the ball to the backstop and then a walked a guy to load up the bases. However, him being Joe Kelly and all, he managed to gather himself and throw a perfect four-seamer on a 1-2 count to strike out Will Benson and end the Reds’ threat. Good ol’ Mariachi Joe. Don’t ever change, amigo!
Then in the bottom of the same frame, the Dodgers took the lead for good. Weaver got to quick outs, but then his first inning nemesis Max Muncy dug in at the plate. And, maybe with flashbacks of that earlier blast in his head, Weaver fell behind 3-0.
“I thought he was really good,” Muncy said of Weaver. “He was getting the fastball up, the cutter up and in to lefties consistently. He wasn’t missing out over the plate and we were all having troubles with it. First at-bat, he just left a changeup up for me and I was able to get the barrel on it, thankfully. And then 3-0, I was cheating a little bit.”
The 3-0 pitch was a heater out over the plate. And if you’re Max Muncy, you just don’t let a tasty fastball like that go by without trying to put a swing on it. WHACK! Swing Muncy did, and the ball flew deep past the visitors’ bullpen for a 3-2 Dodger lead.
“We get the green light quite a bit,” Muncy said with a smile. “They usually trust me knowing that I’m not just going to swing to swing. If it’s a pitch where I’m looking, I’ll take a hack at it. But I’ve taken plenty of 3-0 strikes this year when I’ve had the green light.”
Out of the pen, Brusdar Graterol was nails for 1.2 innings and then Evan Phillips came on and secured a four-out save to end the game. It was Phillips’s first save opportunity since the All-Star break and he delivered an efficient outing, surrendering one hit in the ninth, but recording four outs on just 20 pitches.
On a night that saw Orel Hershiser inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball, it was only fitting that the paying customers would be treated to a pitchers’ duel. And while nobody looked like the Bulldog out there, the Dodgers acquitted themselves very nicely on the mound. And Max Muncy did all the rest.
Now, the Dodgers look to even out the homestand at 3-3 with a series win against the Reds on Sunday. To accomplish that task, they will send Michael Grove to the bump against Reds righty Graham Ashcroft. Grover has looked better of late, posting a respectable 3.62 ERA in July. Here’s hoping he gets a little more offensive support from the Dodger bats so that we can go into the Oakland series feeling good about ourselves. First pitch on Sunday, 1:10 pm. Another hot one. Hit that sunscreen and see you at the ballpark!
