Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Friday was Elton John bobblehead night at Chavez Ravine, commemorating the pop legend’s series of concerts at Dodger Stadium nearly fifty years ago. And in honor of one of music’s biggest hit makers, the Dodgers decided to churn out some hits of their own. After a quiet series in San Diego, the Dodger bats came alive, getting 15 hits en route to a 10-1 blowout win over the Colorado Rockies.
It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside
Early in this one, the Rockies were getting men on, but they were not exactly ripping the cover off the ball against Clayton Kershaw. With a series of doinks, bloops, and dribblers, Colorado hitters were getting on base early. But, as he’s done so often in this season, once baserunners got on, Clayton started to bear down. In the 1st, he got a double play to short-circuit a possible rally. In the second, he got a strikeout and a flyout to strand two in scoring position. And in the 3rd, Gavin Lux tracked down a weak pop-up to leave two more Rockies on the paths. So for all the traffic the Rox were able to put on the bases, Kershaw kept them scoreless through three.
Captain Fantastic (aka Mookie Betts)
Meanwhile, the Dodgers were regularly putting good wood on the early pitches from Rockies starter Chad Kuhl. And, in the bottom of the 2nd, they broke through with a run. Mookie Betts drilled a double to the gap to score Chris Taylor with the game’s first run. They only put up the lone run in that frame, but it was clear that the Dodgers were measuring up Kuhl very very well.
Belli’s travelin’ tonight on a plane
It was the bottom of the fourth where all those good swings against Kuhl started to bear some real fruit. In one of the most encouraging innings of the entire year, the Dodgers put up an ocho against the Rockies. The entire inning was a thing of beauty. Gavin Lux led off by ripping a single to the right side. Chris Taylor followed up with a single of his own to move Lux to third. That brought up Cody Bellinger, who had flied out to very deep centerfield his first time up.
This time, Belli timed up Kuhl perfectly. On the very first pitch he saw, Cody blasted a belt-high sinker to deep center once again. Only this team, he had the dad strength to get it over the fence, for his 18th home run of the season. It was 4-0 Dodgers, and the offense was just getting rolling.
Can you feel the love tonight?
After the Belli bomb, the Dodgers simply reloaded and started scoring once again. On the very next pitch, Mookie Betts doubled into the left field corner. After a Trea flyout, Freddie Freeman walked, and Chad Kuhl’s night was over.
New reliever Jake Bird was greeted by a run-scoring single by Will Smith, and then a ground-rule double from Max Muncy to score another run. Then, after a wild pitch, Trayce Thompson ripped a single back through the box to score Smith. The final RBI of the night were courtesy of Chris Taylor, whose third hit of the evening drove home both Muncy and Thompson.
In all the Dodgers had sent 12 hitters to the plate in the inning, and gotten eight runs on eight hits and a walk. Total domination.
I’m still standing, better than I ever been
Gifted with the huge lead, Clayton put this thing into overdrive, working quickly and efficiently for two more scoreless innings. After being nearly perfect in September, Kershaw finished the month with another gem: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. This great performance brings Kershaw’s record to 11-3. His ERA for the year lowers to a nifty 2.30 (1.50 since his return from the IL). If that ERA holds up through his last start, which it surely will, it will be his 12th season with a sub-3.00 ERA. He’s completely ready to have a great October.
After Kershaw bowed out after six, Yency Almonte, David Price, and you guessed it, Hanser Alberto finished things up.
It was a very needed win, as the Dodgers had trouble scoring runs and playing clean baseball in San Diego.
Game 2 features a return of Grove
The next game in this semi-ridiculous six-game series will be Saturday at 7:10. Once again, it’s a Michael Grove moment. He takes the ball so that the Dodgers can set up their rotation for the postseason. He’ll face off against Kyle Freeland, who has always pitched the Dodgers pretty well. After Grove, it will be Anderson, Gonsolin, Urias, and Kershaw once again to finish the series. Let’s go boys. 110 wins, here we come!!
Cans of Corn…
- So good to see offense back again.
- CT3 — great night. 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
- Belli, too. 2-for-4, 3 RBI.
- Mookie Betts is starting to heat up after a quiet September.
- This was Clayton’s 400th MLB appearance.
- Hanser now has ten pitching appearances himself. That’s a lot of blowouts.
- It’ll be nothing but home field advantage for the Dodgers this postseason. The Dodgers clinched all the way through World series with their win in this one, coupled with the Astros* loss.
- Freddie Freeman has won the 2022 Roy Campanella award, given each year to the Dodger who “best exemplifies the spirit and leadership” of former Dodger catcher Roy Campanella.
