Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — It is a truth universally acknowledged that the Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen is one of the best pitchers in the National League. In fact, he is on the short list of pitchers who might take home the trophy in this year’s Cy Young race. However, Gallen ran into the buzzsaw known as the LA Dodgers on Monday night, and, needless to say, the buzzsaw won. The Dodgers knocked around the Snakes’ ace righty for four home runs and went on to win the first game of this series by a 7-4 count. It was the 22nd victory for the team this month. Wow.
And oddly enough, people other than Mookie Betts were the big contributors in this one. Betts had a quiet night, only getting a lone walk on the night. Everybody else, however, picked up the slack.
The scoring started in the first, after a Betts strikeout. Freddie Freeman took a up-and-in pitch from Gallen and absolutely drilled it into the right field stands for a solo jack to get the Dodgers on the board. After a Will Smith single, Max Muncy dug in riding a serious hot streak. Muncy jumped all over an 0-1 knuckle-curve and drilled the ball to right as well. It sailed over the home run seats and landed a few rows deep into the pavilion. Just like that, it was 3-0 Dodgers against one of the best pitchers in the sport.
Gallen regrouped and shut the Dodgers down during the next time through the batting order, and he gave his team a chance to get back in the ballgame against Dodger starter Bobby Miller. Miller pitched well, but gave a up a run in the second, and a three-spot in the fourth, and the Dodgers found themselves behind by a run going into the middle innings.
“That’s probably the worst my stuff has been all year but I was glad to fight through it and get a couple of zeros after that fourth [inning],” Miller said. “Like I always say, I want to keep [the relievers] fresh. I want to get through at least six every time to get them some rest.”
The big inning for the team came in the bottom of the sixth. Gallen’s pitch count was elevated, but he came back out for one more frame. The D-backs almost immediately regretted the decision. David Peralta started the comeback with a single to right field. That brought Jason Heyward to the plate, and he was absolutely on time. He completely obliterated Gallen’s second offering and sent it out in a hurry to right. The two run-blast gave the Dodgers the lead, and the good times had begun to roll.
The very next hitter, James Outman, went back-to-back, giving the fans in the right field stands yet another souvenir. One more insurance run in the seventh put the game on ice. After Miller, Alex Vesia, Ryan Brasier, and Caleb Ferguson each threw a scoreless inning to close out the victory.
The Dodgers try to win the series on Tuesday night with Clayton Kershaw on the mound. If you recall, Kershaw got robbed out of a start when his outing was cut short by rain in Cleveland after only two innings of work. Which means he should be plenty rested when he takes on the D-backs, who will send their other ace Merrill Kelly to the mound. Like Kershaw, Kelly boasts a sub-3.00 ERA and double-digit victories. But he’ll have the tall order of slowing down these Dodger bats, who have already matched their win total from last August, when they completely ran away from their competition. First pitch is 7:10 pm. See you at the ballpark!
