JT homer leads Dodgers to 8-3 win over D’backs

PHOENIX — Welcome, to the team Max Scherzer! With the newest Dodger in the dugout as a spectator, the team put on a very Dodger-esque performance at Chase Field on Saturday night. They collected 16 hits, giving Mad Max a hint of the powerful offense that will be behind him once he takes the mound next week. In the end, after a four-run seventh inning, the Dodgers coasted to a relatively easy 8-3 over the Diamondbacks, keeping pace with the division-leading Giants.

Dodgers put up three runs early

In a very welcome change, it was the Dodgers who got on the board first on Saturday evening. They got a couple of two out hits that didn’t amount to anything in the first, but broke through in the top of the second. Cody Bellinger led off with an infield single, a ground ball that second baseman Josh VanMeter fielded cleanly, but threw wide of first. Then, Matt Beaty followed up with a nice single of his own. For a moment, it looked like starter Merill Kelly might squirm off the hook when Billy McKinney flew out and pitcher Mitch White was unable to lay down a bunt.

But with two out, the top of the Dodgers’ line-up came to life. First, Chris Taylor drove in the game’s first run with a solid single to left. Then, Max Muncy came through with a shot just over VanMeter’s head to score Beaty.

Finally, in a bit of a gutsy call from the Dodger bench, with Justin Turner at bat, Max Muncy took off for second, hoping to get caught in a run-down that might allow Taylor to scamper home. Catcher Carson Kelly took the bait, and then airmailed his throw to second. Taylor was able to walk home and put the Dodgers up 3-0.

Mitch White shines as emergency starter

Meanwhile, Dave Roberts called on Mitch White to start off the bullpen game. Making his first career start at the big-league level, White was almost perfect through 3.1 innings of work. He made one bad pitch all day, really, but that bad pitch was to slugger Kole Calhoun, who ripped it over the right field fence for a two run home run to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2. Still, it was a solid performance for someone who wasn’t even on the radar to start until Josiah Gray was sent packing to Washington on Friday. White’s line for his first-ever start: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 K.

D’backs tie it up off the bullpen, but that’s it

Though Garrett Cleavinger gave up a game-tying home run to Nick Ahmed in the bottom of the fifth, that was all the bullpen would surrender on Saturday. After White, six relievers went the final 5.2 innings, and were only dinged for the Ahmed solo home run. Very critical work from the pen tonight.

Dodgers feast on Arizona pen

On the other hand, once Snakes starter Merrill Kelly was lifted in the seventh inning, the Dodgers hitters started licking their chops. With Max Muncy aboard, Justin Turner got the fun started with a pole-hugging home run down the left field line that landed in the Dodgers’ bullpen. The two-run shot put the Dodgers up 5-3, and the Boys in Blue were rolling.

Three straight singles from Smith, Pollock, and Bellinger loaded up the bases for Albert Pujols. And of course, Tio Albert ordered up a ribeye, driving in Will Smith with a solid single to left. It was the first of two RBI for the Machine on Saturday, and the tote board of lifetime achievements keeps rolling up numbers.

The Dodgers scored another run in the seventh on a McKinney groundout, and then the second Pujols RBI in the ninth added one final run of insurance to the Dodgers’ total. The Diamondbacks never really had much of a threat going in the second half of the game, as the bullpen, short-handed as it was, came through big-time in the win.

On to August…

So, the Dodgers wrap up August with a record of 14-12 for the month. Not horrible, but there was really an opportunity to gain ground on a pretty mediocre Giant team this month, and instead, the Dodgers lost 1.5 games over the course of the month. If the team ends up in second place at the end of the year, you could pretty much point to July as the reason why. We’re back to Julio Urias on Sunday, and then a day off before those nasty Astros* come into Dodger Stadium for a quick two-gamer on Tuesday and Wednesday. As for Sunday, Urias will face Caleb Smith in the matinee. 1:10 first pitch.