After delay, Dodgers pounce on Phils’ pen in 5-0 win

PHILADELPHIA — It was supposed to be a great pitchers’ duel between aces Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola on Tuesday night. And the fans got to see 4/9 of that game. Then, the rain came and washed away everybody’s best laid plans. When the two teams finally took the field two hours later, the starters were both out, and it was no contest. The Dodgers’ bats pounded the Phils’ oft-maligned bullpen for five runs over the final five innings of the game. Meanwhile, six Dodgers’ relievers somehow managed to cobble together a shutout of the Phillies, and the Dodgers came away with a 5-0 victory.

Nola/Scherzer duel cut short by rain

For the first four innings though, the two starters were quite good, and one might even say that Aaron Nola was the better pitcher on Tuesday night. He gave up only one hit, and had the Dodgers completely off balance against his vaunted curveball. In the end, Nola struck out seven over four innings of work and gave up no walks. Scherzer, on the other hand, was on point as well. The Phillies managed three hits against the Dodgers’ righthander, but he struck out six himself over just 3.1 innings of work. He did surrender a lead-off hit in the third, and was about to face the heard of the Phillies’ batting order when the sky opened up and ended his night.

Pen steps up with 5.2 innings of shutout ball

Once the two teams had waited out the rain delay, which lasted 1 hour and 44 minutes, both starters were out of the game. Alex Vesia came in for the Dodgers and was able to extricate his team from the slight jam it was in when the tarps came out. Then, he pitched another scoreless inning in the fifth. For all his struggles earlier in the year, Vesia has really become one of the more reliable arms out of Dave Roberts‘ bullpen in the second half of the season.

Seager hits first HR since return

Meanwhile, the Dodgers wasted no time attacking the Phillies’ relievers. Corey Seager was the first to strike, ripping his first home run since his return from the IL, a solid shot to the opposite field. In the game, Seager went 3-for-5 and scored two runs as he continues to be a contributor for this team. Since his return, he is hitting a solid .324. with an .868 OPS.

Dodgers score three in sixth

In the sixth inning, the Dodgers struck for three runs. Leading off the inning, Trea Turner hit a solid double to centerfield. After a Max Muncy out, Will Smith ripped a single to right that might not have scored most baserunners. But as we are learning, Trea Turner is not most baserunners. He scored from second on the hit, hit finishing the play with the smoothest of slides to beat the ball to the plate.

Now leading 2-0, the Dodgers had yet another opportunity to score in the inning after a Corey Seager double put with runners on second and third. AJ Pollock stepped to the plate, riding the hottest hitting streak of his career. Once again, Pollo did not disappoint. He smacked a ground ball through the infield that scored both Smith and Seager, and just like that, it was 4-0 Dodgers.

Knebel’s return

The Dodgers’ pen continued to do their job against the Phils, throwing four more innings of shutout ball. Most notable among the relievers in the last three innings was the return of Corey Knebel, who had been on the IL since April. It was a bit of mixed bag for Knebel. He did strike out two in his 2/3 an inning of work, but also walked a batter and gave up a walk. On this rainy night, he seemed to have trouble gripping his breaking pitches, so hopefully any problems he had can be attributed to the weather conditions.

Max Muncy pulverizes a pitch in the 9th

The Dodgers got twelve hits on the night, which is all the more impressive when you remember that they had only one hit against Aaron Nola in the first four innings. In the ninth, Max Muncy became the final Dodger starter to get a hit when he absolutely obliterated a pitch with a second-deck home run to right field.

With the score 5-0, newcomer Conner Greene came on to pitch the ninth inning. He pitched a scoreless frame, aided by a sweet sliding catch from Cody Bellinger in centerfield.

Standings remain unchanged

The Dodgers had a nice win, but were unable to gain ground on the Giants, who were 8-7 winners over the D’backs. This next couple of weeks of the schedule are going to be particularly dicey for the Dodgers as they have a much more difficult draw this week than do the Giants. Things get more difficult for both teams in the second half of the month, so there still remains an opportunity to pick up some games in the second half of August. However, it’s critical that the Dodgers no fall any farther behind if they want to have a chance at a run in September. Which is why this East Coast road trip is going to be so critical. One down, five to go…