Steve Webb
A Grand Afternoon: Beaty, Pollock power Dodgers to win
There were lots of smiles in the Dodger dugout all Sunday afternoon. And with good reason. A team that had been struggling to score runs for a fortnight put up big numbers in the first and second inning. They got grand slams from both AJ Pollock and Matt Beaty in those early frames and rode the huge lead to an easy victory against the Brewers. Their 16-4 victory was a welcome bright spot in a ten-game road trip that is off to a rough start.
Corbin scratched for Brew Crew
In fact, the Dodgers’ easy win on Sunday started long before the first pitch. Today was supposed to be the team’s first look at the Brewers’ ace Corbin Burnes, who has arguably been the best pitcher not named deGrom in the first month of the season. He’s showed some filthy stuff and is on the verge of breaking Kenley Jansen record for most consecutive strikeouts without a walk. But for an “unspecified medical issue”, Burnes was place on the IL, and instead the Dodgers faced rookie Alec Bettinger, who was making his big-league debut.
A rookie mistake. Literally.
Bettinger got a pop-up from Mookie Betts to lead off the game, but things kind of went south from there for the young right-hander. He gave up a walk to Corey Seager and then a single to Justin Turner. After a flyout, Chris Taylor was clipped by a pitch from his fellow Virginia Cavalier. The bases were now loaded for Matt Beaty. Bettinger came within a hair’s breath of escaping with a scoreless inning when Beaty topped a slow roller to the right side of the infield. Unfortunately for Bettinger, his toe couldn’t find the first base bag as he covered. A run scored and the inning was extended.
Pollock makes Bettinger pay
With the bases still loaded, AJ Pollock came to bat. Pollock already had one home run in the series as the stepped to the plate. It seemed like the perfect time to his his first grand slam since 2015. He jacked one deep to center field, and what could have been a scoreless first inning was suddenly transformed into a five-run lead for the Dodgers.
Every one in the gray uniforms breathed a communal sigh of relief. After Saturday night’s crushing defeat it was nice to give the pitchers a little cushion to work with for once. After a scoreless Brewers’ first inning, the Dodgers went right back to work in the top of the second. Seager, Turner, and Taylor all singled to load the bases.
Matt Beaty? Yes, that Matt Beaty!
With two out, up stepped Matt Beaty, who has been swinging a hot bat since his return from the alternate site. After having a very rough start to the season, Beaty has actually been the Dodgers’ best hitter during this little rocky patch of the last week or so. And while Beaty needed to rely on a fielding mistake to drive in a run in the first inning, he needed no such help in the second. He drilled a fly ball to right that landed just over the fence and out of the reach of Avisail Garcia. It was now 9-0 Dodgers and the rout was well underway.
Dodgers pile on
But Beaty and Pollock weren’t done for the day. Not by a long shot. Beaty ripped a two-run single into center in the fourth inning for his seventh RBI of the day.
Not to be outdone, Pollock decided that he would drive in three on his next at bat and hit a dinger over the center field wall. Then, just to one-up Beaty I guess, he decided to drive in his eighth run of the day in the 8th inning with run-scoring double.
In the same inning, Gavin Lux singled home the Dodgers 16th run of the day to break up the AJ and Matty Show. But other than that infield single, all the damage was done by just two hitters in the line-up today. Between the two of them, Pollock and Beaty drove in FIFTEEN runs and went 7-for-12. It was the first time in the long history of the Dodgers that two players had had seven RBI in one game. And of course it was Pollock and Beaty who did it. Just as the mysterious gypsy woman had foretold.
But Dodger bats were singing up and down the lineup today. They got 18 hits and batted 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Gavin Lux had a nice game with two hits and an RBI in his last game in front of his Wisconsin friends and family. And Chris Taylor got on base in all six of his plate appearances. A game like this goes a long way toward breaking out of a hitting slump. Let’s hope it continues the rest of the trip.
If not for all this insane scoring, we would have been talking more about Julio Urias and his magnificent start. He went seven innings and gave up just one earned run on a meaningless solo home run after the game was out of reach. Again, he did what he did best, attacking the zone, getting ahead of hitters and cruising through the Brewers hitters.
Newcomer Mike Kickham cleaned up the slop in the last two innings and gave up three runs in the eighth. But Urias had done his job. After two straight bullpen days, he gave all the Dodgers’ relievers a most-needed day off. Now everyone should be good to go when the team hits Chicago on Monday.
Speaking of Monday, the Dodgers head into Wrigley to face the scuffling Cubs, who are currently under .500 and in last place in the NL Central. Walker Buehler should get the ball for the visitors. 4:30 pm PDT first pitch. Maybe we can, you know, win two in a row or something crazy like that.
