Steve Webb
Dodgers win beer-league softball game to break 4-game skid
Barrels are overrated. Isn’t that how the saying goes? Well, the Dodgers put their credo into action on Saturday night in Anaheim. They dumped and doinked and cue-balled their way around the batting order in two successive innings, scoring 13 unanswered runs along the way. Oh, they had their share of hard contact, but got at least as many lucky breaks in an eight-run third and a five-run fourth en route to a 14-11 win over the Angels. Let’s cover some of the the highlights, shall we?
Dodgers bat around. Twice.
First things, first. You just don’t smack our star player in the ‘nads, okay? Believe it or not, this started out looking like something of a pitcher’s duel, as both Clayton Kershaw and Angels start Dylan Bundy cruised through the first three innings. But then came the Dodgers’ half of the fourth. Mookie Betts led off with a walk and moved to third on a Corey Seager single. Then with one out, this happened…
Anyway, that little bit of levity out of the way, the Dodgers decided to make the Angels pay dearly for such an outrage against decorum. They proceeded to notch seven straight hits, most of which were of very low exit velocity. But they got the job done. By the time the inning was over, eight runs had scored.
Though they didn’t realize the runs would be needed later on, the Dodgers piled on the next inning. They batted around again, this time scoring five times. Some of the highlights from the Dodgers’ offensive explosion: Mookie Betts, 2-for-3, 4 RBI. Corey Seager 3-for-4, 1 RBI, Max Muncy 2-for-3, 2 RBI, Will Smith 2-for-5, 3 RBI… anyway, you get the idea. It was a very good night for the Dodgers’ offense.
Just let Kersh pitch, Dave..
Indeed it seemed the Dodgers were on their way to win a laugher. Clayton Kershaw pitched five shut-out innings and was eager to pitch more, but manager Dave Roberts decided to start pull him from the game and rest him, thinking the contest was safely in the W column. Note to Dave Roberts. Next time Clayton wants to stay in the game, let him. The Dodgers sent Dennis Santana to the mound just to eat a few innings while the regulars sat and watched from the dugout. Santana got roughed up for four runs.
Error leads to Angels explosion
Okay, no biggie. The Blue Crew was up by ten when they added another run in the bottom of the inning. However, in the seventh inning, the Angels scored SEVEN unearned runs off reliever Mitch White. The hijinks got started when second baseman Austin Barnes (yes, you read that right) misplayed a Shohei Ohtani grounder that could have been the final out of the inning. The Angels went on to get consecutive hits of their own, and by the time everything had sorted itself out, the score was 14-11.
Gonzalez, Treinen to the rescue
So, the Dodgers had to quickly recalibrate their pitching plans for the evening. Instead of throwing some innings-eaters out there to bring the game to an end, Roberts was forced to bring out his A-listers. But luckily, the Dodgers’ high leverage guy came through. Victor Gonzalez had a clean eighth, and Blake Treinen sent them down 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure a most unexpected save.
That was, um, interesting…
So is this the end of the Dodgers’ hitting slump? Well, we’ve been tempted to think that a couple of time already during this slump, with big wins against both Cincinnati and Milwaukee, but it felt a little different today. It felt like the bats were really clicking, especially in clutch situations. We shall see how sustainable this will be. The series wraps up on Sunday with a 1:00 pm matinee. Trevor Bauer gets the ball for the Dodgers. Let’s end this miserable road trip on a winning streak!
