Smith’s late inning heroics lead Dodgers to 4-game sweep

LOS ANGELES – Big Willie Style, indeed. First with his bat and then with his arm, Will Smith came up big in the late innings at Dodger Stadium Thursday night. His solo home run in the 7th inning gave the Dodgers the lead, and he gunned down speedy Tim Locastro trying to steal in the eighth to preserve the victory. By a score of 3-2, the Dodgers won the game, and finished this very good home stand with an 8-1 record.

Price starts bullpen game

With no Dustin May, it was yet another bullpen day for the Dodgers pitchers. But once again, it went pretty well all things considered. David Price was the first of seven pitchers on the night. He was making his first start since 2019, after sitting out last season because of Covid concerns and starting 2021 in the bullpen. He pitched two scoreless innings, working around doubles in both the first and the second. All in all, a good showing for a guy who just got off the IL.

Pujols goes yard for the first time in blue

The Dodgers got on the board first on Thursday, in a very familiar way. Well, familiar for the hitter anyway. Like he’s done only about 2,000 times before, Albert Pujols drove in some runs. This time it was Pujols’s first home run in Dodger Blue. After a Will Smith single and a Chris Taylor K, the Machine went oppo taco on D’backs starter Merrill Kelly. The ball just cleared the right field fence for a two-run shot, and the Dodgers were quickly out in front. This is the third straight game that the Angels cast-off has driven in a run for the Dodgers. Plus, Anaheim is still picking up most of the tab on the big man’s salary. Not a bad deal at all so far.

Nelson sharp in another outing

Jimmy Nelson was the first to relieve David Price in the top of the third. His stuff bordered on dominant tonight, as he blew through his portion of the Arizona line up. He struck out the side in the third, and got a flyout and two more K’s in the fourth. The Alabama righty continues to look sharp, and even cleaned up a lot of his wildness that had seen him give up too many walks earlier in the year.

D’backs tie it up on Escobar homer

After five innings of solid bullpenning, it looked like the Dodgers might shut down the D’backs all night. However, Eduardo Escobar had different ideas about that. He came up in the top of the sixth against Joe Kelly with a man on second and two outs. And, like he’s done most of the series he came through for Arizona. He walloped a 1-2 pitch over the center field fence to tie the game at two. Some sloppy defense from the Dodgers allowed the Snakes to put men on first and third again after the homer, but Victor Gonzalez struck out Domingo Leyva to wriggle out of the jam.

Smith goes deep to put the Dodgers back in the lead

In the top of the seventh, the D’backs manager Torey Lovello let Merrill Kelly hit for himself so he could pitch the bottom of the inning. He struck out in the inning, and then made Lovello immediately regret the decision in bottom of the inning. Dodgers catcher Will Smith yanked Kelly’s first pitch of the inning to deep left field. It landed ten rows back in the outfield seats, and just like that, the Dodgers were back on top, 3-2.

Don’t challenge the Fresh Prince…

Blake Treinan came on in the eighth and looked sharp at first. But after two quick outs, Eduardo Escobar, who is really in a zone right now, ripped a single to center. He was quickly lifted for pinch runner Tim Locastro, who is the fastest baserunner in the big leagues, and has only been caught stealing once.

Until tonight. On a 1-1 pinch, Locastro took off, but Smith put an absolute dime to Gavin Lux to nab the runner. It was a thing of beauty. On to the ninth…. In the final inning, the Dodgers left a couple of runners in scoring position, so they went into the bottom of the ninth with just the one run advantage.

Dodgers have to call on Jansen

One of the downsides of a bullpen game is by the end of the night, the bullpen can get pretty empty. So, in the bottom of the ninth, Dave Roberts had no choice but to go back to Kenley Jansen for the third time in this four game series. When he is used on consecutive nights, Jansen’s ERA balloons to over 4.50, so using him in this tight spot was, to say the least, sub-optimal.

However, Jansen came through again. He nailed down yet another save, putting the D’backs down in order. The strikeout of Nick Ahmed sealed the deal, and was more evidence of a re-born Kenley Jansen. Not sure how long it will last, but while it is happening, it is sweet to watch.

On to San Francisco

Okay. The Dodgers, after a rough patch, are hot. The Giants have the best record in baseball. Something’s got to give. Like with the Padres, the Dodgers will face the Giants seven times in the next ten days with a two-gamer in Houston sandwiched in the middle. It’s a huge opportunity to make a move in the standings. Trevor Bauer is the first Dodger out of the chute on Friday night. To quote Gavin Lux a few days ago…. Let’s f’n go!