Historic first inning powers Dodgers to series win

LOS ANGELES – Walker Buehler knew that he would get up in Wednesday’s game. He just didn’t expect to get to bat with no outs in the first inning. But that is exactly what happened. After the St. Louis Cardinals took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Dodgers responded with ELEVEN runs in the bottom of the inning, and by the time Buehler headed back to the mound in the top of the second, the Dodgers had sent twelve men to the plate. After that historic inning, Buehler and the Dodgers cruised the rest of the way home to an easy 14-3 victory.

Betts bloop starts the rout

It certainly didn’t look to be a Dodgers blowout on paper. The Cardinals sent two-time All Star Carlos Martinez to the bump on Wednesday night for the 6:10 getaway day start. Martinez was coming off a strong start last week in Arizona, where he went six no-hit innings before running out of gas against the Diamondbacks. But the Dodgers were downright rude to Mr. Martinez, knocking the ball all over the yard in the first inning.

The explosion started with a Mookie Betts bloop double to right field that hit just fair and bounced against the protective netting. After absolutely pasting a ball on Tuesday for a hard-luck final out of the game, Betts must have appreciated the irony of getting a cheap hit in his very next at bat.

The hits keep coming

There weren’t many other cheap hits in the rest of the inning. After a Max Muncy walk, Justin Turner sharply singled the first run home. Cody Bellinger barreled up another single to score two. Then, after a Chris Taylor walk, Gavin Lux joined the hit party with an RBI single off the center field fence. It was 4-1 and the Dodgers were just getting started.

Zach McKinstry then came through with his first hit since returning from the IL, a two-run single through the infield. Austin Barnes then walked, and up came the aforementioned Walker Buehler, who was so happy to be staked to a 6-1 lead at that point that he couldn’t get down a sac bunt. Finally, nine hitters into the inning, the first out had been recorded.

Season’s first Belli bomb is a grand slam

But there were still more fireworks left for the second time around the batting order. Mookie Betts got his second hit of the inning with a run-scoring single to left. After a Max Muncy flyout, Justin Turner walked and the bases were loaded with Dodgers. Martinez was lifted for Jake Woodford for Cody Bellinger’s second AB of the day.

Bellinger got ahead of the new pitcher 3-0, and just sat fastball for the next pitch. Woodford was kind enough to comply, and Bellinger made him pay dearly. He mashed the middle-in four seam fastball deep to right. Like his first almost home run on opening day, this one went right to the wall. However, unlike opening day, this one went over the fence and the runners kept going in the right direction. It was a grand slam, and the Dodgers were up 11-0.

It was the most runs that the Dodgers had scored in the first inning of a ball game since 1952. As for Cody Bellinger, he set a franchise record with 6 RBI in one inning. Not a bad way to commemorate his first week back in the lineup.

Walker Buehler joins the hit party

Though the outcome was never in doubt after the first inning, the Dodgers decided to add a few more runs to the tally in the fourth. The ever-competitive Walker Buehler decided to help his cause with a two-run double to right. And just for laughs, Mookie Betts wrapped up the evening run-total with his third hit of the night, an RBI single to right. Buehler gave up a couple more runs on the night before letting the bullpen clean up the slop, but his performance was more than enough to secure his fourth win of the season. His line for the night: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 8K.

Soft Schedule in early June favors Dodgers

But the story tonight was the offense. When you hit 8-for-14 with RISP, you’re gonna win a lot of games. More of this please. The Dodgers are off on Thursday, and then they head to Atlanta to begin a road trip. Their next fifteen games are all against teams with losing records, so there is a real opportunity to go on a nice little run here before we get to round three against the Padres on June 21. The next game on the schedule is against the suddenly scuffling Braves on Friday night. Julio Urias figures to get the ball. 4:15 PDT start.