Dodgers survive ninth to win series finale with Rangers

LOS ANGELES – Whew! That was a little more intense than I’d care for, to be quite honest. What looked like a solid, business-like shut-out of the Texas Rangers took a wild turn in the top of the ninth. A 5-0 lead was cut to 5-3 with nobody out and it took an epic save from Kenley Jansen to preserve the Dodgers win with three straight outs with the bases loaded. The win gave the Dodgers a series win over the Rangers, but it was much closer than anyone had expected.

Buehler struggles with control early

In the top of the first, it looked like starter Walker Buehler might be in for a very short day. The Dodgers righty was having a very hard time finding the plate in the opening frame, and managed to walk the bases loaded with two outs. But on his 33rd pitch of the inning, Buehler was able to induce a grounder to the left side from second baseman Nick Solak to slip out of the jam.

Dodgers don’t waste time getting on the board

In the bottom of the first, the Dodgers got right to work. Mookie Betts led off with a walk and then Gavin Lux absolutely pulverized a ball to left center. At 109 mph, it was Lux’s second hardest hit ball of the year, and it got to the wall in a big hurry. Rangers center fielder Adolis Garcia couldn’t come up with the ball cleanly and by the time he did, Betts had scampered home from first to score the Dodgers’ first run.

Betts goes deep. Then, a Zach attack.

The Dodgers continued to tack on throughout the game. In the bottom of the third, Mookie Betts led off with a nice oppo taco over the right field fence. He turned around a 3-2 sinker that didn’t sink much from starter Dane Dunning on the outer half of the plate. The homer was good for a couple of reasons. First, it extended the Dodgers’ lead, but more importantly, it was a case of Betts handling an outside pitch, something he’s been struggling with so far this year.

After a sun-aided bloop single from Gavin Lux and another one-bagger from Chris Taylor, the Dodgers got some two-out clutch from Zach McKinstry. McKinstry, starting to show signs of his early season form, ripped a solid double into the gap that scored both Lux and Taylor. The three-spot in the inning made it 4-0 Dodgers.

You can’t spell Walker without a “W”

With Buehler on the mound, it seemed like that would be all that would be needed on Sunday afternoon. After the shaky first inning, Buehler settled down and started being much more efficient with his pitches. In the end, he went six scoreless innings, scattering five hits, and not walking another Ranger after that first inning. It was his second straight scoreless outing, and Buehler’s ERA now sits at a filthy 2.38.

Bullpen was great. Until it wasn’t.

Manager Dave Roberts went with Blake Treinen and Victor Gonzalez in the seventh and eighth, and they were perfect. But when Matt Beaty drove in fifth Dodger run with a line-drive single in the bottom of the seventh, Roberts took his foot off the gas pedal a bit, and went with Phil Bickford to clean up things in the ninth.

Bickford, who has been good at moments this year, was roughed up pretty badly by the bottom half of the Rangers batting order. He gave up a double, a walk, a single, and another single in rapid succession, and suddenly it was 5-2 with no outs. Roberts had seen enough. He got Kenley Jansen heated up and into the game in short order.

Jansen saves the game. Barely.

Maybe it was the quick call to the pen, or maybe it was a little rustiness after a couple of days of inaction, but Jansen got shelled pretty good himself at first. Willie Calhoun ripped the first pitch Jansen threw into right field for another run scoring single. Okay, no biggie. The tying run was on base and coming up was Adolis Garcia and his 16 homers, followed by Joey Gallo, who can hit the ball halfway to Vegas. And there was still nobody out. Eek!

He got two strikes on Garcia, but lost him to a single that loaded the bases. It was time for Jansen to bear down. Gallo and his massive biceps stepped to the plate. He got ahead 0-1 and then got a sky-high pop-up in foul territory that Chris Taylor was able to squeeze for the first out. Then, Nate Lowe did the same thing on the left side of the diamond. Two outs. Bases loaded. Dodgers still up by two.

Up came Nick Solak, no doubt eager to make amends for his strikeout in the first that left the bases loaded. And he battled Jansen hard. Fouling off pitch after pitch, the scrappy Solak wouldn’t give in to Kenley, even when the big man was hitting 96 on the gun. Finally, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, Jansen got Solack to ground to the right side. It wasn’t an easy play for second baseman Chris Taylor, but his throw to first just beat the speedy Solack to the bag. Game over. Cue Randy Newman. Everybody can breathe again.

Phillies in on Monday

It was much closer than it needed to be, but it was a win. Now, Bryce Harper and the suddenly-hot Phillies come into Dodger Stadium for a three-gamer. Tony Gonsolin gets his second start of the year on Monday night. Then, on Tuesday, it will be back to unrestricted seating at the ol’ ball yard for the first time since October 2019. Re-opening Day! Let’s Go, Dodgers!