Adrian Medina
Game 79, 6/22/2024: Dodgers 7, Angels 2
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — What a great evening for Dodgers baseball! For starters, the team debuted its second set of City Connect jerseys and I know everyone had mixed feelings about these when they were announced some time ago, but they weren’t as much of an eyesore as people predicted them to be. But looking even better than the new unifoms was the Dodgers’ offense, which was alive and well on Saturday. Led by another monstrous homer from Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow‘s dominant performance on the mound, the Dodgers managed to split this Freeway Series against the Angels, winning on Saturday by a score of 7-2.
Glasnow, the “Baby Giraffe,” was shoving in his start from the first pitch. He was effective pitch count-wise too as he only needed 74 pitches to plow through the Halos for seven innings and was quick to put hitters in two-strike counts. His final line was as his final line was: 7.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K. Those two runs came from an RBI groundout hit by Willie Calhoun to score an unearned run in the fourth and a Logan O’Hoppe solo shot in the seventh. Other than that, nada. With an ERA now at a shimmering 2.88 and an MLB-leading 135 punch-outs, Glasnow continues to cement himself in as the true ace on this staff.
After a scoreless first inning, Andy Pages almost set the fireworks off early in the second as he connected with a 2-1 fastball inside that looked promising enough to go over the left field wall, but Taylor Ward leaped up and made an excellent catch to bring it back in for a loud out number two. Don’t worry though, the Dodgers would truly kick it into third gear in the third.
After Glasnow made quick work of the Angels in the top of third, the bottom of the third began with a home run from the unlikeliest of sources: struggling second baseman Gavin Lux. After battling Angels starter Zach Plesac for eight pitches, Luxy absolutely connected on the ninth, a fastball on the inner half. It had to have felt good to round the bases on this one; Lux hadn’t hit a home run in nearly six weeks, and his swing on this one was just perfect; it was as good an at-bat as he’s had all year. More of this, please.
The Dodgers were just getting started in the inning. Cavan Biggio would follow up Lux’s blast with a bunt single to set up Shohei Ohtani with a man on and do I even need to type out what he did? Yeah, he hit the ball 459 feet to the right field pavilion to put the Dodgers up early 3-0. This after going 455 on Friday night. Two straight nights hitting a 450+ foot home run at Dodger Stadium. Nobody else in the Statcast era (since 2015) has even hit multiple 450+ foot home runs at Dodger Stadium. Like, ever. And now Shohei does it back-to-back. Against his old team, no less. Otherworldly.
After a Will Smith pop-out, Freddie Freeman would get his chops in as he hit a double, after which Andy Pages smacked one of his own, a ground-rule double to score Freddie and cap off the four spot in the innning.
The Dodgers offense continued to roll in the middle innings, In the fourth, the team showcased its discipline at the plate and ability to take unselfish at-bats. A pair of singles by Miguel Rojas and Cavan Biggio got the rally started, followed by an Ohtani walk that loaded up the bases with one out. Will Smith walked on a 3-2 changeup down in the dirt to push across one run, and Freddie Freeman hit a sacrifice fly for another to give LA their fifth and sixth run of the ballgame.
In the fifth, the Dodgers kept pouring it on, this time with a little two-out rally. Miguel Rojas delivered his second extra-base hit of the night with a double to put himself in scoring position for Lux, who ripped a single to the opposite field for his second hit and second RBI of the night.
Glasnow exited the game after seven brilliant innings, and for once he got some run support. The Dodgers’ seven runs in this one marked one of the highest outputs on behalf of Glasnow on the year. Before tonight, the last time Tyler Glasnow received at least four runs of support during his start was May 4.
Alex Vesia and newcomer Michael Peterson shut the door on the Halos for the final six outs to split the series. Now officially 1-0 playing in the new City Connect unis and 48-31 overall, the Dodgers will have a rare Sunday off day and will pick up play on Monday at 5:10 PM PT as they travel to the Southside of Chicago to play the ever-so-struggling Chicago White Sox for three games. Have yourselves a great night’s rest Dodgers fans and a well-deserved off day tomorrow!
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