Cody Snavely
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. — The Dodgers offense, led by the impressive performance of left-handed pitcher James Paxton, came alive late and secured the series-opening win in Minneapolis.
Now, in a bid for the series win, the Dodgers are deploying the fiery Tyler Glasnow, aiming for his third win of the season. The Twins, on the other hand, are countering with Louie Varland, the brother of Dodgers prospect Gus Varland.
The Dodgers launched the game with a leadoff walk to Mookie Betts, a player who, prior to today’s game, was a close second in the league in hits, just behind Ohtani with 18. However, the excitement was short-lived as an Ohtani strikeout and a Freddie Freeman double play brought the Dodgers’ inning to an abrupt end.
The Dodgers continued to put men on base with a one-out walk by Max Muncy and a two-out single by James Outman, bringing up Chris Taylor, who really wanted to get going. However, he’d ground softly to the third, ending at the top of the second.
Glasnow kept pace with Varland, blowing by the Twins batters and collecting three strikeouts so far. Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out double in the top of the third inning, bringing up Freddie Freeman, who worked a full count but ultimately struck out as Varland got through another inning unscathed.
The Twins would collect their first hit of the night on a line drive hit to center fielder James Outman, who made his best Byron Buxton impression. However, he came up just short of a highlight play. It was the first hit of Austin Martin‘s career, but Glasnow would leave the young speedster stranded at second.
The Dodgers would mount another threat in the top of the fourth inning after a single by Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández. This set the stage for James Outman, who continued his power surge, smashing a three-run bomb to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead, a game-changing moment.
The three-run homer party wouldn’t stop there. In the top of the fifth inning, Will Smith would add a three-run blast of his own, extending the Dodgers’ lead to six.
However, the biggest story of the night is what Tyler Glasnow did, pitching arguably his best start in Dodgers Blue thus far. The righty, who has been plagued with arm injuries throughout his career, pitched seven innings, tying his career high in strikeouts with 14 while only allowing three hits.
Glasnow has lowered his season ERA to 2.25 in 24 innings pitched this year, allowing only 11 hits and striking out 29. The Dodgers bullpen held it down but allowed multiple solo home runs while newly acquired relief option Connor Brogdon was greeted by the Twins with back-to-back no-doubt shots.
The Dodgers hang on in this one, winning 6-3, and will go for the series sweep tomorrow as Bobby Miller looks to rebound after a disastrous start in Wrigley.
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