Steve Webb
ARLINGTON, TX — The Dodgers’ train is rolling. You best get out of the way or you’ll get crushed. The Texas Rangers chose the latter option on Saturday, becoming the latest victim of the Dodgers’ relentless attack at the plate. The Boys in Blue put up a season-high 16 runs on an 18-hit performance, pummeling the Rangers by a score of 16-3.
Believe it or not, this game started well for the Rangers. Marcus Semien blasted the second pitch of the ballgame from Dodgers starter Bobby Miller into the seats in left field for a leadoff homer and a 1-0 Rangers lead. And that was about the last thing the Texas faithful had to cheer for in this one.
After that first inning, the Dodgers’ bats simply pulverized pitches, giving Texas starter Dane Dunning the worst start of his season. They got three runs in the top of the second, thanks to RBI hits from David Peralta and James Outman, and never looked back. Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy homered in the next inning to make it a 5-1 ballgame, and in the very next inning, Freeman went yard again, drilling a knuckle curve from reliever Glenn Otto over the right field fence for a two-run homer. A couple of hitters later, J.D. Martinez hit a three-run shot of his own and the rout was officially on.
With a 10-1 lead and the outcome of the game no longer in doubt, the only question was how far manager Dave Roberts wanted to stretch Bobby Miller out. It turned out everybody was pretty happy stopping at six innings. Miller gave up a couple of runs in the fifth on a Nathaniel Lowe triple, but other than that, it was another solid outing from the rookie righthander. His line for the afternoon: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. Yency Almonte and Phil Bickford finished up in garbage time, but both had scoreless outings to continue the nice little run that the bullpen has been on of late.
But the story of the day was the offense. After the first ten runs, the Dodgers tacked on another six runs in the late innings against utility man Brad Miller. The highlight, if you want to call it that against a position player pitching, was Jonny DeLuca’s three-run blast in the top of the ninth that finished off the scoring for the Dodgers on what was their biggest offensive day of the season so far. And it was the fifth time in the last ten games that the Big Blue Wrecking Crew has scored more than ten runs. I think it’s safe to say that the Dodgers’ offense is “rolling” right now.
With his two homer-day, Freddie Freeman notched his 20th dinger of the season, and with that, he entered the history books. According to OptaSTATS, Freeman became the first player in AL/NL history with 20-plus homers, 35-plus doubles, 125-plus hits, 10-plus steals and 40-plus walks before Aug. 1.
“I just feel like I’m not missing the pitches I should be hitting,” Freeman said. “I think we’re all gonna go through courses throughout the season where we foul off pitches and stuff like that, but … right now, I’m hitting the pitches I’m supposed to hit.”
“He’s already obviously an elite player, one of the best hitters in the game,” Roberts said. “ … So when he’s on one of these heaters, man, you just kind of sit back and enjoy.”
Enjoy we did.
The Dodgers go for that elusive road sweep one more time on Sunday afternoon, with a finale featuring yet another of the team’s arsenal of young arms. This time, it’s Emmet Sheehan, who takes the mound against the Rangers’ veteran lefty Martin Perez. Then it’s back home for the Toronto Blue Jays and surprising Cincinnati Reds in six more games against playoff contenders. Sounds like some more good baseball. Sunday’s finale is an 11:35 am PDT first pitch from Globe Life Field.
