Steve Webb
WASHINGTON, DC — Mama, there goes that man! Mookie Betts continues to be a one-man wrecking crew in May, piling up numbers at an unworldly rate. In this middle piece of a three-game set with the Nationals, Betts went big fly twice and had four RBI, leading the Dodgers to comfortable 9-4 win over the Nats in the nation’s capital.
Dodgers put up runs early
The Dodgers got right to work in this one, scoring in the very first inning. As has been the case so often lately, the top of the lineup did most of the damage. Mookie Betts led off with a deep fly to center that was caught on the warning track, a harbinger of things to come later in the ballgame. Freddie Freeman drew a walk, and then, the Dodgers got their first big moment of the night: a two-run opposite field homer off the bat of Trea Turner. It looked like the Dodgers were off and running.
Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?
If it weren’t for the Dodgers’ offensive fireworks, the lede of every Dodger blog would be “what’s wrong with Walker?”. Though he would eventually settle down and get into a groove, Walker Buehler got knocked around pretty good in the early going, giving up three runs (two earned) in the bottom of the first on quite a bit of hard contact. This is the third straight start that Walker Buehler has seemed a bit off in the early going. It wasn’t horrible when all was said and done, but six hits and two walks over six innings is enough to make one wonder if there isn’t something mechanical that needs fixing, at least at the beginning of games. You can’t spot good teams three runs every time and expect to win. Buehler’s final line on the evening: 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 K.
Mookie takes over
With Buehler’s shaky start, the Dodgers found themselves in a 3-2 hole after the first inning. Which is about the time Mookie Betts said, “Enough of this foolishness.” Betts hit home runs in his next two at-bats, and the Dodgers never looked back. In the top of the 2nd, Betts took starter (and ex-Dodger farmhand) Josiah Gray deep to left for a three-run jack that put the Dodgers up 5-3.
Then, after a two-run shot from Chris Taylor in the third made it 7-2, Betts struck again in the top of the fourth, hitting a solo shot for his team-leading twelfth home run of the year. For good measure Betts ripped a single in the sixth, which was part of a rally that pushed another run across on an RBI walk from Max Muncy. So yeah, it was a pretty good day at work for the Mook. That brings his slash line for the last seven games up to .407/.529/1.000. Mercy me!
Dodgers coast across finish line, look to sweep on Wednesday afternoon
David Price and Brusdar Graterol combined for the the last three innings in this one; Price got knocked around a bit, and Graterol gave up a couple of walks, but it hardly mattered at that point. The Dodgers were way out in front and the relief pitching was plenty good enough to bring this ship into port. The Dodgers try to get out the brooms in a day game on Wednesday before flying to Arizona to finish up the road trip. In this final day in Washington, it will be Julio Urias against righty Erick Fedde. Hopefully, there will be no booted ground balls in this one.
Cans of Corn…
- The Betts/Freeman/Turner thing at the top of the lineup is finally working as we all thought it would.
- Former Dodger Josiah Gray looked okay for the Nats tonight, but he also looked like he’s still not quite a big-league pitcher.
- The Dodgers need to get some wins this week, because things get a lot harder, schedule-wise in June.
