Steve Webb
CHICAGO, IL — Hey, that number 50 at shortstop looks like a keeper! Mookie Betts made his first ever start at short on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley and responded in the best way possible: perfect in the field (including the game-ending double play), 2-for-4 at the dish with one homer, a double, and four RBI. It all added up to a convincing 7-3 win over the Northsiders and 3-1 tally in the weekend series. And for the first time in a hot minute, the Dodgers have won two straight games. Pretty good day all around, I’d say.
At first, it didn’t look that great. A Max Muncy error and a sloppy throw from James Outman gifted the Cubs a couple of unearned runs off Clayton Kershaw in the top of the first. So early in the game, the Dodgers found themselves in a 0-2 hole against a guy in Marcus Stroman who has only given up two run all season. A daunting task indeed.
But it was a challenge that the Dodgers were more than up for. In the top of the 3rd, after Austin Barnes got his second base knock of the season, Mookie Betts, big-league shortstop, stepped up to the plate. After Mookie got ahead 1-0, Marcus Stroman threw a middle-in sinker that Mookie was able to get the bat head around on. BOOM! Two-run homer and a tie ball game.
But the Dodgers weren’t done hitting dingers on the day. After Kershaw gave up the lead with a solo shot from Yan Gomes in the bottom of the 5th, the Dodgers came right back with a crooked number in the top of the 6th. After Freddie Freeman worked a walk off Stroman to lead off the inning, up came the hottest hitter on the planet, Mr. Max Muncy. Max got into an 0-2 hole to Stroman but got back in the count with a couple of good takes on balls out of the zone. Then, Stroman tried to sneak a slider past Muncy, but Max would have none of it. He bashed the pitch off the scoreboard for his 11th round tripper of the season, putting him, for now anyway, ahead of Pete Alonso on the MLB leaderboard.
Because home run hitting looked like such fun, J.D. Martinez got in on the act two pitches later, smashing a slurve out to the deepest part of the park in center for a solo shot. With a comfy four-run cushion, Kershaw went just one more inning on this cold afternoon, coming out after 90 pitches and giving up just the one earned run. Justin Bruihl and Brusdar Graterol would throw three scoreless frames to finish up the ball game.
But before that last out, Mookie was at it again. After Miguel Vargas singled and Austin Barnes walked in the top of the 9th, there were a couple of ducks on the pond for Betts’s final at-bat of the day. And he came up with another big hit, this one a double into the left field corner that cleared the bases.
Now up 7-3, it was up to Graterol to finish the day. Things got a little dicey, though, when a couple of singles and a catcher’s interference call on Barnes loaded up the bases with just one out. However, not to fear. Mookie’s here. Nick Madrigal bounced a ball Mookie’s way to short, and Betts started a pretty 6-4-3 double play to end the game with no runs across for the Cubbies.
Cans of corn..
- Nice catch from J-Hey in right in this one. Who needs Mookie out there?
- Clayton didn’t get any help from the defense in the first, but he came through the rest of the game.
- The fact that Kershaw’s lifetime WHIP after sixteen years is a tidy 1.00000 is just ridiculous. He’s now in 4th place all-time. The only guy you’ve heard of ahead of him is Jacob deGrom, who’s in 2nd place, just a razor’s width ahead of Kersh.
- Outman watch: only a double today. What’s wrong with the guy?
- Justin Fruihl’s ERA is still a perfect 0.00 in his four outings.
- A day off on Monday in Pittsburgh, and then a three-game set with Andrew McCutcheon and the suddenly resurgent Pirates. Tuesday’s game will feature Noah Syndergaard vs. righty Johan Oviedo. First pitch 3:40 LA time.
- Good series overall. Hopefully, the further we get from that Smyly thing, the less important it will become. In fact, I’ve already forgotten all about it.
