Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Who needs Justin Verlander anyhow? The Dodgers continued to pile it on against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, using their neighbors to the north as a convenient punching bag to take out their frustrations on. After two straight series losses at home, the Dodgers wasted no time securing the win this three gamer against the A’s, bashing four home runs on the way to winning in convincing fashion 10-1.
This game was over almost as soon as it started. Starter Tony Gonsolin faced the minimum in the top of the first, and then his hitters went to work in a big way. Mookie Betts led off with a double that glanced off the glove of J.J. Bleday in centerfield. Freddie Freeman drove him home with a single on the next pitch and the Dodgers were off to the races. They scratched across a couple more in the first on some infield hits, but it was the second inning that really provided the Dodgers the separation they needed in this one.
The Dodgers put up another crooked number in the second with a blistering assault on A’s lefty starter Hogan Harris. After Miguel Rojas lined out for the first out of the inning, the Dodgers just teed off. Mookie Betts homered to deep left. Freddie Freeman and Will Smith hit back-to-back doubles to score another run. Then, new Dodger Amed Rosario drilled a two-run home run to basically put the game on ice for the home squad. It was Rosario’s first homer for his new team.
“Being surrounded by superstars, it makes you feel good,” Rosario said after the game. “It makes me work harder, because I want to be like them in the future.”
Miguel Rojas got in on the fun with his first homer of the year in the fourth, and Jason Heyward annihilated a ball in the sixth for another solo shot. Finally, James Outman doubled in the seventh and scored on a Kiké Hernandez single. In all, it was a 13-hit attack. Nice to see after the Blue Jays and Reds effectively shut them down earlier in the homestand.
“I think the first two games [in this series], we’ve shown the ability to control the strike zone, stress the starter, get deep into their ‘pen,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I think that’s a sign of a very good ballclub.”
With the two wins over the A’s, the Dodgers are now in a position to go 5-4 on the homestand. They wrap things up with the Athletics on Thursday night, and then it’s down south to San Diego for a crucial series against the Padres, who are “going for it” even though they are still under .500. It would be nice to disabuse them of those notions.
