Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — This bullpen. Bless their hearts. They want to make sure that Dodger fans maximize their entertainment dollar. On Wednesday night against Pirates, they managed to get into two (count ’em, two!) bases-loaded, nobody-out jams in the late innings, and somehow, through mirrors and sorcery perhaps, managed to wriggle off the hook in both of them. These escape acts preserved the Dodgers’ lead and gave the Boys in Blue a 6-4 win over Pittsburgh in the third game of this four-gamer at the Ravine.
Before we get to the magic tricks performed by the pen, a quick summary of how we got there in the first place would be in order. Bobby Miller got the start and though he quickly fell behind 4-0 because of Jack Suwinski three-run dinger in the top of the fourth, he hung in there and gave the team some needed length. He almost made it through six, requiring the pen to record only the last out of the inning. And he hung around long enough for the Dodgers to put up their big comeback. His final line for the night: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
“If you give up three or four runs, you’re always going to have a chance with this team,” Miller said after the game. “I would like to do better, but you just have to build off that.”
The Dodger bats got in gear in the bottom of the fourth. A Jason Heyward sac fly and a Miguel Rojas single plated a couple of runs in that frame to narrow the gap to 4-2, but the real fireworks came in the bottom of the next inning. J.D. Martinez hit a three-run shot to put the Dodgers out in front, and David Peralta went back-to-back with Martinez for a pole-hugging solo shot that gave the Dodgers’ their final margin of victory.
“It’s been really impressive,” manager Dave Roberts said of the offense. “I think if you look at our lineup, it’s been very top-heavy. But as of late, the guys from six through nine, namely David and Jason [Heyward], have really picked us up.”
But this being the 2023 Dodgers, we know they couldn’t just coast to victory in this one. Things just had to get interesting. And boy did they. In the top of the seventh, Phil Bickford loaded up the bases on a single and a couple of walks. Enter the first magician of the night, Ryan Brasier. The former Red Sox, who has looked good in his brief tenure with the team, went right to work against perhaps the best hitter in the Pirate lineup, inducing a lineout to short from Bryan Reynolds. He got a second weak liner to Mookie Betts at second base, and then retired Carlos Santana on a weak pop-up in the infield that was corralled by Max Muncy. Inning over. No runs scored. Ta-daaa!
Magic trick number two was in the top of the 9th. Daniel Hudson came in for the inning, trying to notch his first save in over a year. And right away, he made it interesting. Conor Joe hit a lead-off double to put the tying run at the plate, and then a couple of walks loaded them up again. And we were off to the races. Hudson first got rookie Henry Davis looking and then got Carlos Santana to fly out of shallow left to record the second out.
The Pirates wisely held Joe at third, not wanting to make the final out of the game at home. That brought up Jack Suwinski and his Dodger-killing bat. Hudson battled some wildness, but worked the count to full. Then the wily veteran took advantage of Suwinski’s aggressiveness. He buried a pitch in the dirt, and Suwunski tried to check his swing, but just couldn’t quite hold up. It was a swinging strike three, and the game was over. Ta-daaa!
“I would like to have [had] it been a little easier than that,” Hudson said with a smile. “But hey, we got a ‘W.’ It is what it is.”
The final game of the season series with the Pirates is on Thursday night. Julio Urias will get another crack at it after a disappointing return to the mound last weekend. He locks horns with righty Johan Oviedo, who has had his moments this year, but overall has been on the wrong side of a bunch of Pittsburgh losses, posting a 3-9 record with a 4.61 ERA. 7:10 first pitch. Let’s get this series win!
