Steve Webb
PHOENIX, AZ — Sometimes, you score runs in buckets. Sometimes, your pitching staff just has to man up and put up zeros. This game was one of the latter. The Dodgers got three runs early on Saturday at Chase Field, but needed Tony Gonsolin et al to keep the Diamondbacks at bay. They did just that, and the Dodgers walked off the field 3-2 winners.
Mookie being Mookie
Have we mentioned that Mookie Betts is hot right now? No difference on Saturday night. Against D-backs starter Merrill Kelly, Betts went opp taco on the second pitch of the ballgame. He blasted an 0-1 four-seamer over the right field fence to put the Dodgers up 1-0. Betts now leads the National League in round-trippers with 14.
Two triples equals two runs for the Snakes
The lead was short-lived, however. In the bottom of the second inning, starter Tony Gonsolin had his one hiccup of his outing. With one out, David Peralta was able to squirt a single through the right side of the infield to start the D-backs on the comeback trail.
On paper, it looked like Gonsolin was facing the soft part of the Arizona batting order. But they didn’t look it on the field. Rookie Jake McCarthy tripled to the gap to score Peralta and tie the game. Then, after an Alek Smith strikeout, Geraldo Perdomo hit a triple of his own in almost the exact same spot in right center. And just like that, the Dodgers found themselves down a run.
Dodgers play small ball to take the lead
The fifth inning was the key frame for the offense in this one. Gavin Lux led off with a solid single, and he took second on a Mookie Betts ground out. This set up the key sequence of the game. Freddie Freeman missed a go-ahead home run by about two feet when his blast to right sailed wide of the foul pole. But then, he dug in and worked a walk from Kelly.
With the go-ahead run now on base, Trea Turner dug in with an RBI chance. And as he has done so many times before, he came through in the clutch. It wasn’t much of a hit this time, just a little hump-backer over the infield, but it was enough to score Lux from second and tie the score. And, in a little piece of smart baseball, Freeman went to third on the play when the ball sort of died on the outfield grass.
That extra base would come in handy just a few pitches later when Will Smith hit a lineout to Jake McCarthy in right. McCarthy had to dive to make the catch, so Freeman was able to score on the play. The Dodgers were up 3-2, and there the score would stay for the rest of the night.
Gonsolin sharp, gets the W
Meanwhile, Tony Gonsolin brought the good stuff to Chase Field. For the third straight start, he got through six innings, the definition these days of a “quality start”. Other than the two triples in the second, he really had the D-backs guessing most of the night. Once again, he was attacking the zone, getting ahead, and getting relatively easy outs on most of the Arizona hitters. He left the game with a 3-2 lead and an impressive stat line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K.
Pen brings it home
After Gonsolin’s solid start, it only took three innings of zeroes to bring home the win. Working with no margin for error, Justin Bruihl, Alex Vesia, and Daniel Hudson were near perfect in relief. Bruihl pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Alex Vesia walked a man, but got two strikeouts to retire the side in the eighth.
Finally, Daniel Hudson (not Craig Kimbrel) came on to pitch the ninth. It didn’t start out that great. Ketel Marte smacked a double to the alley in left center to lead off the inning. Sub-optimal. However, Hudson got busy after that. He got a ground ball out to the left side from slugger Christian Walker that froze Marte at second. Then, he played some good ol’ country hardball with the next two hitters. He struck out David Peralta and Jake McCarthy to secure the win, notching his third save of the season.
Very good road trip ends on Sunday
Now 7-2 on this road trip, the Dodgers will go for the series sweep on Sunday before they return to the City of Angels. Tyler Anderson gets the ball in the finale, locking horns with Zach Davies. Game time will be 1:10 pm PDT. Let’s go, boys. Get out them brooms!
Cans of Corn…
- Gotta start with some JT love tonight… he was 4-for-4 with a double.
- Trea’s hitting streak is now an even 20 games
- The Mookie leadoff homer was the 32nd of his career.
- The team made four outs on the bases: two pickoffs, one caught-stealing, and kind of a bogus call when Gavin Lux left the bag for a millisecond when he slid into third base on a tag-up.
- Lots of roster moves on Saturday: Kevin Pillar called up for the first time this year. Tommy Kahnle moved to the 60-day IL. Michael Grove called up to the team. Ryan Pepiot back to OKC.
- And, perhaps most importantly, Max Muncy goes to the 10-day IL to deal with the elbow that’s been acting up.
- Hopefully, Munce can use the time off to reboot his season.
