Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — One little booted double play ball. That’s all it took. It gave the Dodgers an opening that they then drove a Mack truck through. In the wake of infielder C.J. Abrams’s error in the bottom of the 5th, the Dodgers scored SIX big runs, all the scoring in the game it turned out, en route to a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
The big hits in the inning were a two-run double from Freddie Freeman, and a three run bomb off the bat of J.D. Martinez, who are turning out to be the team’s most reliable performers at the plate.
But Freddie Freeman coming up clutch and J.D. going yard was not the big story on Monday night. The big story was the Dodger Stadium debut of rookie Bobby Miller. And what a debut it was.
After pitching solid in Atlanta, Miller upped his game on Monday night at the Ravine. He threw that triple-digit gas to be sure, but he had command of his secondary pitches as well. Other than a lone run in the top of the first, the young right hander kept the Nats at bay, surrendering just four hits over six innings of work. Miller’s line for the game: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. His ERA over his first two starts is at 1.64. Thank you, sir, may I have another?
“It’s a dream come true, honestly,” Miller said after the game. “It’s a very aggressive lineup. I knew the team was going to have my back. The guys have been swinging the bat very well, so it’s very special.”
“When he’s on the mound, he’s a bulldog out there, you can tell,” Freddie Freeman said of his young teammate. “He has a plan with what he’s doing out there, and he’s executing it.”
As for Miller’s future with the team, manager Dave Roberts expressed confidence in Miller with at least one more start in the Show.
“He’s going to make his next start on Sunday,” Roberts said. “We’re excited about that. [He’ll] just continue to gain experience. We’re coming in and starting the season slow. You’ve got to be mindful of building a foundation. As the summer goes on, we can turn loose. Bobby’s done fantastic.”
