Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Round One to the good guys. In a game that featured two excellent performances from two of the games, premier left-handers, it came down to one key hit to propel the Dodgers to a win. In the bottom of the second, Chris Taylor laced a two -run single into right centerfield and that was all that Julio Urias and the Dodger relievers would need on Tuesday night. They parlayed that hit and an insurance run in the eighth into a 3-1 victory over the rival San Francisco Giants. And with that, the season series has begun.
Urias pounds the zone, goes six strong innings
Against an ace like the Giants’ Carlos Rodon, the Dodger hitters knew that runs would be at a premium. Rodon entered the game with an ERA of under 1.25, so it didn’t take a match whiz to figure out that the Dodgers would need strong start from Julio Urias to have a chance in this one.
And boy, did Urias ever deliver. He poured strike after strike after strike into the zone on Monday, leaving the Giants’ hitters in deep holes that many never climbed out of. In all Urias went 6.0 shutout innings, scattering four hits and striking out four along the way. The opening series disaster in Colorado seems a million miles away now from El Culichi, whose ERA dropped to 1.88 tonight.
Dodgers pounce in the second
In many ways, Carlos Rodon pitched just as well as his Dodger counterpart. He too went six solid innings and gave up only three hits. But the key difference: bases on balls. While Urias walked nobody, Rodon had the misfortune of losing the plate briefly in the second inning. And that made all the difference in the world. Max Muncy started things off with a one-out walk, and then after a strikeout of Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger drew a walk of his own.
With Chris Taylor at bat, Rodon uncorked a wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance. This created a sweet RBI chance for Taylor with two outs. Taylor took full advantage. The Dodgers’ left fielder drilled a 1-2 fastball over the infield for a single. And, with the runners in motion, they were both able to score easily on the play. It was 2-0 Dodgers, and it was now a matter of stopping the Giants.
Giants get one back in the seventh
Urias only threw 65 pitches through six innings, and had plenty left in the tank. But Dave Robert does what Dave Roberts does, and he lifted the lefty in favor of Brusdar Graterol in the top of the seventh. Graterol didn’t pitch great, and he was undone by a poor throw from Justin Turner as well as a walk of his own. After the three hitter minimum, Graterol was out, leaving a second-and-third, one-out jam for Alex Vesia to work out of.
Vesia induced a fly ball for the second out, but it scored the runner from third. Then, it was time for Vesia to bear down. He struck out local product Luke Williams for the third out and left the mound with the Dodgers’ lead still intact.
Adventures in Bullpenland
The Dodgers were able to tack on a run in the eighth, thanks to a Hanser Alberto double, a single from Mookie Betts, and a wild pitch to score the run. That sent the game into the ninth with Craig Kimbrel getting his first taste of the Dodgers/Giants in a save opportunity.
To be honest, it could have gone a whole lot better for Kimbrel. He was wild for much of his outing, unable to land his breaking stuff for strikes and unable to put away guys with the fastball. The first three hitters all got to full counts with Kimbrel. He ended up walking the lead-off man Wilmer Flores, but he struck out Brandon Crawford on an elevated fastball. Then, he got Thairo Estrada to fly out to right, and it looked like the game might be secure. However, when utility man Luis Gonzalez bunted for a two-out single, Kimbrel was right back in the soup. Now with the go-ahead run at the plate, Kimbrel went to work on Luke Williams. He got a quick strike on Williams before inducing a weak ground ball to short. Trea Turner scooped it up and shoveled it to Hanser Alberto covering second for the final out of the game. Whew!
Alex Wood vs. Mystery Man on Wednesday
The pitching for Wednesday’s final game of the series remains a little murky at press time. Tony Gonsolin could pitch, but Dave Roberts wouldn’t commit to anything after the game. We’ll see what they decided on Wednesday. We know for sure that our old buddy Alex Wood will be pitching for the San Franciscans. 7:10 first pitch.
Cans of Corn…
- Not in love with pulling Urias in this one, but what can you do? Dodgers, man.
- Joc Pederson heard the boo birds on his return to Dodger stadium. When he was with the Cubs and Braves, no such vitriol. But hey, Giants, man.
- Dodger pitching was aided by some fine outfield defense, especially by Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger.
- Several balls looked like they were out tonight… until they weren’t. The ball is definitely drained of whatever juice it might once have had.
- After the game tomorrow, there will be a road trip, but a lot of losing records on the calendar this May: Cubs, Pirates, D-backs, Phillies, Nats. None of these teams is above .500. In fact, the closest is the Diamondbacks. Should be some wins to be had in this soft part of the schedule…
