Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Geez, Trea. Thanks for nothing. It was almost perfect night for the Dodgers on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium as they romped over the Phillies 13-1. It was the second straight night that the home team has put up a baker’s dozen on the scoreboard, and if not for a lone Trea Turner homer in the top of the 4th inning, Julio Urias would have been working on a no-hitter. But our old buddy Trea took a fastball deep to center in the top of the 4th and that was the end of any of that talk. In the end, it was still probably the best outing of the young season for Urías, and he enjoyed big-time run support provided by the suddenly resurgent Dodger bats.
Believe it or not, this game was semi-close through 7.5 innings. Thanks to a Muncy sac fly and a couple of clutch hits from Mookie Betts, the Dodgers hit the bat rack in the 7th with only a 4-1 lead. But from that moment on, it was a feeding frenzy. With Phils starter Matt Strahm long out of the game, the Boys in Blue teed off on the Phillies’ bullpen, scoring four in the 7th and then a five-spot in the 8th to cruise to an easy victory.
Before we talk about the offensive explosion, we gotta give El Culichi his due in this one. He was going after hitters all night, and the Phils had no answer for the Dodgers’ ace lefty. And it was nice to see Dave Roberts take the training wheels off and let Urías go out an pitched the 7th. After three straight clunkers, it had to have felt good to rediscover that Cy Young form that he’d shown all last season. Good sign of things to come.
“Tonight, it just seemed like a different demeanor,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “He was in attack mode … and he carried it all the way through the seven innings.”
“You have to be confident about your stuff,” Urías said. “You’re going to have bad games, games where you’re fighting it, but there’s also going to be good games. Trying to take the good in the bad has been a big piece for me. And today, I feel like that was a big reason why I had success.”
There were too many hitting stars to name all of them, but shining brightest in this second straight drubbing of the NL champs was Miguel Vargas. The rook had his first-ever four-hit game in the bigs, and he cashed in three doubles along the way. Having Vargas hitting well incredibly lengthens this lineup and will be much needed the rest of the year.
In addition to Miggy’s heroics, Mookie Betts was 3-for-4 and drove in three. Freddie Freeman had two hits, two runs scored, and two RBIs on the night (Dieter, play Twin Peaks, stat). Among the Freeman knocks was his 5th homer of the year in the 8th inning. In addition to the big dogs at the top of the lineup, Will Smith, Chris Taylor, and Miguel Rojas all had multi-hit nights. In all it was 17 hits on the night in a good ol’ fashioned a** whuppin’ of the Phillies. Yessir. The Dodgers, now 18-13, are winners of five in a row and will try to complete the perfect homestand on Wednesday.
Cans of Corn…
- It’s not complicated. Freeman and Betts play well, this team thrives. If they don’t, it doesn’t.
- The line on Julio in this one: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Nice bounce back from some rocky starts in April.
- Good to see Miguel Rojas contribute in this one, first knocks since returning from the IL.
- Nice homer, Trea. Still not worth the $300 mil.
- Alex Vesia and Phil Bickford finished up in this one. Vesia wasn’t perfect, but threw a scoreless 8th. Guitar Center Phil struck out the side in the 9th.
- Looks like Gavin Stone will be making his big-league debut on Wednesday afternoon. He’ll be facing righty Aaron Nola (2-2, 4.46 ERA). 1:10 first pitch
