Steve Webb
PHOENIX, AZ — After a disappointing year in 2021 where nothing felt quite right, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back on the mountaintop, National League West Champions for the 9th time in the last ten years. In the clinching game, the team got a lights-out start from Clayton Kershaw and three big jacks from their left-handed bats as they cruised to 4-0 shutout win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Dodgers call on Dr. Longball for the early lead
Merrill Kelly was the starter for the D-backs on Tuesday, and he was looking to finally get a win over the Dodgers after struggling against them throughout much of his career. And, he found himself in a familiar position: behind. It didn’t take long for the Dodgers to jump on the D-backs’ right-hander. After a quiet first inning, the Dodgers got things started in the top of the 2nd when Max Muncy was able to leg out an infield single. Then, after a Justin Turner strikeout, Joey Gallo stepped into the box, looking to do some damage. He took a sinker for a strike, and the watched a changeup sail wide to even up the count.
Then Gallo got a pitch to his liking, and he absolutely destroyed it. He sent an 89-mph changeup high into the Chase Field rafters to deep centerfield. It easily cleared the fence and landed in the upper tank for a two-run homer, and stake the visitors to a quick 2-0 advantage.
In the 3rd inning, Freddie Freeman pushed the Dodgers’ lead to three. Leading off the inning, he worked Kelly to full count before he pulverized a sinker. It went even farther than Gallo’s blast, and cleared the centerfield swimming pool for a 442-foot solo home run. It was only the third inning, but already the Dodgers could smell the finish line.
Kershaw amazing in his start
The Dodgers are champions, and Clayton Kershaw helped them clinch. No matter the time of year, it’s fun to write that sentence. But Clayton made it easy for me to write it because he absolutely shoved in this game. Getting stronger as the game went along, Kersh absolutely had his way with the young Diamondback lineup. He only needed 82 pitches to throw seven shutout innings, and but for a couple of random singles, he would have been working a no-hitter in this one. His line for an incredible night: 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Pure domination. His season ERA is now 2.44.
Muncy adds late insurance, pen finishes things off
Kershaw exited the game with a 3-0 lead, and the Dodgers on both sides of the ball made sure he kept it. Before he left, Max Muncy mashed a solo shot in the top of seventh. Then, in the bottom of the frame, Mookie Betts made an insane play in the right field corner to rob Jake McCarthy of extra bases. Finally, the bullpen put up two scoreless innings to finish off the clinch. Caleb Ferguson handled the 8th, and Craig Kimbrel pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to close it all down, and the celebration began.
Speaking an emotion shared by many Dodgers, Dave Roberts said, “Obviously when you start in spring training, start the season, you know you have a talented roster. But looking into the season — we weren’t the defending NL West champions. So that was first on our list – to get the division back in Los Angeles.”
And they did. Roberts allowed Clayton Kershaw to address the team prior to the popping of the corks. Kersh’s words to the team were short and sweet. “I just want to say I love you guys,” he said, “and thank you for being so good.” And then the champagne-fueled mayhem began.
And it was beautiful. All of it.
Series wraps up on Wednesday
The final game of this series will see the Dodgers go up against a familiar face: righty Zach Davies. Davies, you will recall, was with the Chicago Cubs last year and pitched the first six inning of the combined no-hitter against the Dodgers, one of the true lowlights of a very good 2021 regular season for the team. This marks already the fourth time that Davies will face the Dodgers in 2022. So far this year, he is 0-1 against the Dodgers, having surrendered 11 ER in 13.1 innings of work. We’ll see how the Dodgers’ hitters fare this time around. Game Time is 6:40 pm PDT.
Cans of Corn…
- Kershaw has been sensational since returning to the active roster.
- Kimbrel was perfect again.
- Max Muncy has four home runs in his last five games.
- Gallo twisted his ankle on his last AB, but stayed in the game to finish off the clinch.
- Nice to win on the teams own terms. No backing in for this bunch.
- Looked like the crowd of 21,000 was very tilted toward the Dodgers.
