Jeff Birney
Dodgers Scratch Out Victory Against Philly
Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig are on the DL as is Corey Seager. Cody Bellinger, although looking better as of late, slumped hard Monday, going 0-5. The Dodgers starting lineup retains just a sliver of the 2017 World Championship contenders, yet the that team showed up Monday looked scrappy and ready to play baseball well into October.
The Dodgers got on the board early, Max Muncy and Yasmani Grandal slugging back-to-back homers in the first followed by solo shots from Chris Taylor and Joc Pederson in the second and fourth, respectively.
Yet Ross Stripling, not as sharp in his first start since his shaky outing in the All Star game, gave up a three-run shot to Rhys Hoskins in the fifth followed by a solo shot from Odubel Herrera to give the Phillies the first lead of the game.
The Dodgers showed they still know how to make a late comeback, as Manny Machado tripled in the seventh followed by a Max Muncy fly-out to short center to get him home. L.A. got some help from Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who walked Alex Vedugo, gave up a single to Pederson and walked Muncy to load the bases. A wild pitch to Grandal gave the Dodgers the go-ahead run followed by a single from Matt Kemp to give the Dodgers a 7-5 lead.
Kenley Jansen came in to finish off the Phils, yet his first pitch left the yard as Maikel Franco homered. Jansen hung on to finish off the side for the save, his 29th of the season.
The Dodgers won, 7-6.
The series continues in Philadelphia today. Game time is 4:05 pm, PST.
