June 2, 2017

Cody Bellinger hit a go-ahead solo homer in the 12th inning and the Dodger pitchers tied a major league record with 26 strikeouts, as they defeated the Brewers 2-1 in extra innings on Friday night at Miller Park.

Clayton Kershaw pitched 7 strong innings for LA, giving up just 1 run on two hits, and striking out 14 batters.  The only run he gave up was a solo blast to Domingo Santana.  The Brewers held that 1-0 lead until the 9th inning.

That’s when Yasmani Grandal delivered a solo homer to tie the game at 1-1.  With one out, he hit a 3-1 pitch into the right field stands off of Corey Knebel.

Pedro Baez, Grant Dayton, and Kenley Jansen combine to pitch the rest of the way for LA, giving up just 3 hits and striking out 12 more Brewers combined.

Jansen (3-0) got the win after pitching the final two innings.  He avoided trouble in the bottom of the 12th after Jonathan Villar hustled to 2nd base for a one out double.  He would later steal 3rd base, but Orlando Arcia struck out and Travis Shaw popped out to Corey Seager to end the game.

Neftali Feliz (1-5) took the loss after giving up the home run to Bellinger in the 12th.  The homer was also the 12th of the season for Bellinger, which is as many home runs as his father hit in 311 career at-bats.  Bellinger now has 135 career at-bats.

Jimmy Nelson started for Milwaukee and pitched well.  He threw 8 shutout innings, giving up just 5 hits and striking out 11 Dodgers.  He did not walk anybody and threw 101 pitches.

The Dodgers are Brewers will go at it again tomorrow afternoon at Miller Park.  Rich Hill (2-2, 4.09 ERA) goes to the mound for the boys in blue.  Matt Garza (2-2, 3.98 ERA) will be on the hill for the brew crew.

June 1, 2017

Adam Wainwright hit a 2-run homer in the 2nd inning and pitched 6 shutout innings, as the Cardinals blanked the Dodgers 2-0 on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.  The Dodgers and Cardinals split  their four game series.

With 2 outs in the 2nd inning, Wainwright drilled a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall.  It came with Paul DeJong standing on 2nd base, after singling earlier in the inning, then advancing to 2nd on a groundout.

Wainwright improved to 6-3, allowing just four Dodger hits.  He has not allowed a run in his last 16 1/3 innings.

Matt Bowman, Trevor Rosenthal and Seung Hwan Oh pitched an inning each to complete a five-hitter. Oh threw a one-hit ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances.

The Dodgers managed to get two on with just one out in both the 4th and 5th inning.  However, they could not capitalize against Wainwright.

Brandon McCarthy (5-2) took the loss.  He gave up just the two runs on on seven hits.  He was removed from the game after four innings, leaving with a blister.

Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal were ejected in the ninth by plate umpire Marty Foster.  Each of them struck out, then Austin Barnes popped out to end the game. Gonzales was ejected after yelling from the dugout.

“Once he threw me out, I might as well go out there and let him have a little more,” Gonzalez said. “The funniest thing is he told Dave (Roberts) afterwards that he’s been calling pitches off the plate all game, so he wasn’t going to change.”

The Dodgers will now head to Milwaukee for a 3-game set with the Brewers beginning Friday.   Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.37) will be on the mound for LA.  The Brew Crew will counter with Jimmy Nelson (3-3, 3.83 ERA).

May 31, 2017

Dexter Fowler hit the go-ahead solo home run in the 8th inning off of Ross Striping, as the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers 2-1 on Wednesday night at Busch Stadium.  The Cards win snapped the Dodgers six-game win streak.

Fowler’s home run came on a 2-0 pitch with 2 outs in the 8th.  The ball was drilled 429 feet into the right field stands.

Dodgers lefty Hyun–Jin Ryu made one of his best starts of the season, allowing just one run in six innings in his return to the rotation.

“He did have a really good look in his eye,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Ryu. “The change was really good. He was throwing a little cutter in on right-handers and the fastball played up and it was as much velocity as we’ve seen this year from Hyun-Jin.”

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead against Ryu on an RBI double by Paul DeJong in the 2nd inning.  However, LA tied it up on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzales, scoring Corey Seager.

Carlos Martinez (4-4) got the win after allowing one run on four hits while striking out nine, in eight innings of work.  Seung-Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his 12th save in 14 opportunities.

Brandon McCarthy (5-1, 3.28 ERA) will start for the Dodgers in Thursday’s series finale at 10:45 a.m. PT.  He’ll go up against Adam Wainwright (5-3, 4.20 ERA) of St. Louis.

May 30, 2017

Chase Utley had three hits and finished a home run short of the cycle, as the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals 9-4 and moved into 1st place in the NL West.  It was LA’s 6th straight win.

Logan Forsythe and Chris Taylor combined to reach base 8 times, combining for four runs, and LA got another great effort from their bullpen.

The Dodger bullpen utilized six relievers, giving up just 1 run in 5 innings of work.  Brandon Morrow (1-0) got credit for the win after pitching a scoreless 5th inning.

Kenta Maeda allowed 3 runs in the first inning, but settled down after that.  He made it through four innings, giving up those 3 runs on 4 hits.  He departed after 82 pitches.

After falling behind 3-0, the Dodgers got four runs in the 4rd inning .  Adrian Gonzales delivered a sacrifice fly, Utley had an RBI double, and Kike Hernandez came through with a 2-run single.  The Dodgers got a pair of bases loaded walks and an RBI fielder’s choice from Forsythe in the 5th to make it 7-3.

Yadier Molina hit a solo homer in the 8th inning for the Cardinals.  Molina had 3 RBI, and his solo blast off Chris Hatcher broker the Dodger bullpen’s scoreless innings streak of 24 2/3 innings.

Michael Wacha (2-3) took the loss, pitching just three innings, and throwing 77 pitches.  He was charged with 4 runs (3 of them earned) on 5 hits.

Game 3 of the series will be on Wednesday evening at Busch Stadium.  Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-5, 4.28 ERA) gets the start for LA after Alex Wood was placed on the DL.  The Cardinals counter with Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.32 ERA).

May 29, 2017

Chase Utley, Cody Bellinger and Logan Forsythe all hit home runs, as the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals 5-1 on Monday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

Rich Hill (2-2) rebounded from a poor start against the Cardinals last week by pitching 5 strong innings, giving up just 1 earned run on 2 hits.  He struck out 4, walked 2, while throwing 86 pitches and picking up the win.

“We’re starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” skipper Dave Roberts said. “To see Logan get a homer, obviously Cody’s been doing it. Chase really quality at-bats and starting to hit the ball out of the ballpark, but I think if you look at our lineup, there’s guys that are really grinding that aren’t swinging the way we’re capable of.”

The Dodgers have now won 5 in a row, and with the Rockies’ loss Monday, LA is just .5 games out of 1st place in the NL West.

Mike Leake (5-3) took the loss.  He entered the game leading the majors with a 1.91 ERA, but allowed a season-high four runs in 6 2/3 innings.

The Dodgers got a pair of runs in the 3rd inning on Utley’s solo blast, and an RBI single from Corey Seager, which scored Yasiel Puig.  Utley has hit 3 home runs in his last 5 games, while hitting .461 and driving in 6 runs in that stretch.

Bellinger’s solo shot in the 4th inning made it 3-0.  it was his ninth home run in May, tying Joc Pederson and James Loney for the Dodgers rookie record for home runs in a month.  The Dodger rookie also leads the club with 11 homers and 29 RBI.

The Cards’ only run of the game came on a sacrifice fly in the 4th inning by Jedd Gyorko, scoring Tommy Pham.

The Dodgers would add a sacrifice fly in the 7th from Yasiel Puig, followed by Logan Forsythe’s first homer as a Dodger.

Brandon Morrow pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth in his season debut for the Dodgers after having his contract purchased from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers and Cardinals will do it again at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night.   Kenta Maeda (4-2, 5.08 ERA) will face St. Louis for the 2nd straight start.  The Cardinals will send Michael Wacha (2-2, 3.66 ERA) to the mound.