Dodgers Team News

Dodgers 2013 Season Memories: Puig’s Grand Slam, Greinke Dominant

Yasiel PuigJune 6, 2013

Just a few days after making his major league debut, Yasiel Puig continued to make his presence known for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.



In the bottom of the eighth of a 1-0 game, Puig came up with the bases loaded against reliever Cory Gearrin and promptly sent the first pitch he saw into the right field pavilion for a grand slam. The home run gave the Dodgers a five-run cushion heading into the ninth and backed up starting pitcher Zack Greinke’s dominant start. It was Puig’s first career grand slam and came a day after he was hitless for the first time in his career.

Greinke went seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and striking out seven to improve to 3-1 on the season. He lowered his ERA to 3.89 and showed why the Dodgers signed him to such a large contract in the off-season. It was his best start since coming back from a broken collarbone and his seven innings helped out a bullpen that worked in the past three games.

He faced off against Braves’ ace Tim Hudson, with Hudson allowing just one run on a Skip Schumaker groundout in the second inning. After that, the two right-handers traded zeroes until the eighth inning.Kenley Jansen threw a scoreless eighth and Matt Guerrier did the same in the ninth inning to close out the victory for the Dodgers.

To set-up the grand slam in the eighth inning, Schumaker and Luis Cruz hit consecutive singles to put two runners on for pinch-hitter Hanley Ramirez. The shortstop walked to load the bases for Puig, but hit the first pitch to the opposite field to break the game open for the Dodgers and send Dodger Stadium into a frenzy.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 26-33 and earned their third win in four games since Puig was recalled.

Here’s Yasiel Puig’s 8th Inning Grand Slam from that night: 

Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

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