Dodgers News: Mattingly Relieved By Snapping Road Scoreless Streak

With the Los Angeles Dodgers mired in an offensive drought on the road, rain fell at Busch Stadium, which delayed first pitch by two hours and 20 minutes. The rain delay meant the Dodgers were forced to wait longer than expected to see what dividends would potentially come from Yasmani Grandal’s return and Jimmy Rollins being dropped in the batting order.

Initial results were underwhelming as the St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of a Howie Kendrick error and led 1-0 after the first inning. Michael Wacha, making his third career start against the Dodgers, held them without a hit through 5.1 innings.

Wacha’s pitching pushed the Dodgers’ road scoreless streak to 42 innings, which set a new franchise record. They finally broke through in the sixth, beginning with Justin Turner’s one-out double off the right field.

The Dodgers eventually scored four runs off Wacha in the inning, capped by Grandal’s three-run home run. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly acknowledged after Friday’s loss his team had hit a “lull” offensively and spoke of being relieved now that the scoreless streak was put to rest, according to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register:

It was a relief to score,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said sarcastically to reporters after the win. “I didn’t even think about it until somebody asked me yesterday about the four (shutouts) in a row on the road. So it was good to put a couple runs on the board.”

The five runs scored at Busch Stadium is more in line with the offensive production the Dodgers have put up in home games this season. With the win and the San Francisco Giants losing to the Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers reclaimed first place in the National League West.

After concluding their three-game series with the Cardinals Sunday, the Dodgers will travel to Colorado for a four-game set that includes a doubleheader Tuesday.

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