Dodgers Take Game 1 of the NLDS Behind a Late Offensive Burst
The Dodgers and Padres kicked off what will no doubt be one of the most exciting series of the postseason tonight in Texas. Walker Buehler got the ball for Los Angeles while Mike Clevinger returned from an injury to start for San Diego.
Starters Don’t Go Long
For both teams, their starting pitchers were much more limited than either manager would probably have liked. The Dodgers got more out of Buehler than the Padres did out of Clevinger though, he was forced to exit in the 2nd inning. Clevinger threw just two pitches before the medical staff came out to remove him.
Padres starter Mike Clevinger leaves today's game early. He walked off the mound with a trainer after his velocity dropped in the 2nd inning. pic.twitter.com/x7Ix3q1N1E
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 7, 2020
Walker Buehler was a little bit more effective going 4 innings and allowing just 1 run. The Dodgers starter struck out 8 Padres batters, though he also issued 4 free passes. That resulted in Buehler’s pitch count reaching the 90s by the time he exited the game.
Padres Bullpen
The San Diego bullpen came out firing despite the fact that they weren’t expected th throw as much as they did. In fact, the Dodgers didn’t even log their first hit until the 6th inning. Pierce Johnson pitched a clean 1.1 followed up by rookie Ryan Weathers. Weathers went 1.1 and also did not allow a hit. In total, the Padres used 7 relievers by the 6th inning.
Offense Breaks Through
The Dodgers did score a run in the 5th thanks to some walks and an error, but the 6th inning is when things really took off. After Chris Taylor worked a walk, Mookie Betts lined a double to left that set them up to take the lead when Seager lifted a sacrifice fly. Justin Turner followed that up with a single to score Mookie, and Bellinger got an infield hit to drive in another run.
All tied up! pic.twitter.com/YrzSwylNGO
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 7, 2020
Dodgers’ Bullpen Shuts Them Down
Following Buehler’s 4th inning exit, the Los Angeles bullpen completely took over the game. Dustin May came on and pitched 2 perfect innings while showing some nasty stuff. Victor Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning of his own before being pulled in the 8th after issuing a leadoff walk. Blake Treinen struck out 2 on some nasty stuff of his own and stranded Gonzalez’ runner. He also stayed on to get the first batter of the 9th.
Dustin May is dealing. ? pic.twitter.com/zuL0yCSdCh
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 7, 2020
In the 9th, Kenley Jansen came on to close it out in a non-save situation needing just 2 outs. He struck out Will Myers and got Jake Cronenworth to groundout softly and take game 1 of the NLDS. The Dodgers and Padres will be back at it tomorrow with Clayton Kershaw on the bump for Los Angeles and a pitcher to be named for San Diego.
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Dodgers: Edwin Rios Left Off of NLDS Roster Due to Injury
AWESOME WIN Tonite!!! Go get um Dodger Blue and lets show the padres who the BEST team in baseball. Just 2 more WINS!! We are so proud of of Our Dodgers.And lets keep that winning streak going!!
Eight walks and a hit batter before they finally scored? Wow, just wow. It should have been at least 4-1 by the time Buehler came out of the game. Let’s put tomorrow’s game away early!!!
Uh a late offensive burst? What were you watching? The offense was pathetic. How many games do you think we’ll win with 4 hits? Or how often do you think we’ll get 10 walks? A little game analysis would be good brook. Thank goodness for the pitchers.
That was one of the strangest games I’ve ever seen. The Dodger bullpen certainly did it’s job, especially May, who restored some order to the walkfest. The Padres bullpen is now way overtaxed for the rest of this series. Muncy got a hit. But still the Dodgers have won three straight postseason games with some very sleepy bats. I knew we wouldn’t see the same level of offense as the regular season, but it would be nice to see a little bit more. But I guess I’m not going to argue. A win is a win. And three wins in a row is hard to improve on. If the Dodgers can win games with so little offensive punch, could anyone beat them if they actually started hitting again?
Absolutely, last night’s game did not go as I anticipated. Buehler definitely had his struggles, but he impressively got himself out of a (walk the) bases loaded/1 out situation. May was amazing and on point; our Dodgers bull pen definitely did its job. Although it took until the 6th inning, our bats did heat up enough for us to ultimately win the game. Still, I hope to see our offense really show up tonight and from hereon. Lets go Kershaw and Lets go Dodgers!
Mookie is money! Clutch hitter!