Dodgers Team News

Game Recap: Dodgers Drop Nationals Behind Ryu’s Gem

The Dodgers and Nationals faced off again on Saturday night in Chavez Ravine. Hyun-jin Ryu got the start, facing off against Stephen Strasburg. And it went a whole lot better than most fans expected.

That’s right folks, Cody Bellinger hit a home run on his own bobble head night. And Joc Pederson hit a home run of his own on his birthday. Quite a night for the young guys.

Hyun-jin Ryu got his fifth start of the season, and continues to prove why he belongs in the rotation. All night long he had Washington hitters off balanced and behind in the count. He finished up tossing seven innings and striking out eight while allowing just two hits. Ryu now has a 2.87 earned run average across 15.2 innings of work. In a contract year, Ryu is giving the Dodgers something to think about.

The Dodgers bullpen also backed up Ryu quite nicely. Tony Cingrani pitched a scoreless innings of work while striking out two. He also did not allow a hit. Kenley Jansen finished up the game in a non-save situation. Exactly what he needed to take the pressure off of him. It seemed like his velocity looked okay, considering how low it has been throughout the year. He was sitting at about 93-94 mph on his cutter.

Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger both went deep, and Pederson probably needed it the most. His two hits on the night brought his average up to 211 on the year. Dave Roberts’ confidence in him has finally paid off, but it remains to be seen how long that will last. For Bellinger, it was his third home run of the year and brought his average to 289 after going one for four.

Analysis

The team looked much better than the night before, capitalizing on opportunities. They went 0-4 with runners in scoring position, but moved base runners and utilized the long ball to keep their lead in tact. Sunday will feature a matchup of Jeremy Hellickson and Alex Wood, first pitch at 5:05 PM.

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button