FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Mariners - Series 12

FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs. Mariners – Series 12

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Los Angeles Dodgers (20-17)  |  Seattle Mariners (18-19)

 

“There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.”

– Tommy Lasorda

 

Game 2:

 

The Dodgers win two straight for the first time in 25 days as Julio Urías, Max Muncy, and Matt Beaty all find their groove to sweep Mariners.

The Dodgers found their offense and were able to finally secure that elusive second win in a row, beating the Mariners 7-1 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Wednesday marked the first time the Dodgers won consecutive games since April 9-17, a winning streak that ended 25 days ago. They also scored 13 runs in two games against Seattle, the first time they’ve scored at least six runs in back-to-back games since April 15-16.

In securing their first series win since April 16-18 (sensing a theme yet?), the Dodgers finished off Seattle with a three-pronged attack.

Since getting optioned to the alternate training site at Camelback Ranch for a week in April, Matt Beaty has been an opportunist since returning to the majors. His two-run double in the fourth inning broke the scoring ice in this game and continued a remarkable run for Beaty with the bases loaded:

 

• April 28 vs. Reds: 2-run single
• May 2 at Brewers: RBI single
• May 2 at Brewers: grand slam
• May 8 at Angels: 2-run double
• Tonight vs. Mariners: 2-run double

 

That’s five straight hits for Beaty in bases-loaded situations, knocking in 11 runs during that span. But it’s not only when the bases full that Beaty has produced.

He added an RBI single in the fifth inning Wednesday — batting with only two on base, the horror! — and has driven in at least one run in each of his last five starts. Since his recall on April 24, Beaty is tied for second in the majors with 18 RBI, one behind Houston’s Yuli Guerriel.

Max Muncy walked his first two times up, adding to his major league-leading total of 36, seven more than anyone else in MLB (old friend Yasmani Grandal is second). Thirty-six walks for Muncy is the second-most by a Dodger through 37 team games, behind only Duke Snider’s 37 walks in the first 37 games for Brooklyn in 1955. Snider walked 104 times that season.

But in his third plate appearance, Muncy pounced on a first-pitch changeup from Will Vest for his second home run of the series. Muncy went 15 games without an extra-base hit before hitting a pair of home runs in Chicago last week and now has four homers and a double in his last seven games, hitting .333/.500/.875 during that time.

Before this season, Julio Urías never pitched longer than 6⅓ innings in any start as a professional. But he went seven innings on Wednesday, the fourth time he has done so in eight starts in 2021.

 

Urías retired his first 13 batters faced until Ty France and Dylan Moore bunched together with a pair of singles for the only Seattle run. All of Urías’ six strikeouts came in the first four innings, including three finished off by his changeup. Mariners were 0-for-6 in at-bats that ended on the changeup against Urías, who has held batters to just four hits in 41 at-bats (.098) against the pitch this season, with 15 strikeouts.

“I felt like my fastball wasn’t clicking as well as the changeup,” Urías said through a translator. “I was able to use my changeup and slurve.”

It’s the second time this season Urías has pitched seven innings against the Mariners, fanning a career-high 12 while allowing no runs on April 20 in Seattle. The Mariners have three hits in 46 at-bats (.065) against Urías this season.

 

Game 2 Boxscore:

 

WP: Julio Urías (5-1 / 3.26 ERA)

LP: Justin Dunn (1-1 / 3.72 ERA)

HR: Max Muncy (7)

 

The Dodgers are off on Thursday, but resume their homestand with a three-game series against the Marlins, who are led by former Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly. Clayton Kershaw starts the series opener on Friday night with right-hander Sandy Alcantara pitching for Miami. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm and can be seen in SportsNet LA

 

 

Game 1:

 

After an off day, the Dodgers returned home and looked to use this short series as a springboard to get back on track. Things looked dire early and even late, as the recap I had written shows.

But one big moment from Gavin Lux, arguably the first they’ve had in a month, led the Dodgers to a 6-4 comeback win over the Mariners.

Walker Buehler was the guy who the Dodgers usually want on the mound if they need to get back on track, though he wasn’t at his best today. In the 1st, Mitch Haniger created a deficit early with a homer on a 0-2 fastball to make it 1-0.

Buehler then rebounded by retiring the next nine hitters in a row, including Haniger, but then gave up a bloop to Kyle Lewis and a bomb to Kyle Seager to make it 3-0 in the 4th.

Opposing Buehler was a Yusei Kikuchi who seems to be figuring things out in the MLB. After he carved the lineup in the 1st, he got into trouble in the 2nd with a single and a walk to start but then retired the next three and summed up the offensive struggles.

After a quiet 3rd, Max Muncy stepped up in the 4th and cranked a two-out solo dong to cut the deficit to 3-1. A Chris Taylor triple followed,

but he too was stranded. The 5th was similar with a two-out Mookie Betts double that wasn’t cashed in.

Meanwhile, Buehler had seemed to resume cruising, retiring five in a row before facing Haniger again in the 6th. That changed after another solo shot against Buehler made it 4-1 and caused me to write the recap early.

Kikuchi continued into the 7th, but after two singles with only one out, he exited. AJ Pollock then drew a walk to load the bases with one out, and after Mookie Betts got screwed on a bases-loaded walk, struck out on a ball that looked inside,  Corey Seager stepped up and singled in two to make it 4-3 before the threat ended.

 

While it seemed destined for a one-run loss after two quick outs in the 8th, Chris Taylor singled and stole second, Matt Beaty got hit on an 0-2 pitch, and they set the stage for a struggling Gavin Lux. He provided the first electric moment in nearly three weeks, smoking his first homer of the year to right, a three-run shot to give the Dodgers a 6-4 lead.

That left things up to Kenley Jansen to close, and despite getting squeezed a bit, he went 1-2-3 in the 9th with two strikeouts to secure the victory.

“That kind of takes the cake,” Lux said. “I don’t really know where that came from, to be honest with you. That’s by far the most emotion I’ve shown. Just talking to some guys, we definitely need that, for sure.”

“All wins are important, but they’re not created equal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Gavin has been grinding, so for him to get that hit was big for our ballclub. I think there was some semblance of a beer shower in there.”

 

Game 1 Boxscore:

 

WP: Garrett Cleavinger (1-3 / 5.06 ERA)

LP: Rafael Montero (3-2 / 5.51 ERA)

HR: Mitch Haniger-2 (10); Kyle Seager (7);  Max Muncy (6); Gavin Lux (1)

 

The Dodgers and Mariners are right back at it today in the final game of their 2 game series with Julio Urias will be facing Justin Dunn. The game can be seen on SportsNet LA.

 

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– Joe Arrigo

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