Again, a victory for the Dodgers in the NL West will not help them.
After the Giants beat the Mets for the second straight time, a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates left the Dodgers to keep up with their rivals just four games back in the division.
Early that night, it looked like the Dodgers would regret missed opportunities as they landed two runners in each of the first two innings. But two doubles in the third helped them break through and they eventually reached out to pirate starter Wil Crowe and savior Cody Ponce for two runs each, which set the table up for a lead that would hold for the rest of the game.
Though Kenley Jansen started the game first with an out in the ninth inning, Kenley Jansen prompted a pop-out from Ben Gamel and a ground-out from Hoy Park to complete the win.
Here are three observations from the game.
Seager stays hot with two doubles
The Dodgers got their leadoff man on the base in each of the first three innings of the competition Tuesday night. But it wasn’t until the third inning – when Corey Seager took the lead with a double – that they managed to get a run.
A two-run single by AJ Pollock scored Seager and Cody Bellinger to score the first two runs of the game for the Dodgers, and the first of two Seager would score in the game. The second came in the fifth inning when Seager started another double – the one that struck the covered area of the grandstand in left midfield – before scoring when Matt Beaty doubled in two runs.
For Seager, it was the latest in a blazing hot period since he was struck off the injured list. After Seager returned from a broken fifth metacarpal on July 30, he cut .309 / .381 / .455 on his way to Tuesday’s game. He made the first three appearances against Pittsburgh on Tuesday and went in addition to the two doubles before starting the seventh inning.
“I think last week was what we’re going to see for the rest of the season,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Swing when punching, take balls. Hit the ball hard on all fields. “
Dodger’s shortstop Corey Seager scores high fives in the dugout after scoring the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Lux makes two mistakes on his first start at third base
One could argue that Gavin Lux made the right decision. But the result didn’t look nice.
In the top of fourth with Bryan Reynolds in third place, Jacob Stallings hit a ground ball on Lux – he started his first major league game at third base. Instead of taking the easy out at first base, Lux made the aggressive call and threw home. The throw was off-line and went to backstop, which allowed Reynolds to score a goal and tie it on two, and Stallings was able to get to second base.
Starting Lux third off the injured list in his first game was an inventive way to get him onto the line-up, with Trea Turner and Corey Seager both playing positions in the middle infield. Roberts said ahead of the game that Lux could even play a little on the right field this year.
“I always try to take floor balls over there [at third], kind of messing around in the early work and stuff, ”Lux said before the game. “But it’s similar to reading the ball off the racket, in short, so it’s not too different.”
One inning after his first mistake, Lux made a second throwing accident on a routine floor ball. When Justin Turner hit a pinch hit for Corey Knebel in the sixth inning, he replaced Lux on the defensive in third.
After that, Roberts asked about Lux’s fights and said, “Well, he didn’t play third a lot.”
The 20 innings that Lux played in third base during his rehab session represent all of his professional experience as third base prior to Tuesday. But when the Dodgers traded for Turner, Lux suggested Roberts play the position, knowing it was a way to buy more game time and help the team.
“I appreciate him [being] ready to take on the challenge of being over there, ”said Roberts. “And that is growth for him. He’ll be at second base tomorrow and I expect him to help us win a ball game. “
Betts could be back soon
After Mookie Betts spent the last 10 days recovering from a bone spur, Mookie Betts will resume baseball activities Thursday, according to Roberts.
“I don’t want to date Mookie,” said Roberts. “The body moves well in the weight room, moves around. He’s going to be doing baseball activities on Thursday so we’ll see where that takes him.
Betts was given a cortisone injection last Thursday to relieve the pain in his hip from the bone spur. The plan is for him to try to get through the season without surgery before addressing that question in the off-season. “
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