Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Highlights: L.A. Breaks Through Late to Down DBacks

The Dodgers were held scoreless for six innings by rookie Ryne Nelson, but the Dodgers broke through against the next Nelson, Kyle, who left the game after loading the bases with no outs and watched all three runners score.

Los Angeles tacked on three more runs in the ninth on a Mookie Betts homer, and the Dodgers won the series opener in Arizona, 6-0, to clinch a postseason spot (again) and lower their magic number in the NL West to one.



Tyler Anderson threw seven shutout innings for the Dodgers to earn the win, lowering his ERA to 2.62.

Dodgers break through in the seventh

Max Muncy led off the top of the seventh inning with a booming double off the wall in center field. Justin Turner followed with a comebacker to reliever Kyle Nelson, who made the poor choice to try to throw behind Muncy at second and ended up getting no outs on the play. A Chris Taylor walk loaded the bases and ended the night for the second Nelson.

Kevin Ginkel came in to face Trayce Thompson, who hit a sacrifice fly to center field to break the scoreless tie. Cody Bellinger followed with a double to right-center to score Turner and Taylor, and the Dodgers had all the lead they needed.

Mookie adds to his career high

The 3-0 lead was all they needed, but it wasn’t all they wanted. In the ninth inning, JT led off with a single and moved to second two outs later on Bellinger’s second hit of the night. Betts followed with his 34th homer of the year to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 6-0 and give Craig Kimbrel the night off.

Mookie shines on defense, too

Betts got the start at second base, partly to give him a semi-day-off and partly to get Thompson in the lineup. He made a spectacular play to rob Alek Thomas of an infield single in the bottom of the third inning.

If Gavin Lux comes back healthy, Betts probably won’t be needed much at second base in the postseason. But it’s good to know they have options.

Up next

The Dodgers can clinch the NL West with a win on Tuesday or a Padres loss. Both teams start at 6:40 pm PT, the Dodgers in Phoenix and the Padres in Seattle.

Jeff Snider

Jeff was born into a Dodgers family in Southern California and is now raising a Dodgers family of his own in Utah. During his previous career as an executive at a technology company, he began writing about baseball in his spare time. After leaving corporate America in 2014, he started doing it professionally. Jeff wrote and edited for Baseball Essential for years before joining Dodgers Nation. He's also the co-host of the Locked On Dodgers podcast, a daily podcast that brings the smart fan's perspective on our Boys in Blue. Jeff has a degree in English from Brigham Young University. Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw Favorite Moment: Kirk Gibson's homer will always have a place, but Kershaw's homer on Opening Day 2013 might be the winner.

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