Dodgers Highlights: Noah Not Thorable, Taylor Clutch in Win
It wasn’t a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination but the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals on a final of 6-3, sweeping St. Louis and getting their first 3 game winning streak in a week and the club’s first series sweep of the year. They end April with a 16-13 record.
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Summed up, Syndergaard wasn’t good but he wasn’t Thorable, and the offense had contributions peppered up and down the lineup including a big run scoring hit by Chris Taylor. Jason Heyward walked twice, had a base hit and scored 2 runs.
Four different Dodgers drove in runs on Sunday but went 1-14 with runners in scoring position.
Let’s get into the highlights.
After a clean top of the 1st, Mookie Betts led off the bottom of the 1st with a double but wasn’t cashed in.
The Cards got on the board first with a 2 run second inning. As they did all day, the Dodgers battled back to put a run on the board in the bottom of the inning when Miguel Vargas drove in Jason Heyward on a groundout.
The Dodgers took a brief lead in the 4th inning on a David Peralta RBI groundout and a Chris Taylor RBI double, his first double of the season. It was the only Dodger run of the game that scored on a hit and not an out.
But the 3-2 lead did not last long as the Red Birds tied it up in the 5th on a Lars Nootbaar single to right.
The Dodger took the lead back in the bottom of the 5th on a wild pitch that nearly took Miguel Vargas’s head off.
The Dodgers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th. Chris Taylor hit a one out single and stole second base. Mookie Betts, his second walk of the game and was followed by an intentional walk to Freddie Freeman. Will Smith continued the theme of the day on RBI outs with a sacrifice fly to cash in CT3 and bring the score to 6-3, which is where it ended.
Five Dodgers relievers combined to keep the Cardinals scoreless over the final 3+ innings to secure the win in LA.
Quote of the Game
“Great team win all the way around. Good team baseball and it’s a great series sweep. It’s a great bounceback from Pittsburgh.” – Chris Taylor
One Unexpected Stat
Three Dodgers stole bases, continuing a recent run of theft from the boys in blue.
Dodgers Pitching
Noah Syndergaard pitched well enough to earn his first win as a Dodger, tossing 5.1 innings and allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, lowing his season ERA to 6.32. He recorded zero strikeouts for the first time this year and first time since May 31st last year against the Yankees.
Caleb Ferguson came on in relief of Syndergaard and continued his nice season retiring both batters he faced in the 6th.
Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol combined for a scoreless 7th inning.
Struggling right-hander Yency Almonte came in and tossed a perfect 1-2-3 8th inning before Evan Phillips came in and picked up his 3rd save of the season. The game ended on a nice double play turned by Freddie Freeman.
What’s Up Next for the Dodgers?
The Dodgers welcome old friend Trea Turner and the NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies to Dodger Stadium for 3 games. Tony Gonsolin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his second start of the season off the injured list and he’ll face right-hander Taijuan Walker (2-1, 4.97 ERA).
