The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday, August 22nd, 4-3 to extend their winning streak to five games.
The Dodgers put together a quintessenital win against a good team, something fans haven’t seen much of in August.
It was timely hitting and quality pitching that got the Dodgers a victory, and they showed the recipe for their current back-to-back titles and why a third could be coming.
Tanner Scott closed the game in lights-out fashion, facing only three hitters and showing why he is the closer until proven otherwise.
Evan Phillips had a shaky outing, allowing a hard-hit double, but he got two outs, including a strikeout, to set up Jack Dreyer for the final out of the eighth inning.
Dreyer got a punchout and handed the ball to Scott, but it was Skubal who allowed for all of this to start.
Tarik Skubal dominates
Skubal’s start was rocky at first, with three runs allowed in the first inning, but they ended up being the only three of the game for the Dodgers, a testament to Skubal’s emergence.
He got 11 strikeouts, allowed just one free pass, and pitched seven innings. It was the deepest outing as a Dodger for the ace.
The big lefty had 23 whiffs, 16 called strikes, and he did it with his fastball, slider, and nasty change-up. He allowed only three hard-hit balls, showing that much of the contact was not that hard in the end.
Remove the rough first two innings, and this is exactly why Skubal won the Cy Young. He is showing signs of getting comfortable, and everyone should be excited about what he can be.
Kyle Tucker’s moment
Tucker, with the Dodgers trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, hit a ground-ball RBI single with one out to score Mookie Betts and Max Muncy.
He gave the Dodgers the lead, and despite it being so early in the game, it was the go-ahead run in the end.
The right fielder was 0-for-26 at Dodger Stadium before this RBI hit, but after Friday’s day of loud support, which crossed over into Saturday, Tucker made good on the fans’ cheers.
Hopefully, for the Dodgers, it is the catalyst for the real Kyle Tucker to emerge from the shadows.
4 Responses
Have to admit I was alarmed with the first inning. Every team seems to be attacking Skubal the same way, which may mean he’s being predictable early in games. Really glad to see him settle in and have a great outing with a few great escapes. Huge W for Skubal and LAD.
Real pros show up when times get tough. Skubal and Tucker are welcome at home.
Skubal, Snell, Yoshi, Glasgow, Ohtani, Lauer, Sasaki….
I would say catching the Brew Crew is probably inevitable!
Im convinced from playoff history the team that is playing great baseball in September and October has the best chance of getting to the world series.
I am hopeful my dodgers are showing signs of urgency.
By the way I live in san diego wirh padre season tickets. I wear my dodger blue to the games. I drive a blue toyota Tacoma with a dodger window sticker, dodger license plate, a dodger window flag and dodger crown tire valves caps. A number of locals attack me for being a dodgers fan!