Dodgers Secure Third Series Win In A Row – 5/19/21

Dodgers Secure Third Series Win

Dodgers Secure Third Series Win In A Row – Game Recap – 5/19/21

Dodgers won the first two against the Diamondbacks, which guaranteed at least a series split. With a win tonight, they’d take their third straight series for the first time since mid-April. Kershaw, who picked up 11 strikeouts his last outing, got the start in tonight’s game. And although he had a season-high in strikeouts, he also gave up five earned runs. Tonight felt like a bounce-back night for Kershaw.  Outside of one bad pitch, he was magnificent. The offense has been hot, but we all know they can struggle at times when he’s on the mound. That was the case tonight. Luckily, it didn’t last the entire game and the Dodgers were able to secure their third series win in a row.

Pitching Mistakes Put Runs On The Board for ARI

D-backs got on the board first in the 4th inning. Kershaw had given up a one-out walk, and then that’s when he made his mistake. He left a 90 MPH outside-middle of the plate, and Escobar didn’t miss it, sending it to center field and giving the D-backs a 2-0 lead. 

Muncy had the Dodgers first hit in the bottom of the 4th when he doubled with one out. Tsutsugo picked the perfect time to get his first hit as a Dodger with his two-out base hit to beat the shift. Make that the perfect time for his first hit AND first RBI as a Dodger. The inning ended, and the Dodgers trailed 2-1, but they were on the board. It was a start. 

Kershaw gave up a leadoff double in the 5th but worked around it, stranding the runner after an interference call put the runner back on third. He finished off the 5th and set the D-backs down in order in the 6th before his day came to an end.

Raley Pinch Hits for Kershaw

Kershaw wasn’t happy with the decision to be pulled at only 83 pitches. With his spot due to lead off the bottom of the 6th and the Dodgers down 2-1, Roberts decided to have Raley pinch-hit for his spot.

It looked like the move would pay off when Raley led off the inning with a base hit and reached third with only one out. Unfortunately, the combination of Mookie, Turner, and Tsutsugo couldn’t bring him home. Raley and Roberts did their job, but the top of the order couldn’t do theirs. 

Even though Kershaw easily could’ve come out for another inning Roberts’ move made sense with how the offense was doing. Kershaw turned things around in this outing and looked a lot more like himself. Any time your started can go six innings and only give up two runs it’s a pretty good day. 

Fielding Mistakes Put Runs On The Board for LAD

While the offense was slow to start, they got things rolling in the 7th inning. With back-to-back walks from Taylor and Lux, the tying run stood at second with nobody out. Pujols came into pinch-hit to face the lefty, and he dropped in a bloop single to load the bases. The front office brought him here for these moments, and Pujols delivered. Barnes struck out for the first out, and then Smith got his chance when he came to bat for Kelly. He hit a liner to right field, and the ball went off Rojas’ glove, and the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead! What should’ve been a game-tying sac fly turned into an error allowing the Dodgers to go up on the Diamondbacks.

Betts added onto the lead with a ground-rule double, driving home Peters, who pinch-ran for Pujols, to make this a 4-2 Dodgers lead. Dodgers loaded the bases after Muncy got hit by the pitch, but Turner grounded into an inning-ending double play. But the Dodgers had the lead and just needed six more outs to record the win.

Kelly, González, and Jansen

The bullpen was solid once again in this one. Kelly made his third appearance of the homestand in the 7th and threw another 1-2-3 inning. He’s been perfect since his outing against the Angels when he returned from the IL. González took over in the 8th and walked the leadoff guy but was able to work around it. Jansen came into close things out in the 9th and set the Dbacks down to record his 9th save of the season and Dodgers go onto win 4-2.

While the offense took a few innings to get going in this one, they continued their trend of adding runs in the later innings. Kershaw picks up his sixth quality start of the season, and the bullpen continues to look stronger every outing. They’ve now won three straight series and are on the verge of recording their second sweep of the homestand. They’ll look to finish off the Dbacks tomorrow night at 7:10 PM PDT. 

For a recap of yesterday’s win, click here.

Photo Credit – Michael Owens/Getty Images

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