Houston #Astros @ Los Angeles #Dodgers (9/13/20) — Final: LAD 8, HOU 1

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The Los Angeles Dodgers ride nine outstanding innings from their bullpen, along with three home runs, to a statement victory over the Houston Astros, 8-1.

Brusdar Graterol, making his first career start as the Dodgers’ “opener,” struck out George Springer and Alex Bregman on six pitches. Michael Brantley singled, but Graterol completed a very impressive first frame with another three-pitch strike-out, this one of Carlos Correa. Former-Dodger Zack Greinke was taken deep by his former-teammate in Arizona, AJ Pollock, to get LA on the board and in front early with a bang (…). The bullpen door swung open before the second, and Josh Sborz entered — pitching around a walk in a scoreless frame. In the bottom half, Cody Bellinger singled up the middle and Chris Taylor put down a nearly perfect bunt for a base hit. Both were erased though, as Joc Pederson grounded into an inning-ending double-play. Victor González allowed a 2-out double to Bregman in the third but left him stranded. Greinke got Corey Seager swinging to conclude a spotless home half, and González struck-out two in a harmless top of the fourth. Greinke set the Dodgers down in order to send the game to the fifth. Jake McGee pitched a 1-2-3 frame, and Bellinger led-off the home half with an infield single. Taylor check-swung at a slider but made contact, blooping a double over the first-baseman’s head to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no-outs. Pederson grounded-out, unable to get the job done, but Kike Hernàndez came through with a single, scoring a pair and putting the Dodgers ahead 3-0. Mookie Betts subsequently smashed a 2-run home run, making it 5-0. Seager followed with a ground-rule-double, but Greinke worked around it to flee the fifth. Springer’s solo shot off of Dylan Floro in the sixth got the Astros on the board, but that was all. Will Smith battled with 2-strikes before smacking a leadoff base hit in LA’s half; however, the next three went down swinging. Alex Wood was given the seventh, and while two runners reached, he managed to escape unscathed. Cristian Javier pitched a perfect frame to conclude the inning, and Caleb Ferguson calmly navigated the top of Houston’s order in the eighth. Muncy singled with 1-out in the bottom of the inning, and Smith’s ground-rule-double gave the Dodgers a chance to extend their lead. Taylor, pouncing on a middle-middle fastball, smoked a 3-run homer halfway up the pavilion. Kenley Jansen, with an 8-1 lead in the ninth, was given the opportunity to redeem himself after last night’s torturous outing. He hit his spots, sat at 92/93mph, and even got a strike-out with the slider in a promising 1-2-3 frame to end the ballgame.

The boys in blue bounce back from yesterday’s dispiriting loss with a dominant victory over the Astros. The bullpen was phenomenal, the offense produced top to bottom, and they won an important game. While they really deserved the series sweep, they work a split and will head to San Diego, where tomorrow they’ll open a 3-game set with the Padres. While unannounced, it looks like Clayton Kershaw, 5-1 with a 1.98 ERA, will be on the mound for LA. Dinelson Lamet, 2-1 with an ERA of 2.24, looks to continue his stellar season and starts for San Diego. All eyes are on this very intriguing Dodgers @ Padres series from Petco Park. 6:10pm first pitch! Go Dodgers!