I didn't get a chance to see SoSG Dusty at this game, which was pretty much the only disappointing part of what was otherwise an outstanding afternoon at the Stadium. My anxiety level was high, knowing Landon Knack was on the mound for the Dodgers, and my nerves were already fried having had awful traffic luck getting to Chavez Ravine (the crossing guards really need to let cars flow too, and not just pedestrians; or install some damn bridges for god's sake, Frank McCourt!).
Knack worked out of a leadoff walk to Trent Grisham in the first by getting Aaron Judge to ground into a double play, and then Cody Bellinger flied out to end the top of the first.
And then, it was on.
Four singles in the first five batters, including a solid RBI single from Max Muncy, put the Dodgers up 2-0. A sacrifice fly from Michael Conforto stretched the lead to three, and a hot shot off the bat of Tommy Edman tied up Yankees third baseman Jorbit Vivas and scored Muncy, for a 4-0 lead.
One inning later, the Dodgers had Will Warren on the ropes, knocking him out of the game on a three-run HR by Muncy. But it dind't stop there: a two-out walk to Conforto, a RBI double by Edman, and then a surprising two-run HR from Hyeseong Kim stretched the lead to 10-0 thorugh two frames. The Dodgers batted around in both of the first two innings, posting two very crooked numbers. And it kept getting silly.
Aaron Judge did have two solo HR this game, which was great for the reigning AL MVP. Max Muncy, on the other hand, had two three-run HRs this game, as well as an RBI single, to total 7 RBI on the day. Muncy went 3-for-6 and raised his batting average to .220. His .723 OPS at the completion of this game may have gotten him all the way back to replacement level (he had an OPS+ of 94 entering tonight's game), and if Muncy can break out of his year-long slump at last, that would be incredible for the bottom of our lineup.
Pages, another bat who has gotten really hot in the last 2-3 weeks, notched a HR of his own in the seventh to extend the lead to 15-1, and, following Judge's second HR, rookie Dalton Rushing came out in the eighth inning and hit his first major-league HR to make it 18-2 (a three-run shot off of Yankees position player Pablo Reyes).
Knack ended up earning the win with a 6.0 IP, 5 H performance (3 BB, 6 Ks). Anthony Banda had an impressive 2 K seventh inning; Chris Stratton gave up only one run in the eighth; and position player Kike Hernandez pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Dodgers. Knack's great starting effort, one night after Tony Gonsolin went six innings on his own, helped rest that Dodgers bullpen that has worked more than any other pen in baseball this year.
The Dodgers also had some sweet defensive play from Hyeseong Kim, in the third inning with an unassisted double play that douvbled Austin Wells off second with Kim diving to tag the second-base bag before Wells got back, and then an amazing strike from centerfield (where Kim had shifted to start the sixth inning), nailing Judge at second when Judge tried to stretch a leadoff single to a double (and instead, was nailed with a perfect throw and tag by Edman). No issues with Judge trying to make something happen there for the Yankees, but credit to the Dodgers for shutting that effort down quickly.
So that's the second straight game the Dodgers have taken from the Yankees on national television, with tomorrow's game also nationally televised (this time, on ESPN). It was a wonderful time for me, sipping that huge can of Michelob Ultra, and enjoying the fireworks on the field.
Let's go, Dodgers!
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