LOS ANGELES – The ceiling of this Dodgers lineup is still unknown. But they appear to have established a five-point floor.
The Dodgers have scored at least five times in each of their first eight games this season. It was just enough to beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4, on Tuesday night.
This is the first time the Dodgers have started a season with at least five runs in each of their first eight games since joining the National League in 1890. Only nine other teams since 1900 have scored five or more runs in each of their first eight games. games (or more), according to MLB statistician Sarah Langs.
“I guess so — for now,” Mookie Betts said when asked if that streak was a sign of the roster’s abilities. “It’s a long season. I just have to keep working hard, get good hitters, play the whole game, put pressure on them and see what happens.
Betts did a lot of that by scoring himself in an MVP-level start to the season.
Betts was 2 for 5 with his fifth homer of the season and scored two of the Dodgers’ runs Tuesday night.
He reached base on a single in the first inning, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Freddie Freeman. It was the fourth time in eight games that Betts had scored in the first inning – the Dodgers won all four of those games.
In his next at-bat, Betts hit a 3-for-1 changeup off Giants ace Logan Webb into the left-field pavilion for a solo home run — and the 1,500th hit of his career.
“I had no idea,” Betts said of reaching this milestone. “Freddie came over and congratulated me, and I was like, ‘For what?'”
Betts has already scored 14 points this season. The New York Mets, Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins did not. And Betts’ five homers represent more than 10 teams that have hit this season.
“Oh, man, it’s special,” Gavin Lux said of Betts’ departure. “Every time he comes in, I feel like I’m telling him, ‘You’re the goat, man.’ I feel like you can’t get him out and if you do get him out it’s a hard hit ball or he walks around. Really amazing. And playing really good shortstop, something he hasn’t done in a long time. I don’t think this surprises anyone. But what he does, you just get on the top step and watch what he does.
Betts’ homer tied the score at 2-2 after left-hander Ryan Yarbrough got off to a rough start in his no-start.
Once the rotation ended in this territory, the Dodgers starters allowed four runs in 27 innings. But they opted for a bullpen game Tuesday to keep those starters at least five days off.
“Anytime you play Webb, no matter who you play, it’s going to be tough. We didn’t have a lot of margin tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So you kind of have to let guys run a little bit longer. It gets a little uncomfortable, for sure. You try to hold as long as possible to deploy guys. You don’t want to use some leverage players in a negative game or end up losing that game. So you stay a little tighter than you should and that’s a good feeling to be able to win a match like that.
The Dodgers got a scoreless first inning from Ryan Brasier before sending Yarbrough into the “big” role.
The first batter he faced, Wilmer Flores, doubled and eventually scored on a two-out single by Nick Ahmed. In the third inning, Yarbrough allowed another double (to Matt Chapman) and another run.
The Dodgers took the lead with a three-run burst from the bottom half of their lineup in the fourth inning. Max Muncy led off with a double. Teoscar Hernández took a step. Two batters later, Gavin Lux doubled in a run and Kiké Hernandez scored two with a single.
This lead almost disappeared in the sixth inning.
Yarbrough ran into trouble again, giving up a leadoff home run to Jorge Soler and singles to Michael Conforto and Flores. A point scored on a force out, making it a one-point game. Alex Vesia arrived and abandoned a long flight to Austin Slater before escaping further damage.
Michael Grove and Evan Phillips combined to protect that one-run lead over the final three innings, with Phillips getting a four-out save.
“It’s a little different because it’s all on the wall,” Phillips said of the atmosphere among relievers when they know it’s a bullpen game . “We’re losing guys one by one as they go along. We had a few guys today that weren’t available. As the game progresses, you think about how this could happen.
“We’re used to bullpen games, we’ve done a lot of them before and I think we take a lot of pride in trying to put a little more emphasis on winning this game when it’s our job to do so. go and take care of it.”
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