The Los Angeles Dodgers exploded for five runs and chased Asher Wojchiechowski in the third inning en route to a 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Los Angeles improved to 5-0 this season against Cincinnati, and are in position to complete a second three-game sweep on Sunday.
Doubles by Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Wojchiechowski otherwise struck out the side, and got Yasmani Grandal swinging to start the second.
Hyun-Jin Ryu reached on an error to open the third, and Seager worked a one-out walk. That drew loud boos from the crowd, because home-plate umpire Stu Scheurwater ejected Reds manager Bryan Price after he and Billy Hamilton argued balls and strikes at the end of the second inning.
Chris Taylor, who’s throwing mishap allowed the Reds to tie the game in the first, ripped a two-run double to left field. Bellinger and Joc Pederson crushed back-to-back home runs, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 6-1.
The home run was Bellinger’s 19th this season, which ranks second in the National League. And for Pederson, it was his second homer in as many games.
The Reds threatened to immediately cut into their deficit, as a trio of consecutive singles loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the third. Ryu then walked Eugenio Suarez to bring in a run.
But he was out of the inning on a lineout and 1-2-3 double play. Ryu then sparked a small rally by drawing a leadoff walk in the fourth. Chase Utley followed with a base hit, and Seager’s RBI single gave the Dodgers a 7-2 lead.
Ryu got through the fifth unscathed after a Joey Votto ground-rule double to lead off the inning. He finished with two runs allowed on eight hits, two walks and seven strikeouts on 105 pitches. The Reds were a lowly 1-for-12 against Ryu with runners in scoring position.
Austin Brice surrendered a leadoff home run to Yasiel Puig in the sixth, and Puig slugged another solo homer in the eighth. That gave Puig 12 home runs this season, his most since hitting 16 homers during an All-Star campaign in 2014.
Puig nearly hit a grand slam in the ninth and though he fell short, the sacrifice fly extended the Dodgers’ lead to 10-2. Bellinger and Puig finished tied with a game-high three RBI.
Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez and Josh Ravin each allowed an extra-base hit, though it didn’t amount to a run in their combined four innings of work. For Ravin, who was drafted by the Reds in the fifth round in 2006, it was his first time pitching at Great American Ball Park.
