After having their four-game winning streak snapped in a loss to the San Francisco Giants in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a second consecutive defeat when they were shut out. It was their first time failing to score since May 18 against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Dodgers’ offensive drought carried into Sunday as Dereck Rodriguez struck out the side in the first inning and didn’t allow a baserunner until walking Gavin Lux to start the third. He stranded Lux but couldn’t do the same after putting Cody Bellinger on with two outs in the fourth inning.
While Rodriguez had kept the Dodgers at bay with an effective changeup, one was left elevated to Matt Beaty, who turned on it for a two-run homer that broke the scoreless tie. Corey Seager then took a changeup and deposited it over the fence in center field for a three-run home run in the fifth inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged both homers as being key in the 5-0 win, though felt Beaty’s helped alleviate mounting pressure with the lack of scoring, via SportsNet LA
“It seemed like Rodriguez had our number early, he was very efficient and the changeup was good. Cody earned a walk with two outs and [Rodriguez] left a changeup up and Beaty took advantage of it. Getting us on the board, I think, was a sigh of relief a little bit. And then the big blow by Corey late was huge. … It’s just one of those things, we haven’t been putting hits together, so with two outs to get a walk and put a crooked number on the board and get a lead, that was a good thing.”
The home run was Beaty’s ninth this season, leaving him on the verge of the Dodgers extending a franchise record. Chris Taylor recently gave them 11 players to reach double-digit homers this season. That broke their mark set last year and also established a new National League record.
Even with two losses to the Giants, the Dodgers enjoyed a 4-2 homestand. Sunday’s win lowered their magic number to clinch the NL West down to two.
