After winning their first series in the month of August, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened a six-game homestand with the task of cooling off the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals. They looked to do so with Alex Wood, who entered Monday’s series opener in the midst of his own impressive stretch.
But the left-hander stumbled early, making a mistake pitch to Jose Martinez that resulted in a solo home run in the first inning. Wood then stranded an infield single in the second, a base hit in the third, and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth inning.
However, his night was cut short after failing to retire any of the three batters faced in the fifth. Wood’s body language suggested he was surprised by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts bringing the hook.
Wood later explained he didn’t believe his outing was terrible or entirely negative, as seen on SportsNet LA
“I felt really good in the bullpen. The rest was history, I guess. … I felt pretty good for the most part. I didn’t think there was anything Earth-shattering. I thought my stuff was alright. I felt pretty good overall.”
Roberts explained during his postgame interview he believed a pitching change was imperative to keeping the Cardinals’ lead at 2-0. Pedro Baez walked the first batter faced, bringing in a run (charged to Wood), before stranding the bases loaded.
Albeit with a brief stint on the 10-day disabled list, Wood entered Monday’s game 6-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in his last 10 starts. He held opponents to a .219 batting average and recorded 47 strikeouts against 18 walks, while producing seven quality starts during that span.
