After a tough loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked as if they were headed in that direction again on Wednesday when Cubs catcher Willson Contreras launched a two-run home run off Alex Wood in the top of the first inning.
The Dodgers offense answered back quickly, with three runs in the bottom of the first and then three more in the second to take a 6-2 lead, which eventually led to a 7-5 win at Dodger Stadium.
Wood was phenomenal after that first inning, getting through seven frames for the first time since March 30. He gave up seven hits and three runs while striking out six without allowing a walk.
After the game, Wood credited his teammates for erasing the early deficit, which allowed for him to settle in on the mound, via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times:
“You never want to give up runs early, especially to a team like the Cubs,” Wood said. “For us to answer back gave me a bit of confidence.”
After a bit of a rough stretch that Wood called the toughest of his career, he seems to be regaining his 2017 All-Star form as he produced three quality outings in a row.
Even through his rough patches, Wood has been very valuable for the Dodgers this season as he is the only starter that has avoided going on the disabled list so far.
In 16 starts, Wood is now 4-5 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while striking out 81 compared to just 16 walks in 87.2 innings of work.
Going deep into games is something that he hasn’t really been able to do so far this season, so to see him get through seven innings on Wednesday was a positive sign for the Dodgers.
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