The Los Angeles Dodgers were back home Tuesday as they opened a two-game Interleague set with the Tampa Bay Rays. It marked the start of just the second series the Rays’ have ever played at Dodger Stadium.
There was plenty of intrigue surrounding the game as the Rays aligned their starting rotation out of the All-Star break so that Chris Archer, a rumored Dodgers’ trade target, took the ball against the club he may very well be part of come the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Archer turned in one of his better starts of the season, allowing three runs (one earned) and collecting eight strikeouts over seven strong innings.
He was hurt by a pair of errors that came with two outs in the third, one of which he committed, which put Tampa Bay in a 2-0 deficit.
The lone earned run Archer allowed was on a towering Yasmani Grandal solo home run in the seventh inning, video of which is courtesy the Dodgers’ Twitter account:
No. Doubt. About. It. ?https://t.co/dek8joOAcW
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 27, 2016
The home run proved to be the difference in the Dodgers’ 3-2 victory. It Grandal’s 14th of the season and seventh during the month of July. He’s hit the seven homers this month in just 68 plate appearances. Grandal’s 14 home runs tied him with Salvador Perez for second-most home runs hit by a catcher.
Perez has 15 homers on the season, though one came as a designated hitter. Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who also homered Tuesday, leads all catchers with 15 home runs this season.
