A 53-minute rain delay interrupted play at Citizens Bank Park for a second consecutive night, and the Los Angeles Dodgers once again came out of it with an 8-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies behind a pair of home runs from Cody Bellinger.
Anticipating there would be a delay, the Phillies purposely scratched Kyle Gibson from his scheduled start to save him. Gibson took over when play resumed in the third inning and faced the minimum because Will Smith was thrown out trying to stretch a two-out single into a double.
Corey Seager’s leadoff walk in the fourth wound up being cashed in by Bellinger who lifted the 13th pitch he saw for an opposite-field home run that gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. The homer was Bellinger’s third in the past four games and extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Two batters after AJ Pollock beat the shift with a single into right field, David Price helped his cause with an RBI double. The extra-base hit was Price’s first of his career.
That wound up proving key as Trea Turner’s throw on a would-be inning-ending double play in the bottom of the fourth sailed over Max Muncy’s head. Didi Gregorious later hit a two-out double, and Ronald Torreyes’ two-run single cut the Dodgers’ lead to 3-2.
The two runs — both earned because Turner was not charged with an error due to not being able to assume a double play — were all Price allowed over four innings in his ninth start of the season.
Gibson pitched into the seventh inning but came out after a run scored on an error and another came across on a passed ball. Pollock added an RBI single base hit off Archie Bradley before the Phillies could get through the inning.
Bellinger created more separation in the ninth with a two-run skyscraper that stayed just fair down the right-field line.
Dodgers chasing Giants without Betts
Already facing an uphill battle with the San Francisco Giants ahead in the National League West standings, the Dodgers now will try to make up ground without Mookie Betts as he was put on the 10-day injured list because of right hip inflammation.
The IL stint is Betts’ second since the All-Star break.
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