One night after being shut out for just the fourth time this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers responded with a much better offensive performance to defeat the Houston Astros and earn a split at Dodger Stadium.
The two-game series, though brief, had a different atmosphere than usual for obvious reasons. It was Houston’s first visit to the ballpark with fans since their World Series cheating scandal came to light, and the more than 52,000 in attendance each game did not let them forget about it.
“It’s probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve played in,” Mookie Betts said. “That was pretty amazing to be a part of. Definitely will put that in the memory bank.”
Max Scherzer, who enjoyed a dominant Dodgers debut against the Astros on Wednesday, revealed that he fed off the fans’ energy and appreciated getting a curtain call. “The fans were great. When the crowd is going nuts like that, you can definitely feed off of it,” Scherzer said.
“Mike Maddux has got a great saying that, ‘You can pitch with emotions but you can’t be emotional.’ The crowd was definitely into it and you can feed off that. You really get some adrenaline from that.
“To go out there and pitch well and have the fans ask for a curtain call, I’ve never had that happen so that’s a really a cool moment and something I’ll never forget.”
Walker Buehler also credited Dodgers fans for showing up in big numbers and letting the Astros players hear it. “They sustained the noise, which is a tip of the hat to our fans,” he said.
“Obviously there were a few stoppages in the game with stuff going on the field. We get it. It’s an interesting thing because I think the emotion is warranted and I think there’s not a whole lot we’re going to do to change that. Certainly a different atmosphere and feel than most baseball games here.”
Roberts: Astros series ‘rivaled’ postseason games at Dodger Stadium
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, additionally impressed by the environment fans created, opined that the Astros series had the feel of a postseason battle. “It rivaled that,” Roberts said of comparing the two games to October baseball.
“I think the energy, the buzz throughout the entire game, whether we were pitching or taking at-bats, it was consistent. I think our fans were just waiting for that one big push from our offense to really pull out. It was great. The energy, the fans were into it.”
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