The Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. They have won all their games since the All-Star break after entering on a cold streak.
The Dodgers started their scoring in the first inning thanks to the suddenly red-hot bat of Gavin Lux. A pair of two-out walks to Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández set the stage, and Lux capitalized on the opportunity with a two-run double.
Lux also singled in the fifth inning and finished his day 2-for-4 with two RBI.
On Monday, Lux was named the National League Player of the Week after hitting .556/.556/.1.444 (5-for-9) with two doubles, two homers, three RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in three games last week against the Boston Red Sox.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted Lux is playing with more confidence, and the results are certainly backing that up.
In the fourth inning, the bottom of the lineup started a rally for the Dodgers as Jason Heyward worked a walk and Cavan Biggio singled to put runners at the corners. With two outs, Shohei Ohtani doubled them both home to give the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.
Ohtani provided the Dodgers some insurance in the eighth inning with an RBI single, finishing the game with 3 runs driven in.
Landon Knack made the start and turned in one of his best outings. The rookie pitched five innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out six and walking two.
The one run he allowed came in the second inning when he allowed a solo home run to Tyler Fitzgerald, who has now homered in five consecutive games.
Outside of that Knack was fantastic and worked out of any trouble whenever he ran into some. Knack’s season ERA is now 3.07 with a 1.02 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 44 innings.
After Knack, Brent Honeywell Jr. pitched two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit. Since joining the Dodgers, Honeywell has thrown seven consecutive scoreless innings in three appearances.
Blake Treinen kept the Giants off the board in the eighth inning, despite allowing two baserunners that put the tying run at the plate.
Dodgers give Alex Vesia save chance, but Evan Phillips closes game
With Evan Phillips’ struggles as of late, Alex Vesia was given the chance to pitch the final inning. Although it ended up not being a save opportunity due to Ohtani’s RBI single in the eighth, Vesia was the one warming up for the potential save chance when it was a 4-1 game.
He promptly allowed two walks and a single to put the Giants within three runs. Vesia then recorded two outs, but with Jorge Soler coming up as the tying run, Phillips was called upon to record the out.
Phillips ended up walking Soler, but recorded the final out on a ground ball to secure the win.
Daniel Hudson picked up the save on Monday, and it seems the club is going to utilize a closer by committee approach.
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