‘Unbelievable’ Mookie Betts stars in clutch, powers Dodgers’ 10-inning win at Miami
MIAMI — A patchwork pitching plan and shaky defense in critical moments almost cost the Dodgers on Friday night.
A clutch performance by Mookie Betts, however, bailed them out in the end.
In a back-and-forth game that featured six lead changes, three ties and 10 innings, Betts’ two home runs, four hits and four RBIs lifted the Dodgers to a 10-6 win over the Miami Marlins.
“Unbelievable,” manager Dave Roberts said. “It was just such a great performance. We needed every bit of it.”
Final: Dodgers win 10-6 after Mookie Betts keys five-run 10th inning rally
Mookie Betts continued his clutch performance in the 10th, hitting an RBI double that put the Dodgers back in front.
Then the other two members of their big three, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, padded the lead with an RBI single and RBI double in the next two at-bats, respectively.
Max Muncy added an exclamation point with a two-run double to give the Dodgers their third-straight game with double-digit runs.
The Marlins got one run back against Brusdar Graterol in the bottom half of the inning, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent the Dodgers’ 10-6 win.
The Dodgers are now 87-37.
Final: Dodgers 10, Marlins 5
Marlins tie it again with ninth inning home run off David Price
Craig Kimbrel had pitched the eighth inning when the Dodgers were still trailing, so it was David Price who was summoned for the save opportunity after they took the lead in the ninth.
Price couldn’t close it out.
Instead, he gave up a solo home run to Peyton Burdick that tied the score and send the game to extras.
The inning could have gone even worse for the Dodgers, after back to back errors by Trea Turner and Max Muncy put the winning run in scoring position.
However, with two outs, Charles Leblanc flied out to retire the side.
We go to extra innings, where the Dodgers are 2-6 this season.
End 9th: Tied 5-5
Mookie Betts ties game with homer, Justin Turner puts Dodgers back in front with RBI single
Mookie Betts saved the day for the Dodgers.
Down to their final two outs in the ninth inning, the right fielder barreled up a slider from Marlins reliever Tanner Scott and hooked his second home run of the game inside the left field foul pole, a solo blast that tied the game at 4-4.
The Dodgers weren’t done in the inning either.
Freddie Freeman snuck a two-out single through the right side of the infield. Will Smith and Max Muncy drew back-to-back walks. Then, after the Marlins made a pitching change and brought Cole Sulser into the game, Justin Turner lined a go-ahead RBI single into center field.
Mid 9th: Dodgers lead 5-4
Phil Bickford allows Marlins to retake lead in the seventh
In a puzzling decision, the Dodgers summoned struggling right-hander Phil Bickford out of the bullpen to protect a one-run lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Predictably, it didn’t go well.
Bickford gave up a leadoff single. He walked two batters to load the bases. He was gifted one out when Marlins No. 9 hitter, Peyton Burdick, popped out on a bunt. But then, he let the Dodgers lead go to waste, giving up a game-tying RBI single to Miguel Rojas on a fastball over the heart of the plate.
Bickford exited two batters later, turning a bases-loaded, two-out jam over to Alex Vesia.
He was still left on the hook for the loss, though, after being charged with one more run on a swinging bunt infield single from Joey Wendle in the following at-bat.
Vesia limited the damage there, but the Dodgers are once again trailing in this game.
End 7th: Marlins lead 4-3
Mookie Betts puts Dodgers back on top with two-run homer in seventh
The Marlins lead didn’t last long either.
In the top of the seventh, the Marlins summoned former Dodgers pitcher Dylan Floro from the bullpen.
He promptly gave up a leadoff single to Trayce Thompson, then a two-run homer to Mookie Betts.
It was Betts’ 28th home run of the year, and put the Dodgers back in front.
Mid 7th: Dodgers lead 3-2
Marlins respond to take lead against Tyler Anderson
The Dodgers’ lead didn’t last long.
A half-inning the Dodgers opened the scoring, the Marlins responded in the bottom of the sixth with two runs.
It started with a leadoff single by Peyton Burdick. Then, Chris Taylor couldn’t hang onto a throw from Justin Turner at second base for a potential force out.
After that, Anderson issued just his second walk of the game to load the bases.
Joey Wendle took advantage in the next at-bat, pulling a two-run go-ahead double past a diving Freddie Freeman and down the first base line — knocking Anderson out of the game after 84 pitches.
Evan Phillips stranded the two other runners to limit the damage.
Bottom 6th: Marlins lead 2-1
After five scoreless innings, Dodgers jump in front in the sixth
Despite five strong innings from Tyler Anderson, who allowed only two Marlins hitters to reach base and stranded them both, the Dodgers didn’t take the lead until the top of the sixth.
After stranding their first six runners of the night, they finally cashed in after Will Smith led off with a ground-rule double, advanced to third on a Justin Turner single, and scored on Chris Taylor’s sacrifice fly.
It gives Anderson a little bit of breathing room, as he returns to the mound in the bottom of the sixth with a pitch count of 72.
Mid 6th: Dodgers lead 1-0
Gavin Lux out Friday; expected back Saturday
MIAMI — Gavin Lux was out of the lineup for a third-straight game Friday, as he continues to nurse a lower neck/upper back issue.
However, manager Dave Roberts said the second baseman would swing a bat in the cage, and could be back in action as soon as Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers will send Tyler Anderson (13-2, 2.73 ERA) to the mound for the first of a four-game set against the Marlins. Here is the Dodgers lineup:
For Dodgers’ Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, playing every day is part of the deal
Freddie Freeman, working stiff? The moniker would hardly seem to apply to a guy who makes $27 million a year, flies charter, stays in five-star hotels and receives $100 per diem on the road while playing baseball for a living.
But that’s the mindset of a veteran who has started all of the Dodgers’ 123 games at first base this season, even as his team, with a 19½-game lead entering Friday’s game at Miami, cruises toward its ninth National League West title in 10 years.
“It’s my job,” said Freeman, who is batting .326 with a .920 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 16 homers and 79 RBIs. “I don’t come here to sit on the bench and collect a paycheck. I don’t believe in that. No one in this world comes to work and just sits there. If they did, they’re not going to keep their job, you know?
“That’s been my approach ever since I got to the big leagues. I’m an employee. My employer has a job for me to do, and I’m gonna do it.”
Now pitching NIL deals: Suspended Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer
The proposal that landed this week before several dozen NCAA athletes was fairly typical: Would you be interested in promoting a product and making money for it?
What made the pitch unusual was the pitcher.
“We are seeking motivated and talented college athletes to exclusively partner with me, Trevor Bauer,” read the proposal, signed by Bauer. A copy of the proposal was obtained by the Times.
Bauer has not pitched for the Dodgers in 14 months, after being first put on investigative leave and then suspended for violating baseball’s policy on sexual assault and domestic violence. Bauer is appealing the suspension, but in the meantime he is offering college athletes — primarily baseball players — the chance to earn money and gain exposure by promoting his Bauer Outage line of merchandise.
In exchange for free merchandise, the athletes would be “required to create quality content on social media” and would get “opportunities for commission and bonuses,” according to the proposal. Bauer’s representatives confirmed the authenticity of the proposal but declined to comment on the record; the proposal asks athletes to respond by Sunday.
How to watch and stream the Dodgers this season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers broadcast and streaming schedule for the remainder of the 2022 regular season:
Chasing record wins, the red-hot Dodgers need to play it cool and focus on October
It feels weird issuing this plea to a baseball team bullying its way toward historic ground, but, sorry, somebody has to say it.
Hey, steamrolling Dodgers?
Chill.
Hey, dominant Dodgers playing well enough to approach records for both franchise and major league wins?
Don’t push it.
The hotter-than-hot Dodgers — who lead the National League West by a compelling 19½ games with an astounding run differential of 275 after Wednesday’s 12-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers — need to start playing it cool.
They can eclipse the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners record of 116 victories by winning 31 of their last 39 games, but they shouldn’t even try.