No A.J. Ellis, (Almost) No Hits, No Runs, No Sweep. Dodgers Lose 4-0

The Dodgers won the first two games against the Giants. The first was a 9-5 pounding; last night’s game, a nail-biting 1-0 struggle. Ross Stripling took to the hill for the boys in blue. Would there be a sweep? Or would the body blow that was the A.J. Ellis trade kill the Dodgers’ momentum?

With the exception of a double, Ross Stripling kept the Giants mostly quiet through the first two innings.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers were almost as quiet. They didn’t have a double.

Both teams remained shutout through three.

4th inning
The Giants cashed in a runner with a single. 0-1
Stripling then gave up a two-run blast. 0-3
Dodgers
Nothing, and I mean nada.

Fast forward to the 6th. 0-3
Stripling out. Grant Dayton in.
With 2 out, Justin Turner tried to bare hand a bouncer, but he dropped it, and everyone was safe.
Then came a base hit to score another and spank the Dodgers for the error. 0-4

7th inning 0-4
Dodgers no-hit through seven.

Here’s a look at Howie channeling Sandy Amaros…

8th inning 0-4
Moore was starting to lose his control. He walked Yasmani Grandal to start the inning.
He ended the inning at 119 pitches and still…no…hits.

The big question was, would Giants manager Bruce Bochy allow Moore to chase his no-hitter, at the possible cost of his Tommy John-repaired arm?

9th inning 0-4
Moore batted to lead off the 9th, so he would return to face the Dodgers one last time.

Vin Scully: “The stage is set.”
Matt Moore vs Dodgers
Kiké Enrique Hernandez: F8 A beautiful, running, sliding catch to save the no-no!
Howie Kendrick: 5-3
Corey Seager: A bloop single to break up the no-no on his bobblehead night!

Bochy replaced Moore after that. The Dodgers went one more pitch and out. But somehow, things felt pretty good.

One note for a one note night: Twitter was on fire all night about the Dodgers not hitting because of the A.J. Ellis trade.

Ross Stripling (L 3-5) went 5 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 HR, 1 walk, 3 Ks. ERA 4.13

Dodgers with RISP: Please

Oscar Martinez

I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.