The Dodgers were down to their last strike three times in the top of the 9th, trailing by a run. These Dodgers fought back and won the game 6-4 coming into the second half of the season. I’m not surprised. Today Yasiel Puig was the hero as he hit a three run shot off the Marlins closer A.J. Ramos to give the Dodgers the lead. Kenley Jansen came in to close the door for the Dodgers seventh straight victory.
The game started off with Dan Straily taking on Brandon McCarthy. The Dodgers got on the board first in the top of the 2nd as Joc Pederson scored on an error by former Dodger Dee Gordon to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth the Marlins got on the board with a double by JT Realmuto that scored Martin Prado to tie the score.
The fireworks got going in the 5th inning. In the top of the 5th, Yasiel Puig hit a solo shot and the Dodgers took a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Corey Seager hit a solo shot and the Dodgers took a 3-1 lead. The Marlins struck back in the bottom half of the inning. Giancarlo Stanton hit a double to score Dee Gordon. Jason Bour then hit a double to score two runs and the Marlins took a 4-3 lead.
Brandon McCarthy couldn’t get out of the 5th inning. The Dodgers and Marlins bullpens did a good job the rest of the way to keep the game scoreless until the 9th. With two outs in the top of the 9th, Joc Pederson with two strikes hit a single to keep the game alive. Yasmani Grandal then battled during his at bat. During his at bat, Pederson took 2nd on a wild pitch ball in the ground. Grandal ended up walking. Puig then came up and took two quick strikes.
The next pitch was a wild pitch to advance the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Puig then hit a majestic three run shot to secure the Dodgers 25th come from behind victory. They have won 27 of their past 31. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball and are 52-17 in their last 69. The magic ride will continue tomorrow.
James Moya
Hi I’m James Moya. I am an avid Dodgers fan. I graduated Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelors in Communications. I used to freelance at the San Bernardino Sun. I’m excited about this opportunity to write for LA Dodger Report to gain experience. I’m a straight shooter on my opinions and I hope to get some good conversations going. My dream has always been to report on the Dodgers because Baseball is the National Past-time. I hope you enjoy the ride with me.
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That was a good swing on a good pitch. Puig knew that fastball on the outside corner was coming and didn’t rush it.
Nice job and comeback. Yasiel did what he needed to do, but you have to give credit to Joc and Grandal too. Patience and making sure they got the right pitch. And Joc pulling the ball in the hole was nice to see. Grandal working a walk. That set the stage, and for a moment it looked like Puig had struck out, but he held up and did not swing. Puig then crushed that pitch and he knew it. In fact he hit the ball hard all 4 at bats and with a little luck could have been 4-4.
Michael
I thought Puig might get a hit, before he had two strikes, but I didn’t think he would hit that ball out!
And when he first hit it, I wasn’t sure it was going to go out, because that stadium is so big, but he hit that ball, to straight away center last night, unbelievable!
And the look on his face in the dugout, was priceless.
I just wish I would have seen the look, on Mattingly’s face!
Maybe this will give Puig more confidence, in those situations.
I was nervous during all 3 at bats. Each guy down to his last strike and all 3 game through…..this tram has magic…….and not just Johnson
Michael
I think the way the back of the line up performed last night, and has, in games this year, might help then do better, in the post season.
Because the back of the line up, seemed to go down to quickly, in the post season last year.
Shouldn’t Puig be hitting higher in the lineup? Hitting in the 2-3-4-5-6 slots would give more opportunity to drive in runs than hitting 8th. I personally do not believe there is any magic in hitting in any particular spot, I just believe that switching Puig and Forsythe will get more runs across the plate.
Jonah
Robert bats Puig eighth, because he usually gets anxious, in those situations.
And I think Roberts should keep Puig In the eighth position, because of that reason, and because it is working.
I didn’t see the 9th last night, so I just put the 9th on now.
I”m still amazed, but I guess I shouldn’t be anymore?
Bobby
Unbelievable!
Don’t mess with success. Leave Puig in the 8th. spot.
Can’t understand why FAZ doesn’t bring up Verdugo and maybe Calhoun to see if they’re real or not. Unless he’s already made the decision that they’re tradeable. I’d much rather he try to upgrade the 25 man, I wouldn’t cry if any of these were moved to upgrade:
Joc–Kike–SVS–Thompson–Forsythe–Romo–Hatcher–Hill-Maeda–Kazmir-Agon–McCarthy
It’s not that I don’t like all these guy, it’s just that they’re not quite as good as the others and I would be OK with upgrading them. But we know how that goes, remember Reddick?
Right now both Verdugo and Calhoun are successful. If they are trade dangles, they are where FAZ wants them. Obviously we don’t need them. And with the schedule in our favor, we won’t need them any time soon.
For what it’s worth, I thought Puig struck out on that wild pitch. I had the game muted and don’t know if it was mentioned but his check swing had the bat in the strike zone. Didn’t replay it so I don’t know if the bat went beyond the plate. Doesn’t matter now. When things are going your way, these are the breaks you get.
Agree with Al. Leave Puig where he is. It lengthens the lineup big time.
Badger
I just saw the replay of that inning, because I wanted to see the look on Mattingly’s face, but they didn’t show that.
But you just might be right, about the swing.
Because the catcher was to busy going after the ball, and because of that, he didn’t ask about Puig’s swing, until it was to late, but it was close.
I can’t even imagine , what Mattingly was thinking, after that happened.
Jonah, one thing you need to realize is that a few names on that list are untradeable, either due to injury or contract. SVS and Thompson, easy to move. Why would you want to trade Joc now when he is playing so well the last month? They just traded for Forsythe to be the starter at 2nd and he is finally hitting. Kazmir, A-gone and McCarthy, you have to eat some contract. Maeda is a bargain at what he is getting paid. Hill has 2 more years on his deal and who besides FAZ wants a 38 year old starter getting 16 million a year. Nobody wants either Hatcher or Romo and Hatcher is on the DL and not close to coming back. Another thing, how can you be sure Verdugo and Calhoun are upgrades? Just because they are doing well at OKC means nothing. If not traded, both will get September look see’s and I for one do not want to mess with the chemistry this team obviously has.
Untradable? No, look at some of the people FAZ has acquired, most of them are lower in quality than the guys I listed above. More correctly, we shouldn’t expect much back in trade for some of them…. Heck, I’d take a bag of balls for Hatcher, and throw in Romo to carry his bags…
Jonah
I have heard some people say that if Verdugo and Calhoun, are not going to play everyday, it is not a good idea to bring them up, to sit on the bench.
And I think that makes sense, but I would love to see how they would do too.
I
Everything is speculation on our part. By leaving them where they are doing well, we’re maintaining their desirability in the eyes of other clubs. If we brought them up and they faltered, it would seriously hurt their trade value. On the other hand, we know from all our years of experience that their success on the farm is just “feel good” for us, for we’ve seen so many that excelled in the minors fall flat on their face in the majors. I call it “Greg Brock Syndrome”. FAZ isn’t taking any chances on hurting their value before the trade deadline.
Speaking of Greg Brock, here is an interesting story about him:
https://baseballbuddhablog.wordpress.com/tag/greg-brock/
Jonah
You are right.
There is always a chance if you bring up a prospect, and that prospect doesn’t do well, that may affect their value.
A lot can happen, in two weeks.
Yeah, thus the “dangle” reference. It’s a spy term. Been in the news a lot lately.
I think the genesis is the term “Dangle a worm in front of a fish.”
Like Jonah just referenced, that dangling worm, sure caught a lot of fish.
That dangling worm caught a big school of fish, and those fish were definitely schooled, by that dangling worm, but they haven’t figured that out just yet.
Yeah, dangle. Jonah said he wondered why FAZ didn’t bring up the two. It’s because where they are, doing what they’re doing, makes them more valuable in trade. It’s a “dangle operation”.
Bellinger needs a triple for the cycle.
Did I call that or what!!!!
Jonah
If we win this game tonight, we will win 8 games in a row!
There is a new tread up too, but no comments yet, so pass that cycle you called along!
Cody has has hit in three runs tonight too!