If ever there were a ‘pick your poison’ situation for 72-year-old Angels manager Ron Washington, this was it.
With the score tied at 2-2 after nine, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy led off the top of the 10th inning by grounding out to Angels second baseman Brandon Drury to advanced Dodgers placed runner Tommy Edman to third base. Edman then scored on a clutch single to left by Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas, to give Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ team a 3-2 lead with one out in the top of the 10th. Dodgers pinch hitter Gavin Lux then grounded out to Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel, allowing Dodgers pinch runner Kevin Kiermaier to advance to second base.
Because the Angels were unable to turn what would have been an inning-ending double play on the ground out to Schanuel, it allowed former Angels superstar and current Dodgers superstar and future Hall of Famer Shohei Ohtani to the come to the plate.
With first base open and amid a roar of very loud boos from the many Dodger fans on hand at Angel Stadium, Washington elected to have 24-year-old right-hander Roansy Contreras intentionally walk Ohtani and take his chances with fellow Dodgers superstar and fellow future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts.
Oops.
On Contreras’ first pitch to Betts, an 86.9-mph slider right down Broadway, Mookie absolutely CRUSHED it, sending it 421 feet into (and out of) the Dodgers left field bullpen for a monster three-run home run to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead and final score.
(SportsNet LA)
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and he threw something up over the plate, and I put a good swing on it,” Betts told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame. “Yeah, that doesn’t happen often, so I kinda black out. I just knew, man they walk Sho to get to me, and I was just like, alright. I mean that’s kinda what you want, but fortunately it went well.”
“I certainly like the result,” Roberts answered, when asked of Washington’s decision to intentionally walk Ohtani and take his chances with Betts. “Mookie with a huge hit, and obviously, as an opposing manager, there’s no right or wrong decision, it’s an addage ‘pick your poison’. That’s the great thing about having great players, because, you know, from my chair, there’s always a good option, and Mookie came up big tonight,” added Roberts.
(SportsNet LA)
But lost in the hubbub of Tuesday’s Mookie Madness was something else of great significence.
After going 5.0 innings during which he allowed two runs on five hits, Roberts pulled 30-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler from his 11th start of the season, calling upon his bullpen to shut down the Halos offense – and they did exactly that. Messrs. Daniel Hudson, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, and Ryan Brasier retired all 15 Angels batters they faced – in order – in their combined 5.0 innings of shutout relief, with Kopech credited with the win.
With Tuesday night’s win, the Dodgers maintained their 5.5-game lead over the idle NL West second-place San Diego Padres and their 6.0-game lead over the third-place Arizona Diamondbacks, who also won on Tuesday.
Play Ball!
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