by Megan Garcia
During the game, the Dodgers aren’t watching the scoreboard to see how their divisional foes are playing. They’re focused on winning the matchup in front of them.
The Dodgers pushed six runs across in the first inning and didn’t look back as they beat the Guardians 7–2 at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
It was a season high for runs scored by the Dodgers in the first inning. Tommy Edman opened the scoring when he drove in two runs with a ground-rule double. Gavin Lux and Miguel Rojas drove in back-to-back runs to extend the lead to 4–0. Rojas was the final batter Cleveland starter Gavin Williams faced before being removed with two outs at 37 pitches.
“We saw the pitch count get high. He was a pitch or two away from getting out of (the inning),” Mookie Betts said. “But we stood firm.”
Andy Pages crushed a fastball 432 feet to center field off reliever Pedro Avila for his 10th home run — his first since rejoining the team on Sept. 1. The two-run shot scored Rojas and gave the Dodgers a 6–0 lead.
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Pages had a .262 batting average with two home runs and eight RBI in 15 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City before being called up for his second stint with the Dodgers this season. The 23-year-old is learning how to manage the ups and downs of the season.
“More than anything, I just kind of focus on the results,” Pages said. “I’m trying to talk to other people outside of the game of baseball to keep me in a better place mentally.”
Lane Thomas edged the Guardians into the game with a two-run home run off reliever Michael Grove in the second inning. Betts created distance on the scoreboard with a solo home run in the fourth. It was his 12th RBI in his last 10 games since Aug. 28.
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“I’m not surprised given the person and the player,” Roberts said. “But given the time off, it’s hard to imagine getting hot from the outset, but he’s in playoff mode.”
Bullpen Limits Cleveland
The bullpen was tasked with each inning against the Guardians on Saturday. Ryan Brasier finished his role as the opener with a scoreless first inning. Michael Grove took the ball in the second and was tagged for two runs (one earned) with Thomas’ home run.
“Seemed like there was a lot of stressful innings and a lot of traffic tonight,” Roberts said. “But the guys made pitches when we needed to.”
Justin Wrobleski (2 IP), Blake Treinen (1 IP), Alex Vesia (1 IP), Michael Kopech (1 IP) and Brent Honeywell (2 IP) covered the final seven innings of the game and combined to allow four hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.
Hernández Considered Day-to-Day
Teoscar Hernández may resume activities early next week as scans did not show an injury to his left foot. Hernández was removed during Friday’s game after he was hit on his foot by a breaking ball from Guardians starter Matthew Boyd.
Where They Stand
The Dodgers (85–57) extended their lead in the National League West to five games. The San Diego Padres (81–63) lost to the San Francisco Giants, while the Arizona Diamondbacks (79–64) fell to the Houston Astros.
Six-run first inning seals the win for the Dodgers was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.