NLDS: Five takeaways from Dodgers’ Game 2 win vs. Diamondbacks
LOS ANGELES — Five takeaways from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 8-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Saturday’s Game 2 of their National League Division Series, which put L.A. ahead 2-0.
1. The Dodgers kill you with depth
Sure, the L.A. lineup has its share of stars like Corey Seager, Justin Turner and rookie Cody Bellinger. But what really stands out about this club is the number of players who contribute regularly. On Saturday, the Nos. 6-8 hitters carried much of the weight, as Logan Forsythe, Austin Barnes and Yasiel Puig combined for eight hits, five runs scored and five RBI.
Meanwhile, such accomplished veterans as Chase Utley, Curtis Granderson, Andre Ethier and Yasmani Grandal opened the game on the bench. When regular-season Dodgers nemesis Robbie Ray was pulled in the fifth inning in favor of right-hander Jimmie Sherfy, manager Dave Roberts had a 14-year veteran at the ready in the lefty-swinging Granderson, who cracked a single that kept the rally going. He later came around to score.
Even a little-known rookie like catcher Kyle Farmer performed a valuable function. Farmer struck out as a pinch-hitter in the fourth, but he forced Ray to throw eight pitches, one of them a bases-loaded slider that eluded catcher Chris Iannetta for a wild pitch that allowed the Dodgers to tie the game 2-2.
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2. Getting proper rest matters
Ray had only once before started on short rest, and it didn’t go well, as he yielded seven runs in 3 1/3 innings. Even though his outing in Wednesday’s wild card game lasted just 34 pitches, it made a difference. Ray wasn’t nearly as sharp as in the regular season, and L.A. hitters eventually wore him down and knocked him out after 4 1/3 innings of four-run ball.
Ray struck out at least 10 Dodgers four times this season, an unprecedented feat. This time he fanned six, but also threw three wild pitches.
“The fastball velocity was exactly what we thought it would be (in the 95 mph range),’’ Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He was just spraying it around a little bit and never found a rhythm where he could attack with that pitch and work off a breaking ball.’’
3. That 1-16 skid seems light years ago
Remember the sense of dread around Los Angeles when the Dodgers bottomed out at the end of August and in early September, when their 21-game lead in the NL West shrank to nine in about two weeks? The players seem to have forgotten all about that.
Whatever afflicted the Dodgers at the time — boredom? — has vanished in October. In truth, it was gone toward the end of the season, which L.A. closed out with eight wins in its last 10 games. The pitching hasn’t been stellar in the playoffs so far, but when the offense is cranking out at least eight runs a game and closer Kenley Jansen awaits to bring down the hammer at the end, good results follow.
“Guys are healthy and the focus is certainly heightened,’’ Roberts said.
4. Home runs, who needs them?
The Diamondbacks set a franchise record with 220 home runs during the regular season, and they’ve gone deep six times in the first two games of this series. The two longballs Saturday were responsible for their five runs.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, have homered just once. And yet they’ve been ahead at the end of 15 of the 18 innings played. Good situational hitting has much to do with that. Los Angeles banged out 12 hits in each of the games, and its hitters have gone a combined 10-for-30 with runners in scoring position. Arizona is 1-for-8 in those situations.
“Puig had great at-bats, Logan had a good at-bat,’’ Barnes said. “When we’re doing that as a unit, we can be pretty special.’’
5. Repeat: Regular season is irrelevant
It wasn’t just the Diamondbacks claiming the season series 11-8 that made them a dangerous foe. It was how they manhandled the Dodgers in their last six games toward the end of the season, sweeping them by a combined score of 40-13.
But what has come through in this series is the Dodgers’ abundant postseason experience, which translates into quality at-bats. The Dodgers forced Arizona’s Game 1 starter, Taijuan Walker, to throw 48 pitches in the first inning. He didn’t come out for the second. Ray did better, but 88 pitches in 4 1/3 innings is not going to cut it either.