Scherzer looks sharp, gets support in Dodgers debut
LOS ANGELES >> Once the inflatable trash can, two inflatable lids, and one beer bottle had been cleared from the outfield grounds, once the announced crowd of 52,724 voiced its pleasures and displeasures, the Dodgers played an excellent game of baseball against the American League’s best team Wednesday night.
Their 7-5 win over the Houston Astros will be remembered for Max Scherzer’s smashing Dodger debut and second baseman Mookie Betts’ two home runs. It will be remembered because no Major League Baseball game had been played before more fans this season, according to the Dodgers.
In the context of a season fraught with injuries and unmet expectations, the Dodgers might remember it as a turning point.
For a night, the Dodgers fired on all cylinders. Betts led off the game with a home run against Astros starter Jake Odorizzi (4-6). The Dodgers put two more runners on base in the first inning, and both scored when Will Smith clubbed a three-run home run. Leading 4-1 after an inning, the Dodgers never trailed again.
Betts, AJ Pollock and Corey
Seager each collected two of the Dodgers’ nine hits. Even embattled number-8 hitter Cody Bellinger chimed in with an oppositefield double.
Scherzer (9-4) allowed two runs in seven innings, walked one batter and struck out 10. Other than Michael Brantley’s first-inning home run, he kept the Astros in the ballpark. When he struck out Chas McCormack to end the seventh inning, Scherzer walked off the mound to a standing ovation. The applause crescendoed as Scherzer highfived his teammates in the dugout, then acknowledged the fans with a curtain call.
What little pressure the Astros’ potent offense applied hardly mattered.
Betts homered again in the second inning, giving the Dodgers a 5-1 lead. In the third inning, Chris Taylor walked ahead of Pollock’s 14th home run of the season. Ahead 7-1, Scherzer could cruise.
With a fastball touching 97 mph on a warm summer night, Scherzer gave the Dodgers what they needed when they acquired him in a deadline-day blockbuster trade with the Washington Nationals.
Scherzer’s fastball averaged a season-high 95.2 mph. He maintained his speed effectively and threw 109 pitches, something only
Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Trevor Bauer have done for the Dodgers this season. Of the three, only Buehler is on the Dodgers’ active roster. If Wednesday offered a preview of what the Dodgers can expect every fifth game, they will have effectively plugged a large hole in their starting rotation.
Joe Kelly pitched the eighth inning and struck out Jose Altuve on three pitches. Booed mercilessly before every plate appearance, his lasting legacy from the scandal-tarnished 2017 World Series, Altuve finished 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He saw only 14 pitches in the game.
Kelly also allowed a solo home run to Carlos Correa, who was taunted by Kelly during a memorable game in Houston last year. Correa cupped his hand to his ear as he circled the bases, drawing even more boos from the fervent crowd. The Dodgers took a 7-3 lead into the ninth inning.
Kenley Jansen had not pitched in four days before taking the ball in a nonsave situation in the ninth inning. The veteran closer promptly allowed a single and a two-run home run by Kyle Tucker, bringing the Astros within 7-5.
But Jansen closed the door by striking out Robel Garcia, Jason Castro and Jake Meyers in order.