Dodgers win 5th in a row with 3 solo HRs in 3-1 win at Texas
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Alex Wood pitched seven scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three solo homers while stretching their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.
Cody Bellinger and Manny Machado hit firstpitch homers off Mike Minor (10-7). Yasmani Grandal also went deep for the defending National League champion Dodgers.
Los Angeles started the day within a game of NL West co-leaders Arizona and idle Colorado. The Diamondbacks, who open a big four-game series in Los Angeles on Thursday night, played later Wednesday night at San Francisco.
Wood (8-6) limited the Rangers to four singles, throwing 67 of 98 pitches for strikes with five strikeouts and two walks. The lefty had faced the Rangers only once before, pitching at Texas for Atlanta four years ago when he struck out nine and allowed a run on four hits.
Kenta Maeda, a 20game starter for the Dodgers this season, worked the ninth instead of struggling closer Kenley Jansen to get his first save since June 2017 despite giving up an RBI double to Adrian Beltre. Beltre, baseball’s active career hits leader, matched Robin Yount for 17th on the all-time list with his 3,142nd hit.
The solo homers by Bellinger and Machado were the only hits and runs off Minor in his six innings. The lefty, a teammate of Wood’s in Atlanta in 201314, struck out seven and walked three.
Bellinger’s 21st homer of the season put the Dodgers ahead to stay in the third inning. Machado hit the first pitch of the fourth into almost the same spot on the hill in straightway center field. That was Machado”s 32nd homer this season, his eighth in 37 games for Los Angeles since being traded last month from the Baltimore Orioles.
Grandal hit his 22nd homer in the eighth off reliever Alex Claudio.
ouT AT HoME
Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig, in the lineup while awaiting a ruling on his appeal of a two-game suspension from a bench-clearing incident Aug. 16 against San Francisco, had a twoout triple in the seventh inning. He was thrown out trying to steal home even after getting a good jump off third base against Claudio. Puig didn’t play Tuesday after his appeal hearing.
THE oTHEr LEAGuE
The Dodgers wrapped up their interleague schedule with a 12-8 record. They won all four games against the Rangers, including two at Dodger Stadium in June.