The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Balanced attack lifts Dodgers to sweep
LOS ANGELES >> It’s only been a month, but a certain type of baseball game has come to define the 2022 season. The Dodgers have mastered it, as they did in a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
By sweeping the twogame series, the Dodgers (16-7) opened a 2½-game lead over the third-place Giants (14-10) and maintained a one-game cushion over the second-place San Diego Padres in the National League West. They’ll enjoy one of two off-days this month before embarking on a road trip to Chicago and Pittsburgh beginning Friday.
Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin (2-0) threw a relatively efficient five innings, holding a one-run lead with only 65 pitches on his ledger. But this is 2022, when teams have been allowed to carry more pitchers than the kitchen section at IKEA. Even with closer Craig Kimbrel down for the night, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was comfortable giving Gonsolin the early hook.
A parade of relievers Evan Phillips, Tommy Kahnle, Phil Bickford and Reyes Moronta did not allow a run while the Dodgers broke the game open late.
Mookie Betts greeted Alex Wood (2-2) with a solo home run to begin the sixth inning. Max Muncy broke an 0 for 16 slump with a single in the seventh inning, then clobbered a tworun homer to left field in the eighth.
Typical of a season featuring dampened baseballs and depressed scoring, the Dodgers did most of their offensive damage inside the ballpark. Justin Turner ended an 0-for-17 streak of his own with a single in the eighth inning. Every Dodgers starter reached base.
A Brandon Crawford fly ball found the first row of seats in right field, giving San Francisco a 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Singles by Betts, Trea Turner and Will Smith, sandwiched around a Freddie Freeman walk, gave Gonsolin and the bullpen all the runs they would need.
After Betts’ homer gave them a 3-1 lead, the Dodgers broke the game open in the seventh inning. The Giants ordered an intentional walk for Chris Taylor, which loaded the bases for number-9 hitter Gavin Lux.
Having been denied home runs on several fly balls hit to the warning track this season, Lux did the only sensible thing: he chopped a ground ball between first base and the pitcher’s mound. When Giants left-hander Sam Long was slow getting to first base, Lux was safe and the Dodgers had a run. A sacrifice fly by Betts and a tworun triple by Freeman extended the lead to 7-1.
Muncy’s home run, an opposite-field shot against right-hander Tyler Beede, was his third this season and his first since April 22.
The Dodgers announced Gonsolin as their starter early in the day Wednesday. The right-hander had not pitched in eight days, and had not beaten the Giants in four head-to-head games.
Gonsolin allowed three hits, walked one batter, and struck out five. Five starts into the season, his earnedrun average stands at 1.64.