Urias sets the table for the Bullpen to secure Game One win for the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers 5 San Diego Padres 3, 11th October 2022.
Los Angeles Dodgers 5 San Diego Padres 3, 11th October 2022.
Welcome to post-season Dodger baseball and hopefully a glorious run that leads the boys in blue all the way to the season ending “Big Dance” and another World Series crown. You see, despite the Dodgers recent run of seasonal successes and this season’s “best record in baseball”, it hasn’t always been the case and certainly not for this particular UK based baseball fan and follower in Dodger blue for well over two decades now. From “Sunday Night Baseball” (and the one and only live game of the week!) and my sleeping in the Common Room on a Monday afternoon of my college years, my initial love and infatuation for the Oakland A’s slugger Jose Canseco through a mid 1990’s hiatus from the game and a late 1990’s return and love for the Dodgers “closer” Eric Gagne, I’m an unabashed Dodgers fan and both old enough and wise enough to know that having a stupendous record breaking season counts for nothing in the October play offs, but hope springs eternal.
Even at 5am on a cold Wednesday morning!
Prior to the commencement of this evening’s first round of play off games I’d already bored my Brother Andy (and Red Sox heretic!) with my prediction that this year’s “Big Dance” will be a Los Angeles/New York showdown and the Mets being the Mets, they’ve already departed, leaving the door wide open for their subway separating enemies the Yankees to dance with the Dodgers in two weeks time? I naturally want the Cleveland Guardians to triumph over baseball’s “Evil Empire” but I see the Yanks winning in 4 and similarly so my Los Angeles Dodgers. That doesn’t necessarily set up that LA/NY showdown in the World Series as we also have the Philadelphia Phillies a game in front of the Atlanta Braves after their fantastic 7–6 win earlier this evening (I still have the Braves winning in 5) and you can never, ever discount the Houston Astros who climbed off the floor to reverse a losing position all evening to the Seattle Mariners before Yordan Alvarez smashed an incredible walk off home run that is so damn typical of the Astros, and the start of their upcoming series defeat of the Mariners.
Predictions are for the birds naturally, and so with Julio Urias and Mike Clevinger on the mound this evening (or 2.35am UK start time) I predicted a pitcher’s duel and low scoring affair and this was blown to smithereens with only the second LA Dodger to “dig in” to the batters box! After a clean first inning from Dodgers Mexican born starting pitcher Julio Urias that would eventually lead to three more strong perfect innings, six strike outs and a Game One play-off series win, Mike Clevinger was smoked over the fence for a Home Run from Trea Turner and with catcher Will Smith (impressive as ever) scoring after a Max Muncy driven single up the middle, the home team Dodgers were 2–0 in front by the end of the 1st inning, and crucially, 26 energy sapping pitches from the eccentric wind up and tippy-tappy action on the mound from the Padres Clevinger. By contrast, the Dodgers Urias spun a gem for 4 innings as his sweeping and swooping delivery style was unhittable, racking up six strike outs in the process and by the end of the 3rd inning alone he had the cushion of a 5–0 lead and only inches away from it being a game ending 9–0 lead as Mookie Betts missed a “Grand Slam” home run by a matter of inches down the 3rd base foul line.
Clevinger was pulled from the game before he’d even completed his third inning as he was being tattooed around Dodger Stadium by Trea Turner (a double to add to his home run), two doubles from Will Smith and individual runs batted in from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger. Bellinger’s RBI to make it 5–0 was replaced by an error charged to Will Myers who more than made up for his error at the top of the 5th inning with a high arcing drive to straight away centre field that just evaded the leaping Trace Thompson for a home run, the first run charged to Dodgers Julio Urias and the first of two further runs in a sticky 5th inning for the Mexican and the end of his night’s work. Jake Cronenworth clubbed a single, Ha-Seong Kim a scorched double and both were batted in (by Trent Grisham and Austin Nola respectively) and with the score now 5–3 at the end of the 5th inning we certainly weren’t watching a pitcher’s duel, and the Padres were now firmly in the game.
The Padres were particularly indebted to Steven Wilson and Pierce Johnson who combined to brilliantly pick up the slack and extra innings needed in replacement of starting pitcher Mike Clevinger, and both Tim Hill and Nick Martinez pitched clean innings and 3 strike outs combined to keep the game close and prevent any further scores from the Dodgers crossing home plate. But one of the Dodgers many strengths this season has been the power, accuracy and reliability of their bullpen and yet again the combination of Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Chris Martin combined to give up just 3 non-scoring hits from 4 innings pitched with Vesia in particular striking out all 3 Padres batters in an exhilarating 7th inning before Martin closed out the deal on a 5–3 1st game win in this best of 5 series.
The winning of the first game in a shortened series can never be underestimated and when you combine this success with the overwhelming dominance and stranglehold the Dodgers have over their near neighbours from San Diego, one must assume they are now firm favourites to take the series and the National League Division title.
Game 2 in the series starts in just a matter of hours and sees ex Dodgers ace Yu Darvish on the mound facing future Dodgers Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw at a sure to be rocking and raucous Dodger Stadium.
It could be a pitchers duel!
It could be a tight, low scoring affair with strike outs aplenty!
It starts at 1.30am UK time, and I can’t wait.
Thanks for reading. My three most recently published articles are linked below and which hopefully provide a representation of what can be found within my general archives:
A tale of two penalties and a whole heap of madness at The Emirates
Arsenal 3 Liverpool 2, 9th October 2022.medium.com
“The Forever Prisoner” (2021)
Alex Gibney with yet more ugly truths from the Evil Empire.medium.com
Rhetorical Questions Round a Rectangular Dining Table
Vol.20 Today’s and Tomorrow’s.medium.com