Adrian Gonzalez leads another Dodgers home run derby

Adrian Gonzalez joined the home run parade, hitting two on Wednesday night to lead the Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The Dodgers now lead the National League West by 1½ games, their largest lead in the division since April 26.

Just like Tuesday night, the Phillies scored first and led 1-0, but that was short lived, thanks to Gonzalez smacking a three-run shot in the fourth inning against starter Jake Thompson.

Gonzalez added another two-run shot in the seventh to break the game open, his first multi-homer game since July 17, 2015 in Washington.

He has a 10-game hitting streak, batting .444 with five doubles and three home runs during the streak, and dating back to those two half-days of rest in Pittsburgh on June 26-27, Gonzalez is hitting .360/.433/.560 with 29 runs and 29 RBI in his last 41 games.

The Dodgers improved to 16-1 when hitting at least one three-run home run this season (the only loss came on June 16 against Milwaukee).

Justin Turner added a fly-ball home run of his own to left field in the fifth inning against Thompson, giving the club seven home runs in the first two games of this series in Philadelphia.

The home run for Turner was his 22nd, giving him sole possession of the team lead, and improved the Dodgers’ record to 15-0 when hitting three or more home runs in a game this season.

Deja vu

Scott Kazmir found himself with a lead again, just like last Wednesday against the Phillies, only this time was up 5-1 in the fifth. He escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fifth inning, but started the sixth inning allowing a home run, then two singles without recording an out.

That brought in Grant Dayton in relief of Kazmir, facing Freddy Galvis with two runners on base. Last week, Dayton allowed a home run that turned the game around in a Phillies’ win. But this time Galvis settled for a single to load the bases, still a precarious situation with nobody out and a three-run lead.

Dayton then induced a fly ball to right field, and Maikel Franco was held at third base as Josh Reddick threw the ball back into second base. Another fly ball, this one to center field, saw Franco remain at third base. Dayton then got out of the jam with another fly ball to center field, this time the third out of the inning, with no runs cashed in at all.

Up next

Ross Stripling gets the start for the Dodgers in Thursday’s series finale, another 4:05 p.m. PT start. Jerad Eickhoff starts the finale for Philadelphia.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Adrian Gonzalez 2 (12), Justin Turner (22); Tommy Joseph (16)

WP - Scott Kazmir (10-6): 5+ IP, 8 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout

LP - Jake Thompson (1-2): 5 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts