Dodgers scratch, claw and rally with wild 8th inning to beat Phillies

The Dodgers dug an early hole but chipped away before rallying in, around and through a porous Phillies infield in the eighth inning to secure a 5-4 win in the opener of a four-game series on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.

Yasiel Puig started the eighth with a single that ricocheted off third baseman Maikel Franco, then scored on a double by pinch-hitter Matt Kemp, who is 18-for-39 (.462) with runners in scoring position this season.

That pulled the Dodgers to within a run, then a pop up by Kike Hernandez became a gift when second baseman Cesar Hernandez lost it in the lights. That put runners at the corners with nobody out.

Max Muncy followed with this high tapper that caromed off the glove of pitcher Adam Morgan, allowing Kemp to score the tying run and Muncy to be safe at first.

One out later, Yasmani Grandal squirted a ball through the left side to score Hernandez with the winning run.

Did I mention the Dodgers trailed this game 4-0 at one point, and didn’t have a hit until the sixth?

It was an odd game, and got even weirder when with two strikes and two outs in the ninth inning Rhys Hoskins fouled a ball that hit his own arm and face, and had to be removed from the game with a 1-2 count, leaving while holding a towel to his mouth as he walked back to the dugout.

Kenley Jansen finished off Pedro Florimon five pitches later. The strikeout was charged to Hoskins, who was bloodied and not on the field at the time. That’s rough.

Vince Velasquez permitted just two walks through his first five innings. The first hit for the Dodgers was a leadoff single in the sixth by Puig, who took second on an error in left field. One out later Joc Pederson doubled him home, then scored himself one more out later on a single by Justin Turner.

About that start

With ace Clayton Kershaw set to return to the Dodgers’ rotation Thursday, Brock Stewart was very likely headed back to Triple-A after this start no matter how well he performed, but his outing on Monday will make for a rough trip to rejoin Oklahoma City.

After some unfortunate luck with a one-out catcher’s interference put a runner on, Stewart walked two straight batters to load the based, then uncorked a wild pitch for a first-inning run, all at a pace usually reserved for Pedro Baez.

A pair of singles opened the second against Stewart, and this time he didn’t get off so easy, thanks to Hernandez powering one over the center field wall for a 4-0 Phillies advantage.

Stewart was able to get through four innings without further damage, even retiring his final seven batters faced. But nothing stood out to clamor for him making further major league starts anytime soon.

Up next

The series continues on Tuesday night with a regular 7:10 p.m. PT start time. Kenta Maeda starts for the Dodgers, and Jake Arrieta goes for the Phillies.

Monday particulars

Home run: Cesar Hernandez (7)

WP - Yimi Garcia`(1-1): 2 IP, 2 strikeouts

LP - Adam Morgan (0-1): IP, 2 hits, 1 unearned run, 1 strikeout

Sv - Kenley Jansen (12): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts