Offense comes alive as Dodgers defeat D’Backs, 11-2

The offense did it’s job on Saturday night. They did something we haven’t really seen them do all season.... hit with runners on base! Oh boy did they ever, as the Dodgers defeated the D-Backs, 11-2. Coming into tonight’s contest, the Dodgers were hitting about .175 over their last six games with runners in scoring position. It cost them last week against the Giants and it cost them last night against Arizona.

Luckily, tonight was a different story.

Trailing 1-0 through three innings, the Dodgers put up three in the fourth inning. Edwin Rios did what Edwin Rios does... hitting absolute moonshot home runs, that is. He hit a two-run shot, this one going 434 feet. Matt Beaty followed with a solo shot of his own, giving LA the three-run edge.

The offense then put up five runs in the fifth inning. Mookie Betts led the inning off with a walk, then moved to third on a single from Corey Seager. Speaking of Seager, his hot start to the season continued as he finished with two hits. Justin Turner then used his elite speed to turn a long fly ball into a triple, his first since August 11, 2018.

Yes, the Dodgers hit with runners in scoring position. A miracle! Not only did Turner drive in guys on base, Joc Pederson did the same exact thing, as he brought in Turner with an RBI single. The Dodgers were just getting greedy at that point.

AJ Pollock continued his hot stretch of hitting, as he crushed a two-run homer in his former ballpark. He’s now hitting .391 on the season with an OPS just under 1.300. Sheesh Pollock. I know he won’t keep those numbers up (it’s a 60-game season so who knows?), but if he can remain healthy, he very well could be the Dodgers’ X-Factor this season.

Oh, just for good measure, Chris Taylor hit a three-run dinger too. Save the home runs for tomorrow, guys!

Julio Urias looks great

Early on, it looked as if it would be a bullpen game. Julio Urias threw 28 pitches in the first inning and allowed a run. After that, he settled down and was able to eat innings and help preserve the Dodgers’ bullpen.

He ended up going six innings, the first time a starter other than Ross Stripling has done that for the Dodgers this season. He allowed two runs and struck out five. Urias has looked good through his first two starts as a full-time starting pitcher, as his ERA currently sits at 2.45.

The bullpen? Well, they continued to do bullpen-type things. Brusdar Graterol, Dennis Santana and Jake McGee each threw a scoreless inning of relief and got the job done.

WP: Julio Urias (1-0) 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 SO

LP: Luke Weaver (0-2) 4 IP, 6 ER

Home runs: Edwin Rios (2), Matt Beaty (1), AJ Pollock (2) Chris Taylor (1)

Box score

Up next

Clayton Kershaw makes his season debut tomorrow for the Dodgers as they look for the series win. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. PT on SportsNet LA.