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Julio Urías, Max Muncy, Matt Beaty all find their groove to sweep Mariners

Dodgers win two straight for the first time in 25 days

MLB: Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Dodgers Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers found their offense and were able to finally secure that elusive second win in a row, beating the Mariners 7-1 on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Wednesday marked the first time the Dodgers won consecutive games since April 9-17, a win streak that ended 25 days ago. They also scored 13 runs in two games against Seattle, the first time they’ve scored at least six runs in back-to-back games since April 15-16.

In securing their first series win since April 16-18 (sensing a theme yet?), the Dodgers finished off Seattle with a three-pronged attack.

Beaty & egg man

Since getting optioned to the alternate training site at Camelback Ranch for a week in April, Matt Beaty has been an opportunist since his return to the majors. His two-run double in the fourth inning broke the scoring ice in this game, and continued a remarkable run for Beaty with the bases loaded:

  • April 28 vs. Reds: 2-run single
  • May 2 at Brewers: RBI single
  • May 2 at Brewers: grand slam
  • May 8 at Angels: 2-run double
  • Tonight vs. Mariners: 2-run double

MLB RBI leaders

Player Team PA RBI
Player Team PA RBI
Yuli Gurriel Hou 69 19
Matt Beaty LA 41 18
Jesús Aguilar Mia 65 18
from April 24 through May 12 Source: FanGraphs

That’s five straight hits for Beaty in bases-loaded situations, knocking in 11 runs during that span. But it’s not only when the bases full that Beaty has produced.

He also added an RBI single in the fifth inning Wednesday — batting with only two on base, the horror! — and has driven in at least one run in each of his last five starts.

Since his recall on April 24, Beaty is tied for second in the majors with 18 RBI, one behind Houston’s Yuli Guerriel.

Maximum May

Max Muncy walked his first two times up, adding to his major league-leading total of 36, seven more than anyone else in MLB (old friend Yasmani Grandal is second). Thirty-six walks for Muncy is the second-most by a Dodger through 37 team games, behind only Duke Snider’s 37 walks in the first 37 games for Brooklyn in 1955. Snider walked 104 times that season.

But in his third plate appearance, Muncy pounced on a first-pitch changeup from Will Vest for his second home run of the series. Muncy went 15 games without an extra-base hit before hitting a pair of home runs in Chicago last week, and now has four homers and a double in his last seven games, hitting .333/.500/.875 during that time.

Stretching out

Before this season, Julio Urías never pitched longer than 6⅓ innings in any start as a professional. But he went seven innings on Wednesday, the fourth time he has done so in eight starts in 2021.

Urías retired his first 13 batters faced until Ty France and Dylan Moore bunched together a pair of singles for the only Seattle run. All of Urías’ six strikeouts came in the first four innings, including three finished off by his changeup. Mariners were 0-for-6 in at-bats that ended on the changeup against Urías, who has held batters to just four hits in 41 at-bats (.098) against the pitch this season, with 15 strikeouts.

“I felt like my fastball wasn’t clicking as well as the changeup,” Urías said through a translator. “I was able to use my changeup and slurve.”

It’s the second time this season Urías has pitched seven innings against the Mariners, fanning a career high 12 while allowing no runs on April 20 in Seattle. The Mariners have three hits in 46 at-bats (.065) against Urías this season.

Wednesday particulars

Home run: Max Muncy (7)

WP — Julio Urías (5-1): 7 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

LP — Justin Dunn (1-1): 3⅓ IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday, but resume the homestand with three weekend games against the Marlins, who are 12-14 against LA with old friend Don Mattingly at the helm, including 7-7 at Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw starts the series opener on Friday night (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with right-hander Sandy Alcantara pitching for Miami.