Mookie Betts is heating up, Dodgers finish off sweep of Giants

A simmering Mookie Betts homered, Tony Gonsolin pitched five strong innings, and the Dodgers poured it on late to finish off a two-game sweep of the Giants with a 9-1 win on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Betts had two hits, drove in two runs, and scored twice to help Los Angeles pick up their second win in as many nights over their rivals.

Clayton Kershaw didn’t pitch in Wednesday’s game, but he was interviewed from the dugout on the SportsNet LA broadcast during the bottom of the third inning and top of the fourth. Asked about the lack of offense around the sport and the deadened baseball, Kershaw joked that batters just need to hit the ball harder.

Betts did just that in the sixth inning, but even his barreled 104.1-mph drive to right field wasn’t a sure bet to leave the park.

Betts, who added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, has a six-game hit streak, going 9-for-22 (.409) with a pair of home runs during that span.

Alex Wood allowed only a walk his first time through the Dodgers lineup, and promptly erased that blemish with a ground ball double play.

The second time through the order was much more fruitful. Betts singled and Freddie Freeman walked to open the fourth inning, then Trea Tuner and Will Smith both singled home runs, turning a Dodgers deficit into a lead.

Wood recovered to strike out the side in the fifth, but his night ended one batter after Betts took him deep in the sixth.

The floodgates opened in the seventh, plating four runs against relievers Mauricio Llovera and Sam Long, highlighted by a two-run triple by Freddie Freeman.

Tony Gonsolin only allowed three hits in his five innings. He was especially sharp with the slider — with seven swings and misses in 26 pitches — and the splitter, with three whiffs in 17 pitches. The only run Gonsolin allowed came on a first-pitch fastball to Brandon Crawford, who deposited it over the right field wall.

Beginning with the Crawford home run, which started the second inning, the Giants got the leadoff batter on in eight straight innings. But after Crawford drove in himself, none of the other leadoff reachers came around to score. San Francisco grounded to a pair of double plays, and was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on the night.

Hot corner?

It’s been a rough start to the season for both Justin Turner and Max Muncy. Each grounded into a double play on Wednesday, part of long hitless streaks that both were able to snap later in the game.

Muncy was in an 0-for-15 skid (though with five walks) before a seventh-inning single on Wednesday, his first hit since an April 26 single in Arizona. He added an opposite-field home run with plenty of back spin for two more runs in the eighth.

Turner’s last hit came last Friday against Detroit, a home run off Tigers left-hander Tyler Alexander. Turner was 0-for-17 since that last hit before singling in the eighth. That single also snapped in 0-for-18 skid by Dodgers designated hitters on the homestand, with Turner starting three of the five games there and Muncy the other two.

Turner is hitting .183/.225/.256 with a 43 wRC+ this season, and Muncy’s at .151/.319/.315 with a 96 wRC+.

Wednesday particulars

Home runs: Mookie Betts (4), Max Muncy (3); Brandon Crawford (2)

WP — Tony Gonsolin (2-0): 5 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

LP — Alex Wood (2-2): 5⅓ IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are off Thursday but start a stretch of 31 games in 31 days on Friday, beginning a six-game road trip at Wrigley Field (11:20 a.m. PT; SportsNet LA, MLB Network). Tyler Anderson starts for the Dodgers, with the Cubs starting pitcher yet to be announced.