True Blue LA - April 22: Dodgers 4, Nationals 3Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2018-04-22T20:29:51-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/170332452018-04-22T20:29:51-07:002018-04-22T20:29:51-07:00Comeback effort gets Dodgers back to .500
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<img alt="MLB: Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/R48whU0Fd16xh6j1br4sXHZEgnY=/0x0:2262x1508/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59481369/usa_today_10801830.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="GKyZBm">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> stage a pair of late rallies to beat the <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> 4-3 on Sunday night, fighting back from a three-run deficit for their largest comeback victory of the year.</p>
<p id="gSyHQO">Keep in mind it was also just their <em>second</em> comeback win in 2018, but the Dodgers will take any victory at this point, moving now to 10-10, at .500 for the first time since they were 2-2.</p>
<p id="vDRa37">The Dodgers got doubles from each of the first four hitters in their lineup, including three in the sixth inning to knot things up after a 3-0 deficit. </p>
<p id="dHD1AT">The go-ahead run came in the seventh, when <span>Austin Barnes</span> was hit by a pitch then advanced to third on a single by Chris Taylor and scored on a sacrifice fly by <span>Corey Seager</span>.</p>
<p id="CagGCD">The Dodgers are now <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/22/17264988/dodgers-scoring-first-early-offense-nationals-preview-espn-sunday-night-baseball">1-8 when the opponent scores first this season</a>.</p>
<p id="cx9rC0"><span>Jeremy Hellickson</span> had the Dodgers off balance for most of his night, retiring 14 straight at one point. The offensive highlight for LA in the first five innings was probably this pitch that somehow went through <span>Chase Utley</span> ‘s legs.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Between the legs! <a href="https://t.co/XoVEBhAKbe">pic.twitter.com/XoVEBhAKbe</a></p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/988238150030974977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a>
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<p id="pOU4hI">A double by Taylor snapped the Hellickson string of outs, then after a walk to Seager the Dodgers tied things up on back-to-back doubles, the first by <span>Yasmani Grandal</span> off Hellickson, then a line drive off the wall in right center field by Cody Belinger off lefty <span>Sammy Solis</span> to score the equalizer.</p>
<p id="5ggeDz">Bellinger finished his double with a slide into second base complete with a swim move to avoid the tag.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Swim move. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dodgers</a> <a href="https://t.co/21t82GjQBY">pic.twitter.com/21t82GjQBY</a></p>— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/988241929052672000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a>
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<p id="PB1FZZ">Those three runs in the sixth inning technically came with <span>Alex Wood</span> still the pitcher of record at the time, though he was pinch hit for earlier in the frame. They ballooned Wood’s run support this season to a whopping seven runs total in his five starts when he is in the game.</p>
<h3 id="xXQgZP">Thorn in the side</h3>
<p id="UHuxZf"><span>Michael Taylor</span> was the key cog in the Nationals offense on Sunday, homering in the fourth inning to widen Washington’s lead to 2-0. Then he fell behind 0-2 but yanked a double down the left field line with one out in the sixth. A frustrated Wood tried a pick off move at second but threw wildly into center field to advance Taylor to third, which allowed Taylor to score on a sacrifice fly.</p>
<p id="l6AEgo">It would be easy to be frustrated since that was the third straight hit for Taylor against Wood on Sunday. Taylor improved to 8-for-14 (.571) lifetime against Wood, including seven hits in his last nine at-bats dating back to 2015.</p>
<p id="SJpmbk">Taylor also walked against a wild <span>Pedro Baez</span> in the eighth inning, then stole second base with a nifty slide at second base — it was a night for swim moves at Dodger Stadium — to avoid the tag of Seager, who fielded a strong through from Grandal a few feet in front of the bag for some reason. But Baez was able to strand Taylor at second base to keep the lead at one.</p>
<h3 id="J0h5SF">Dominant start</h3>
<p id="fCrepz"><span>Tony Cingrani</span> struck out <span>Bryce Harper</span> to open the eighth inning, Cingrani’s only batter faced on Sunday. The Dodgers left-hander has faced 29 batters this season and struck out 15 of them, with no walks.</p>
<h3 id="Iko7sr">Back-to-back outings</h3>
<p id="8cLeUV"><span>Kenley Jansen</span> entered the ninth inning, pitching on back-to-back days for just the second time this season. After allowing back-to-back singles to open the frame he struck out <span>Andrew Stevenson</span> and <span>Trea Turner</span>, then got <span>Howie Kendrick</span> to fly out to center field, collecting his third save of the season.</p>
<h3 id="3rktJo">Up next</h3>
<p id="brvLvc">The Dodgers resume their homestand with a series against the <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a>, with <span>Walker Buehler</span> on the mound <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/22/17268742/walker-buehler-first-major-league-start-dodgers-marlins">to make his first major league start</a> in Monday night’s opener, a 7:10 p.m. PT start. Southpaw <span>Jarlin Garcia</span> starts for Miami.</p>
<h3 id="X8LTtB">Sunday particulars</h3>
<p id="xOwAzh"><strong>Home run</strong>: <span>Michael Taylor</span> (1)</p>
<p id="6A4ldv"><strong>WP - </strong><span><strong>Josh Fields</strong></span><strong> (2-0)</strong>: 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts</p>
<p id="rKd6cA"><strong>LP - </strong><span><strong>Trevor Gott</strong></span><strong> (0-1)</strong>: 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 strikeouts</p>
<p id="SCz1pz"><strong>Sv - Kenley Jansen (3)</strong>: 1 IP, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/22/17269168/dodgers-comeback-doubles-jeremy-hellickson-nationals-recapEric Stephen2018-04-22T14:37:58-07:002018-04-22T14:37:58-07:00Buehler to make first major league start Monday
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<figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="z3gNHm">LOS ANGELES — The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> announced on Sunday that <span>Walker Buehler</span> will be recalled from Triple-A on Monday to make his first major league start in the series opener against the <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p id="pmoMto">Buehler was originally slated to start on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma City but that wasn’t going to happen one way or another, with OKC rained out Sunday in New Orleans.</p>
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<p id="Kaz7qk">The 23-year-old right-hander, the Dodgers’ first-round pick in 2015, had a 2.08 ERA in three start in Triple-A Oklahoma City, with 16 strikeouts and four walks in 13 innings. He made his major league debut last September with eight relief appearances, posting a 7.71 ERA with 12 strikeouts and eight walks in 9⅓ innings.</p>
<p id="FnETUS">“The bullpen was something we tried and I think I could be successful there as well but I’m a starter,” Buehler said during spring training. “I’m excited to get back to it and hopefully have some success.”</p>
<p id="kgI02G">The Dodgers had an open spot in their rotation with <span>Rich Hill</span> landing on the 10-day disabled list with a cracked fingernail. This could be a two-start stint for Buehler with the Dodgers having a doubleheader next Saturday in San Francisco. Manager <span>Dave Roberts</span> wouldn’t commit on Sunday <a href="https://twitter.com/THEREAL_DV/status/988161455101898752">to Buehler making another start</a>, only saying Buehler was <a href="https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/988163524248522753">an option for one of the doubleheader games</a>.</p>
<p id="JDmqcy">Where it gets interesting, at least from a roster shenanigans standpoint, is that the Dodgers could in theory option Buehler back to the minors after Monday’s start, at least on paper, and utilize an extra player for a few games, depending on when Hill is activated (that seems likely for Friday, with <a href="https://twitter.com/DodgerInsider/status/988160583168966656">Kenta Maeda and Clayton Kershaw starting Tuesday and Wednesday respectively against the Marlins</a>). Under normal circumstances Buehler would not be able be recalled for 10 days unless replacing an injured player, but the 26th-man rule for doubleheaders allows for such a player to be called up, provided that he be optioned back to the minors after the one temporary day back up.</p>
<p id="8FbWqb">But that is next weekend. For now, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/16/17238828/walker-buehler-2018-dodgers-prospects">the club’s top prospect</a> gets to make his first major league start, and it’s hard to ask for a smoother landing spot for such a debut than facing the Marlins followed potentially by a game against the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, two of the five lowest-scoring offenses in baseball.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/22/17268742/walker-buehler-first-major-league-start-dodgers-marlinsEric Stephen2018-04-22T12:00:02-07:002018-04-22T12:00:02-07:00The race to score first
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="put8tA">LOS ANGELES — The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> and <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> play the rubber game of their weekend series on national television, with an eye on getting a head start. Sunday’s game is an evening start, shown exclusively on ESPN’s <em>‘Sunday Night Baseball.’</em></p>
<p id="fZZ1mB"><span>Joc Pederson</span>‘s home run on Saturday came in the second inning, continuing a trend of late. The Dodgers have scored in the first or second inning in eight of their last nine contests.</p>
<p id="IXYTMM">The Dodgers are 9-2 when scoring first this season, but 0-8 when the opponent scored first. They only have one comeback win all season — San Diego led 2-1 briefly last Monday in a game the Dodgers won 10-3 — after a league-leading 47 comeback victories last year.</p>
<p id="advHkU">Last year the Dodgers were 70-17 (.805) when scoring first and 34-41 (.453) when their opponent scored first.</p>
<p id="BFADqR">Washington this year is 9-6 when scoring first, and 1-4 when their opponents score first.</p>
<p id="ukMRHO"><span>Matt Kemp</span> is 10-for-20 (.500) with two home runs, a double and two walks in the first three innings this season, including 6-for-8 (.750) with a home run and a double in the first inning.</p>
<h3 id="ikI1EK">Pitching matchup</h3>
<p id="UIHaiZ"><span>Jeremy Hellickson</span> makes his second start for the Nationals in Sunday’s series finale. He allowed a pair of runs in his 4⅔ innings on Monday against the <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a>. He allowed a run in the first inning.</p>
<p id="tKhbtB"><span>Alex Wood</span> takes his 22-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio into Sunday night and a 56.9% ground ball rate through four starts that would be the highest of his career.</p>
<p id="mystU7">Game info</p>
<p id="wZnvu2">Time: 5:08 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="m1Ldyp">TV: ESPN</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2018/4/22/17264988/dodgers-scoring-first-early-offense-nationals-preview-espn-sunday-night-baseballEric Stephen