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Dodgers win on walk-off walk
What was left of a crowd of 49,749 in Chavez Ravine got to witness some middle-of-May high drama Monday night when Trayce Thompson, mired in an 0-for-30 slump, drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the Dodgers to a 9-8 walk-off win over the Minnesota Twins.
Max Muncy provided some early muscle with home runs in his first two at-bats, and Phil Bickford provided three gutsy innings of relief, throwing a career-high 48 pitches and limiting the Twins to one run and one hit to help the Dodgers win extend their winning streak to six and notch their 14th victory in 16 games.
A Dodgers bullpen that had a National League-best 2.15 ERA since April 27 blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning and a one-run lead in the ninth, but Bickford, the last reliever manager Dave Roberts wanted to use, salvaged the night by escaping a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the 10th and adding a scoreless 11th and 12th.
“That’s as good of an outing from him as you’ll ever see,” Roberts said. “I think he was more just realizing that he was the last man standing, and it was his game. He wasn’t going to look for any exits. I think he could have kept going if we asked him.”
We go to the 12th, tied 8-8
11th inning
Twins: Bickford is still pitching for the Dodgers. Michael Taylor is the runner at second. Byron Buxton struck out swinging. Jorge Polanco struck out swinging. Trevor Larnach was walked intentionally. Kyle Farmer lined to second. Nice diving stab by Miguel Vargas.
Dodgers: Right-hander Jorge LĂłpez now pitching for the Twins. Jason Heyward is the runner at second. Miguel Vargas struck out swinging. David Peralta grounded to short, Heyward to third. James Outman, batting for Miguel Rojas, struck out swinging.
Score after 11: Dodgers 8, Twins 8
Both teams score in 10th, still tied heading to 11th
10th inning
Twins: Right-hander Phil Bickford now pitching. Trevor Larnach is the runner at second. Kyle Farmer walked. Willi Castro bunted. Bickford fielded it and looked at third. By the time he threw to first it was too late. Everybody safe. Bases loaded, no one out. Christian Vazquez walked, Larnach scoring. The Twins have their first lead of the game. Donovan Solano struck out swinging. Alex Kirilloff struck out looking at a pitch that was three inches off the plate. Michael Taylor flied to deep center.
Dodgers: Will Smith is the runner at second. Jhoan Duran is still pitching. Max Muncy flied to center. J.D. Martinez singled to center, scoring Smith. Trayce Thompson is running for Martinez. Thompson was picked off first. Jason Heyward struck out swinging.
Score after 10: Dodgers 8, Twins 8
We go to extra innings
Ninth inning
Twins: Evan Phillips now pitching for the Dodgers. Alex Kirilloff grounded to first. Carlos Correa walked. Michael Taylor ran for Correa. Byron Buxton doubled to left-center, scoring Taylor. Jorge Polanco struck out swinging. Trevor Larnach struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Right-hander Jhoan Duran now pitching for the Twins. Mookie Betts struck out swinging. Freddie Freeman grounded to second. Will Smith grounded to short.
Score after nine: Dodgers 7, Twins 7
Twins tie it in top of the eighth, then Dodgers retake lead
Eighth inning
Twins: Yency Almonte now pitching for the Dodgers. Byron Buxton singled to left. Jorge Polanco doubled to right, Buxton to third. Trevor Larnach homered to center. It’s all tied up. Kyle Farmer grounded to third. Willi Castro grounded to third. Christian Vazquez singled to left. Donovan Solano struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Right-hander Griffin Jax now pitching for the Twins. J.D. Martinez fouled to right. Larnach caught it just to the right of the foul pole. Jason Heyward grounded to second. Miguel Vargas doubled to left-center. David Peralta doubled to right, scoring Vargas. Peralta hit the ball down the line and on replay it looked foul. But it’s not reviewable. Miguel Rojas grounded to first.
Score after eight: Dodgers 7, Twins 6
It’s 6-3 Dodgers after seven
Seventh inning
Twins: Kyle Farmer grounded to third. Willi Castro grounded to third. Christian Vazquez singled to right. Caleb Ferguson now pitching for the Dodgers. Donovan Solano, batting for Joey Gallo, walked. First and second, two out. Alex Kirilloff singled to left, loading the bases. With Carlos Correa up, everyone moved up on a wild pitch, Vazquez scoring. Correa grounded to short.
Dodgers: Right-hander Emilio Pagán now pitching for the Twins. Miguel Rojas lined to left. Mookie Betts walked. Freddie Freeman doubled to left, scoring Betts with Freeman taking third on the throw home. Will Smith grounded to third. Max Muncy struck out swinging.
Score after seven: Dodgers 6, Twins 3
Dodgers 5, Twins 2 after six innings
Sixth inning
Twins: Shelby Miller now pitching for the Dodgers. Carlos Correa popped to short. Byron Buxton grounded to the pitcher. Jorge Polanco walked. Trevor Larnach struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Jason Heyward struck out swinging. Miguel Vargas singled to center. Vargas was picked off first. David Peralta flied to center.
Score after six: Dodgers 5, Twins 2
Dodgers strand two, still lead 5-2
Fifth inning
Twins: Noah Syndergaard’s day is done. He went four innings, give up four hits and two runs while walking none and striking out five. Justin Bruihl is now pitching for the Dodgers. Willi Castro, batting for Gordon, struck out swinging. Christian Vazquez singled to left. Joey Gallo struck out swinging. Alex Kirilloff lined to center.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts struck out swinging. Freddie Freeman struck out swinging. Will Smith reached first on third baseman Kyle Farmer’s throwing error. Max Muncy, looking for his third homer of the game, is at the plate. The Twins remove Pablo López and replace him with right-hander and former Dodger Brock Stewart. Muncy singled to right-center, Farmer to third. J.D. Martinez flied to center.
Score after five: Dodgers 5, Twins 2
It’s 5-2 Dodgers after four
Fourth inning
Twins: Byron Buxton struck out swinging. Jorge Polanco homered to right. Trevor Larnach lined to left. Kyle Farmer struck out looking.
Dodgers: Miguel Vargas popped to short. David Peralta flied to deep center. Miguel Rojas struck out looking.
Score after four: Dodgers 5, Twins 2
Another homer for Max Muncy; Dodgers lead 5-1
Third inning
Twins: Joey Gallo grounded to third. Alex Kiriloff flied to center. Carlos Correa struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Freddie Freeman grounded to short. Will Smith singled to left-center. Max Muncy homered to left-center, his second of the game. J.D. Martinez grounded to third. Jason Heyward fouled to the catcher.
Score after three: Dodgers 5, Twins 1
It’s 3-1 Dodgers after two innings
Second inning
Twins: Byron Buxton flied to right. Jorge Polanco grounded to first. Freeman made a sliding grab and fed Syndergaard covering, but Polanco beat the throw. Trevor Larnach lined to right. Polanco stole second. Kyle Farmer singled to left-center, scoring Polanco. Nick Gordon singled to right, Farmer to second. Christian Vazquez grounded to short.
Dodgers: David Peralta lined to second. Miguel Rojas flied to left. Mookie Betts grounded to third.
Score after two: Dodgers 3, Twins 1
Dodgers take quick 3-0 lead on homers by Smith and Muncy
First inning
Twins: Former Dodger Joey Gallo grounded to third. Alex Kirilloff struck out swinging. Carlos Correa struck out swinging.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts grounded to short. Freddie Freeman singled to right. Will Smith homered to right-center. Max Muncy homered to DEEP right. He almost hit it into the loge section, which is almost never done. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. Jason Heyward grounded to short. Everyone ran off the field and they went to a commercial break. When they came back, Heyward was on first. The Dodgers challenged the play and Heyward was awarded first because of catcher’s interference. Miguel Vargas flied to right. And that does end the first inning.
Score after one: Dodgers 3, Twins 0
Struggling outfielder James Outman gets night off against Twins
It’s a tale as old as the game itself. Rookie breaks camp with big-league club for first time and crushes opposing pitching. Scouts find holes in kid’s swing. Pitchers make adjustments to exploit the weaknesses, and rookie goes into extended slump.
James Outman is merely the latest youngster to rise and fall with baseball’s roller coaster, the Dodgers outfielder cooling off in May after winning National League rookie of the month honors in April, when he hit .292 with a .991 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, a major league-leading seven homers, three triples, 20 RBIs and 17 runs.
In 17 games since April 26, the left-handed-hitting Outman is batting .196 (11 for 56) with a .629 OPS, one homer, four doubles, four RBIs, 26 strikeouts and six walks, his struggles reaching a point to where he did not start against Minnesota Twins right-hander Pablo LĂłpez on Monday night.
“Absolutely!” manager Dave Roberts bellowed, when asked if it was inevitable for Outman to return to earth after his torrid start. “And the thing is, it’s happened to all of our guys. I could say the same thing about Mookie [Betts], and that’s a superstar player. It’s baseball. It’s hard to hit.”
One particular pitch has given Outman the most trouble–he’s batting .118 (two for 17) on at-bats that end with fastballs up in the zone.
Tonight’s starting lineups
The starting lineups for tonight’s Dodgers-Twins game.
Mookie Betts is playing at his peak. Will he sustain it through October?
The rhetoric is the same.
Mookie Betts still downplays his importance to the Dodgers. He still won’t acknowledge the oversized influence he has on games. He still won’t make any predictions about what he might or might not do.
Don’t be alarmed, however, by what sounds like an effort by the $365-million outfielder to skirt responsibility.
Betts has changed, manager Dave Roberts said.
“I see a concerted effort on every pitch in the batter’s box now,” Roberts said.
Sunday recap: Dodgers show Padres who’s boss in the NL West
All that hype about the Padres coming into this season?
The Dodgers made it look like a bunch of hot air over the last 10 days.
After eking out a series win in San Diego last weekend, the Dodgers emphatically swept their National League West rivals this weekend in Los Angeles, earning their fifth straight win over the Padres, and fifth consecutive victory overall, with a 4-0 shutout Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
