The Los Angeles Dodgers came into yesterday’s doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants with the best record in baseball. After the two seven-inning games, two shutouts were added to that record. This two-game day accomplished two major things. First, it put the Dodgers squarely in control of the NL West — five games ahead of the San Diego Padres. Secondly, it snapped San Francisco’s six-game winning streak and brought them below .500 on the season. Also, it was finally the day in which we finally heard the words “Gavin Lux debuts.”
Game One
The first game was started by Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who performed well as usual. He won his third straight — throwing six solid, scoreless innings while striking out four and walking none. He also gave up all of the Giants’ four hits along the way to a 7-0 shutout. The Dodgers were firing on all cylinders at the plate as well. Great catches by all three outfielders complimented the powerful plate appearances, propelling the Dodgers past the Giants.
Game Two
Kershaw’s understudy for the position of Dodgers ace, Walker Buehler, was slated to start game two for the Dodgers. Unfortunately, the only thing Buehler started was a stint on the IL with a blister. So, that made game two a surprise bullpen game. Of course, when you have arguably the best bullpen in baseball, a bullpen game is not a bad thing. This game did not disappoint. Caleb Furguson, Victor Gonzales, and Brusdar Graterol skated through the first four without giving up a hit. In the fifth, however, Graterol gave up a single to Brandon Belt. Although Scott Alexander walked back to back batters with one out in the sixth, Blake Treinen picked him up beautifully. Then, Kenley Jansen shut the door on the second shutout of the day.
Lux Debuts
The long-anticipated season debut of young phenom Gavin Lux finally happened in game two. Rumors and speculation were running wild on the internet that the Dodgers were keeping Lux down to get an extra year of control. While he is the #2-rated prospect in all of baseball, he was late to start camp and was not ready for Opening Day. Since Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez were swinging the bat pretty well, there was no need to rush Lux up. The Dodgers felt that he needed to work on some mechanics through plenty of at-bats before joining the big league club. After going 0-3 last night, he will be heading back down to the alternate training facility at USC. There is not any indication that the 0-3 is related to his taxi back to USC at this time. It is not like the Dodgers got many hits in the second game anyway — three, two of which were by Joc Pederson, including a blast over the center-field wall.
Dodgers Cruise
The Dodgers are looking as they were expected to just past the midpoint of the season. That is, out in front of the NL West by five games — with the best record in all of baseball. Once again, either of the top two teams in the NL West would lead any division in the NL. If the season ended today, then the top three teams in the West would be in the playoffs. Having said that, with a five-game lead in the strongest division in the NL, the Dodgers seem to be cruising to their eighth consecutive NL West victory. However, the season is far from over, and the Padres are looking like a team destined for the playoffs. Time will tell, but the Dodgers are clearly the team to beat so far this year.
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