LOS ANGELES -- A pitcher acquired near the trade deadline pitched well, as did the relievers who came after him. What’s going on around here?
The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to stem the tide on two of their more troubling narratives in a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds Friday night.
How it happened: The most interesting thing about the first five innings was the variety of double plays turned. The Reds had a strike-him-out-throw-him-out with Adrian Gonzalez batting in the first inning. Brayan Pena caught a foul bunt attempt by Alex Wood and threw out Joc Pederson, who got a little overeager straying from the bag. The Dodgers turned two. One was a traditional 6-4-3. The other had Pena lining out to Wood, who threw to first to double up Marlon Byrd.
The fifth inning was also when most of the offense started. With two outs, Justin Turner lined an RBI single to left-center off John Lamb, the young left-hander the Reds acquired in the Johnny Cueto trade. The next batter, Gonzalez, belted a three-run home run. Cincinnati tightened things up the next inning when Joey Votto, who had doubled in a run in the first inning, hit a two-run home run off Wood.
What it means: The season of scoreboard watching has begun, and the Dodgers seemingly were able to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants, who were beating the slumping Washington Nationals late in their game up north. If San Francisco wins, the Dodgers will lead the National League West by 2 ½ games.
Notable: Friday also marked another tentative step forward for new reliever Jim Johnson, who had been hit hard in his first four Dodgers appearances. Johnson had his second straight scoreless outing. He finished up the final two outs of the seventh inning and struck out Billy Hamilton. … The Dodgers have gotten nice production at the top of the lineup lately. Jimmy Rollins and Enrique Hernandez were on base five times and combined to score three runs. Hernandez, getting his first sample of everyday at-bats, is batting .462 in his past nine games. … Turner has picked things up quickly after sitting out 15 games with an infection in his right leg. He had a couple of singles and drove in two runs. He is 3-for-5 since returning from the disabled list.
Up next: The series continues Saturday evening at 6:10 PT. The Dodgers' Brett Anderson (6-7, 3.43 ERA) opposes fellow lefty David Holmberg (1-1, 3.06 ERA).
