Dodgers 3 Mets 2: WALKOFF

The Dodgers got their first walkoff of the season in game two against the Mets.

Alex Wood was, once again, pretty good at home. He’s been a completely different pitcher at Dodger Stadium since being traded for last July. He’s been terrible on the road, but at Dodger Stadium he’s allowed two runs in two starts this season. He doubled that mark today, but it wasn’t entirely his fault.

Wood gave up a pair of singles to open up the second and got a grounder that probably should have been a double play. Chase Utley threw the ball into the outfield which allowed a runner to score and put runners on the corners with no outs. Another single gave the Mets their second run, but Wood got the next three to keep the Mets to two runs. He wasn’t super efficient, but he got through 6.1 and only allowed the two runs and four hits, three of which came in that second inning. The other hit came in the fifth, but Juan Lagares was immediately picked off to end that inning. He walked a pair and struck out nine, so while he could have been slightly better and more efficient, he was pretty good (especially considering if the rest of the staff was healthy he’d probably be the seventh or eighth starter). Wood is consistently very good at home, which makes it even more infuriating when he’s bad on the road.

The Wood/Jacob deGrom pitching matchup looked like a huge mismatch entering the game, but Wood honestly outpitched deGrom. The Dodgers jumped on deGrom in the first, as Utley and Corey Seager hit back to back doubles to open the game. Justin Turner moved Seager to third on a grounder, and Adrian Gonzalez hit a sac fly to give the Dodgers two in the first. They had at least one hit in every inning except the sixth against deGrom, but a combination of bad luck, long outs and Gonzalez’s speed kept them off the board. The Dodgers missed two home runs by a total of like three feet.

Yasiel Puig had been struggling hard and was dropped in the order, but he was destroying the ball today. His single was initially ruled an error, as David Wright made a fantastic diving stop but his throw pulled first baseman Eric Campbell off the bag, but it was later changed to a hit.

deGrom was clearly off his game and the Dodgers swung the bat well, but he kept the Dodgers to two runs through his seven innings of work.

While the offense finally showed some life, they still struggled to get the key hit. They left seven runners on base, including two in the eighth after Yasmani Grandal crushed a ball, but it died at the warning track.

The game looked headed for extras with two outs in the ninth, but Trayce Thompson pinch hit for Kenley Jansen, and got a 2-2 fastball down the middle and he did not miss it. His fourth home run of the season gave the Dodgers a huge win and could be a spark for the offense moving forward.

Overall, the offense looked slightly better and the pitching was good all around. Louis Coleman and Pedro Baez got the ball to Jansen, who tossed a perfect ninth. I can’t remember if it was the first time manager Dave Roberts has done so, but Jansen should always be used in the ninth inning of a tie game. Well managed.

The Dodgers look to make it two in a row with Kenta Maeda taking on Noah Syndergaard tomorrow.