So Many Hits: Dodgers Win Tenth Home Series in a Row

It was a night filled with incredible offense for the Dodgers who collected a season-high 21 base hits in the 11-1 blowout against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday evening. The Magic Castle was alit with offensive fireworks as the Dodgers all had fun hitting off old friend Dan Haren and Miami reliever Brad Hand. Andre Ethier, Captain Clutch himself, had a five-hit game driving in 3 runs and crushing his 150th career homerun.

Speaking of crushing homeruns, Giancarlo Stanton seems to be coming out of his slump. The big Miami outfielder launched a humongous homerun which cleared the Stadium good for the sole Miami run.

Every Dodger hitter in the starting lineup collected at least one base hit on the night, and even the slumping Jimmy Rollins had two base hits during the decisive victory against the Fish.

Mike Bolsinger pitched well, and I would be totally okay with Bolsinger and Carlos Frias slotting into the Dodger rotation in the meantime until Hyun-jin Ryu returns to the mound.

Dodgers 11 21 0

Marlins 1 5 0

WP- Bolsinger (1-0)

LP- Haren (4-2)

HR- Stanton (8), Kendrick (4), Ethier (5)

Alex Guerrero opened the first inning with a very nice play at third to get the speedy Dee Gordon out on a bunt along the third base line. Gordon was already muttering profanities to the home plate umpire after a borderline strike call on the first pitch he saw from Mike Bolsinger. The spot starter then struck out Martin Prado.

Then Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball clear out of Dodger Stadium. The monstrous solo shot sailed over the left field pavilion, bounced off the roof and into the parking lot. Giancarlo is a beast.

Joc Pederson singled to lead off the home half of the first for the Dodgers against old friend Dan Haren. Howie Kendrick then singled off of Haren. Literally. The line drive hit Haren on his left wrist, and there was a brief time out for the pitcher to regain his composure. Dan reared back to retire Adrian Gonzalez and Alex Guerrero, and the Dodgers stranded two men at the corners.

Yasmani Grandal mowed down Christian Yelich in an attempt to steal second after Bolsinger walked him to start off the second. That’s the second base runner Grandal has thrown out this series.

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The Dodgers loaded up the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the second off three consecutive singles by Yasmani Grandal, Andre Ethier and last night’s hero Scott Van Slyke. Somehow the Dodgers messed this up. Mike Bolsinger hit a ball hard to center field, but Ozuna’s strong throw back in prevented SVS from tagging up and scoring. Joc Pederson somehow struck out swinging on 88-mph Haren fastballs and Jimmy Rollins predictably lined out to center.

Howie Kendrick really was beating up Haren all night. After hitting that line drive off his wrist in the first inning, the second baseman hit a solo homerun to right center to tie up the game in the bottom of the third.

Andre Ethier broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth with a beautiful solo homerun to center field to lead off. That’s Ethier’s fifth homerun of the season and second hit of the night off Haren.

“Ethier hits a tractor, and the Dodgers drive it to a lead.”- Vin Scully

The Dodgers notched three runs off Dan Haren in the fifth. Jimmy Rollins started the rally with a single, and with Kendrick at bat a wild pitch advanced Rollins to second. Jimmy moved to third on Kendrick’s groundout. Adrian Gonzalez was slightly grazed with a pitch, and then Alex Guerrero cashed in with a double to left field which brought in Rollins. Grandal’s single brought in another two runs, making it 5-1 Dodgers. Haren was chased from the game after he allowed another hit (the third of the night) to Ethier.

Scott Van Slyke jumped all over the new pitcher, left-hander Brad Hand, and he hit a RBI double giving the Dodgers their fourth run of the frame.

May 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger (46) throws against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Haren pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed 6 runs on 11 hit with 4 strikeouts and no walks on 80 pitches.

Bolsinger allowed a couple of hits in the sixth (the second to big slugger Stanton), and he got a standing ovation from the crowd once Don Mattingly made the pitching change with two outs and runners on the corners for the Marlins. Paco Rodriguez, Don’s trusty lefty, got the job done by striking out Christian Yelich to end the inning.

Mike Bolsinger pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed 1 run on 5 hits with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks on 87 pitches.

The Dodgers were at it again in the bottom of the sixth. Five base hits and a walk later, this time off reliever Brad Hand, the Dodgers took a 10-1 lead. Rollins and Kendrick singled, Gonzalez doubled and Guerrero singled. Hand walked Grandal to load the bases, and Andre Ethier came up with his third hit of the night. The broken bat single brought in two runs.

With nobody out, Miami had to go to their bullpen again. Nick Masset took over, but Scott Van Slyke’s sacrifice fly brought in Grandal for the fifth run of the inning for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers picked up another two hits in the seventh. Howie Kendrick hit his fourth, and Guerrero collected his third hit on the night.

Sergio Santos and Juan Nicasio both pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the seventh and eighth innings. Former Dodger Dee Gordon went 0-for-4 on the night, and he has yet to steal a base against the Dodgers in the series.

May 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Dan Haren (15) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Ethier amazingly singled to lead off the bottom of the eighth against Bryan Morris for his fifth hit of the game. That’s Dre’s third career five-hit game. Ethier is now hitting .329 on the season with 5 hits, 3 RBI and a run on the night. SVS followed suit with his third base hit of the night, a single.

J.P. Howell was given the ball in the top of the ninth, and the southpaw pitched a nice 1-2-3 inning with the final fly out appropriately taken care of by Andre Ethier in right field.

The Dodgers improve to 22-10 on the season, and they are now an incredible 15-2 at home.

Wednesday’s series finale at 4:50 p.m. PT will feature a Carlos Frias vs. Jarred Cosart match up as the Dodgers go for the three-game sweep.