Sweeping the Snakes: Joc Blocks and Puig Attacks in Walk-Off Dodgers Win

The Dodgers walked off with a wild one on Wednesday. The homeruns were flying out of Dodger Stadium, and there were five homeruns on the night between the two teams. Brett Anderson wasn’t sharp, and he only lasted five innings putting the game in the hands of the bullpen. Don Mattingly had to use five relievers to get the win, but luckily there is an off day on Thursday.

Joc Pederson made a dazzling catch to rob Tomas of a three-run homerun in the third, and Yasiel Puig went 4-for-4 with a single, double, homerun, 3 RBI, a walk and 2 runs on the night. Paul Goldschmidt also went 4-for-4 on the night, but it was ultimately Howie Kendrick‘s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth which gave Kenley Jansen both the blown save and the win after he allowed the tying run to the D-backs on a Pollock homer in the top of the ninth.

Brett Anderson did not install confidence with me after Ender Inciarte singled off the first pitch he saw from the left-hander in the first inning. The notorious Dodger tormentor Paul Goldschmidt singled between Alberto Callaspo and Jimmy Rollins. Yasmany Tomas then hit the third single of the inning, which was a booming RBI single off the center field wall. The Snakes slithered to a 1-0 lead.

Dodgers 7 9 2

Diamondbacks 6 11 1

WP- Jansen (1-0)

LP- Hudson (1-2)

HR- Puig (3), Grandal (6), Goldschmidt (17), Tomas (2), Pollack (8)

Yasiel Puig, who has been hitting well since coming back from his hamstring woes, singled to left field with one out in the home half of the first. Jeremy Hellickson had to face an extra batter after he retired Adrian Gonzalez on a fly out. Howie Kendrick reached safely on a high sailing throwing error by Aaron Hill which temporarily extended the inning. Yasmani Grandal popped out, and the Dodgers were unable to cash in the error.

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In the second, Tuesday night’s hero Howie Kendrick committed a fielding error on a Nick Ahmed groundball. The ball bounced up and hit Howie in the chest. The error wasn’t costly thanks to some defensive help from Gonzo who prevented a base hit from Ender Inciarte to end the inning.

Jun 10, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) hits a three run home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Ethier singled to right to lead off the bottom of the second, and he continues to hit very well against Arizona. Ethier went all the way from first to third on a Alberto Callaspo single also hit to right field, and the Dodgers were in business with runners at the corners and nobody out. Brett Anderson successfully laid down a good bunt, and Ethier was able to come home to tie up the game when Hill threw the ball to Chris Owings at first instead of home where Hellickson was nowhere to be found.

Then boom.

"“And Puig promptly hits a high fly ball to deep center, back goes Pollock, to the wall, it is GONE! …Dodgers lead 4-1.”-Vin Scully"

Yasiel Puig crushed a three-run homerun over the center field fence! It was a beauty. The Dodgers lead 4-1 after the four-run inning. That was Puig’s first homerun since April 13th.

Then Joc made an incredible catch to rob Tomas of a three-run homerun in the third. It was a spectacular catch as he reached over the wall to get the ball. Having a true center fielder has been such a boost to this Dodger team. Aaron Hill then grounded into a tailor made double play by groundball inducer Anderson to end the inning.

Boom. Again.

Yasmani Grandal hit his sixth homerun of the season, a solo shot to center field in the bottom of the third. The Dodgers took a 5-1 lead.

The Dodgers chased Jeremy Hellickson from the game in the fourth. A leadoff walk to Joc was followed by a sneaky double by Yasiel Puig who took advantage of the sleepy Arizona defense on what should have been just a single to center.

Oliver Perez was able to squeak out the final out in the inning by retiring Adrian Gonzalez, and the Dodgers strand Joc and Puig at second and third.

Jeremy Hellickson pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed 5 runs on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks on 76 pitches.

Old foe Paul Goldschmidt hit his 100th career homerun off Anderson, a two-run shot to right center in the fifth. Then Tomas proceeded to hit a homerun as well, and the Snakes slithered within one run after the back-to-back homers.

Brett Anderson pitched 5 innings and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts and 1 walk on 91 pitches.

In the sixth, Stan Conte went out to check on an apparent finger boo boo for Juan Nicasio who had to come out for presumably a blister on his right index finger. Nicasio had allowed a single to Ahmed who ended up at third after stealing second and taking third on a passed ball by Grandal. Then a 11-pitch at bat and subsequent walk to David Peralta spurred the mound visit.

Adam Liberatore came out of the Dodger bullpen to take over for the injured Nicasio. An Inciarte fly ball to left field allowed Peralta to take second on the high throw to the plate by Ethier. Than a DonnieSwitch™ brought in Yimi Garcia to face A.J. Pollock, and Kiké Hernandez came in to play left field. Garcia go the job done by striking out Pollack, and the slim one-run lead was temporarily preserved.

Thanks to starting third baseman (insert sarcasm here) Alberto Callaspo’s leadoff double off Andrew Chafin in the bottom of the sixth, the Dodgers scored an insurance run. A sacrifice bunt by Rollins and a sacrifice fly by Hernandez allowed Callaspo to come in for the sixth Dodger run of the night.

Jun 10, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal (9) hits a solo home run in the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Goldschmidt came up with his fourth hit of the game, a leadoff double off Garcia in the seventh. Goldy scored on a Chris Owings fly ball to center field. Joc made a good throw to home, but the D-backs were able to pull within one run of the lead yet again.

Puig also had a four-hit game, and he singled off Randall Delgado in the bottom of the seventh for numero quatro.

A great defensive play by Callaspo in the eighth saved J.P. Howell‘s bacon. Somehow the southpaw has a 0.55 ERA but still frightens me.

It was up to Kenley Jansen to hold on to the one-run lead in the top of the ninth. A.J. Pollock proceeded to tie up the game 6-6 with a shocking solo homerun to left center field, and it was a whole new ball game.

Daniel Hudson started his second inning in the bottom of the ninth as the Dodgers were looking for a walk-off or something. Hudson allowed consecutive walks to Puig and Gonzo with one out which set up the walk-off hit by Howie Kendrick, a single to right field! Yasiel Puig brought in the winning run, and the Dodgers completed the sweep and improve to 35-25 on the season. They remain one game ahead of the Giants who beat the Mets again earlier on Wednesday.

Thursday is a much needed off day, and on Friday the Dodgers begin a three-game series in San Diego. Clayton Kershaw will pitch on Friday against Odrisamer Despaigne to open the series.

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