LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t approve of his team coming out flat in Game 1 of Tuesday’s split-doubleheader. Austin Barnes and the game on the field said otherwise.
For seven innings, the Dodgers looked unusually sloppy. They made a few mistakes on defense coupled with a few more close calls. They didn’t run in their usual clip with runners on base, and there were a lot of errant throws.
But it only takes an inning for this Dodgers team to show just how dominant they are.
The Dodgers capitalized on a five-run eighth inning in which they sent 11 men to the plate to come from behind and beat the D-Backs 6-5 in Game 1 of Tuesday’s split-doubleheader at Dodger Stadium. It’s Los Angeles’ sixth win this season going into the eighth inning, a trait that will come in handy in the postseason.
“When you’re playing a game, you don’t like being beaten as a competitor,” Barnes said. “That is the identity of our team. We will not give up or give up games. … It’s not easy to win baseball games.”
Michael Grove started Tuesday for the Dodgers and threw well, allowing five runs (three earned) with nine hits and a walk and hitting seven over five innings. Grove was bitten by two homers, but the Dodgers’ defense didn’t do him any favors, particularly in the fifth inning when a throwing error by left fielder Miguel Vargas led to a run for Arizona.
Ryan Pepiot, who served as the 29th man in the doubleheader, also put in a strong performance, throwing three scoreless innings and earning the win. Perhaps more importantly, Pepiot, struggling with his command, only walked one. Considering the Dodgers have already picked Pepiot five times, this could be his last major appearance this season.
“I think Pepiot threw the ball well, too,” Barnes said. “He threw some heaters and made some big changes. He kept us in the game. It could have gotten ugly there for a second, but he made some big pitches and got out of a jam. He gave us a chance to win the game.”
Grove and Pepiot kept the Dodgers in the game despite sloppy defense. Freddie Freeman made a few mistakes at first base, as did Vargas in left field. Luckily for the Dodgers, they were able to erase those mistakes with good bats against the D-Backs’ bullpen.
Vargas led the eighth inning with a single in backfield. That set the stage for Barnes, who hit a two-run homer deep in the left stand. Then the Dodgers capitalized on a pair of walks and took advantage of the D-Backs’ poorer defense to take a late lead.
“Any team has a better chance if you get four or five outs in an inning,” Roberts said. “But I think we do our job just as well as anyone else to capitalize on it.”