Andy Pages got a sunflower seed shower. Then, he delivered another one himself.
In a 6-0 win over the Angels on Friday night, the Dodgers’ third-straight victory was keyed by two big swings.
Pages had the first, ambushing a 3-0 fastball from Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz for a three-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. Moments later, Max Muncy delivered the other, crushing an 0-2 mistake that Kochanowicz left over the plate to make it back-to-back long balls with a solo drive to right.
As Pages returned to the dugout following his trot around the bases, he got a customary seed shower from teammate Teoscar Hernández –– who has made the celebration a staple since arriving in Los Angeles three years ago.
But with Hernández on deck when Muncy went deep, it was Pages’ turn to handle the honors, grabbing a bag of seeds himself and tossing them in Muncy’s face as he came back off the field.
“He’s going to have my job when I’m not here,” Hernández joked of Pages’ seed-throwing form. “So it is getting better.”
The scene represented an uplifting turn on what started as a dark day for the Dodgers (27-18), who placed scheduled starting pitcher Blake Snell on the injured list pregame with loose bodies in his elbow that could require surgery.
Snell’s injury is the third the Dodgers have suffered to a star pitcher in the last month (after Edwin Díaz and Tyler Glasnow). It leaves them concerningly thin on depth as they try to emerge from a month-long slump.
“It seems like every year we go through it,” manager Dave Roberts said of the sudden deluge of pitching injuries. “What I have learned is, we get through it.”
The easiest way to do so this time: More offensive performances such as Friday’s.
Thanks to a third home run in the sixth inning from Hernández –– who snapped a month-long homer drought by driving a two-run blast the other way –– the Dodgers eclipsed the six-run mark for only the fifth time in their last 23 games.
It gave their pitching staff plenty of breathing room in what became an emergency bullpen game.
And it served as the latest encouraging sign that they are beginning to rediscover better form at the plate.
“The at-bats are getting better throughout this week,” Hernández said.
Given the team’s pitching situation, not a moment too soon either.
What it means
The Dodgers don’t want to go with bullpen games regularly this year.
But when they need to, as Friday showed, it isn’t always the worst tactic.
Eight different Dodgers pitchers combined for the club’s fifth shutout this year, limiting the Angels to just two hits while striking out a combined 11 batters.
It started with two scoreless innings from Will Klein, who retired his first five batters before stranding a couple runners in the second. Edgardo Henriquez and Blake Treinen then followed with 1-2-3 frames, keeping the Angels quiet as the Dodgers built their lead.
Wyatt Mills and Kyle Hurt both worked around walks in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Alex Vesia negated a seventh-inning single by striking out his other three batters. Jack Dreyer and Charlie Barnes (a recent waiver claim who was called up in Snell’s place pregame) handled the final six outs.
It was the latest standout performance from a Dodgers relief corps that has a top-10 ERA in the majors this year.
It was also somewhat historic; marking only the 10th time in MLB’s modern era (since 1901) that club pitched a shutout using at least eight pitchers.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better situation tonight,” Roberts said. “It was good to see a few of the guys break out.”
Who’s hot
We covered Hernández (who is 9-for-19 in his last five games with four extra-base hits) in this space last night.
So, let’s go with Pages.
Entering Friday, the third-year slugger was in a lull, held without a hit in his last 13 at-bats. But with his score-opening home run, he continued to build on his strong overall start to the season –– continuing to be the Dodgers’ most consistent, and clutch, hitter.
Pages’ big fly was his 10th of the year, trailing only Muncy (who has 12) for most on the team.
It also put him back in a tie for the MLB lead in RBIs with 38, while helping him finish the night with a .305 batting average (11th-best in the National League) and .893 OPS (which ranks 12th).
Who’s not
Plain and simple, the Angels.
Since an encouraging 11-10 start to the season, the team has dropped 19 of its last 24 games. At 16-29 overall, they now own the worst record in the majors.
Before the game, manager Kurt Suzuki was asked if the club’s recent slump was simply in a run-of-the-mill “cold stretch” –– or something more reflective of the state of an organization that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2014.
Suzuki insisted it was the former, arguing that “there are a lot of games where we’re in it; we’re one swing away, maybe one pitch away, one out away.”
“We’re gonna turn this around,” he added.
Either he was running cover for his bosses, or helplessly kidding himself.
Regardless, a franchise that has never before lost 100 games is well on its way to doing so right now. The “cold stretch,” unsurprisingly, continues.
Up next
The Dodgers will be going for only their second series win in the last three weeks on Saturday, when Justin Wrobleski (5-1, 2.42 ERA) faces breakout right-hander José Soriano (6-2, 1.66).
