Oakland Athletics @ Los Angeles Dodgers (9/24/20) — Final: LAD 5, OAK 1
Behind very good pitching and solid production offensively, the Los Angeles Dodgers cruise to a smooth victory over the Oakland Athletics in the series finale, 5–1.
Walker Buehler, returning from the injured list and looking to regain his mojo (and his health) headed into the postseason, struck-out the first two batters he faced in an easy opening frame. Mike Fiers’ first pitch was poked through the hole by Mookie Betts for a base hit. Justin Turner also singled, setting up a two-out opportunity for Will Smith. With two-strikes, Smith shortened up and lined a knock to left field, giving the Dodgers an early edge before the first inning came to an end, 1–0. Matt Olsen led-off the second with a single, but Buehler erased it with an inning-ending double-play of Ramón Laureano. Fiers hit Joc Pederson in the bottom half but left him stranded. Buehler struck-out a pair in the third, and Corey Seager went deep, supplying the power on a hanging curveball, to start the home frame. Seager’s solo shot doubled LA’s advantage, and Buehler, despite a two-out walk, had bookend strike-outs in the fourth. Only eight pitches away from his scheduled limit, Dave Roberts made the wise choice to pull Buehler. It was a very good start for him, looking dominant and confident: 4IP, 0ER, 1H, 1BB, 6K. Cody Bellinger’s walk was all for the Dodgers in their turn. Dylan Floro pitched a clean top half, and Fiers navigated Turner’s double to keep it 2–0 LA through five. Pedro Báez began the sixth with bookend strike-outs, working around a walk. In the bottom frame, Smith and Bellinger had back-to-back doubles. Smith’s misread held him at 3rd; however, AJ Pollock walked to load the bases with still no-outs. Pinch-hitting for Pederson, Kiké Hernàndez smacked a base hit the opposite way to make it 3–0. Chris Taylor subsequently walked on four-pitches, and Seager’s sacrifice-fly gave the Dodgers a 5–0 lead. Blake Treinen entered for the seventh and pitched to soft contact that unfortunately resulted in a leadoff infield single. Treinen responded, although walking a batter, with a trio of strike-outs swinging. A walk from Bellinger was all for LA offensively. The A’s got on the board in the eighth thanks to a solo shot from Sean Murphy off of Jake McGee. McGee responded with two strike-outs, and the Dodgers went quickly again at the plate. Kenley Jansen didn’t look great, but he struck-out the final two batters in a perfect, and smooth, frame in the ninth to end the ballgame.
A pretty complete victory for the boys in blue earns them their 40th win of the year. Furthermore, they take the series rubber match from the AL West champs, and will open a three-game set to finish the regular season with the cross-town Angels of Anaheim tomorrow. Clayton Kershaw, 6–2 with a 2.15 ERA, looks to close a spectacular campaign in positive fashion. For Kershaw, a bullpen mishap and a week-late debut are the only things holding him back from winning a fourth Cy Young Award. For the Halos, Andrew Heaney, 4–3 with an ERA of 4.02, gets the ball. 6:40pm first pitch. Go Dodgers!
