Happy Veterans Day!
Not quite, but a handful of veteran players provided most of the offense on Saturday as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Detroit Tigers, 3-0, for their sixth win in a row.
Curtis Granderson made his Dodger debut and scored the first turn of the game in the seventh inning.
Granderson was acquired by the Dodgers late Friday night, and has had a whirlwind few hours as he was told after last night's game in New York around 12:00AM EST that he had been traded to Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old veteran outfielder told reporters before the game on Saturday that he didn't get home and to sleep until around 3:00AM EST, and was on a flight headed to Detroit at 6:00AM EST.
When he arrived at the stadium, Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts told him he was starting in left field and batting fifth.
Granderson made the most of his first game in Dodger blue, reaching base on an error by third baseman Nick Castellanos with two outs in the seventh before scoring on an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez.
Curtis Granderson smashes a double for his first hit with the Dodgers pic.twitter.com/F1yUbHWpJb— MLB Insider Dinger (@atf13atf) August 19, 2017
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Fittingly, Gonzalez knocked in the game's first run in just his second day back to the team after missing the last two months on the disabled list with two herniated discs in his back.
Gonzalez is now just two hits shy of becoming just the seventh Dodger in Los Angeles franchise history to record 2,000 hits in their career.
It was a good old fashioned pitcher's duel for most of the game as Hyun-Jin Ryu and Michael Fulmer took turns tossing scoreless innings.
Ryu left the game first, and did not factor in the decision, surrendering just three hits with four walks and four strikeouts in five shutout innings.
Fulmer (10-11) was the hard-luck loser, allowing just one unearned run (thanks to the error by Castellanos), on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts in seven innings.
Justin Turner tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single that scored Chase Utley as the veterans did all the heavy lifting on Saturday.
They say all he does is hit. (via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/j2Aarvo0MY— Chavez Ravine Fiends (@RavineFiends) August 19, 2017
Yasmani Grandal hit is 16th home run of the season when he took Tigers' closer Shane Greene deep in the top of the ninth inning.
Ross Stripling (3-4) earned the win, pitching two innings of scoreless relief, striking out four Tigers.
Brandon Morrow struck out the side in the eighth, reaching 100 MPH on the radar gun multiple times before paving the way for closer Kenley Jansen.
Jansen earned his 32nd save of the season and has recorded at least 30 saves in four consecutive seasons, the only closer in baseball to accomplish that feat.
Cody Bellinger was injured in the outfield in the sixth inning while catching a ball at the wall. He left the game in the top half of the seventh and was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain. He was listed by the team as day-to-day, but it is unlikely he starts on Sunday.
"It's swollen, but not too serious," Bellinger said of the ankle injury. "I thought I was closer to the wall, so I kinda jumped and hit a soft spot of dirt and rolled it a little bit. I just tried to walk it off and finish that inning. I came out for precautionary reasons."
Adrian Gonzalez you will pay for this pic.twitter.com/3tM3Cy0KNj— MLB Insider Dinger (@atf13atf) August 19, 2017
The victory gave the Dodgers their 13th consecutive win against an American League team this season, tied with the Marlins for the longest streak in MLB history.
L.A. can set a new MLB record on Sunday against Justin Verlander in their last Interleague game of the 2017 season.
The shutout guarantees the Dodgers will win their 18th series since losing two-of-three to the Washington Nationals in June. The Dodgers are unbeaten in their last 21 series, going 18-0-3 over that span. Every other team in baseball has lost at least six series over the same span.
The Dodgers are 26-5 since the All-Star Break, the best start to the second half in MLB history according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Up Next:
The Dodgers play their final Interleague game of the 2017 schedule on Sunday when they face former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander. Kenta Maeda heads to the mound for the Dodgers with first pitch scheduled for 10:10AM PST.
