Brett Anderson Carves Up Marlins With 10 Strikeouts as Dodgers Win 7-1

Brett Anderson carved up the Marlins on Friday as the Dodgers pitcher struck out a career-high 10 batters and Los Angeles routed Miami 7-1.

The entire Dodgers pitching staff was dominant in South Beach as Anderson, Adam Liberatore and Pedro Baez struck out 16 total Marlins hitters including the final 10 of the game.

"We finished guys off with two strikes. As was evident with the 10 strikeouts," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Lib coming out of the 8th inning, punching those three guys out and it's great to have Pedro back, he reminded us of what we've been missing."

Howie Kendrick was 4-for-5 with an RBI in his first appearance in the two-hole for the Dodgers this season. Kendrick's four singles were all to opposite field as the second baseman was able put quality swings on pitches over the outside corner of the plate.

"Last series I got away from what I like to do, and this series I want to focus on swinging at good pitches and see how it goes," Kendrick said. "Tonight Brett did a good job of keeping them off the base paths and keeping us in the dugout."

Old friends became familiar foes on Friday when LA traveled to Marlins Park in Miami to take on former teammates Dee Gordon and Dan Haren. Haren is not expected to pitch in the three-game series, but Gordon made an immediate impact against the team that drafted him.

Gordon got the Marlins rolling in the bottom of the first when he bunted up the first base lane for an infield single. One pitch later, Gordon stole second and Christian Yelich advanced him to third on a groundout. Gordon would score one batter later and Miami was on the board 1-0.

"Dee Gordon is my kryptonite," Anderson joked after the game. "He's one of those lefty speed guys you never want to put on base."

The Dodgers would immediately respond in the top half of the second when Scott Van Slyke hit a two-run homer to left field off Marlins starter Justin Nicolino. Van Slyke was reactivated from the 15-day DL last week, and is 4-for-12 with two home runs, two doubles, and three walks since his return.

Jimmy Rollins continued his hot hitting as the veteran shortstop knocked in two runs in the fourth inning. Rollins is the all-time leader in hits (289), runs (172) and doubles (50) against the Marlins and has a career batting average of .293 with 25 home runs and 117 RBIs against them.

Anderson was scintillating for the Dodgers as he picked up victories in consecutive starts for the first time this season. Anderson allowed just one run for the second straight game, holding the Marlins to five hits over seven innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts.

"It felt like I struck out 30 compared to what I've been doing lately," Anderson said smiling. "My stuff was the best it's been all season. I was able to strike out Stanton and other guys with it. This was a great overall team win."

Anderson (4-4) has been clinical in his ability to induce his opponents into hitting ground balls and leads the majors with a 67.3 percent ground ball percentage this year.

Nicolino (1-1) didn't last long leaving for Zack Cosart in the fifth inning. Nicolino allowed five runs on six hits in just four innings of work. Cosart didn't fair much better surrendering two runs on six hits with three walks in four innings as well.

Liberatore and Baez each struck out the side in the 8th and 9th innings respectively. For Baez, it was his first appearance in nearly six weeks as he was reactivated from the 15-day DL before the game.

Game Notes:
Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez was reinstated from the 15-day DL on Friday. Baez has been on the DL since May 13th with a right pectoral injury.

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