If Don Mattingly is on his way out of Los Angeles, his last game with the Dodgers will be a 9-2 victory. The series win over Milwaukee comes after his controversial pre-game interview criticizing Andre Ethier and the team’s front office.
A glance at the box score and highlights makes it look as though Mattingly’s pre-game remarks lit up the Dodgers offense. But, a closer look shows that the lineup took advantage of Wily Peralta, who has not been pitching well all season.
Peralta did not even make it out of the second inning, giving up singles to Nick Punto, Juan Uribe, and Ramon Hernandez to load the bases. With one out Carl Crawford singled to right field scoring two runs.
After allowing a Mark Ellis single and an error by Jean Segura put Adrian Gonzalez on base, Peralta lost all pitch control. With bases loaded, Scott Van Slyke and Nick Punto both walked, scoring the Dodgers fourth and fifth runs of the inning.
The Dodgers finished the game with 12 hits and nine runs. Every starting position player but Adrian Gonzalez got at least one hit.
Scott Van Slyke started and had a great game while Andre Ethier rode the bench. He had two doubles, two RBIs, and a walk.
As fun as it was to watch the bats go off in the win, the game was overshadowed by Mattingly’s pre-game comments, and his cloudy future with the team.
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He got the results he hoped for from benching Ethier, but the way he publicly denounced the right fielder was inappropriate. Criticizing a team super star is not the way to keep your job, or keep the clubhouse happy.
On the mound, Hyun-Jin Ryu finally got proper run support, cruising through 7.1 innings for the win. Wednesday’s start lowered his ERA to 3.30 and added four strikeouts, giving him 60 on the season.
On Friday, the Dodgers begin a series against the NL Central leading, St. Louis Cardinals.
