A trip to Cincinnati could be just what the Doctor ordered for the ailing Dodgers.
After a five-game losing streak, Los Angeles has now won two consecutive games against the Reds, awakening their slumping bats from their stupor.
Scott Van Slyke, A.J. Ellis and Yasiel Puig each hit home runs in a five-run fourth inning as the Dodgers went to deep to defeat the Reds 7-4 on Wednesday night at Great American Ballpark.
“I’m trying to keep it simple,” Ellis said of his homer. “ When you are in a limited playing time and in a limited role, you just want to go up and have a quality bat every time. I’m just trying to hold the fort down for Yaz.”
David Holmberg got hammered by the Dodgers for the second time in his last three outings. The left-hander allowed six runs on 7 hits in just 3.2 innings of work. In two total games against the Boys in Blue, Holmberg has allowed 13 runs on 12 hits, with six homers in just 5.2 innings of work.
Brett Anderson earned his second victory against the Reds in 11 days, holding Cincinnati to three runs on five hits over 6.2 innings. Anderson could have kept Cincy scoreless if not for a two-out error by Chase Utley extended the seventh inning, allowing three runs to score.
“It was a weird game,” Anderson said of the start.” It was one of the most satisfying/frustrating games I’ve been in. Through the first six it was pretty good, but I couldn’t get out of the seventh. Hopefully we can finish on a high note tomorrow.”
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Déjà vu? Luis Avilan entered into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning for the second straight night to face Jay Bruce in a crucial situation. On Tuesday, Avilan struck out Bruce with the bases loaded and two-outs, on Wednesday, with runners on first and second and two-outs, Avilan again struck out Bruce with a 94-MPH fastball over the heart of the plate.
“Brett did an amazing job,” Dodgers’ catcher A.J. Ellis said. “He ran into the skids there in the seventh, but fortunately our bullpen picked him up.”
The Dodgers tacked on a valuable insurance run thanks to Adrian Gonzalez’s double to the gap in the top of the ninth inning. Yasiel Puig scored from first on the play, giving LA a three-run lead.
Kenley Jansen finally recorded his 25th save of the season in his third appearance over the past week. Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close the door on the Dodgers 69th win of the season.
Bizarre Moment:
Kike Hernandez hit a broken-bat, groundball double to the shortstop in the sixth inning. Hernandez’s bat shattered and the barrel went flying towards Ian De Jesus Jr. who had to jump over the oncoming obstacle, allowing the ball to roll past him and into left field.
Now on http://t.co/kjfLQa8seR Dodge bat: Hernandez legs out lucky double: Dodgers center fielder Kiké Hernandez... http://t.co/oL6bvokcFN — Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 27, 2015
Game Notes:
Yasiel Puig extended his hitting streak to nine games with his two-run home run in the fourth.
On this date in 1939, the Dodgers and Reds became the first televised Major League Baseball game. TV Announcer Red Barber called both games of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The game was broadcast on W2XBS (NBC TV) and only 400 people in the New York area with television sets were able to watch the game.
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