After an entertaining press conference with Vin Scully, the Dodgers did not really come out with their most entertaining game of the season on Friday, a 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. There were only five hits combined between the two teams as starters Ricky Nolasco and John Lackey each lasted eight innings.
The Dodgers' Nolasco delivered his finest performance of the season, giving up just two hits with six strikeouts in eight scoreless innings. He tossed six perfect frames and ended the game with 101 pitches. It was the second time this season he completed eight innings and his only outing without a run scored this season (he had one game with no earned runs, but three runs were allowed).
In Nolasco's last four games he has pitched 25.1 innings and given up four earned runs. So while Kershaw and Greinke are lights-out at the top of the rotation, he has fortified the middle quite well alongside Hyun-Jin Ryu.
His counterpart, Boston's John Lackey, was given a complete-game, three-hit loss. After starting the game with three perfect innings, Lackey gave up a single to Carl Crawford. He got Yasiel Puig and Adrian Gonzalez out, but Hanley Ramirez smashed one to center field for the two-run homer that ended up the deciding factor in the game. How nice it is to be out of Miami where a ball like that would be an easy out, and hardly even reach the warning track.
Crawford hit another single in the sixth for the Dodgers third and final hit of the game. He also had two stolen bases for the first time since April 6 against Pittsburgh. He had not stolen a base since August 7 in St Louis.
Kenley Jansen came in to close out the ninth inning, and struck out two batters on the way to his 22nd save of the season. He has successfully converted his last 14 save opportunies. While not much happened, the game concluded in two hours and seven minutes, the shortest Dodger game of the season.
The win puts their current winning streak at four games, and gives the Dodgers their first double-digit lead in the NL West since 1977 at 10.5 games. Saturday the Dodgers host the Red Sox for game two, a 1:05 matchup featuring Hyun-Jin Ryu versus Jon Lester.
