Alex Wood threw eight scoreless innings of one-hit ball and the Los Angeles Dodgers shutout the Colorado Rockies 2-0 to win the rubber match of the three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.
Wood bounced back from an atrocious outing in Arizona last Friday to pitch eight nearly perfect innings on Wednesday blanking the Rockies in what was arguably his best outing in a Dodger uniform.
"Usually when you have a start like my last one you don't get much sleep in between." Wood said. "So I was chomping at the bit to go back out there and I'm glad I was able to turn it around."
Both teams needed their starters to go deep into the game after last night's nearly six-hour, 16-inning game saw both teams combine to use 24 different pitchers, an MLB record. On Wednesday, they combined to use just three pitchers, a welcome reprieve from the night prior.
"Both teams were dragging so it's one of those things where both teams are hurting, but you still have to go out there and play still," said rookie Corey Seager.
Due to the longevity of last night's contest, Dodgers' manager Don Mattingly went with an interesting lineup in the rubber match. Backup catcher Austin Barnes batted lead off and played second base, Chase Utley batted second and played first base, rookie shortstop Corey Seager batted cleanup, and A.J. Ellis hit behind him in the five-hole.
"It was one of those days when we knew had to give guys some rest like J.T. and Adrian," Mattingly said of his reasoning behind the roster shake up. "We shuffled the lineup all over the place, but when guys pitch well and guys make plays you can still win games."
Ellis must have liked batting higher in the order as he started the second inning with a solo shot to left field, his sixth of the year.
"It was good to give us a lead and get on the board," Ellis said of his homer in the second. "Jorge [De La Rosa] has been an enigma for me and a couple other righties in this clubhouse. It was ironic to be able to put us in front because it's been a challenge my entire career facing him."
Seager knocked in the insurance run in the bottom of the sixth after Barnes lead off the inning with a double down the left field line. Seager finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, notching his third consecutive multi-hit game and seventh as a pro.
"When you're rolling you feel good everywhere," Seager said of his hot start. "When you're winning, everything is a lot easier."
Seager (21 years, 142 days) became the youngest Dodger to bat cleanup for the Boys in Blue since Derrell Griffith in 1964 (20 years, 294 days).
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
Jorge De La Rosa matched Wood's inning output, collecting his second complete game of his career, while preserving the Rockies bullpen. Unfortunately, the left-hander got the loss, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Kyle Parker got the Rockies only hit of the night off Wood in the second inning. Charlie Blackmon singled off Dodgers' closer Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth as Colorado collected a season low two hits on the night.
Jansen worked the ninth inning for his 32nd save of the season, striking out Carlos Gonzalez to end the game.
Shake A Stick:
In an awkward moment between innings, Alex Wood refused to shake manager Don Mattingly's hand after coming off the mound in the eighth inning. More than likely, Wood did not want to come out of the game, but eventually relented.
"I was a little surprised. He went to shake my mind and I started to pull it back a little bit," Wood joked of the incident. "I always want to stay in the game, but the most important thing is the win."
Alex Wood didn't want to shake Don Mattingly's hand in between innings. Wood wanted the CG but Jansen will be in. pic.twitter.com/gDbVMWXfLO — Ryan Walton (@RyanWaltonMLB) September 17, 2015
Game Notes:
Wood became the fourth Dodgers' pitcher this season to throw at least eight innings of one-hit ball or less. The last Dodgers team to do that was in 1965.
Austin Barnes started at second base and has now played catcher, third base and second for the Dodgers this season. He is the first player since Trent Hubbard in 1998-1999 to play those three positions in the same season for Los Angeles.
Fans in attendance celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a Fernando Valenzuela bobblehead and both national anthems sung by Mexican actor/singer Jaime Camil.
