HOUSTON –– The Dodgers finally found the ingredients needed to snap out of theirrecent offensive malaiseon Monday.
A hitter-friendly venue, in the form of Houston’s Daikin Park.
A woeful opposing pitching staff, facing an Astros team with the majors’ highest ERA.
And, after a two-week scuffle that had frustrated almost every member of their lineup, some much-needed big swings that keyed an 8-3 victory in the opening game of this week’s series.
“I like where our guys’ heads are at,”manager Dave Robertssaid before first pitch. “There is a new sense of revitalization walking around the clubhouse today.”
That energy might have initially picked up on Sunday, when the Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streakwith a vibe-shifting winin St. Louis.
It wasn’t until they arrived in Houston, however, that the club snapped a stunning six-game home run drought, rediscovered a relentless identity up and down the batting order, and finally broke out with a complete offensive display –– scoring their most runs since April 25 in a dominant 13-hit display.
The onslaught began in the first inning, when the Dodgers strung together three two-out hits against Astros opener Steven Okert, including an RBI knock from ex-Astros star Kyle Tucker.
Then, with the Astros up 2-1 in the second, it was none other than light-swinging No. 9 hitter Alex Freeland who ended the club’s longest stretch without a homer since 2014. He belted an opposite-field drive into the short Crawford Boxes in left. It would mark the first of seven unanswered runs from the Dodgers (22-13) that helped them pull far and clear away.
The offensive resurgence was also aided by Will Smith, who had three hits, including a go-ahead double later in the second; and Freddie Freeman, who added a pair of RBI singles in the third and fifth.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
