Less than 24 hours from suffering a heartbreaking defeat, the Los Angeles Dodgers responded in emphatic fashion and ran away from the Seattle Mariners for a 12-1 victory to take the series at Safeco Field. Clayton Kershaw recorded his 150th career win in the process.
The Mariners sending Roenis Elias to the mound for the start of a bullpen game immediately backfired as he labored through the first inning and allowed the Dodgers to bat around.
Brian Dozier’s single, Justin Turner’s walk and Manny Machado’s single loaded the bases three batters into the game. Kyle Seager made a terrific stop at third base to get a force out at home plate, but all it did was serve as a minor speed bump for the Dodgers.
Cody Bellinger ripped a two-run single through the right side of the infield, adding to what’s been a stellar month of August. Kiké Hernandez later added an RBI single and Yasiel Puig capped off the five-run frame with a two-run base hit.
The Dodgers also stole three bases in the inning, including two from Puig swiping second and third. They finished with five stolen bases on the afternoon, and are 21 for 23 during the month of August.
To Elias’ credit, he got through the second and third innings without issue. But the Dodgers added to their lead by scoring one run off Chasen Bradford in each the fourth, fifth and sixth innings; doing so with two outs every time.
Machado reaching on a two-out error led to a run as Matt Kemp and Bellinger followed with singles to loaded the bases, and Hernandez then worked a walk. Dozier walked with two outs in the fifth, stole second base, and scored on Turner’s base hit. Hernandez then slugged a solo homer in the sixth.
Matt Festa became the next Mariners reliever that allowed the Dodgers to light up the scoreboard. Turner’s RBI single, his third hit of the game, extended the lead to 9-1. He punctuated a big day at the plate with a three-run home run off Mariners infielder Andrew Romine.
Kershaw didn’t seem affected by the long wait to take the mound, bookending a 1-2-3 first inning with strikeouts. He retired four consecutive batters to start the game before allowing a base hit to Ryon Healy, though nothing came of it.
Seattle did manage to scratch in the fourth inning when Seager’s two-out ground-rule double was cashed in by Healy’s RBI single. But that was all the Mariners managed in what was a second blowout loss of the series.
Kershaw held them to just the one run on four hits while recording seven strikeouts and throwing an efficient 88 pitches across seven innings.
The series victory marked the Dodgers’ first during the month of August. Also of note, Turner extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
