The Los Angeles Dodgers bounced back from a disappointing loss with an 11-2 rout of the San Diego Padres, led by Freddie Freeman and Will Smith providing plenty of offense, and Lance Lynn overcoming recent struggles.
Heading into the night, Lynn had pitched to a 10.80 ERA and allowed eight homers in his last three starts. That came after Lynn sported a 1.44 ERA through his first four starts after being traded to the Dodgers.
The veteran right-hander minimized his home run troubles and held the Padres to just two runs over seven innings. Lynn provided needed length to cover the Dodgers’ bullpen and twice worked out of traffic, including with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
Though, he was aided in that instance by Trent Grisham’s bunt attempt resulting in an out at third base.
The Dodgers also did their part to take pressure off Lynn by providing early run support. On the night of his 34th birthday, Freeman singled in the first inning and moved into scoring position on Smith’s double.
The extra-base hit was Smith’s first since September 3 and it snapped a streak of three consecutive games without a hit. Max Muncy followed that with a sacrifice fly that put L.A. ahead 1-0.
They added onto their lead in the third inning when Freeman hit a two-run homer. Freeman has now homered on his birthday four times in his career, leaving him one year shy for all-time MLB record that is shared by six players.
Michael Wacha walked the next three batters faced and failed to cover first base on a ground ball to the right side that resulted in the Dodgers scoring on a force out rather than the Padres potentially converting an inning-ending double play.
Freeman’s third hit of the game put two on in the fourth inning and set the table for Smith’s first home run since August 29. Freeman later added his 55th double of the season to finish a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, and scored his 121st run of the year to set a new career high.
Rich Hill inherited a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the seventh inning and allowed runs on Chris Taylor’s RBI single and James Outman’s sacrifice fly. J.D. Martinez added a two-run single in the eighth.
The Dodgers turned to Kyle Hurt, who made his MLB debut with two scoreless innings to finish out the win.
Dodgers magic number
The Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West is down to five. The earliest point they can wrap up their 10th division title in the last 11 years is Friday.
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