Out-homering their opponents three-to-one, the Dodgers beat the A’s 9-4 and are now 1-0 all-time in games at Sutter Health Park. Already on their first visit to the A’s temporary home, the Dodgers gave their fans a taste of this park’s propensity for an elevated number of runs by thoroughly dismantling Gage Jump and the A’s bullpen with an incredible eight multi-hit performances. On the Dodgers’ pitching side, Eric Lauer did exactly what this team wanted from him when they acquired him a little over a month ago, navigating a troublesome outing with a respectable line and saving up the bullpen.
Early on, though, a similar fate seemed to be in store for both starters. After avoiding damage in the first inning, both quickly caved, allowing multiple runs in the second, two for the Dodgers and three for the A’s. The Dodgers caught a bit of a break in their first rally, as a Kyle Tucker fly ball was lost in the sun and dropped in for a hit—Tucker would eventually come around to score on a Dalton Rushing single.
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Nearly as quickly as the Dodgers relinquished the lead in the bottom of the second—with the A’s scoring three against Lauer—they came back to take it again in the fourth, this time relying on the long ball. In the battle of namesakes, the Dodgers’ Max Muncy proved to be the more impactful hitter. Muncy added to his RBI single that opened the scoring in the second with a solo shot to tie things up at 3-3.
Only a few batters later, Andy Pages handed the visiting team the lead with a two-run bomb to make it 5-3. This was only Pages’ fourth home run against lefties this season, going against his career splits and performing better versus right-handed pitchers.
While all of this damage forced the Athletics starter, who by the way hadn’t yet allowed a homer this season, to leave the mound, the ball didn’t stop leaving the yard. Already in his fourth at-bat by the time the sixth inning rolled around, Shohei Ohtani decided to get in on the fun, hitting a three-run bomb that firmly put the game out of hand.
Because neither starter necessarily struggled with command, the window was there for either of them to remain in the game if they were eventually able to settle down. While Jump was unable to, Lauer did exactly that, squeezing in a quality start out of a game in which he allowed seven hits in the first three innings. In doing so, the veteran left-hander helped save a couple of innings from the bullpen, and by the time he was removed, a five-run lead gave the Dodgers plenty of security to see this one out.
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Just one more win in a long regular season to give the Dodgers a 55-30 record; this one puts Dave Roberts one shy of 1.000 career victories as a manager, quite the achievement coming up for the three-time World Series winner.
Game particulars
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Home runs: Max Muncy (17), Andy Pages (16), Shohei Ohtani (18), Colby Thomas (3)
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WP— Eric Lauer (4-5): 6 IP, 9 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
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LP— Gage Jump (3-2): 4.2 IP, 11 hits, 5 runs, 5 strikeouts
Up next
Another game, another battle of left-handed starters. On Tuesday, it will be the turn of Justin Wrobleski and the veteran Jeffrey Springs squaring off with the same start time (6:40 p.m. PT).
