|
 "We had some chances to do some damage," Dodgers manager Don
Mattingly lamented.
The bullpen also was a little short, but starter Zack Greinke worked
seven shutout innings, allowing four hits, and catcher Yasmani
Grandal drove in the lone run with a bases-loaded grounder in a 1-0
victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
The win gave the Dodgers a three-game sweep at Great American Ball
Park. Cincinnati (52-74) has lost 12 of 13.
Left fielder Andre Ethier went 3-for-3 for the Dodgers (70-56), who
swept a series in Cincinnati for the first time since 2008.
"I wouldn't say it salvaged (the road trip)," Mattingly said. "But
it's nice to put three (wins) together after the way it started. The
point now is just to win games."
Greinke (14-3) struck out nine and walked two for LA, which has won
three straight since snapping a five-game losing streak and
eight-game road skid on Tuesday.
An elevated pitch count prevented Greinke from extending into the
eighth or beyond.
"For the most part, I was getting ahead," Greinke said. "It took me
a while. There were a couple longer at-bats that got my pitch count
up. I didn't know how many (relievers) weren't available today. Good
thing I didn't have a bad outing."
With a short bullpen, right-hander Jim Johnson posted his 10th save
with a perfect ninth after Chris Hatcher tossed a scoreless eighth
for the Dodgers, which featured a potential game-tying drive to the
wall by Reds third baseman Todd Frazier.
"Nervous? Just one of those 1-0 games," Mattingly said. "We wanted
to win it in nine (innings). If we get into extras, we're in a
little trouble because of the bullpen situation."
Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (7-10), one of eight rookie pitchers
to start for the Reds this year, went toe to toe with Greinke,
allowing one run, six hits and a walk and striking out six.
"It is fun to go against Greinke," DeSclafani said. "It was tough on
the hitters today going against him. It's frustrating to lose a game
like this, but I can only control what I can control. I can't say
enough about the guys behind me."
Grandal marked his return to the lineup with a bases-loaded
double-play grounder to drive in a run, putting the Dodgers ahead
1-0 in the second inning. It was one of three double-play grounders
for Grandal.
Greinke, coming off a loss Saturday in Houston in which he allowed
three runs in seven innings, retired the first seven Reds batters.
But Cincinnati kept the pressure on.
[to top of second column] |
Greinke allowed two singles in the third but fanned Frazier to end
the inning. Cincinnati had runners on first and third with one out
in the fifth, but Greinke struck out two straight batters to end
that threat.
"There wasn't a lot of opportunity, but we had some," Reds manager
Bryan Price said. "We didn't cash in. Greinke is good everywhere,
home and road, day or night. Yet I don't think he's invincible."
The Reds did manage to push Greinke's pitch count to 98 through six
innings. He came back out for the seventh, allowing only an infield
single to finish with 109 pitches.
The Dodgers failed to add insurance runs despite loading the bases
with one out in the eighth and no outs in the ninth. But they held
on.
"You'd hope to do better on a road trip," Greinke said. "But we're
still in first, as of now. We're facing some tough teams (Cubs,
Giants) when we go home, so it's good we can leave here feeling
good."
NOTES: Los Angeles 1B Adrian Gonzalez left with a right knee
contusion after fouling a pitch off his leg and LF Yasiel Puig
departed in the ninth after beating out an infield hit. ... Dodgers
CF Joc Pederson made his first start since Friday when the Dodgers
were no-hit by Houston's Mike Fiers. Pederson is batting .161 in his
past 30 games. ... Dodgers C Yasmani Grandal returned to the lineup
after sitting out two games with a sore left shoulder. ... Reds
manager Bryan Price indicated that RHPs Michael Lorenzen and Robert
Stephenson, the club's top pitching prospect, could be promoted from
Triple-A when the rosters expand Sept. 1. ... Reds RHP Anthony
DeSclafani made the 78th start by a Reds rookie this season. Eight
rookie pitchers have started at least one game for Cincinnati.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
