LDN - Sports

De Leon, Dodgers dump Yankees

[September 13, 2016] NEW YORK -- Los Angeles Dodgers rookie right-hander Jose De Leon admitted to some nervousness going into his first start at Yankee Stadium, especially since he grew up rooting for the Boston Red Sox in Puerto Rico.

Seeing 1,300 fans clad in Dodgers blue in the left field corner helped put him at ease.

With many fans cheering everything the Dodgers did, De Leon pitched five effective innings, and Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner hit late home runs as Los Angeles capitalized on two errors by the New York Yankees in an 8-2 victory Monday night.

"His poise is off the charts," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of De Leon. "Where he's come (from) and thinking back to where he wasn't a prospect and to make himself a prospect. Seeing him here in Yankee Stadium and he has two wins under his belt. He was unfazed, and he has that ability to enjoy the moment and take in the setting, the history but also understands he has a job to do."

Through two major league outings, De Leon is 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA after allowing two runs on three hits (including two solo homers) and two walks against the Yankees. He struck out three.

In 18 combined starts with Los Angeles and Triple-A Oklahoma, the 24-year-old is 9-1. De Leon's next start will likely be in Arizona, and Roberts joked after pitching in Dodger Stadium and New York, "It all goes downhill from here."

The Dodgers never trailed and won for the seventh time in nine games.

A traveling group of Dodgers fans called Pantone 294 was loud throughout the game. During the third inning and the seventh-inning stretch, the fans unfurled a large blue flag that read "L.A." The group has made six road trips this season.

"It was electric -- everything I expected," De Leon said. "I actually was a little more nervous than I was in L.A. Since I grew up a Red Sox fan, I really wanted to beat the Yankees. It was good."

Roberts said, "That energy picked us up a lot. We travel well, but that I didn't expect. Seeing the big flag in left field, we had to give them a little acknowledgement after the game."

De Leon became the seventh Dodgers pitcher since 1913 to get wins in his first two games. He was the third since the team moved from Brooklyn following the 1957 season, joining Shawn Hillegas in 1987 and Kaz Ishii in 2002.

He gave up long home runs to Starlin Castro and Aaron Judge. The right-hander, who grew up a Red Sox fan because his coach gave him No. 5 for former Boston shortstop and current team broadcaster Nomar Garciapparra, heard cheers from the Dodgers fans and others among the 32,058 for the rest of his 83-pitch outing.

"It was awesome," De Leon said. "Got to give to them, too, coming all the way from across the country. It really felt like home."

De Leon also had the comfort of an early lead as Los Angeles scored six times in the opening three innings.

The Dodgers led 1-0 when New York first baseman Tyler Austin could not scoop shortstop Ronald Torreyes' throw on Adrian Gonzalez's potential double-play grounder.

Los Angeles extended the lead to 3-0 when right fielder Judge had Chase Utley's warning track fly ball go off his glove as Jacoby Ellsbury ran over from center field to back up. Utley reached third on the miscue and scored on Corey Seager's single.

"Right when I (called for) it, I tried to pick up where Jacoby was, and he's fast, man," Judge said. "So he got there quick. But once he got there, I called it and just didn't make the play."

The Dodgers added two more in the third against shoddy New York defense.

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Dodgers starting pitcher Jose De Leon (87) reacts as New York Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro (14) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Bryan Mitchell (1-1) was unable to make a throw on Howie Kendrick's RBI infield single to the third base side of the mound. Kendrick then stole second, and the Dodgers took a 6-1 lead when catcher Gary Sanchez's throw sailed into center field.

Mitchell allowed six runs (two earned) and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. He became the second Yankee to allow at least four unearned runs this season.

"It's tough right there," Mitchell said of the pivotal Judge error. "He's looking out for Jacoby. He's looking out for the wall. He's trying to find the wall and the ball. That's a tough play out there. You can't always expect that."

Puig and Turner earned more cheers from the fans in left field with home runs in the final two innings.

Puig hit his first career pinch-hit home run when he drove a fastball into the glove of a fan in the first row of the right field seats with two outs in the eighth. Turner added his 27th, matching his total from the previous five seasons with two outs in the ninth.

The Yankees lost their second straight after a season-high, seven-game winning streak. New York (76-67) is five games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East, and the Yankees remain two games out in the AL wild-card race.

The Dodgers (81-62) won for the seventh time in nine games.

NOTES: 1B Adrian Gonzalez was the designated hitter for Los Angeles, and manager Dave Roberts said OF Andre Ethier and 3B Justin Turner also will start at DH during the series. ... New York SS Didi Gregorius, who was in a 3-for-34 slump, was out of the starting lineup. Manager Joe Girardi said Gregorius is feeling "beat up" from recent games. ... Roberts said he plans on starting Yasiel Puig in left field Tuesday. Puig made his third career appearance there Saturday in Miami. ... Yankees OF Aaron Hicks (strained right hamstring) did some running and took swings in the batting cage Monday. Hicks is expected to go the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla., to face live pitching this weekend. The team will made a decision on whether to activate him when it visits the Rays next week.

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