HOUSTON –– It was a battle of injured pitchers on Wednesday afternoon at Daikin Park.
But in the Dodgers’ 12-2 win over the Houston Astros, only one team could take advantage.
The Dodgers’ Andy Pages celebrates with teammates after hitting one of his three home runs Wednesday vs. the Astros. AP
While Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow exited the game early with low back pain, Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. tried to pitch through a broken fingernail on his throwing hand.
The result: McCullers got knocked around by a resurgent Dodgers offense, while the club’s steady bullpen nursed a lead the rest of the way.
“Given the situation with Tyler,” manager Dave Roberts said, “it couldn’t have been a better outcome.”
Indeed, the Dodgers (23-14) had to scramble in the second inning, when Glasnow felt his back begin to spasm moments after collecting his 1,000th career strikeout.
The team’s bullpen, however, got eight combined innings of one-run ball from six different relievers the rest of the way.
The offense, meanwhile, jumped all over McCullers after his finger problem led to increasingly wild command.
The veteran right-hander not only gave up three early runs, but watched all of them score via wild pitches. Then, in the third inning, he surrendered a three-run home run to Andy Pages, the first of three long balls Pages would hit on a day almost everyone else in the Dodgers’ lineup –– including the previously slumping Shohei Ohtani –– also made key contributions.
“The at-bats, obviously, I thought today were very good,” Roberts said. “Andy was certainly the highlight.”
The win gave the Dodgers a series victory in this week’s meeting with the bagned-up and beaten-down Astros (15-23). It also helped the club salvage a .500 record on this St. Louis/Houston road swing.
“(We’re) going into an off day feeling pretty good about ourselves,” Roberts said.
While Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow exited the game early with low back pain, Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. tried to push through what appeared to be a blister. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
What it means
Wednesday provided the most encouraging sign yet that the Dodgers are emerging from their recent offensive slump, as they finished the day with 14 hits (half of them for extra bases), a 5-for-12 mark with runners in scoring position, and the type of all-around production to be expected against Houston’s league-worst pitching staff.
Pages’ three home runs were the biggest highlights, but there were other positive performances up and down the lineup.
Ohtani snapped an 0-for-18 skid by collecting two hits and a walk, including a double in the third that sparked an eventual five-run rally.
Freddie Freeman hit his second opposite-field double in as many days in the top of the fourth, driving in a run while toying with a new batting stance.
Kyle Tucker, Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing also had two hits each. Alex Freeland had a walk and an RBI single.
Freddie Freeman hit his second opposite-field double in as many days in the fourth, driving in a run while toying with a new batting stance. Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Who’s hot
In the opening few weeks of the season, Pages dominated this category.
Over the last couple days, he has started to do so again.
After batting .412 in his first 19 games, then slumping to a .200 average over his subsequent 16 contests, Pages seemed to rediscover his swing this week in Houston, following up a three-hit performance Tuesday with his first career three-homer game Wednesday.
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Entering the day, Pages had gone 20 games with a big fly. Then, he worked an eight-pitch at-bat in the third against McCullers that ended with a towering three-run drive that cleared the Crawford Boxes in left.
His next time up, Pages produced a similar result, hitting another home run on another inside sinker (this time from reliever Jason Alexander) that went screaming into the short porch in left. In the ninth, he made it a trifecta against position-player pitcher Cesar Salazar, gifting the Crawford Boxes one more souvenir.
“Honestly, the bad streak really happened when I was hitting the ball well and hitting the ball hard, just not finding a lot of holes,” Pages said through an interpreter. “But (I was) staying to my plan, staying confident in my approach, and the results are coming now.”
Indeed, Pages raised his batting average on the season to .336, and his OPS to .945. His eight home runs are also second-most on the team, while his 33 RBIs are tied for most in the majors.
Pages seemed to find his swing again this week in Houston, following a three-hit performance Tuesday with his first career three-homer game Wednesday. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Who’s not
There was only one Dodgers starter who did not get a hit on Wednesday. And he might now be the coldest hitter on the team.
Teoscar Hernández went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts before being removed early. He is now batting .231 this season with a .668 OPS –– the worst numbers among anyone on the club with at least 30 at-bats.
The 33-year-old slugger had started the season well, carrying a .300 average and .900 OPS through April 15. Since then, however, he is 10-for-63 with just one extra-base hit in his last 17 games, leading to some visible frustration amid another hitless performance Wednesday.
Up next
The Dodgers will be off on Thursday, before opening a week-long homestand on Friday by welcoming the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves to town.