Dodgers rally for 3 runs in 9th to win 4th consecutive 1-run game

LOS ANGELES — That was close.

Down two runs in the ninth inning, the Dodgers rallied for three to beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5, on Friday night on Dalton Rushing’s two-out single and an error by the Orioles. The win was their fourth in a row – each by one-run margins.

The four-game winning streak has given the Dodgers’ the best record in MLB and the largest division lead in baseball (9½ games over the Arizona Diamondbacks). But it hasn’t impressed Manager Dave Roberts.

“We’re just stacking wins. The most important thing is to win the baseball game,” Roberts said after Friday’s walk-off win. “But we haven’t really played well. I say that in a positive way that we’re still winning games. Tonight shouldn’t have been a game, in my opinion. We kept them around. We’ve let a lot of teams hang around and then it ends up being a one-run game and you’ve got to use pitchers you didn’t want to use, you can’t let the starter goes as deep because you’re trying to maximize a particular matchup.

“But at the end of the day we are winning baseball games so that’s a good sign.”

The end of this day came after the Dodgers failed to build on an early lead, Roki Sasaki gave up back-to-back home runs and the bullpen couldn’t hold the line in a tie game.

Bouncing back from his previous start in Chicago that featured a seven-run inning, Sasaki gave up just one hit in the first five innings on Friday. Taylor Ward led off the game with a base hit into right-center field. Andy Pages cut the ball off, spun and threw to second base, getting Ward trying to stretch it into a double. It was Pages’ seventh assist this season, tops among all MLB outfielders.

That was the first of a number of defensive plays that supported Sasaki as he retired 13 batters in order following Ward’s single.

Sasaki did his part as well. He got 16 swings-and-misses (eight on his fastball, five on the splitter and three on his slider) and struck out six in his 5⅔ innings. His fastball continues to be robust, averaging 98.7 mph on the night with 11 pitches registering between 99.6 and 100.6 mph.

“My last outing my offspeed pitches weren’t really great so I practiced on it. This time, I felt pretty good about my secondary pitches. So that was good,” Sasaki said through his interpreter.

If his defense did him plenty of favors, the Dodgers’ offense did not.

Max Muncy drove in two with a two-out single in the first inning and Alex Freeland scored from first base on a double by Pages, using a nifty swim maneuver, pulling his left arm back to avoid the tag at home plate and scoring by the tips of the fingers on his right hand.

But they stranded seven runners in the first four innings – five in scoring position including a wasted bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity in the third inning. Ryan Ward, Rushing and Freeland struck out, leaving the bases loaded with what Roberts called “very forgettable at-bats.”

That left the Orioles within striking distance and they struck in the sixth inning when Sasaki tried to go a third time through their lineup. Gunnar Henderson jumped on a 1-and-0 splitter that stayed above the knees and sent a towering fly ball into the right field seats for a two-run home run. Three pitches later, Pete Alonso caught up to a fastball on the inside corner and sent it into the left field pavilion.

The back-to-back home runs tied the score and ended Sasaki’s night.

“The first home run wasn’t really bad. My location was really good,” Sasaki said. “The second one, I was actually pretty well (satisfied with the pitch) but I gave up the home run so I have to talk through with the coaches and make sure what I’m going to do next time.”

Jack Dreyer replaced Sasaki and pitched into the seventh, where he gave up a one-out single to Colton Cowser. Will Klein replaced Dreyer and gave up a single to Coby Mayo and walked Jackson Holliday to load the bases. Jackson got his revenge, punching a ball off the end of his bat at just 69.2 mph through the right side of the infield for a two-run, tie-breaking single.

Even with the run of nine scoreless innings during the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Dodgers’ bullpen has an ERA of 6.04 in June.

But Betts hit a solo home run in the ninth – his third hit in the game – to close the gap. The Dodgers drew two walks against Orioles closer Ryan Helsley bringing up Rushing who had struck out in his previous three at-bats (with runners on twice). He chased a slider in the dirt to fall behind in the count, 0-and-2.

“I just wanted to spoil any pitch besides a slider, especially after chasing one in the dirt,” Rushing said. “I had a feeling that they were gonna throw another one. And the whole mindset was, “Foul off a fastball and just try to move the slider forward through the middle of the field.’”

He took another slider high for a ball then got a fastball inside. He looped a single into right field that Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill charged and fired home. His throw bounced on the infield grass and went through catcher Samuel Basallo, allowing Ward to score the winning run.

“It was good to get Freddie a night off from being the guy in the middle for a change, you know,” Rushing joked of the celebration on the field.

The four-game winning streak built on one-run games is the first time since May 30-June 2, 2010 that the Dodgers have won four consecutive games all by one run each.