Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Blake Snell went five-plus innings and Kyle Tucker hit a grand slam in helping Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins.
Seeing Blake Snell go out on Friday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers and have a start that lasts nearly six innings must make the ballclub feel pretty good.
Of course, seeing Kyle Tucker come up and deliver a grand slam was even better as Snell and Tucker led the Dodgers past the Miami Marlins 6-2 at loanDepot Park in Miami.
Snell, who goes to 4-1 with the win, went 5.2 innings, giving up four hits, one earned run, walked two, and struck out eight. He now has a 1.91 ERA after his successful outing. Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, Blake Treinen, and Enrique Henriquez came out of the bullpen and shut Marlins hitters down.
Marlins starter Ryan Gusto took the loss after going six innings for his team.
Tucker delivers in a big way
Besides hitting his grand slam off of Gusto, Tucker also had a triple on Friday night along with a sacrifice fly. If Tucker can turn a game like this one into some momentum toward the postseason, then Los Angeles fans might have more reason to cheer him onward in September.
Tucker went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and five RBIs. He now has a .230 batting average and a .701 OPS, and his grand slam came in the seventh inning with two outs. Third baseman Max Muncy was 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in this game.
The Dodgers were 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six total runners on base. As for Miami, they were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 total runners on base. This clearly shows that the Marlins had scoring opportunities, but could not convert thanks to Snell and the Dodgers' relievers.
Dodgers' postseason picture looks good
Miami outhit Los Angeles 10-8, but that didn't matter when the final score showed up on the loanDepot scoreboard.
How does the postseason picture look right now for the Dodgers? Los Angeles is now 90-57 this season and get a berth as soon as Saturday rolls around. That, though, depends on results from Arizona and San Diego.
Of course, the Dodgers are doing all of this without pitcher-designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. This might be good news for Los Angeles. Yes, they want Ohtani back as soon as possible. Yet, if they can clinch a postseason spot without him in the lineup, that would be some really good news.
Dodgers fans can stick close to their TVs or smartphones as well to see when the team can officially say that it's in the National League postseason playoffs.
