LOS ANGELES ― If Jason Heyward didn’t knock one out of the park with one of his two pregame speeches, surely he thought he had one in the second inning.
Four hundred feet later, the ball came to rest above the center field fence in the glove of Cody Bellinger. The longtime Dodgers outfielder was serenaded with boos from the announced crowd of 52,375 at Dodger Stadium, and sheepishly shrugged off the response to his robbery.
For nine innings, it appeared the Dodgers’ best chance had been stolen ― until their final at-bat.
Pinch hitter David Peralta lined a two-run single into right field against Cubs closer Michael Fulmer, lifting the Dodgers to a dramatic 2-1 win Saturday.
Between the second inning and the ninth, the Dodgers did not collect a hit. Then, with one out, James Outman stroked a single into right field against Fulmer. Miguel Vargas followed with a double to left field, sending Outman to third base.
Fulmer came back to strike out Heyward, before manager Dave Roberts replaced the right-handed hitting Miguel Rojas with the left-handed hitting Peralta.
Despite a .179 batting average in 28 at-bats to begin the season, Peralta wasted no time swinging at the first pitch and delivering his biggest hit as a Dodger. Vargas slid in head-first ahead of Seiya Suzuki’s throw from right field, ending the game and touching off a raucous group celebration in the outfield around Peralta.
Dodgers starter Michael Grove battled illness in each of his first two starts of the season, and wore it in his results. He lasted four innings against the Colorado Rockies on April 3, then 3 ⅓ innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 9, and brought a 14.73 earned-run average into Saturday’s game.
All Grove did was pitch into the sixth inning of a game for the first time in nine major league starts. He allowed one hit over the first four innings. Only a solo home run by Patrick Wisdom in the fifth prevented Grove from leaving with a no-decision.
The…
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