PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Dodgers took 44 turns at the plate Monday night and etched an oddity into history. They collected 10 hits and drew eight walks en route to their 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Collectively, they put a strain on a worn Diamondbacks pitching staff and displayed the type of power their star-studded lineup would portend.
They were never removed either.
“Is that what we did?” Freddie Freeman noticed this when asked about their feat.
“I would say it’s very difficult. In today’s match?
Kiké Hernández may have been the first person on the pitch to notice this. The Dodgers had already finished their final at-bat when he looked at Andy Pages in the outfield and noticed something. The strikeout counter hanging above right field at Chase Field didn’t explode once.
“I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ No Ks?’ “, said Kiké. He brought up the weirdness of the outfield after the Dodgers recorded the night’s final out. Then he found hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc to confirm it was true. In fact, they had gotten away with it without any punches.
“It’s pretty cool,” Kiké said.
Awareness didn’t spread to much of the rest of the Dodgers clubhouse until the feat was complete. Hearing what his club had just done, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ eyes widened. Then his face lit up with a smile.
“A lot of competitive bats,” Roberts said.
It was the first time the Dodgers had gone a game without striking out in 18 years, since a 6-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 2006.
“What, 20 years ago?” said infielder Miguel Rojas. “It’s crazy.”
Of course, it felt like a very different sport. Baseball’s overall strikeout rate this year stood at 22.4 percent through Monday’s action. In 2006, this figure was only 16.8 percent.
“In today’s match?” » said Max Muncy. “It’s really, really hard.”
The 44 batters the Dodgers sent to the plate without striking out marked the most batters to come to the plate in a game where a team did not strike out since July 28, 2017, when Cleveland had 46 batters with no strikeouts in a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Diamondbacks pitchers Tommy Henry, Andrew Saalfrank, Scott McGough, Logan Allen and Justin Martinez combined to give the franchise its third game in which they never struck out an opposing batter.
They certainly got closer. In total, the Dodgers recorded 17 different two-strike counts, but refused to be put away. On three occasions, they still managed to record a hit. Three different runs were scored at bat, including two runs, including Teoscar Hernández’s two-run double that bounced into the pool area of this 28-year-old ballpark.
“I tried to put the ball in play and get at least one,” Teoscar said of his approach, “and I made the double.”
For a Dodgers club that a week ago led the sport in strikeouts, the turnaround continues. Their lineup has produced runs and hits, including double-digit hits in four of their last six games. The bottom of their order began to find water.
“There needs to be a definitive two-pronged approach,” Roberts said. “And you have to have stick to ball. And you have to value that. And our guys do it. They show it. And it’s good to see results too.
For at least one night, the Dodgers didn’t collapse. Their lineup took on some depth, producing production from top to bottom – all nine starters reached base safely and the 7-8-9 hitters (Kiké Hernández, Pages and Rojas) combined for a score of 4 for 10 with three doubles and three RBIs. and three walks.
And above all, no strikeouts.
“Did you hear?” » Rojas shouted in the coach’s locker room as news of this feat spread around the room. “We didn’t knock once!”
Required reading
(Photo: Mark Blinch/Getty Images)