A-Gon's HRs help Dodgers extend NL West lead

August 17th, 2016

PHILADELPHIA -- had no home runs, grand slams or curtain calls on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
But the Dodgers still rolled to a 7-2 win over the Phillies -- extending their lead in the National League West to 1 1/2 games over the Giants. hit a three-run homer to right field in the fourth inning and a two-run blast to right in the seventh to lead the way. added a two-run homer to left-center in the fifth.
"The length of the lineup is impressive right now," Turner said. "We're a tough lineup to pitch to one through eight. Anyone can hit a ball over the fence and do some damage. It's fun going up there knowing you can hang a crooked number every inning."

The Dodgers have scored 22 runs in the first two games of this series. They've done so on seven home runs, including two-homer games from Utley on Tuesday and Gonzalez on Wednesday.
"Adrian's been under the radar," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "But tonight, huge night. Two homers, drove in five. … Good things are happening."
The Dodgers also worked out of a jam in the sixth, when the Phillies loaded the bases with none out. Left-hander got three consecutive flyouts to end the inning.
Right-hander Jake Thompson pitched just five innings as Phillies starters have logged fewer than six innings in eight consecutive games, tying a franchise record.
"Just kind of lost the feel for working down in the zone and both sides of the plate," Thompson said. "That's not a good problem to have against those guys."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Dodger boppers: For the second straight game, the Dodgers did damage via the long ball. A night after putting three in the seats off (and one more after he exited), the Dodgers again mashed. Turner singled and walked to open the fourth. Then, Gonzalez hit a rope into the right-field seats to give Los Angeles a lead it would not relinquish. Turner followed in the next inning with his 22nd blast before Gonzalez completed his two-homer night.
"Everybody's made some great adjustments," Gonzalez said. "For the most part, I feel like [Joc Pederson has] made some great adjustments, [Howie Kendrick has] made great adjustments. The guys who were already swinging it well have continued swinging well. When you've got one through eight swinging it great and taking great at-bats, it makes it really tough on the opposing pitcher."
Thompson falls behind early, often: Thompson threw first-pitch strikes to just 10 of the 24 batters he faced, which tells the story of his night. He allowed five hits, five runs, four walks and two home runs as he fell to 1-2 with an 8.79 ERA in his first three big league starts. More >

"Young pitchers tend to overthrow and try to make perfect pitches," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "Once you gain that poise and composure, you start understanding how important it is to locate those pitches. It's hard to make the perfect pitch."
Dayton escapes: left the Dodgers -- and the man who took over for him -- in a bind. led off the bottom half of the sixth with a homer to left, followed by singles from and to end Kazmir's night. Dayton entered and immediately allowed a single to to load the bases before escaping the jam.

"In the [sixth] inning, the first pitch I wish I had back," Kazmir said. "A couple broken-bat hits, that's tough.
"But Dayton really came in there and shut the door. That was awesome."
Joseph hits his 16th: The rookie hit his 16th homer, a solo shot into the upper deck in left field in the sixth. Phillies first basemen have 31 homers this season, which is tied with the Indians for the most in baseball.

"Tommy hit that ball in the upper deck, which was nice to see," Mackanin said. "I wish the bases were loaded on that at the time. We swung the bats well. We just didn't come through in the clutch."
QUOTABLE
"It was a baserunning mistake. If you're on third base and you're not going to go because it would have been too close ... you stay heads up and the minute you see that ball go to second base, you score. He just shut it down a little bit early." -- Mackanin, on Franco not scoring on a flyout to right in the sixth, when Dodgers right fielder Reddick threw to second on the play
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games. He has hit .348 with a .464 on-base percentage in that stretch. It is the longest on-base streak by a Phillies player since reached safely in 33 games from Sept. 25, 2012, to Aug. 6, 2013.
AFTER REVIEW
The Phillies challenged a call with two out in the ninth inning, when appeared to beat a throw to first from Utley. First-base umpire Jerry Meals had ruled Herrera out, but the call was overturned after a brief review.

WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: Right-hander (3-4, 4.07 ERA) will start the series finale against the Phillies on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. PT, as the Dodgers remain neck-and-neck with the Giants in the NL West race. Los Angeles claimed first place on Tuesday for the first time since May 10.
Phillies: Right-hander (8-12, 3.82) gets the ball on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park. He has pitched a bit better than his record indicates, but he has lacked run support. Eickhoff entered Wednesday ranked 81st out of 87 qualified pitchers in baseball, averaging 3.57 runs of support per game.
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