Bellinger's blast in 8th saves the day for LA

July 25th, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Monday night showed they haven't forgotten how to win after a injury, as rookie slugged a clutch three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 6-4 comeback victory in their Interleague series opener at Dodger Stadium.
Bellinger's one-out homer to center off was his 28th, tying for second-most after 80 MLB games (Rudy York had 30 from 1934-37). The win extended the Dodgers' MLB record of winning 47 consecutive games in which they led at any point. The Dodgers' 69 wins in the first 100 games are the second-most in the National League since 1969 (Cincinnati had 70 in '70). This was the Dodgers' 26th comeback win and sixth when they trail after seven innings.
Bellinger gets curtain call amid MVP chants
"These numbers -- when we have a lead, we win. When we're behind, we don't quit, we find a way to win and play to the last out," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "As long as there's outs on the board, we believe we can win. It was a team win."
, a 30-year-old reliever making his MLB debut after 12 Minor League seasons, was credited with the victory after turning in a 1-2-3 eighth. , who blew his first save of the year Sunday, pitched around a ninth-inning walk to secure his 25th save.
Paredes, 30, gets the win in big league debut

Getting a lift the day their ace went on the disabled list indefinitely with another back injury, the Dodgers strung back-to-back homers by and , a triple by and a tiebreaking RBI single by Chris Taylor in a three-run fifth inning off Twins 44-year-old starter .
"I don't think we were worried about a hangover," Roberts said. "Obviously, we feel for Kersh and he's down, but there's nothing we can do. We have to get him back, which we will, but we had to win a ballgame, which we did. I didn't expect a hangover and there wasn't."
Colon staying in Twins' rotation

came off the disabled list for the start for the Dodgers and allowed two runs on RBI doubles by and in five innings with five strikeouts and three walks. Rosario homered and doubled twice to drive in three runs on the night.
"It was a good ballgame except for the ending," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We pitched well enough, we had some really good at-bats. Taylor Rogers has been great all year and leads the American League in holds, but you hate to see that happen on an 0-2 pitch. It's a tough loss when we played as well as we did."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Seager cuts down Grossman: With two outs in the fourth, Castro laced a line drive down the left-field line, easily scoring Rosario, whose RBI double put the Twins on the board. Robbie Grossman tried to score from first, getting waved in by third-base coach Gene Glynn, but he was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay from Taylor and shortstop . Grossman, who performed a hook slide, believed he beat the tag with his left hand, and the play was challenged by the Twins, but the call was confirmed by review.
"It was a close call at home," Molitor said. "If they would've called him safe, they probably couldn't have turned it the other way."

#Puigyourgoldglove: After he sped to a triple and scored a go-ahead run in the top of the fifth inning, Puig ran down 's bid for extra bases on the right-field warning track to prevent the Twins from taking the lead in the top of the sixth.

QUOTABLE
"We saw it early. There's no panic. He hits right-handed pitching, left-handed pitching. He doesn't scare off in the moment." -- Roberts, on Bellinger

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Twins fell to .500 for the first time since April 28, when they were 11-11. They had won nine straight games when in danger of falling back to .500.
WHAT'S NEXT
Twins: Right-hander (9-3, 3.50 ERA) is set to start for the Twins in the second game of the series against the Dodgers on Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. CT. Berrios is coming off a solid start, limiting the Yankees to one run over 6 2/3 innings.
Dodgers: starts Tuesday night's 7:10 p.m. PT game against the Twins. Maeda is subbing for , who was placed on the disabled list with a finger blister. Maeda has been the floater in what was a six-man rotation before injuries to McCarthy and Kershaw.
Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.