Los Angeles, CA —-The Dodgers have been playing well the last few weeks but then the Blue Jays blew in and took the air out of their sails.
Second baseman Whit Merrifield hit a three-run home run, Danny Jansen also went hard and Toronto beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1 on Wednesday.
“It’s the ‘Ted Lasso’ thing about being a goldfish,” Merrifield said. “What happened yesterday can only affect us today negatively. We did a great job of showing up today ready to play and salvaged a road trip.”
Merrifield hit the ball well going 2 for 4 with a season-high-tying four RBI’s, two runs scored. He hit .462 (6-for-12) with a homer and four RBI in the three-game series.
“I’m really proud of them. That’s a huge bounce-back win,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “Tough to win a series against a good team on the road. Did that.”
Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin (5-4) gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings. The right-hander had 5K’s, walked three and threw a career-high 109 pitches on a 92-degree day.
Merrifield smoked an 0-2 pitch from Gonsolin over the left field wall with two outs in the fifth inning, scoring Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who both singled.
The Dodgers got their lone run on James Outman’s RBI single with two outs in the sixth that made it 6-1.
Kiké Hernández went 2 for 4 a day after being traded to the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox. Kiké helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series during his time in LA before going East.
Toronto starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (8-3) allowed one run and seven hits in six innings on a season-high 103 pitches. The left-hander had 8K’s and walked two.
“He’s been nails. When he’s in the zone, he’s got great stuff,” Merrifield said. “He had those guys really off-balance for most of the day, staying off guys’ barrels and pounding the zone, working ahead.”
Toronto’s Bo Bichette added a two-run single in the eighth.
Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly was ejected in the fifth by home-plate umpire Ben May.
“We were kind of mentioning to Ben that some of those fastballs looked like the same height for strikes on us and they disagreed,” Schneider said.
UP NEXT:
Blue Jays: Off Thursday before RHP Kevin Gausman (7-5, 3.18 ERA) starts at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
Dodgers: After an off-day Thursday, RHP Bobby miller (6-1, 4.28) starts against Cincinnati on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
