- Dramatic game between the Dodgers and Twins
- Muncy’s home runs in his first two at-bats
- Phil Bickford’s impressive three innings of relief work
- Trayce Thompson’s 0-for-30 slump leading up to the walk-off win
- How Thompson’s walk affected the outcome of the game
- What this victory means for both teams moving forward
- Fan reactions from those who were still in attendance after 12 innings
Dramatic game between the Dodgers and Twins
On Monday night, in front of a crowd of 49,749 in Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers won a thrilling 9-8 game against the Minnesota Twins in extra innings. The winning run was scored in the bottom of the 12th inning when Trayce Thompson drew a bases-loaded walk, ending his 0-for-30 slump. Max Muncy hit two home runs early in the game, and Phil Bickford pitched three impressive innings of relief, allowing only one run and one hit.
This victory extended the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games and marked their 14th win in 16 games.
The Dodgers bullpen with the best ERA in the National League since April 27 lost the lead in the eighth and ninth innings, but Bickford was able to save the game in the 10th inning despite facing a bases-loaded, no-outs situation. He then went on to pitch two more scoreless innings. Manager Dave Roberts praised Bickford’s performance and said that he was determined to win the game as he was the last option for relievers. Bickford could have kept pitching if he had to, but the winning attempt failed and the stakes in the 1xBet online casino dropped and the fans were disappointed.
Muncy’s home runs in his first two at-bats
In the game between the Twins and the Braves, with the score tied at 8-8, the Twins intentionally walked Freddie Freeman. This happened with one out and an automatic runner on in the bottom of the 12th inning. Minnesota’s pitcher, Jorge Lopez, struck out Will Smith for the second out. Chris Taylor and Freeman then executed a double steal. Muncy was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Thompson, who was previously picked off at first base, was put in as a pinch-runner in the 10th inning. Thompson worked the count full and took a 96-mph fastball that was up and in for ball four.
Thompson, who hasn’t hit since April 17, said that the pickoff was unacceptable. Despite this, he tries to leave his mistakes behind when he enters the batter’s box. He acknowledges that errors are inevitable and that moving on is important. He’s anticipating the next opportunity to assist the team.
Bickford had a rough start to the night. During the 10th inning, with an automatic runner on second base, he walked Kyle Farmer which resulted in two runners being on base. Willi Castro then bunted in front of the mound and Bickford fielded the ball cleanly. However, he took too long looking at the runner going to third base and threw to first base late. As a result, the bases were loaded with no outs.
Phil Bickford’s impressive three innings of relief work
Bickford allowed a run by walking Christian Vazquez on four pitches, giving the Twins an 8-7 lead. However, he was able to recover by striking out Donovan Solano and Alex Kirilloff, and getting Michael A. Taylor to fly out to center field.
Bickford acknowledged that it was not an ideal situation, but he quickly refocused and made his next pitch
In the 10th inning, the Dodgers made a comeback by having J.D. Martinez hit a single to center field off pitcher Jhoan Duran, tying the score 8-8. However, their runner Thompson was then picked off first base, and Jason Heyward struck out, sending the game to the 11th inning.
Trayce Thompson’s 0-for-30 slump leading up to the walk-off win
Bickford pitched a scoreless 11th inning, ultimately helping the Dodgers have a chance to win. Farmer lined out to Miguel Vargas for the third out with two players left on base. However, the Dodgers were unable to score off Lopez in the bottom of the 11th. Bickford continued to impress by pitching another scoreless inning in the 12th. Muncy praised Bickford for his amazing performance, noting that he matched the top pitchers of the Twins in his two innings. According to Muncy, Bickford deserves a rest after such a remarkable display of pitching skill.
In the baseball game between the Twins and the Dodgers, the Twins managed to tie the game 6-6 in the eighth inning thanks to a three-run homer hit by Trevor Larnach off Dodgers reliever Yency Almonte. In the bottom of the eighth, Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax quickly got two outs, but the Dodgers regained the lead with a double from Vargas and an RBI double from David Peralta, making it 7-6. However, the Dodgers failed to win as their reliever Evan Phillips was unable to close out the game in the ninth inning.
In the top of the inning, Carlos Correa walked and Byron Buxton hit a double to left-center, bringing in pinch-runner Taylor and tying the score at 7-7. Despite striking out Jorge Polanco and Larnach, Phillips couldn’t keep the Astros from scoring. In the bottom of the ninth, Duran prevented the Dodgers from scoring. The Dodgers got ahead 6-3 when Betts walked and Freeman hit an RBI double to left-center in the bottom of the seventh.
How Thompson’s walk affected the outcome of the game
In the top of the eighth inning, the three-run lead the Dodgers had built earlier disappeared quickly. Buxton got a single to left off Almonte, Polanco hit a double to right, and Larnach hit a three-run homer over the right-center-field pavilion, resulting in a 6-6 tie. In the first inning, the Dodgers took the lead off Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez when Freeman singled to right-center with one out, Smith hit a two-run homer to center, and Muncy hit a 1-and-2 changeup 390 feet to right, making it his 13th homer of the season and giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
In the third inning, Smith hit a single to center field with one out, which helped increase their lead to 5-1. Later in the inning, Muncy hit a 396-foot homer to center field after a nine-pitch at-bat. This was his fourth multihomer game of the season and 13th of his career. Despite having a bad chest cough for over a week, Muncy managed to hit this home run. However, before this game, he had been struggling with a .071 batting average (two hits out of 28 at-bats), a .259 OPS, two RBIs, nine strikeouts, and three walks in eight games played on May 5. This caused his average and OPS to drop from .239/1.040 to .200/.862 before Monday’s game.
What this victory means for both teams moving forward
Muncy said that despite feeling like he had been performing well in his at-bats for the past two weeks, he was struggling to generate any energy in his swing due to an illness he was battling. He expressed his satisfaction with finally seeing some positive results that evening and stated that he was doing his best to contribute to the team’s success. The Dodgers right-hander, Noah Syndergaard, had a strong start, but it was cut short after four innings and 59 pitches. He gave up four hits and two runs while striking out five and walking none.
Syndergaard was forced to exit the game early on May 9th in Milwaukee because the medical staff couldn’t control the bleeding on his finger. The cut initially began as a blister that had been bothering him for around three weeks. The medical team fixed the cut by using a topical skin glue and after a 50-pitch bullpen session on Saturday, Syndergaard was given the green light to start again.
Fan reactions from those who were still in attendance after 12 innings
Roberts stated before the game that they wouldn’t have made the decision if they didn’t believe Syndergaard’s finger was okay. They were confident he could pitch normally. The first inning proved he was pitching well, with a faster-than-average sinking fastball that reached a top speed of 94.3 mph.
During the second inning, Syndergaard’s velocity decreased slightly, which resulted in him giving up three hits. One of those hits was Farmer’s RBI single, which helped the Twins reduce their deficit to 3-1. In the third inning, Syndergaard threw three strikes in a row, including a 79-mph curveball that struck out Correa and ended the inning. In the fourth inning, he allowed a solo home run by Polanco, which brought the score to 5-2.
Syndergaard was substituted at the start of the fifth inning by left-hander Justin Bruihl. Despite his departure, the bullpen managed to hold the Brewers to just two runs and four hits for the remaining eight innings of the game. This resulted in a 6-2 win for the team. This success was repeated on Monday night, with the bullpen once again managing to cover for Syndergaard for eight innings.
