Dodgers win again behind another Max Scherzer scoreless start

CINCINNATI — Death, taxes … and Max Scherzer?

Nine starts into his vocation successful bluish – nevertheless agelong it mightiness past – Scherzer has been a definite thing. He pitched different 7 scoreless innings, allowing conscionable 2 hits arsenic the Dodgers bushed the Cincinnati Reds 5-1 connected Saturday afternoon.

The Dodgers person won each 9 of Scherzer’s starts since helium was acquired from the Washington Nationals astatine the commercialized deadline. As a Dodger, Scherzer has posted a 0.78 ERA (just 5 earned runs successful 58 innings) – dropping his MLB-best people for the play down to 2.08 – portion holding opposing batters to a .150 mean (29 for 183) with 79 strikeouts.

And helium has lone gotten better. Scherzer has not fixed up an earned tally successful 36 2/3 innings implicit his past 5 starts portion striking retired 48, giving up conscionable 14 hits and 3 walks.

But helium wasn’t astatine his champion aboriginal Saturday. Scherzer walked 2 successful the archetypal 4 innings and had to enactment retired of jams successful the 2nd and 3rd innings.

In the second, a locomotion and an infield azygous enactment 2 connected with 1 out. But Scherzer struck retired Tucker Barnhart and got Delino DeShields Jr. to bounce out. In the third, Jonathan India doubled and got to 3rd basal with 2 outs. Scherzer got Nick Castellanos to alert retired and strand India.

After a leadoff locomotion to Joey Votto successful the 4th inning, Scherzer retired the last 12 batters helium faced.

The Dodgers’ discourtesy took awhile waking up from Friday’s shutdown by Luis Castillo. The archetypal 11 batters went down successful bid against the Reds’ Saturday starter, Sonny Gray.

Trea Turner broke the spell with an infield azygous successful the 4th inning and the Dodgers scored 4 times successful the 5th and sixth – doubly connected compression bunts and each aided by mediocre Reds defense.

Justin Turner led disconnected the 5th with a treble into the left-field corner. Chris Taylor bounced a crushed shot to 3rd baseman Mike Moustakas, who archetypal fumbled past threw it wide of archetypal for an mistake that enactment runners astatine 2nd and third.

Gavin Lux drove them some successful with a triple into the right-field corner.

After being deed successful the close forearm by a transportation from the pitching instrumentality earlier Friday’s game, Lux wasn’t expected to play Saturday. But helium was successful the lineup with Cody Bellinger retired nursing a non-displaced rib fracture successful his near broadside – caused erstwhile helium collided with Lux successful the outfield during Monday’s game.

Lux is batting .400 (8 for 20) with 5 RBI since being recalled from Triple-A and becoming the Dodgers’ mundane near fielder. Austin Barnes drove him successful with a compression bunt.

In the sixth, Trea Turner bushed retired different infield single, moved up connected a locomotion and a forceout, past scored connected a bunt by Taylor.

Mookie Betts added an RBI azygous successful the ninth.

The Reds scored an unearned tally disconnected Dodgers lefty Alex Vesia successful the bottommost of the ninth earlier Kenley Jansen came successful with 2 runners aboard and struck retired pinch-hitter Eugenio Suarez to extremity the game.