Marwin Gonzalez had a solo home run in the second inning and Josh Reddick added a three-run homer in a seven-run eighth as the visiting Houston Astros rolled to a 14-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
Jake Marisnick tacked on a ninth-inning homer, while Yulieski Gurriel and Martin Maldonado each had two-run doubles as Astros won the first two games of the 2017 World Series rematch. They will try for a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The Dodgers have scored just one run with seven hits in the two games against the Astros, after collecting 21 runs with 18 hits in a victory Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers have not scored in 17 consecutive innings.
The Astros improved to a major league best 39-17 on the road, while winning their fourth consecutive game following a five-game losing streak.
Astros starter Lance McCullers pitched well, but left after four innings following a visit from a member of the Houston medical staff. He was diagnosed with right elbow discomfort.
McCullers, who started Game 7 of last year's World Series at Dodger Stadium, gave up two hits in his four scoreless innings with two walks and five strikeouts. Brad Peacock (2-4) pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts to earn the victory.
Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda gave up five runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Maeda (7-7) lost consecutive starts for the first time this season and is 2-3 with two no decisions over his last seven starts going back to June 30.
Gonzalez's homer to center field in the second inning against Maeda was his ninth of the season.
The Astros' four-run sixth started with a ground-rule double with one out from Reddick. Gurriel's two-run double followed a walk to Alex Bregman.
Tyler White then doubled home a run to end Maeda's night. Maldonado executed a safety squeeze against reliever JT Chargois to score Gonzalez and give the Astros a 5-0 lead.
Reddick's home run was his 12th, while Marisnick hit his ninth.
Right-hander John Axford, who was acquired by the Dodgers on Tuesday from the Toronto Blue Jays, struggled his debut with his new club. On in relief in the eighth inning, he was charged with six runs while only recording one out.
--Field Level Media
Houston | LA Dodgers | |
Lance McCullers Jr. | Player | Kenta Maeda |
No Decision | W/L | Loss |
4.0 | IP | 5.1 |
5 | Strikeouts | 4 |
2 | Hits | 6 |
0.00 | ERA | 8.44 |
Houston | LA Dodgers | |
Josh Reddick | Player | Justin Turner |
3 | Hits | 1 |
3 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
7 | TB | 1 |
.600 | Avg | .333 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
Houston | 13 | 3 | 28 | .342 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
LA Dodgers | 3 | 0 | 4 | .111 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |