In honor of breaking the Dodgers franchise record for career saves the Dodgers and former star closer Eric Gagne came out before the start of yesterdays game to present Kenley Jansen with various mementos celebrating the accomplishment. Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:
"You guys have the greatest closer in Dodger history right here," Gagne said.
As for the evenings game, it was all about the resurgence of Yasmani Grandal. He hit a thrilling eight inning three-run home run to help extend the Dodgers current winning streak to five games. They defeated the Nationals, 3-2. Per Jamal Collier and Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:"It's a grind for Yazzy," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "He's doing a great job behind the plate and that's priority No. 1. Offensively, he's been squaring a lot of balls up but maybe right at guys and he's getting frustrated. You know a few days ago he had that big at-bat, the walk-off walk, so to win it again today for us in fine fashion, that was fun."
Hopefully the past few days is a sign that he is ready to get out of his funk. Via Doug Padilla at ESPN:"I've been hitting the ball pretty hard the past couple of weeks," Grandal said. "I feel like this whole month I have been hitting the ball well, I just haven't been getting it in the air. This game is about inches or angles.The photos above via Juan Ocampo & Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016. Go here to check out more pics by them from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:
"When I look up and I hit a ball hard over 100 mph, for me that's what I'm trying to do. So far, I feel like I have been doing a pretty job of that and I look forward to keep doing that. Obviously, hits will start to fall at some point. I was just happy to get the ball in the air and put us ahead."
- This Day in Dodger History: In 1959 Sandy Koufax struck out 16 Phillies batters to set a new record for strikeouts in a night game.
