Brett Anderson bounces back, but Dodgers shut out by Sonny Gray
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andre Ethier, right, is tagged out stealing by Oakland Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien during the fifth inning on Tuesday.
The Dodgers breathed a tad easier Tuesday, even if it was on a night they were falling 2-0 to the Oakland Athletics.
They could do absolutely nothing with right-hander Sonny Gray, who shut them out with a three-hitter, but more encouraging for the long haul was the pitching of their own Brett Anderson.
Anderson left the last game he started a week ago in Atlanta in the third inning when he strained his left Achilles’ tendon. Given his long history of injury, fears that a rotation already down two starters might lose a third were difficult to fight ignore.
The Achilles’ irritation did not prove serious, but Tuesday offered the first viewing of Anderson since the injury. And it happened to come in the first game he pitched against his former club.
The results were mostly all positive. Anderson (5-6) went seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. His leg may yet be a bit sore, but his arm looked just fine. He did not exactly appear nimble around the mound, though in truth, he never exactly does.
He did get into some quick early trouble when Billy Burns drove his first pitch of the night into center for a hit and he walked Mark Semien. Brett Lawire hit a sharp bouncer to Adrian Gonzalez, who got the force at second.
Anderson, somewhat hobbling off the mound, had no chance to cover first to complete a possible double play. When Billy Butler bounced out, Burns scored to give the A’s a 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the seventh when Josh Reddick, the only hitter in Oakland’s lineup with double-digit home runs, hit a solo shot into the right-field pavilion. It was Reddick’s 13th home run of the season.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers were getting nowhere with Gray (11-4). The A’s right-hander did not allow a baserunner until Gonzalez doubled with two outs in the fourth. Howie Kendrick’s singles in the seventh and in the ninth were the only other hits Gray allowed.
Gray lowered his ERA to 2.16 with the shutout,, lowest in the American League. It was the eighth time this season the Dodgers have been shut out.
Gray struck out nine, including Joc Pederson three times, and walked one.
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