Corey Seager Proves Why He Was “Rookie of the Year” in 2-1 Win

A number of names on the Dodgers’ roster have been talked about quite often this season and, surprisingly, the name Corey Seager has rarely been amongst them. With the early success of Chris Taylor and Cody Bellinger coupled with the historic stats put up by Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen, it appears as if Corey Seager may have fallen under a shadow; however, do not be deceived, Corey Seager is under no one’s shadow but his own.

With the exception of Justin Turner (who has been on the DL since May 19th), Corey Seager has the 2nd best batting average for the Dodgers, hitting .274 behind only Chris Taylor who is hitting .305.  The “2016 Rookie of the Year” is also 1st in runs scored (41), 1st in hits (59), 2nd in RBI’s (25), 2nd in OBP (.379), and 3rd in HR’s (8).  Those numbers aren’t just impressive for the Dodgers, they are impressive stats for the entire MLB so far this season.

Corey proved how just how valuable he is to the team this afternoon. Down 1-0 with 2 outs in the 6th inning and facing the Washington Nationals’ ace Stephen Strasburg (who looked like he could possibly pitch into the 8th inning), Seager blasted a solo shot to dead center to tie the game 1-1.

Two batters later, Yasmani Grandal hit an RBI double to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 and take Strasburg out of the game.

Clayton Kershaw pitched a solid 7 innings allowing only 1 run on 3 hits while also striking out 9 en-route to his 8th win.  Pedro Baez pitched the 8th inning in relief and instantly gave up a lead-off triple to the speedy Trea Turner.  After striking out the next batter, Bryce Harper came to the plate and hit a ball up the middle, which somehow found it’s way into Baez’s glove.  Baez made a heads-up play and threw home creating a pickle for Turner who was eventually thrown out at the plate.

The Dodgers retained their 2-1 lead going into the 9th inning as Kenley Jansen took the mound.  Jansen continued his impressive pitching and earned his 10th save of the season as well as struck out his 41st batter with still no walks issued.  The Dodgers’ greatest closer has now extended the MLB record of strikeout/walk ratio to start the season to 41/0 and is only one away from 200 career saves.  The Dodgers (36-25) have not lost 4 games in a row this season and remain in second place behind the Colorado Rockies (38-23).

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