The Los Angeles Dodgers (33-14) bounced back with an 8-1 win Sunday night to split their two-game home series against the Houston Astros (23-24).

The meetings between these two teams had already taken a new weight since the Dodgers’ loss to the Astros in the 2017 World Series, but that weight only increased when the MLB later confirmed that the Astros used technology to steal opponents signs and relay the information to batters during the 2017 season.

After the Dodgers dropped their first meeting of the brief two-game series, the pressure was on to avoid their first potential sweep of the season.

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On the pitching front, it was a team effort out of the bullpen for the Dodgers as only one pitcher went more than a single inning, Victor Gonzalez who only tossed two innings in the 3rd and 4th.

Zach Greinke had put together a solid start for the Astros through the first four innings with only a single run given up on a solo home run from A.J. Pollock in the first, but in the bottom of the fifth, the Dodgers offense broke things open with a four-run inning.

A single from Cody Bellinger followed by a Chris Taylor double set the Dodgers up with runners on second and third to start the inning. 

Kike Hernandez served up a sharp ground ball to left field for a two-RBI single bringing in Taylor and Bellinger. 

Mookie Betts cleaned up the bases with a two-run home run to right-center field just out of reach of the outstretched glove of Astros outfielder George Springer for a 5-0 Dodger lead.

Springer responded with a frustrated fist pump, apparently thinking he should’ve had that one. 

That frustration may have fueled his own performance at the plate the next inning, as he opened the sixth with a solo home run to center field off of Dylan Floro for the Astros lone score of the night.

The Dodgers poured on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a three-run homer from Chris Taylor for the game’s final score 8-1.

As of Monday, the Dodgers still maintain the best record in baseball with 13 games remaining in the shortened 2020 regular season, but the San Diego Padres (31-17) are hot on their tails and slated to face the Dodgers up next for the two teams’ third and final series of the regular season.

The three-game road series is scheduled to start Monday at 6:10 p.m.

Santa Clarita residents can tune into all Dodger home games live on KHTS Radio, FM 98.1 and AM 1220.

KHTS Sports is your place for 2020 Santa Clarita high sports and Los Angeles Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC.

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