CINCINNATI (AP) - Everything is working for Alex Wood these days, leaving him among the Dodgers’ greats for the best start to a season.
The left-hander remained unbeaten by pitching four-hit ball over eight innings on Friday night, leading Los Angeles to a 3-1 victory that extended its domination of the Cincinnati Reds.
Wood (7-0) lost his shutout when Devin Mesoraco homered in the eighth. He’s the first Dodgers pitcher to get so deep into a season without a loss since 1985, when Orel Hershiser made his first 11 starts without a loss, according to STATS.
“Very rarely does a pitcher have the command he’s had of three pitches over this period of time,” manager Dave Roberts said. “As a hitter, you know when a pitcher is on the attack and it’s a helpless feeling.”
Wood didn’t walk a batter and struck out five, using his assortment of fastball, changeup and breaking ball to get ahead of hitters and finish them off.
“That’s always the way I’ve pitched,” Wood said. “I like to try to attack. But all three pitches have been as sharp together as they’ve ever been.”
Kenley Jansen gave up a double in the ninth while picking up his 14th save.
The Dodgers have won six in a row over the Reds, who got swept in LA last weekend. The Dodgers are 15-3 against Cincinnati since 2015, one of the most dominant streaks in the NL over that time.
Cincinnati has dropped seven straight overall, matching its deepest slump of the season.
“We really didn’t have a chance to get excited,” manager Bryan Price said. “We couldn’t put a lot of pressure on Wood.”
Joc Pederson had a solo homer off Tim Adleman (4-3), who gave up two runs in six innings. Chris Taylor added an RBI double as the Dodgers won for the seventh time in their last eight games overall.
Justin Turner singled twice, walked twice and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Wood singled home a run in the eighth off Drew Storen, slapping a pitch the opposite way to right field for his second hit of the season.
“I guess I closed my eyes and got a knock,” Wood said.
DODGERS MOVE
RHP Josh Ravin was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City for his second stint in the majors this season. He takes the place of RHP Ross Striplin, who was optioned.
A SCOOTER FOR SCOOTER
The Reds presented Scooter Gennett with a scooter - driven onto the field by former pitcher Tom Browning - during pregame ceremonies honoring his four-homer game. Gennett also received the jersey, hat and fourth home run ball from his game on June 6. He also caught a ceremonial pitch from 12-year-old Zach Thompson, who snagged the fourth homer in right field and presented it to Gennett.
DIVE IN
Pete Rose was shown on the videoboard between innings. The Reds will unveil a statue of the hits king outside Great American Ball Park on Saturday.
VOTTO HONORED, TOO
François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of international trade, presented Joey Votto with a certificate “in recognition of his contribution to friendly relations between Canada and the United States.” Votto was born and lives in Toronto.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Roberts said LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-6), who is scheduled to start on Saturday, is fine physically. He made only one start last season because of shoulder surgery and elbow tendinitis.
Reds: RHP Homer Bailey threw a bullpen session on Friday. He’s expected to make a rehab start on Monday for Triple-A Louisville. He’s been sidelined since surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow at the start of spring training.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: Ryu gave up four runs in only four innings during his start last Saturday against the Reds.
Reds: Asher Wojciechowski (1-0) makes his sixth career appearance and second straight start against the Dodgers. He gave up four runs in five innings of a 5-4 loss in LA last Saturday.
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