Pigs have flown.

Beleaguered Dodgers right-hander reliever Pedro Baez not only collected his fourth win of the season on Wednesday night to snap the Dodgers five-game losing streak with the Dodgers 4-3 walk-off win over the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the 12th inning, he did so in a manner reminiscent of the guy that he – and the entire Dodgers bullpen – have been called up to fill in for – Dodgers All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, who will be out for at least another week and probably longer.

Baez, who blew a save against the Colorado Rockies last Thursday at Coors Field in the eventual 8-5 Dodgers win, appeared in Monday night’s game against the Hated ones at Dodger Stadium. And even though the Dodgers would end up losing that one as well, Baez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning and did so on nine total pitches with one strikeout.

And then in Wednesday night’s 12-inning / four-hour and five-minute marathon, Baez entered the game in the top of the 11th inning with the score tied 3-3. The 26-year-old Bani, Dominican Republic native retired Giants third baseman Evan Longoria, catcher Buster Posey, and center fielder Gorkys Hernandez on only 11 pitches, the latter by strikeout.

But wait, there’s more,

With no bench players left, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had Baez bat for himself with two outs and a runner on first. And even though there is no Cinderella story finish to Baez’s first at-bat since June 7 and he was 0-for-5 on the season, he managed to actually hit the ball, albeit a pop-up to Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford to end the inning.

Baez then went back out to pitch the top pf the 12th and retired Crawford, left fielder Hunter Pence and second baseman Chase d’Arnaud again on only 11 pitches, with a strikeout of Pence.

In other words and despite his past difficulties, Baez retired all nine batters he faced since Monday night, doing so on 31 total pitches without allowing a baserunner, while striking out three.

Although it will undoubtedly take a few more successful outings for Dodger fans to warm up to Pedro Baez, the fact that he retired all nine batters he faced in his last two outings – including three by strikeout – certainly helps.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu was brilliant in his first start since May 2, having spent more that three months on the disabled list for a left groin strain. The extremely popular 31-year-old Incheon, South Korea native allowed no runs and only three hits in his 6.0 innings of work, walking none and striking out six.

“It started out with Ryu really being lights out,” Roberts said. “And just to get him back, just commanding the whole game.”

Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal led off the bottom of the 12th with a sharp double to right and took third on a single to right by Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy. With runners at the corners and no outs, Dodgers second baseman Brian Dozier hit a fly ball to center field, on which Grandal tagged up and brought home the winning run.

Although it is highly unlikely that Baez, or any other Dodger reliever, will actually be assigned the closer role in Jansen’s absence, with his very good outings on Monday and Wednesday nights, Baez has put himself in a position to receive stronger consideration in potential high leverage situations; something that has absolutely terrified Dodger fans in the (very) recent past.

With the win, the Dodgers moved back into a tie for second place with the Rockies, who lost to the Houston Astros earlier in the day by a lopsided score of 12-1. The two teams trail the NL West division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks, who were idle on Wednesday, by 1.5 games.

After a much-needed Thursday off day, the Dodgers open a three-game weekend series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field before returning home next Monday to kickoff a three-game set with the always dangerous St. Louis Cardinals.

Play Ball!