LOS ANGELES – A 36-year-old with a history of leg injuries has made the Dodgers a better baserunning team.
Chase Utley drove in one run with a triple, then used aggressive baserunning to spark a three-run sixth inning that gave Clayton Kershaw all the support he needed in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Friday night.
“Without bad-mouthing anyone else, it’s just an awareness of how to run the bases – an aggressive style but also running with some smarts,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said of what Utley brings. “I think it’s one of the areas that we’ve honestly been lackadaisical.