Roger Arrieta
SAN DIEGO—A 5-run inning sent the Dodgers to a loss on Saturday and another 5-run frame cost Los Angeles in the series opener at San Diego on Monday. Los Angeles gave the Padres five runs in a head-shaking seventh inning and lost 7-2 in the first of three game between the top 2 teams in the National League.
Dodgers’ starter Clayton Kershaw had the best command of his pitching arsenal in 2020. He was pulled out of the game with one out in the seventh – just before everything went south for LA.
The loss is the fourth in the last seven games for Los Angeles – a stretch that has seen their 6.0 game lead in the NL West dwindle to a slim 1.5 lead. The Dodgers still own the best record in MLB with a 33-15 mark but San Diego is close behind. The Padres have now won eight straight and 12 of their last 14 games and are 32-17 in 2020.
GAME RECAP: It was a pitcher’s duel between two of the best “slider” pitchers in the game. Kershaw, the 3-time Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer, battled upstart Dinilson Lamet who is in his third year in the majors. The two pitchers owned the top offenses in the league through the first six innings of play. Kershaw struck out nine and only allowed three hits in his first six innings of work while Lamet fanned 10 batters and allowed three hits.
The score was tied at 1-1 heading into the decisive seventh. The Dodgers got their lone run against Lamet in the third when Austin Barnes walked, Mookie Betts fileted a bloop double to right and Seager grounded out to second which allowed Barnes to race home from third. The Padres got their only run in the first six innings on a solo shot from No.9 hitter Trent Grisham. Grisham, who owns a career .252 average and has only hit 14 HRs in his two years in MLB, turned towards the bench and admired his home run from the batter’s box as the ball only landed five rows into the stands. His home run antics drew the ire of the LA bench who had a few choice words for the No.9 hitter as he rounded third base.
The game was tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when everything went wrong for the Dodgers and everything went right for the Padres. Kershaw started the inning and allowed a single o deep short which started the 5-run odyssey. Chris Taylor made a huge diving stop of the ball and nearly threw Myers out at first but, after video review, it was ruled that Myers barely beat the throw from shallow left field. Kershaw got rookie Jake Cronenworth to fly out for the first out of the inning but then next six San Diego hitters would reach safely through baseball luck and errors from the Dodgers.
Jurickson Profar started the downfall by fighting off a slider and pushing it through the opposite field hole and into right field. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts then pulled Kershaw from the game in favor of the righty-righty match-up with Pedro Baez and rookie Jorge Ona. Ona kept the soft-hit streak going when he went-inside out on a fastball and dropped a bloop double down the left-field line that scored Myers from second and sent Profar to third. Max Muncy factored in the next two plays and would like to get a re-do on both. Pinch hitter Greg Garcia hit a routine ground ball to Muncy at first base and Muncy thought he could get Profar at home after Profar broke on the ball off the bat. Muncy’s throw arrived late and Profar was able to slid around the tag. Instead of taking the out at first and trailing only 3-1 with two outs and a runner on third, the Dodgers faced a situation where there was still one out with runners on the corners. It got worse on the next play when Grisham hit another ground ball to Muncy. Muncy tried to start a 3-6-3 inning-ending double play but his throw sailed over Taylor’s head at second base and into left field which allowed Ona to score and kept the out total at one. Blake Treinen was brought on for Baez and allowed a high-chop infield single to Fernando Tatis Jr. that barely got past the pitcher’s mound and loaded the bases. Former Dodger Manny Machado, who went belly-up in the 2018 World Series when he hit .182 and didn’t have an extra-base hit against Boston, continued the trend of baseball luck when he hit a 3-hopper through the right side of the infield. His only hit of the game advanced the runners up a base. The Padres would finish the 5-run inning when catcher Austin Nola hit into a fielder’s choice to third base. The final carnage read; 5 runs, 0 hard hit balls, 1 fielding error and 1 mental error – ouch.
The Dodgers would bring the final score to 7-2 when Muncy scored from first on a Taylor doubled to right field after Myers made a throwing error trying to get the ball back to the infield.
HE SAID IT: “I just felt that where Clayton was at with around 100 pitches…I thought he threw the ball great. Ona (Padres DH Jorge Ona) had some good swings against him. I’m not going to leave him out there for 110 pitches to finish the inning.”—Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts on his decision to pull Kershaw out of the game.
SERIES STUFF: The loss by the Dodgers in the opener evens the season series with the Padres at 4-4 with two games left. Los Angeles has beaten San Diego in the season series for nine straight seasons which is tied for the most in MLB history for a team over a division opponent. LA is now 14-7 at Petco Park in the last three years.
YOU CAN’T SPELL KERSHAW WITHOUT A K: Kershaw posted his second highest strikeout total of the year on Monday. His nine Ks is two shy of the 11 he had against Seattle on Aug. 20. Kershaw now has 2,517 strikeouts n his career which pushes him past A.J. Burnett and into 37th place on the list for most strikeouts in MLB history. He is still second on the Dodgers’ all-time list and needs 180 more Ks to pass Don Sutton.
A RARE OCCURANCE: The loss by Kershaw was the first against the Padres in seven years. He had won 13 straight decisions against San Diego in a streak that dated back to 2013. Kershaw is now 5-2 on the year with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.780 WHIP.
HE SAID IT 2: “It felt better tonight. Better fastball command tonight for sure. Overall I thought it was better than the last one.”—Kershaw on his outing
HE SAID IT 3: “Clayton threw the heck out of the ball. It was his best outing.”—Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts on Kershaw’s outing.
WINDY NIGHT IN SAN DIEGO: The Dodgers whiffed 14 times Monday, marking the third time in the last five games they have posted a double-digit strikeout total. LA had five players with more than one whiff in the game and Joc Pederson and Edwin Ríos struck out three times each. The 14 Ks are one shy of their season high which came at Arizona on July 31.
NOT VERY OFFENSIVE: The Dodgers were outhit 10-4 in the opener. It is the fifth time this season that LA has been held under five hits in a game – and the second time against the Padres (Aug. 10 – 4 hits – 2-1 L). LA is 2-3 in those games.
BOTTOM OF THE ORDER BLUES: The Dodgers lost the game 7-2 and also lost the battle at the bottom of the batting order. Los Angeles’ No.6-No.9 hitters were a combined 0-for-11 with four strikeouts while San Diego’s bottom four went 4-for-15 with three RBI, a home run and a double.
ON DECK: The Dodgers will look to even the series when they give the ball to Tony “Catman” Gonsolin on Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. Gonsolin is 0-1 on the year but owns a meager 1.57 ERA and a 0.837 WHIP in his 28.2 innings of work. The good news for the Dodgers is that his one career start against the Padres came earlier this year when he didn’t allow a run in 4.2 innings of work when LA posted a 6-0 win on Aug. 12. The Padres are scheduled to throw Zach Davies who leads San Diego in wins. He is 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA and a 0.957 WHIP in 54.1 innings this year. He was the starting pitcher against Gonsolin on Aug. 12 and lasted 7.0 innings. He struck out five, gave up two earned runs and four hits in that outing.
GOODBYE WITH GOOD NEWS: We end this recap with good news. Justin Turner, the Dodgers’ team leader, is scheduled to come off the IL list tomorrow and will be in the lineup. Turner went on the IL on Sept. 1 and have gone a pedestrian 7-5 without Red Turn 2 in the lineup. LA is 22-10 when Turner plays – enough said.
HE SAID IT 4: “I expect him to be in the lineup tomorrow as the designated hitter.”—Roberts on the status of Turner.
