Cody Snavely
Game 93, 7/10/2024: Dodgers 3, Phillies 4
PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Los Angeles Dodgers, fresh off an embarrassing ten-to-one loss yesterday, look to get back on track. Who better to kick it off than Gavin Stone, who has been the Dodgers’ most consistent starter since mid-May.
The Phillies route of the Dodgers last night left a stain in manager Dave Roberts‘s mouth where the manager agreed that it was an embarrassing showing.
Last night, the Dodgers got a taste of a potential postseason starter in the National League Cy Young favorite, Zack Wheeler. Still, for game two, it doesn’t get much easier as the Dodgers will be tested yet again by young Phillies left-handed pitcher Cristopher Sánchez.
Sánchez has been electric this season for a Phillies pitching staff that is the best in baseball, going six-and-four with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.243 WHIP in 97.1 innings pitched.
The lefty has taken that elite performance to another level at Citizens Bank Park, where Sánchez has five wins and a 1.35 ERA in nine games this season.
The counterpoint to that is Gavin Stone, who has been terrific on the road this season, pitching to a 2.30 ERA in seven away games this season, and since June 1st, the right-handed rookie has four wins and a 2.83 ERA and thirty-two strikeouts.
Shohei Ohtani, who leadoff the game with another round of Philly boos, tried to get the Dodger’s offense going after getting blown out the night prior but alas, the all-star starting designated hitter was left stranded.
The Phillies would only need one batter to get their first lead of the night, as their leadoff designated hitter would deposit a leadoff home run-nin, the thirty-first of his big league career and eighth this season.
The Phillies would not stop there, adding runs in the second inning from an RBI groundout by Phillies utility man Whit Merrifield. But the real damage was done in the fifth inning when the Dodgers defense let starting pitcher Gavin Stone down.
It all started with a routine flyout to center field that got lost in the night sky, leaving Andy Pages dazed and confused. This allowed Merrifield, who hesitated out of the box, to settle for a triple.
The Dodgers defense, playing in, made two stops, holding the runner at third base, but it was a broken-bat single that was just out of the reach of shortstop Miguel Rojas.
Miscommunication would also haunt the Dodgers, as a Bryson Stott single, which Chris Taylor fielded, allowed yet another run to score. After the game, Rojas stated that he felt he was in a better position to field and throw out the speedy runner, but it was quickly a four-to-two ballgame.
Phillies left-handed starter Cristopher Sánchez lived up to his name tonight, only allowing two runs on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.
However, the Phillies bullpen stole the show tonight. They pitched three shaky innings but still won.
But perhaps the biggest question mark of the night was during James Outman‘s pitch hit at-bat where the lefty squared up to bunt unsuccessfully.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated that Outman made the decision to bunt after working on it before yesterday’s game, but he was shocked that he would do it there with Chris Taylor already at second base.
The Dodgers almost broke things open after Miguel Rojas’s RBI single in the eighth inning, but after the veteran tried to leg out a single, he was called out and ruled off the bag.
In that situation, it is a judgment call for the umpire to warrant if Phillies second basemen Bryson Stott pushed Rojas off the bag, and in this situation, he sided with the Phillies.
The Dodgers failed to complete the comeback and have dropped their third series in two weeks. They are facing a sweep of the Phillies before they head to Detroit to close out the first half.
Landon Knack is expected to start the game tomorrow, but expect the bullpen to be heavily used as the Dodgers try to avoid embarrassment in the City of Brotherly Love.
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