Steve Webb
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Ugh. Ever have one of those days where you’re so disgusted you don’t even want to think about something for another second? That’s where my head is at right now after experiencing the pain of a 3-2 loss to the Giants on Saturday afternoon. The Dodgers had chance after chance after chance in this one, but could only scratch across a couple of runs. And, after a wild bottom of the eighth inning, they still had the tying run in scoring position with two outs. They just couldn’t get it done. At all. Ugh. Let’s break this mess down.
Kershaw goes four in first start after the IL
Today was what seems like an annual event; Dodger fans gathered to welcome Clayton Kershaw back from yet another stint on the Injured List. This one did not go perfectly for the Dodgers’ lefty ace, but it went about as well as could be expected.
Kershaw had a little trouble zeroing in on the strike zone in his four innings of work, and threw a lot more pitches than he wanted to, but overall, I think the Dodgers should be pretty happy with what they saw from him in this one. He landed 43 of his 71 pitches for strikes, and walked two Giants, but he only gave up a couple of runs, both in the second inning, when he threw 31 of those pitches. He gave up a one-out home run to Thairo Estrada in that inning, as well as a run-scoring single to Luis Gonzalez.
However, that was it. He worked out of a little jam in the fourth to end his outing on a positive note. Given all the time off, it wasn’t a bad return to the big leagues at all. His line for the afternoon: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 K.
Dodgers never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity
Unfortunately, while Kersh has enjoyed a lot of run support from his teammates, Saturday was not one of those days. One stat tell the difference in this one: The Dodgers left FOURTEEN runners on base in this game, a season high. FOURTEEN. Just one well-placed hit would have given the Dodgers a lead at numerous points during the game. In fact, the Boys in Blue had at least one baserunner in every single inning of the game. And still, only two runs.
And the first one came in the top of the eighth, when Cody Bellinger whacked a ground-rule double with men on first and second to score a run. However, the Dodgers had a chance for a lot more in that inning when they loaded up the bases with nobody out. However, after a swinging K to Freddie Freeman and a double play ball off the bat of Trea Turner, the rally was extinguished and the Dodgers had to settle for just the one run.
Kimbrel coughs up a run in 8th
Because the Dodgers bullpen had pretty much held up in relief of Kershaw in this one, the game went into the bottom of the eighth with the Dodgers trailing just 2-1.And then came Craig Kimbrel. All that Dodger fans were hoping for was a clean inning to keep the game at a one-run contest going into the ninth. Unfortunately, what they got was a “vintage” Craig Kimbrel performance. Maybe it was the long layoff from being out on paternity leave, but Kimbrel was not sharp at all in this inning. He gave up a leadoff single to Joc Pederson, and then gifted him second base with a wild pitch. After back to back walks to Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada, the bases were loaded with nobody.
And then, the play that turned out to be the difference in the game. With a 1-1 count, Kimbrel threw a curveball that landed in the dirt to Brandon Crawford. Crawford offered at the pitch and home plate umpire called it a swinging strike. However, on replay the ball appeared to go off Crawford’s foot before bouncing over catcher Will Smith‘s shoulder and to the backstop. Pederson scampered home on the play to make it 3-1, but the game stopped for several minutes while the call was discussed on the field. However, no challenge was issued and the run counted.
However, it seems that if indeed the pitch hit Crawford’s foot, it should have been a reviewable play. Here’s what the rulebook says that the ball should be dead if:
the ball touches the batter as the batter swings at the ball. This basically means that if the batter is swinging at the ball and the act of swinging has caused the ball to hit the batter, then the ball is a strike. Example: Batter swings and the ball hits him on the forearm as he’s swinging. The ball is dead and it is a strike
Source: QC Baseball
Using this rule, the ball should have been declared dead, and Pederson should have been sent back to third. But nothing of the sort happened, and the Giants gained a run of insurance.
Freddie homers, but rally falls short
The ninth inning started with a bang. Freddie Freeman led off by hitting his first home run in a while, a screamer off new reliever Jose Alvarez to right field to pull the Dodgers back to within one. But because of the weird Brandon Crawford play in the previous inning, the Dodgers still needed to score to push the game into extras. Trea Turner followed up Freeman’s blast with a single to put the tying run on base with still no outs.
However, Max Muncy struck out and Will Smith hit into a force-out to erase Turner from the equation. Now with two outs, it was up to pinch hitter Hanser Alberto. He hit a little infield single that moved Smith into scoring position for Cody Bellinger. Cody, already with two hits on the day, got good wood on a fastball, but hit it into the shift. It almost squeaked by second baseman Thairo Estrada, who was sent sprawling to the grass to make the play. Once he had secured the ball, the threw from his knees to nab Bellinger at first by a couple of steps. That’s it. Game Over. Go home.
Urias to pitch the finale on Sunday
With these two losses, the Dodgers can only hope to salvage Sunday’s game for a 3-3 road trip. Not great, but not a cause for handwringing either. The fact that the Dodgers have only won 4 games out of the last 12 is a little worrisome, though. Hopefully, Julio will be solid and get the Dodgers back on track on Sunday. 1:10 first pitch.
Cans of Corn…
- Kershaw definitely needs to work on his control for the next start. His pitches could have been a whole lot sharper.
- Walker Buehler will be on the IL, having left San Francisco after Friday’s game for an MRI back in LA with team doctors. How long he will be out remains to be seen.
- Weren’t the Dodgers supposed to be a good team with runners on base? WTF?
- These kinds of winnable games that turn into losses drive me round the bend. I need cerveza, stat.
