Dodgers’ bats quiet, team drops series finale to Phils 2-1

PHILADELPHIA — On a sultry afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, the Dodgers hitters were ice cold. They only managed three hits on the afternoon. However, the pitching staff kept it close all day, and in the end it was a great play by Didi Gregorious at short that cost the Dodgers the tying run in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies.

Harper HR puts Phils on the board

Mitch White got the start in a scheduled bullpen game and did pretty well, all things considered. He gave up a home run in the first inning to Bryce Harper, which put the Phillies in the lead for the first time in the entire series.

Walks hurt White in fourth

White’s big mistake came in the fourth, when it looked like he was running out of gas. He started to lose the strike zone, and the Phils were able to pounce on the opportunity. He sandwiched walks to Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorious between a couple of flyouts, and the Phils had a two-out chance for Ronald Torreyes. The third baseman managed to squirt a ground ball through the infield for a run-scoring single, and the Phillies had all the lead they would need in the game.

Gregorious play keeps Phils ahead

Trailing 2-0, the Dodgers’ best chance to get back in the game came in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Austin Barnes singled, and Billy McKinney drew a walk off Phils starter Ranger Suarez. Then, after a pitching change, reliever Enyel De Los Santos uncorked a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third.

Then came what turned out to be the key play of the game. Trea Turner hit a solid shot up the middle that looked like it was headed for green. But instead of a two-run single, shortstop Didi Gregorious managed to get some leather on the ball and was able to come up with a short-hop stop of the ball. He whipped the ball across the diamond and beat the speedy Turner to first by less than half a step. There was a challenge on the ball, but in the end the out call was upheld. The Dodgers did score one run on the play, but the threat was extinguished and the Dodgers wouldn’t threaten until the top of the ninth.

Dodgers pen perfect again

The later innings were quiet for both teams, as each bullpen put up nothing but zeroes. Alex Vesia, Phil Bickford continue to impress, with each pitching a scoreless inning in relief of starter Mitch White. Justin Bruihl pitched a scoreless seventh, and Kenley Jansen was perfect in the eighth, handling the heart of the Phillies order with no problem.

Dodgers load ’em up, but can’t score

In the top of the ninth, the Dodgers were gifted a rally, but couldn’t convert. New Phillie Ian Kennedy came on for the save, and to be honest, he should have had a couple of strikeouts that ended up as walks. Both Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger took borderline 3-2 pitches that seemed to be strike three on each of them. Instead, home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez refused to ring them up.

Getting a little miffed about the whole thing, Phillies skipper Joe Girardi got himself tossed and had to watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse. When Will Smith got plunked in the elbow to load up the bases, suddenly things had become very interesting indeed. Billy McKinney came to the plate with a chance for his first signature moment as a Dodger. Unfortunately today was not the day, as McKinney flew out harmlessly to shallow left field.

On to New York

So the Dodgers have to content themselves with a 2-1 series victory. However, given the rain delays and the fact that the Dodgers were throwing the back end of the rotation, you have to be pretty happy with that outcome. The big guns will come out in Queens for the Mets series, as Dave Roberts will send Julio Urias, Walker Buehler, and Max Scherzer to the mound against the suddenly struggling Mets. The Giants, on the other hand, host the Rockies. Dangerous days, indeed.