Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — The Dodgers are bound and determined to give their fans something to worry about going into the postseason. What should be a celebration of an amazing season has turned into an uneasy feeling about the state of this team’s offense. Other than the seven-run opener in this series, the bats have been conspicuously silent, especially with runners on base. Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Rockies has led to the series, which we’re all already tired of, being tied at 2-2. In this one, Brusdar Graterol gave up a couple of 9th inning singles that resulting in a tie-breaking run, and the Dodgers fell for the second straight night.
Gonsolin has one sharp inning, one not so much
It had been more than a month since Tony Gonsolin had been on a big league mound, so the Dodgers had a very low bar for his return. The goal in this one was to get the Cat Man through two innings, and then turn the game over to the bullpen. So, on that front, mission accomplished.
It was a Tale of Two Tonys in this one. First inning Tony was great, working a 1-2-3 inning on just 13 pitches. He got a line-out from the leadoff man Yonathan Daza, then a strikeout from Brandon Rodgers. Finally, Gonsolin induced a grounder to Gavin Lux at second to end the inning. Easy Peasy, right?
Not so fast. In the second, it was much more labor intensive, and much less efficient. Elias Diaz banged a grounder through the left side of the infield when Gonsolin gave him a piece of center-cut cheese that didn’t have much life to it. Then, after a lineout, Gonsolin gave up his only extra-base hit of the night, a double from Randal Grichuk on a slider off the plate.
Finally, second baseman Alan Trejo went the other way on another outside slider and hit a ball into the unoccupied second baseman’s position. Diaz scored easily, and it was 1-0 Rockies. However, Gonsolin rallied to finish his night strong, striking out his final two hitters of the night. In all, a good, but not great start. Gonsolin still remains a question mark for what can be expected of him in the postseason.
Trayce ties it up
Trayce Thompson continues to make a strong case for a lot of playoff playing time. After a two-hit game on Sunday, Thompson was the only Dodger hitter to do any damage against Rockies starter Jose Urena. In his first at-bat of the evening, Trayce hit a screamer down the left field line that just stayed fair as it cleared the fence. It was one home run, and the Dodgers and Rox were now tied. In his last seven games, Thompson is hitting .333 with two homers and a slugging percentage of .667. Any doubt that Thompson would make the postseason roster is officially erased. He’s in, and given Chris Taylor‘s neck issue, he’s probably starting in left.
Bullpen puts up 6 straight zeroes
After Gonsolin’s departure, Dave Roberts needed to get a lot of help from the bullpen in this one. And for the most past, the relief corps came through with flying colors. Some looked shakier than others (I still worry about Ferguson’s command), but in the end the string of relievers (Almonte, Kahnle, Kimbrel, Ferguson, Martin, and Vesia) got the ballgame into the 9th without giving up a run.
Rox get one in the ninth thanks to a couple Bruins
UCLA products seem to be all over this lineup for the Rockies, and two former denizens of Westwood got it done in the top of the 9th against Brusdar Graterol. Outfielder Sean Brouchard led off with a single past the diving Gavin Lux and took second on a ground out from Ezequiel Tovar. Then, Brouchard’s fellow UCLA alum Michael Toglia came to bat with a chance to put his team out in front. And he did just that.
Like most contact off the flame-throwing Graterol, it wasn’t hit that hard (exit velo 72-mph). But, it found a hole in the left side of the defense and dropped onto the lawn past the infield dirt. With two outs, Brouchard was running on contact, and scored standing up. And the Rockies’ now had all the runs that they would need to win this one.
Bottom of the 9th fizzles out after promising start
Needing just one to tie, the Dodgers got a leadoff hit from Trea Turner. With Turner on first, Freddie Freeman watched three pitches miss the zone to get the count to 3-0. Freeman’s been looking for a hit for the past couple of days, so was eager to do damage and help his team. He was swinging on the 3-0 pitch, a sinker at the knees that might have been called ball four.
Instead Freeman gave it a ride, and for a hot second, it looked like the Dodger were going to walk it off. But somewhere between the plate and the fence, the ball lost momentum. It missed a home run about about four feet and instead landed in Randal Grichuk’s glove for the first out of the inning. Ugh.
After that, the Dodgers went quietly. Will Smith flew out to center, and Max Muncy did the same, neither a particular deep ball. When Yonathan Daza squeezed Muncy’s drive into his glove, the inning was over, and so was the ballgame.
Final tune-up for Julio on Tuesday
Julio Urías will make his final regular season start on Tuesday in the final regular season night game at Dodger Stadium for 2022. Sandy Alcantara has already put it in park for the year, so Urías’s final chance to impress Cy Young voters will be in this game. He will most certainly win the ERA crown ( he leads all NL pitchers with a 2.12 ERA). However, with Alcantara’s lead in some of the “workhorse” categories (innings, complete games, etc.), it’s hard to see anything that Urías could do in this last start to change many minds, especially considering that he’s not likely to go very deep at all in the game. Still, it will be important to end the season on a high note, and have a head of steam going into the playoffs. Game time on Tuesday: 7:10 PDT.
Cans of Corn…
- Since they got back into town from San Francisco, it’s been a bit ragged for these Dodgers, no matter how many games they have won.
- Since September 21, the Dodgers are cellar dwellers in the following categories: Runs (25th) AVG (26th) SLG (28th) HR (27th) wRC+ (24th). Not great, Bob.
- To make room for Gonsolin on the roster, Andre Jackson was sent back to OKC.
- Leftover from the weekend: the Spanish-language broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium has been officially renamed to honor outgoing play-by-play man Jaime Jarrín.
- Atlanta’s big weekend brings the Wild Cart into focus: San Diego vs. NYM for a chance to play the Dodgers. Can we be Padres fans for a weekend?
