Cody Snavely
Game 92, 7/9/2024: Dodgers 1, Phillies 10
PHILADELPHIA, PA— The Los Angeles Dodgers, riding high from a series win over the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, head out East to begin their final road trip of the first half of the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
First up on the pipeline is the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies, who have dominated both sides of the baseball field all season long, which explains their eight-game lead over the Atlanta Braves.
It’s a showdown between the two National League powerhouses, a game that many fans and insiders predict will be a preview of the National League Championship Series in October.
But the real spectacle for this game will be the pitching duel. Two flame-throwing pitchers, each capable of hurling near 100 mph fastballs, will take the mound. Their velocity will match the intense heat in Philly, with game-time temperatures expected to reach close to one hundred degrees.
The Dodgers would turn to right-handed pitcher Bobby Miller, who, entering his second season, had not had the consistency he liked, especially since being activated off the 15-day injured list a few weeks ago.
So far, in four starts prior to today, Miller has allowed nine walks while only striking out seven batters in 13.1 innings pitched and has an ERA north of six. However, his most recent outing against the Diamondbacks was encouraging as the righty went five innings while only allowing two runs.
Opposing him would be the Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, who is among the favorites thus far for the National League Cy Young Award as we enter the final days of the first half.
At the top of the first inning, there would be a case of the boobirds as Shohei Ohtani would step up to the plate to a rowdy Phillies crowd and strike out on three pitches.
The boos are to be expected in these types of cities, as the New York crowd did the same thing in June during the Dodgers and Yankees three-game set.
However, that wouldn’t be the last time the Phillies crowd showed some noise as they had much to cheer for in this one, blowing out the Dodgers win a 10-1 victory.
The Phillies offense capitalized off the command of Bobby Miller, who again struggled, issuing three walks on the day. In the bottom of the second inning, Miller allowed three runs to a hot Phillies offense.
To make matters worse, all the damage done in the bottom of the second inning was all with two outs as the Phillies hitter clutched up. It all started with a Brandon Walsh walk and a Rafael Marchán single, which would put the Phillis up early.
However, back-to-back singles by Johan Rojas and recently activated Kyle Schwarber put the Phillies up to a commanding three-nothing lead with their ace Zack Wheeler on the mound.
If you thought the second inning was terrible for Miller, the fourth inning was horrific and unraveled fast.
After a Marsh single, Marchán double, Rojas single, and Schwarber walk, the Phillies had the bases loaded, and former Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner was up to bat.
It was a hanging slider and quickly an eight-to-nothing ballgame, but the Phillies would continue to add on that inning with another home run, this time by Phillies second basemen Bryson Stott.
Miller gave the Dodgers four innings today but had the worst start of his career, allowing nine runs on ten hits, walking three, and only getting two strikeouts on the day.
Since being activated off the injured list in June, Miller has pitched twenty-three innings, allowing twenty-six runs on thirty-three hits while walking more hitters (seventeen) than strikeouts (sixteen), which is not a recipe for success at any level.
The Dodgers bullpen pitched stable innings the rest of the way out but only allowed one more run on a Brandon Marsh solo shot in the seventh inning.
Hell, the Dodgers were able to have some fun with this game, putting Kiké Hernández in to pitch for the second time in his career conveniently in the same park where he last pitched in 2017, where he allowed a walk-off home run to the Phillies in extra innings.
After the game, Dave Roberts and Bobby Miller were both asked if Miller’s struggles were more than just mechanics, and both shot down the notion, stating that all the tests on Miller’s shoulder came back clean.
Miller himself stated that he feels fine even after today’s start, but he admitted he cannot explain why his velocity and advanced metrics are down overall.
The Dodgers go back to their hotel with an “embarrassing” loss, in the words of Dave Roberts, but hope they can win this series and will look for Gavin Stone to give them a complete 180 of what happened today.
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