Steve Webb
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Ugh. I like Max Muncy. A lot. But let’s face facts. Right now Muncy is hurting the Dodgers. On Sunday afternoon, after striking out with bases loaded in the top of the 10th, Muncy booted a potential game-ending ground ball in the bottom of the frame. Two runs scored on the play and the Dodgers lost to Phillies 4-3 in ten innings. It was, um, not great.
Gonsolin and Eflin on point
This game saw two great performances from the starters. Zach Eflin, the Phillies’ starter, was mowing through the Dodgers’ batting order, notching seven strikeouts the first time through the lineup (he ended up with 12 K). But Tony Gonsolin was every bit his equal in this one. The Cat Man was near perfect for six innings, the lone blemish to his day was a solo homer from catcher Garrett Stubs in the bottom of the 6th.
However, Gonsolin left the game with a chance to win, thanks to a couple of solo home runs from Mookie Betts and Edwin Rios. Betts, who continues his tear, banged a pull-shot homer off Eflin in the third. Rios went oppo taco in the next inning. So, the ball game went into the late innings with the Dodgers clinging to a 2-1 lead.
Phillies tie it up in the bottom of the 9th
Once again, the Dodgers relievers were pretty good in this one. However, the Phils were able to come back in the bottom of the 9th, when the Dodgers were just one out away from the W. Reliever Yency Almonte navigated through Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper to get the first two outs of the inning, but then Nick Castellanos broke a cold streak by banging a double off the left field wall. Dave Roberts chose to give an intentional pass to basher Kyle Schwarber, and Almonte faced Jean Segura with the game on the line.
But Segura got the better of the Dodger righty. He smacked a solid single into left that tied the game, and the game was now pushed into extra innings.
Turner gives the Dodgers the lead in 10th
And on we went into extra frames, with the infamous “Manfred Man” starting at second base. This time it was Austin Barnes as the designated runner at second. After Mookie Betts drew a leadoff walk, the Dodgers had a little bad luck when a Freddie Freeman check swing nicked the ball and stayed fair in front of the plate. Catcher Garrett Stubbs scooped up the ball and nailed the lead runner, leaving men at first and second again with just one out.
That brought up Trea Turner, who was the Dodgers’ best hitter in this one. Already having a couple of hits, Turner came through again, banging a run scoring single into right field to easily score Betts from second. When Turner took second on the throw, Phillies manager Joe Girardi decided to walk Edwin Rios to get to Max Muncy. Munce watched two strikes go by, and then swung through a fastball for strike three. It was a squandered opportunity that would come back to haunt the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. The inning ending when Justin Turner ripped a ball down the third base line that got picked by a nice play from Alec Baum. The Dodgers had gotten just one, and needed a clean inning to take home the win.
So close to the W!
The bottom of the tenth was given to Evan Phillips, and he nearly had a great inning. He started with a play that could have been the play of the game. Garrett Stubbs hit a soft ground ball to the hole, but Trea Turner fielded it and threw late to first. Turner didn’t really have a play on the ball, but when Freddie Freeman caught it, he whipped it back across the diamond to try to nab JT Realmuto at third. Realmuto slid in safe, but Justin Turner pulled off a perfect deke play that lured Realmuto off the bag for just long enough to tag him out.
Now with one out, Phillips turned his attention to Johan Camargo, who he struck out on just four pitches. The victory was now once again an out away. However, light-hitting Roman Quinn singled into right to extend the game. Mookie Betts probably should have thrown to second, but thought he had a chance to nail Stubbs at third. It was a close play but Stubbs was safe and Quinn took second on the throw.
That set up the heartbreaking final play of the game. Phillips got a couple of quick strikes on Alec Bohm, but Bohm took two pitches to work the count even. Then, Evans got the swing he wanted on the 2-2 count. Bohm hit a weak ground ball that took a little skip off the mound but was headed straight for Max Muncy at second base. For a hot second, it looked like the game was over. However, Muncy played himself into a bad hop and the ball bounced off his chest. By the time Muncy collected the ball, both baserunners had scored, with the winning run sliding into home just ahead of the tag.
Ugh…
So another extra-inning defeat. The Dodgers are now 0-3 in overtime this year, after being horrible in the same category last season. Still, it was two out of three and road series victory, so you can’t be too upset about how this one ended. It would have been very nice to get the sweep, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Dodgers can take out their frustration on the hapless Washington Nationals in the next series. It starts Monday night with a 4:05 start. Tyler Anderson will toe the rubber against the struggling right-hander Joan Doan.
Cans of Corn…
- Dodgers are now 27-13 after 40 games. That’s a pace to win 108 games.
- Freddie Freeman was 0-for-10 in the last two games. Could have used a hit or two in this one.
- Trea Turner remains red-hot; his three hits on Sunday pushed his average to .290 for the year.
- We’re getting to the point where we’re expecting Mookie to do something amazing every day. And that’s a good thing.
- Maybe move Muncy down in the lineup a bit?
- Days like this, I miss Blake Treinen. Hurry back, dude.
- We get a look at Josiah Gray for the Nats on Tuesday. He’s doing all right in his opportunity with the Nats.
