Steve Webb
ARLINGTON, TX — Y’all can put those brooms away. Again. For the third time on this road trip, the Dodgers went into the final game of a series with an eye on a sweep. And for the third straight time, it didn’t happen. Instead, the Dodgers’ offense petered out after a first inning explosion and squandered a 4-0 over the Texas Rangers. Dodgers starter Emmet Sheehan couldn’t find the zone, and his wildness led to run after run for the Rangers, ending up on the wrong end of an 8-4 score.
But for a half inning anyway, it looked like the mashing Dodgers were up to their old ways. The Dodgers led off the game with a Mookie Betts double and a Freddie Freeman single to put two runners in scoring position before the cheese on the fans’ nachos had gotten cold. Will Smith flew out, but Chris Taylor drew a walk to juice the bags for Max Muncy.
Muncy, already on a bit of a tear on his home turf of Texas, dug in with a chance to do some real damage against Rangers’ lefty Martin Perez. Max got ahead in the count 2-0 before taking a called strike on a center-cut sinker. Then, Perez gave Muncy a cutter that just hung lifelessly in the zone like it wanted to be hit. And Muncy was only too happy to oblige. He blasted the pitched into the right field seats and rounded the bases the proud owner of his third grand slam of the season.
And that was about all the Dodgers had to cheer about for the rest of the day. Emmet Sheehan was just too wild to hold the lead. He walked five Rangers and each and every one of them ended up crossing home plate. Can’t do that in the big leagues, son. By the time Dave Roberts finally yanked him in the bottom of the fourth, he had given up eight earned runs on eight hits, his 2023 ERA ballooning up to 6.75 in the process. Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, and Justin Bruihl all pitched scoreless frames after Sheehan’s exit, but the damage had already been done.
And in this one, there was no coming back. Perez settled in after a rocky first inning, and pitched five scoreless innings after that. Three Ranger relievers finished out the game, and they too kept the Dodgers off the scoreboard. In fact, after the Muncy home run, they didn’t have much in the way of scoring opportunities the rest of the way. The only thing that looked promising was a two-on, nobody-out chance in the fourth, but Perez buckled down and got out of the jam with no damage done. It was pretty much smooth sailing from that point on.
“[Sheehan] overall wasn’t sharp,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that the stuff was down, the command of all his pitches wasn’t there. And you can’t defend a walk. So to put up a big number in the first inning and then come back and walk the first couple guys and put us in a tough spot — it just wasn’t sharp today.”
So the Dodgers once again have to settle for a series win, but not a sweep. However, this is nothing to sneeze at winning road series against the Mets, Orioles, and Rangers to start the second half puts the Dodgers in a very good position coming home. They went into the road trip in a tie with the D-backs for first. They end it with a four game lead. If that’s not successful, I don’t know what is.
The Dodgers try to continue their winning ways at Chavez Ravine on Monday when the Toronto Blue Jays come to town. It will be the first match-up against the Jays since 2019, Vladdy Jr.’s rookie year. I’m sure he’ll be eager to show off that Home Run Derby power to the Dodger Stadium crowds. No exact word on pitching match-ups yet, but we’ll most likely see a bullpen game in there somewhere as the team still awaits the return of Clayton Kershaw from the IL. First game is Monday night with a 7:10 first pitch.
