Dodgers Recap: Nightmare Inning Sinks Dodgers in Game One

TORONTO — Suffice it to say, the Dodgers’ aura of invincibility has been shattered. The Dodgers did NOT get an awesome start from Blake Snell, and when the bullpen came in, matters went from bad to worse, as the Dodgers drop Game 1 to the Blue Jays by a score of 11-4. The culprit in this one: a horrific NINE-RUN sixth inning, in which the Jays batted around and then some and turned a close game into a rout, hitting a couple of homers along the way. The Dodgers better regroup in a hurry or the team is going to be in a deep, deep hole before they know it.

The first inning got off to a great start for the Blue Jays, but they couldn’t cash in. After starter Trey Yesavage retired the Dodgers in order in the top of the frame, Blake Snell took to the mound, and almost from the first pitch, you could see he wasn’t locked in like he’d been in Milwaukee. A lot of pitches. Hardly any swing and miss. He had a chance at a 1-2-3 inning, but couldn’t put away Vladimir Guerrero Jr., walking him on a full count. Then, after the returning Bo Bichette poked a single into right, he walked Alejandro Kirk, forcing him to expend more bullets. With the bases loaded, Snell induced the left-handed hitting Daulton Varsho to fly out to center, thus putting a zero on the scoreboard. However, with 29 pitches already thrown, it looked like the Jays had the upper hand early.

But the Dodgers had other thoughts about that. In the top of the second, they managed to get runners to first and second with just one out on a walk and single from Max Muncy. Then, who else but Kike Hernandez came through with the first RBI of the World Series, a solid single up the middle. After Tommy Edman loaded the bases with a little infield single, the Dodgers looked like they were on the cusp of a big inning. However, it was not to be. Andy Pages struck out on what would have been ball four and then Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first. Nice start, but could have been a whole lot better for the Boys in Blue.

The second inning was much better for Snell, who put up another zero and was aided by some funky baserunning from Ernie Clement on an infield grounder to Freddie Freeman. Hey, kids, never make the last out at third. Then, in the top of the third, it was more command problems for the rookie Yesavage, who was really on the struggle bus in this one. He walked the first two hitters, and Will Smith notched a single to drive in the Dodgers second run of the day. But again, it felt like the Dodgers left some meat on the bone in this inning when Freddie Freeman got himself into a pickle between first and third and Max Muncy struck out with two out and Smith camped on third. Still, it was 2-0 Dodgers, and considering how the first inning went, the Dodgers were in a good spot.

But in the bottom of the fourth, the Blue Jays struck back. First, Alejandro Kirk was a pest, fouling off four pitches from Snell before banging a long single off the right field wall. On the very next pitch, Snell got snake bit. He threw a tasty fastball to left-handed hitting Daulton Varsho, who was looking heater all the way. Varsho put good wood on the ball and hit a game-tying home run into dead center. It was looking more and more like this game would be decided by the bullpens.

It didn’t take that. Everything unraveled for Snell and the Dodgers in the bottom of the sixth. The problem? You guessed it. Command. Snell started the inning off with a walk to Bo Bichette. Then, Alejandro Kirk singled to right. After plunking Daulton Varsho with a pitch (never a good look to a dude who just homered off you), the bags were juiced with Jays. That was it for the Dodgers’ ace. His line for the night: 5.0+ IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K. Yuck. There will be better days ahead for Snell, hopefully in LA next week.

Once the Dodgers got into the bullpen, the rout was on. Emmet Sheehan was the first human sacrifice in this one. He gave up a go-ahead single to Ernie Clement, then walked in another run, then gave up another run scoring single to Andres Gimenez. That brought up the top of the order and here’s where things got ugly. Sheehan at least got a force out at home on a grounder from George Springer, but that’s about the end of the good news for the Dodgers in this one. Anthony Banda came in from the pen, and threw gasoline on the fire. Addison Barger came off the bench and hit a dagger: a grand slam to make it 9-2. A few batters later, it was Alejandro Kirk’s turn to jack one, this time a two-run job to center and by the time the carnage ended, it was 11-2. Yeah, not great.

Things happened after that, including an Ohtani home run against the low-leverage part of the Jays pen, but who really cares? It was over, the aura of good vibes that had followed the Dodgers through the last six weeks completely evaporated.

By the time the ninth inning rolled, around, most of Dodgerland was probably deep into their Netflix account. An embarrassing loss, where almost nothing went right.

Wish I had better news for you, Dodger fans. The good news is that it’s the first game, and the goal was to win one of the two in Toronto. All that is still in play. But for the first time all October, the Dodgers are going to have to play from behind in a series. We’ll see how they respond on Saturday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be pitching the most critical game of the year tomorrow. It’s early to declare it a “must-win,” but after a drubbing like the Dodgers took on Friday, it sure feels like one. He’ll be taking the ball against Kevin Gausman, who the Dodgers saw a lot of when he was pitching with San Fransisco. But that was a while ago. Game time 5:08 PDT on Fox.

Save us, Yoshi Yamamoto. You’re our only hope.

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