Dodgers Recap: Offense once again makes mediocre pitcher look like Tom Seaver

SAN DIEGO — If Friday night’s loss in San Diego felt like a punch to the gut, Saturday’s game was déjà vu all over again. For the second straight night, the Dodgers’ bats made a struggling opposing pitcher look like an ace. This time, it was Nestor Cortes who donned the crown. Just five days removed from giving up three home runs in his last start, Cortes came out at Petco Park and pitched the game of his life against Los Angeles, shutting them down almost completely.

Tyler Glasnow took the mound for the Dodgers and, for the most part, was solid. But as has happened too often this season, one crooked inning was enough to sink him. The Padres pushed across three runs in the fourth inning—helped by two walks that set the table—and that was all they would really need. The Dodgers managed just a single run on a pinch-hit homer from rookie Alex Freeland, but otherwise looked flat at the plate, continuing a frustrating stretch of inconsistent offense.

With the 5–1 loss, the Dodgers fell into second place in the NL West, one game behind the Padres. They’ll need a win Sunday behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto to avoid a sweep and claw back into a first-place tie.

Déjà Vu in the Fourth Inning

On Friday night, it was Yu Darvish who turned back the clock, throwing one of his best outings of the year despite a season filled with uneven performances. Saturday, Cortes followed the same script. The left-hander carved through the Dodgers’ order with efficiency and command, striking out seven while allowing just two hits in six innings of work.

Glasnow matched him early, breezing through the first three innings. But the trouble came in the fourth. He walked Manny Machado to lead off the inning, then surrendered a single to Ryan O’Hearn. Another walk to Xander Bogaerts loaded the bases with nobody out. Glasnow nearly wriggled free when Gavin Sheets lined out to Freddie Freeman, but Ramón Laureano followed with a ground-ball single to right that plated two runs. Jake Cronenworth added a sacrifice fly to make it 3–0.

That single frame undid what was otherwise a strong outing from Glasnow, who struck out three and allowed just two hits in four innings. Still, the damage was done.

A Lone Bright Spot: Freeland’s Pinch-Hit Blast

For the second night in a row, the Dodgers could manage just one run. And for the second night in a row, it came from a surprising source. On Friday, rookie Alex Freeland delivered his first career homer. On Saturday, he did it again—this time as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning.

Freeland crushed a Jeremiah Estrada fastball into the right-center seats, cutting the deficit to 3–1 and briefly giving the Dodgers some life. But the momentum didn’t last. In the bottom half of the inning, Bogaerts doubled in two more runs to put the game out of reach.

Outside of Freeland’s blast, the Dodgers’ lineup was quiet. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández combined to go 0-for-15 with six strikeouts. The Dodgers as a team managed only two hits all night, both singles from Miguel Rojas and Freeland’s pinch-hit homer.

Padres Pitching Shuts Down LA

Credit has to go to the Padres’ pitching staff. Cortes set the tone, working quickly and locating his fastball with precision. He retired the side in order in four of his six innings, inducing weak contact all night.

San Diego’s bullpen then slammed the door. Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, and Adrian Morejón combined for three innings of one-run ball, with Morejón finishing the job by retiring the side in the ninth.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, never really mounted a serious rally. Their only runner in scoring position all game came in the sixth, when Rojas singled and advanced no further.

A Frustrating Summer

This loss felt all too familiar. The Dodgers have now dropped back-to-back games in San Diego with identical scores for the visitors, 2–1 and 5–1. In both games, they faced a pitcher who had been struggling, only to make him look untouchable. The offense that looked unstoppable at times in April and May has cooled dramatically, leaving the team stuck in a cycle of feast or famine.

The result: a mediocre, frustrating summer that has seen the Dodgers give away opportunities to put distance between themselves and the Padres.

What’s Next

The series finale on Sunday suddenly feels huge. With Yamamoto on the mound, the Dodgers need a strong outing from their prized righty—and, just as importantly, they need the offense to wake up. Falling two games behind San Diego this late in August would be a serious setback for a team that still believes it can make a deep postseason run.

For now, though, the Boys in Blue are searching for answers. They’ve dropped two straight in San Diego, slipped into second place in the division, and once again left fans shaking their heads.

It’s gut-check time. The Dodgers have the talent. What they need now is the execution.

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