Steve Webb
Game 59, 5/31/2024: Dodgers 1, Rockies 4
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — The reclamation project that is Walker Buehler continues. In his fifth outing off the verrrrrry long stay on IL with his second Tommy John, there were some good moments. But in the end, vintage Walker was elusive yet again. Buehler gave up four runs (three earned), and the Dodger hitters were a bit sluggish. Add it together, and it wasn’t exactly a recipe for success. In the end, the Dodgers fell 4-1 to the last place Rockies in a game that was pretty forgettable all the way around.
The night could have started better for Walker, to be honest. In the top of the first, the Dodgers righthander gave up back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, and one batter later, he surrendered a one-out walk that loaded up the bases with just one out. However, Buehler dug deep early and chalked up strikeouts of both Kris Bryant and Brendan Rogers to end the threat.
Buehler didn’t get so lucky in the third. After he struck out the leadoff man, Buehler gave up a single to Ezequiel Tovar that skidded past the glove of third baseman Miguel Rojas. Then, a walk to Ryan McMahon put runners at first and second. But Buehler induced a flyout off the bat of Elias Diaz and he was almost out of the inning. Then, a single from Kris Bryant put the Rockies on the board.
That wasn’t so horrible, but what came next is an early season candidate for worst defensive play of the year. Brendan Rogers hit a single to center that Andy Pages COMPLETELY misplayed and it went through his legs for a Little League triple. That plated two more runs (one unearned), giving the Rox a 3-0 advantage. More damaged followed in the fourth with an Ezequiel Tovar solo shot to push the lead to four runs. Buehler collected himself and pitched two scoreless nights to finish his night, but the damage had already been done. He exited the game on the wrong end of a 4-0 score. His final line for the night: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. For those of you keeping score at home, this puts Buehler’s ERA at 4.32 after five starts. About where we at DodgersBeat were expecting him to be this far in. Patience is going to be a virtue with this one.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, were making Colorado starter Dakota Hudson and his 5.00+ ERA look like Bob Gibson in the first two-thirds of the game. Through the first seven innings, they only had three singles and only one of them even made it as far as second base. The closest they got to scoring was on a couple of back-to-back warning track flyouts by Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez in the bottom of the seventh. Sub-optimal.
It wasn’t until Gavin Lux led off the eighth with an opposite field double that the Dodgers showed any sign of life. After a walk to Miguel Rojas chased Hudson from the game, Andy Pages hit a little flare into center and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Unfortunately, Mookie Betts chose an inoportune moment to ground into a double play. It scored the Dodgers’ first run, but took a lot of the momentum out of the inning. But Shohei Ohtani walked, and suddenly the tying run was coming to the plate in the form of Freddie Freeman. But no joy in Mudville on this night: the mighty Freddie struck out.
The Dodgers had one last chance to salvage the game in the bottom of the ninth, but nothing much came of it. Off lefty, Jalen Beeks, the heart of the Dodgers’ batting order went down 1-2-3 to end the game with a whimper.
This teen-tiny three-game homestand continues on Saturday evening with one more against the Rockies. This time, Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take to the mound to try to get to his early season winnng ways after failing to make quality starts two of his last three times on the bump.
