Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — I know that the good Lord commanded that one day a week, man should abstain from work, but these Dodgers are taking that a little too literally. For the 10th straight Sunday, the Dodgers have lost a game. Sometimes, like today’s 9-0 loss to the Reds, it’s cost them the series. Sometimes, like last week and the week before, it thwarted their desire for a sweep, but for whatever reason, the Dodgers don’t seem to show up on the afternoon games to finish out the week. Which is not ideal. Even if they went 5-5 in these games, it would have made a HUGE difference in the standings.
So what went wrong in this one? Well, simply put, Michael Grove was awful. The Reds were barreling up pretty much everything the rookie righty would throw out there. In all, he gave up three in the first, one in the second, three again in the third, and one more in the sixth. In all, it was eight runs on ten hits, which included three home runs (Elly De La Cruz, Matt McClain, Joey Votto). He struck out ten, but the rest of the outing was pretty much a train wreck. Not great for someone who’s hoping to be a part of the Dodgers’ postseason push.
“I think, in spurts, there were some good pitches today,” Grove said. “My slider was good, but my cutter wasn’t. I got punished because I was leaving pitches over the plate. I’m trying to take the good with the bad every time. Just got to get back to the drawing board.”
With just a couple of days left before the trade deadline, the Dodgers’ needs are clear: starting pitching, starting pitching, and if possible, starting pitching! Lance Lynn should help a bit, but the Dodgers really need to think about landing something a bit more substantial before Tuesday. However, manager Dave Roberts is realistic about what may or may not happen in the next 48 hours.
“I think I’ve been very candid in saying we always have room to improve on the pitching side,” Roberts said. “We’re going to go with who we have until we have more, when and if we do. That’s kind of the mindset that we have. … But again, it still takes two teams to make a deal.”
