Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — It was of of those games that could have been awesome. Late night epic home run, then loading up the bases in the bottom of the eighth. Great relief work in the top of the tenth to set up a walk-off opportunity. But in fact, the game ended up being a bit of a bummer, as the Dodgers failed to seize their opportunities and a couple of defensive miscues in the top of the eleventh led to three runs. In the end, the Dodgers were on the wrong end of a 6-3 score in the opener of their three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The game started out great for the Dodgers with a run in the bottom of the first. Mookie Betts led off with a double, Freddie Freeman legged out an infield single, and Max Muncy delivered a one-out RBI knock up the middle. Unfortunately, the Dodgers would have to settle for just one in the first as David Peralta killed the rally by grounding into and inning-ending double play. Then, in the fourth the Dodgers extended their lead with a Jason Heyward opposite field home run. Heyward swung the bat very well in this one, going 2-for-5 and barely missing a second home run late in the game.
Dodgers starter Michael Grove looked very good the first time through the Blue Jays batting order, getting efficient outs from the free-swinging Toronto hitters. However, Grove’s groove came to an abrupt halt in the fifth when the Jays hit back-to-back-to-back singles to plate their first run with nobody out. A nifty Mookie Betts double play limited the damage in the inning, but Vladdy Guerrero Jr. came through with a clutch single to tie the game, thus ending Grove’s night prematurely. He exited the game with a solid outing, but a bit of a rough ending. His line for the night 4.2 IP, 8 H 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K.
The game stayed tied through the middle innings until the eighth when the two teams traded solo home runs. Matt Chapman got to reliever Brusdar Graterol with a two-out bomb to right center to give the Blue Jays the lead in the top of the inning. Then, in the bottom of the frame, Max Muncy mashed a no-doubter to right that landed deep among the Dodger crowd in the pavilion. The Dodgers showed some more life in the eighth with a two-out rally to load the bases, but a pinch-hitting Miguel Rojas flied out to end the threat and send the game to the ninth inning.
Neither team scored in the final frame and the game went into extra innings. The Dodgers had a great opportunity to walk it off when Ryan Brasier continued his nice run with the Dodgers by stranding the Manfred Man at second with a clutch pitching performance. The Dodgers only needed a couple of productive outs to win the ballgame.
With Will Smith placed at second, the Dodgers just couldn’t get the job done. Max Muncy, the hero of the eighth inning, struck out, failing to advance the runner. Which was kind of a big deal, as the next hitter Jason Heyward hit a deep flyball to left that would have easily scored a runner from third. However, instead it was just a long second out. When Chris Taylor grounded out to end the inning with no runs scored and Dodger fans collectively cringed, knowing the a golden opportunity had been squandered.
Phil Bickford came in to pitch the eleventh, and didn’t get a whole lot of help from his defense. Chris Taylor airmailed a throw to first on a routine grounder to miss out on the first out on the inning. Then, Whit Merrifield singled to load up the bases with nobody out. Dalton Varsho was the next hitter, and hit a drive to right that started to die in front of Jason Heyward. Heyward tried to make a sliding catch, but couldn’t come up with the ball and it rolled to the wall for a two-run double. Two straight walks from Bickford plated another Blue Jays run, and going into the bottom of the eleventh, the Dodgers were staring at the three-run deficit.
And there would be no miracle comeback in this one. A strikeout and a couple of harmless grounders ended the game with the Dodgers not able to even dent the lead. A perfectly unsatisfying ending to what could have been a wonderful win.
“I thought it was a good ballgame,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I thought we have a chance to get to [Jays reliever Jay] Jackson. We couldn’t cash in. [Chris Taylor], sure-handed, [but] didn’t make the play there. … I thought Jason [Heyward] had a do-or-die play and just couldn’t come up with it. But that’s not the reason why we didn’t win.”
Indeed, to understand the Dodgers’ loss in this one, you don’t need to look much further than their hitting with runners in scoring position: 2-for-13, and those two hit were both in the first inning. Not great, Bob.
“Jason had a couple [at-bats with runners in scoring position] and hit the ball hard. David [Peralta] had a couple at-bats with runners in scoring position, swung the bat well and didn’t get anything for it,” Roberts said. “I think there were a couple in there that could’ve flipped. But I think it’s under the category of it’s baseball.”
The Jays and Dodgers are back at it on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Julio Urias tries to get back on track after his disastrous start in Baltimore, the worst in the lefty’s stellar career. He’ll lock horns with righthander Chris Bassitt (10-5, 3.92) as the Dodgers try to shake off two straight losses. First pitch is 7:10 PDT.
