Steve Webb
CHICAGO, IL — You know it’s a rough day when the offensive highlight is a David Peralta nubber that didn’t even make it past the pitcher’s mound.
Ugh. It was an awful day for the Dodgers in every respect. Bad starting pitching. Bad relief pitching. Bad hitting. If anybody had gotten on base, there probably would have been bad baserunning, too.
Instead, the Dodgers all had to watch from the dugout as journeyman Drew Smyly pitched the game of his life. He came within five outs of a perfect game, and if not for the aforementioned Peralta “single,” he damn well might have done it, too.
More worrisome than the lack of offense was the uncharacteristic outing from ace Julio Urias. Now, I don’t want to get to worked up over just one start, but that was as ineffective as I’ve seen Urias be in nearly two years. He just wasn’t good in any way on Friday afternoon. Hopefully he can get back on the beam in Pittsburgh, but that just wasn’t Julio we were seeing out there at Wrigley.
“I really felt good and prepared for the rematch against these guys, but I just fell short,” Urías said in Spanish after the game. “You have to give them credit. You have to give them respect. They really gave it to us, and we just have to get back to work for the next one.”
As far as the Dodgers’ manager is concerned, Dave Roberts was more than happy to be done with this one. “I think the easy answer is a loss is a loss,” Doc said. “But it never feels good to get your butt kicked like this. I felt good last night after the win, and to come out today and get beat up doesn’t feel good. Still have an opportunity to win a game tomorrow. I expect our guys to come in and do that.”
Cans of Corn…
- Julio’s final line on the day: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- As expected, Michael Grove hit the IL with a groin strain. Jake Reed took his place on the roster and got into the game. It didn’t go great.
- Belli hit another homer in the game. His average is up around .300 now.
- Dodgers will try to right the ship with another afternoon game at the corner Clark and Addison. Dustin May gets the ball against Hayden Wesneski, whose ERA is up over 6.00. On paper, it looks good for the Dodgers, but then so did Friday’s game, so what do I know?
