Steve Webb
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — [over a crackling loudspeaker outside Oracle Park] Attention! if there is anyone who knows how to drive in a run in a professional baseball game, please report to the Dodgers’ dugout immediately. You are needed!!
Man, this has been a rough weekend for Dodger fans. For the third straight game, the Dodgers seemed unable to get a clutch hit when needed, and instead fell to a far inferior Giants team for the third straight game. This time, two first inning solo home runs marred an otherwise masterful Julio Urias start, and the Giants held on for 9 innings to win a 2-0 shutout victory in the final game of this sometimes painful road trip.
Julio makes a couple bad pitches, but is brilliant the rest of the way.
At a certain point, Julio Urias has got to start shaking his head. He’s pitched just as well as he did in 2021, but only has three wins to show for it. Maybe it’s karma coming back to bite him for all the run support he got en route to his 20-win season in 2021. Whatever, it is, it has to hurt a bit. In this game, Urias started off with a bit of a rough first inning. He gave up a lead off home run to Austin Slater, and then another solo shot to Mike Yastrzemski after a long at bat. But after those two knocks in the first inning, he was practically unhittable.
At one point, El Culichi sent down 16 straight Giants hitters, all the way waiting patiently for a big Dodger inning that never materialized. In the end, it had to be considered one of Urias’s best starts of the year. His line for the day 6.0 IP 3 H, 2 ER, 10 K.
Dodgers’ offensive woes continue
The Dodgers only got five hits on Sunday off starter Carlos Rodon and the other Giant pitchers, but even so, they had their chances in this one. Three times in the game, they had a leadoff man on second base, and none of those times could anybody deliver a clutch hit. It would be tough to match Saturday’s game for ineptitude in this category, but this game came close. All told the Dodgers were 0-for-10 with RISP and left nine runners stranded on the paths. Can’t win too many games doing that.
The only Dodger hitter that deserves a shoutout in this one is Chris Taylor, who smashed a couple of doubles on a 2-for-4 afternoon. But the real reason CT3 needs a hug today is for the play he made in the bottom of the eighth trying to catch what turned out to be a double off the bat of Mike Yastrzemski. Taylor barreled into the wall, and put the leather on the ball, only to have it pop out when he made impact with the fence. He ended up bruised and bloodied from the encounter, and needed to be lifted from the game. Here’s hoping he’s going to be okay.
After they had a scoring chance in the top of the eighth, the Dodgers went quietly in the ninth, with Bellinger, Muncy, and Barnes retired in order by ex-Dodger lefty Jake McGee. That was it. Game over.
Dodgers head home clinging to first
So there’s been a losing road trip to go along with the Dodgers’ losing home stand this month. Not an awesome start to June. However, for as bad as they’ve played this month, they are still in first place in the NL West and still in possession of one of the two best records in the league. That is not nothing this year, because those two teams will both be getting a first round bye in this season’s expanded playoff format.
However, it’s much too early to talk playoffs. The Dodgers just need to lick their wounds and start thinking about playing winning baseball as they had in May. After a day off on Monday, they have a quick two-gamer with the scuffling Angels, and then a weekend series with the newly named Cleveland Guardians. It’ll be Gonsolin and Anderson against the Angels, and then Dave Roberts will have to start figuring some things out after that.
Cans of Corn…
- The Dodgers scored a total of four runs against Giant pitching in the 3-game set.
- Mookie Betts only got two hits on this road trip. Ugh. His average has dipped to .278 after being at .311 on June 4.
- In the last two games of the series, the Dodgers were 2-for-23 with runners in scoring position.
- Michael Grove was called up yesterday. He might get a start this week somewhere.
- In case you’re wondering, Andrew Heaney is going to pitch at least one more time in the minors to stretch him out a bit. He’ll be re-evaluated after that. But with Buehler on the IL, I could see a little more urgency in that move.
- After 60 games, the Dodgers are 37-23. After 60 games in 2021, they were 35-25.
- For all the hard luck the Dodgers have run into lately (most of it self-imposed), the Dodgers are still on pace for a 100-win season.
