Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Clayton Kershaw didn’t have his best command today, and he also didn’t have his best temper, uncharacteristically losing it at the umpire a few times in today’s game. No matter, as it wasn’t the reason the Dodgers fell 5-4 to the A’s, but it was still weird.
It all started with Kershaw barking at the umpire after he didn’t get a strike three call in the third, then that batter immediately grounded between Kershaw and Justin Turner. Kershaw couldn’t field the ball cleanly and took out his frustrations on the ball/ground, and then threw the ball into the Dodgers dugout.
Then to lead-off the fourth, Kershaw barked at the umpire again, this time for calling time on him when he was ready to quick pitch.
It was all very bizarre, and while I’ve seen him that pissed at Gerardo Parra and the Diamondbacks before, I’ve never seen that when he was actually on the mound. Despite that rage, though, Kershaw made it through seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits and two walks, striking out seven. Hardly his best effort, and it took him 116 pitches to do it, but it should’ve been more than enough to get the win.
Unfortunately, the offense was … well, it was terrible. Opposing pitcher Felix Doubront also didn’t have his best command, walking five batters, but the two teams only exchanged RBI groundouts through seven innings. The A’s took the 1-0 lead in the second on a ground out, and the Dodgers finally fought back in the fifth on a Jimmy Rollins ground out.
In the eighth the scoring started, as with two outs the Dodgers got infield singles from Yasiel Puig and Andre Ethier, before A.J. Ellis jumped on the first pitch and hit one out to left field.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers bullpen then had an epic meltdown, mainly thanks to Pedro Baez, which means we can all blame Brim.
SHAME … SHAME … SHAME!
Baez went single, double, and double before a grounder got the first out of the inning. J.P. Howell entered and promptly allowed an infield single on a smoked ball to Turner, who prevented the run but couldn’t get the out, and further cemented that he didn’t have his best day. Another single ended up tying the game before he finally recorded an out and was relieved by Jim Johnson. Johnson struck out the only batter he faced despite the booing that I’m not sure was from the Dodgers fans or A’s fans or both. Let’s say both.
Yimi Garcia cruised through the ninth, but the Dodgers offense remained impotent, and it all ended remarkably quickly in the 10th with a lead-off double and then the next pitch being a walk-off single to right.
This was a bad loss.
Kenley Jansen threw zero pitches, by the way.
