Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers imploded against the Padres and the umpiring crew in a 10-7 loss. Fortunately then, the Giants got drubbed by the Rockies, 11-3, thus keeping the division lead at 6.5 games.
Mat Latos threw batting practice in his four innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits. I figured his acquisition would assist the Dodgers, not because Mike Bolsinger was bad, but because it would allow Bolsinger to play to his strengths and bolster the bullpen. Given that Latos has been absolutely terrible and Bolsinger is not in the bullpen, there’s not a ton of reason at this point to continue giving Latos starts over Bolsinger.
Anyway, in a 4-0 hole to start the game, the Dodgers clawed back and then exploded. In the fifth inning, Joc Pederson singled literally off the pitcher, which scored Corey Seager from third (more on him later). Chase Utley then followed with a double into the gap, and all of a sudden the deficit was cut in half, 4-2. The sixth inning should’ve been the game-winning explosion, as the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out. Scott Van Slyke then checked his swing on the first pitch he saw and hit a weak enough grounder to score a run and advance all the runners. An absolutely terrible at-bat, but it worked out well all things considered. That was made especially true when Seager was given the green light on a 3-0 count and responded with a clean single into center that scored two and gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
https://twitter.com/ChadMoriyama/status/639643646178947073
Justin Ruggiano and Utley followed with singles of their own to increase the lead to 7-4 before the inning finally came to a close.
The Dodgers bullpen was then tasked with holding the Padres down for five innings, and despite how great they’ve been recently, that was unsurprisingly just playing with fire. Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell, Jim Johnson, and Juan Nicasio all surrendered runs, leaving Joel Peralta (yes, really) and Luis Avilan as the only relievers to emerge unscathed. The former quartet allowed six runs on seven hits and a walk, blowing the lead the Dodgers offense provided.
Of course in Baez’s defense, an oddly blown call on an apparent double play led to his run, and Justin Upton summed up most people’s feelings on the ruling.
Either way, the Dodgers didn’t get the job done today and had plenty of chances to win but couldn’t close it out. It’s not a disaster, but the worst part is that it ruined Seager’s debut. Seager finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and two runs batted in. He also played a solid shortstop, handling everything that was asked of him and generally looking capable at the position. The silver lining in this otherwise familiar disaster of a game.
