Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Everything was sailing along relatively normally while the starters were generally still playing, and then everything quickly went to shit in a half inning during the Dodgers 9-3 loss to the Giants tonight.
This ended up making people extremely mad despite the fact that the last two times the Dodgers had home-field advantage in the NLDS, they lost, and when they didn’t, they won. Or that the only time it would matter is a walk-off situation in Game 5. But hey, people want to be miserable, I guess. And that’s coming from me of all people.
imagine being upset about this baseball game
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) October 1, 2016
Rich Hill wasn’t sharp early, but managed to battle through it and finish well, throwing 82 pitches and five innings in his final tuneup start. Hill gave up two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out four and generally being mad at himself all game.
Still, Hill was in line for the win, as the offense struck in the first inning for two runs on a Yasiel Puig double that scored Corey Seager from first.
And then Carlos Ruiz proceeded to single home Puig. The Dodgers took the lead in the sixth after an Enrique Hernandez single drove in Ruiz from second, making the game 3-2.
That’s, uh, where everything went to shit.
In what was honestly impressive in a way, Brandon McCarthy entered for his postseason roster audition and proceeded to allow five hits and a walk while giving up six runs, all without recording an out. Josh Ravin didn’t help things when he entered in relief, as he immediately gave up a homer to Brandon Belt, which also drove in two of the runners Ravin inherited from McCarthy. Ravin then walked the next batter before finally getting through the inning with the score at 9-3.
J.P. Howell pitched the seventh, getting through a scoreless frame with only surrendering a hit. But he started the eighth by hitting Belt, and Louis Coleman walked the bases loaded before finally getting out of the inning with an inning of scoreless work.
The offense didn’t score after that seven-run disaster inning, so that was about it.
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Fortunately, there were highlights, like Yasiel Puig doing whatever this is.
And the Giants deserved the win for Buster Posey and Angel Pagan slamming idiots on the field.
@SFGiants @extrabaggs @Lana Buster was having none of it. #giants #dodgers #beatLA pic.twitter.com/DxNPJJaHTC
— Taylor Baldry (@TayTayFlash) October 1, 2016
lol pic.twitter.com/dEQyDDZx3b
— nick (@nick_pants) October 1, 2016
Epic footage of the night. @SFGiants #respectPagan pic.twitter.com/s3taWXuUiJ
— Eric OConnor (@ericoconnor96) October 1, 2016
Pagan dropped him!!!!!! #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/27zM33XAKo
— childish_blacktino (@childishblaxino) October 1, 2016
Posey with the force hand and Pagan with the belly-to-belly suplex.
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The Dodgers have now dropped to 91-69 on the year and 38-41 away from home. The Nationals lost, so the race for home-field advantage in the NLDS remains at 2 games. Whatever.
Everything picks up tomorrow again at 10:05 AM HST/1:05 PM PST/4:05 PM EST on SportsNet LA. Clayton Kershaw (1.65 ERA/1.71 FIP/1.96 DRA) is on the mound for the Dodgers against fellow lefty Ty Blach (2.00 ERA/5.07 FIP/4.72 DRA) for the Giants.
