Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After a back-and-forth game basically played with homer exchanges, the two teams headed into extra innings where the Dodgers took the first lead but Craig Kimbrel ensured that it didn’t last long at all in a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Brewers.
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After struggling a bit last time out, Ryan Pepiot took all of two batters to give up the game’s first runs due to a walk and then giving up a homer to Willy Adames to make it 2-0. However, he then settled in a bit, giving up just one baserunner in each of the following three innings and limiting the damage to that point.
On the opposite side was Brandon Woodruff, who certainly looked like he had it going through four shutout. The Dodgers had a scoring chance in the 1st after a single and a double with one down but were unable to push a run across and didn’t get another chance after that.
Well, until the 5th that is, when out of nowhere Joey Gallo and Mookie Betts lined solo homers, their 15th and 27th, respectively. Tie game at 2-2.
Unfortunately, Pepiot gave it right back in the bottom of the 5th, as he gave up a monster homer to Christian Yelich for a 3-2 lead to the Brewers. After a pair of walks with two outs, Dave Roberts was forced to come and get him.
Not hard to see where the problems lie at the moment: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 6 K, 91 Pitches.
But the Dodgers pen continued to absolutely roll. Reyes Moronta (four outs), David Price (three outs), and Evan Phillips (three outs) didn’t only get scoreless frames to immediately follow Pepiot, but didn’t allow a baserunner continuing that streak for the pen since yesterday.
The Brewers pen was effective against the Dodgers for the most part as well, except this pitch from Matt Bush to Chris Taylor in the 7th, which was smashed the other way for his eighth homer to tie the game at 3-3.
The pen dominance for the Dodgers sorta continued in the 9th with Phil Bickford, who looked amped up against his former team, ticking up multiple mph. He did end the pen’s streak of retired batters with a four-pitch walk with two outs, but sent things into extras with a strikeout.
In extras, the Dodgers actually did get a hit from Trea Turner in the 10th, but no runs because after a strikeout started things, Gallo did this for … I mean, I dunno what reason, and was out at third to keep things tied.
Alex Vesia then entered for the Dodgers in the 10th and he came up huge with an infield pop and strikeout to start. He then issued a walk to fill the open base and then gave up a rocket from Andrew McCutchen that looked like it would win the game, but Taylor came up gigantic in the outfield with a diving, leaping, game-saving catch in center.
The 11th was a different story for the Dodgers as a productive fly out from Will Smith advanced the runner, Max Muncy walked, and Justin Turner came up with a two-strike single to center to make it 4-3. However, they were not able to get anything else across.
That proved to be important with Kimbrel, arguably the pen’s worst pitcher when everybody’s healthy, entering for the 11th. Things started ominously with a bunt single that put runners at the corners with nobody out, but he rebounded with a strikeout, before giving up a walk to load the bases and then a walk-off single to right-center field in a 5-4 loss.
Or not.
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Art.
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80-35 on the year.
| Team | Chase | Games |
|---|---|---|
| Mets | MLB | 6 Up |
| Mets | NL | 6 Up |
| Padres | NL West | 17 Up |
The series continues at the same time tomorrow at 2:10 PM HT/5:10 PM PT/8:10 PM ET on FS1 with Tony Gonsolin against Eric Lauer.
