After the Dodgers and Giants split the first two games of the series with two great games, James Paxton made the rubber match a laugher by having an absolutely terrible start. The Dodgers lineup was even worse than usual today, and so things ended up as a blowout in a 10-4 loss.
======
The pen was taxed after needing extensive work in back-to-back games, so Paxton had to get innings today if nothing else. He responded by laying an absolute egg, giving up nine runs on 12 hits (throwing batting practice out there), walking two and striking out four. He got just four innings on 89 pitches. The league average ERA is near 4 and his FIP is near 5. Not great.
Michael Petersen was then forced to get two innings (scoreless), Yohan Ramirez got another (also scoreless), but then Evan Phillips was forced to get the last frame as the only available arm and gave up a run to make it 10 for the Giants.
——
On the other end, the suddenly red hot Chris Taylor accounted for all of their offense until the 9th, as he hit his second homer in the 5th and doubled in a run in the 7th.
CT3 to center! pic.twitter.com/4KQM4Ib3xC
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 30, 2024
As like a consolation, Austin Barnes doubled in the 9th to score two runs and make it a slightly less embarrassing 10-4 final.
======
NL WEST | RECORD |
---|---|
Dodgers | 52-33 |
Padres | 46-42 (7.5 GB) |
Because the schedule is weird to close June, the Dodgers will now get another day off to travel back to Los Angeles where they’ll welcome the Diamondbacks for a three-game series. It’ll be Bobby Miller against Ryne Nelson at 4:10 PM HT/7:10 PM PT/10:10 PM ET.