Dodgers 4, Tigers 3: Clutch blows by Shohei Ohtani & Teoscar Hernandez spark comeback to snap losing streak

Chad Moriyama 07/12/2024 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

Coming off a sweep at the hands of the Phillies, I was personally very optimistic about their chances today.

It seemed like a good bet initially, given that James Paxton was feeling charitable early and Tarik Skubal was mostly dominant to start. However, the Dodgers did manage to chip away at Skubal before he exited, the Dodgers pen shut the Tigers down, and Teoscar Hernandez and Shohei Ohtani came up with big hits late for a 4-3 victory.

The win snaps a four-game losing streak.

======

As alluded to, it was Paxton who relented first in this matchup, giving up a single, walk, and Riley Greene two-run double in the 1st for an early 2-0 Tigers lead.

In the 2nd, a walk was cashed in by a Justyn-Henry Malloy triple to push their lead to 3-0.

On the other side, Skubal was close to perfect through three, allowing just an error in that span. Much to my surprise, the Dodgers fought back in the 4th, as Freddie Freeman bombed his 14th homer of the year to cut the deficit to 3-1.

A Teoscar walk followed, and he advanced on an out, which led to Andy Pages‘ two-out single scoring a run to make it just a one-run deficit at 3-2.

That was the only “rough” inning Skubal had, as he got through the 6th without any other damage.

——

The 4th also happened to be when Paxton exited, though not sure how much was injury and how much was ineffectiveness. Starting the frame was a comebacker hit off him, which he got an out on, but later after a single, another out, and a walk, his day was done.

Yohan Ramirez entered and finished off the 4th for him, then faced the minimum in the 5th thanks to a Miguel Vargas outfield assist on an attempt to stretch a single into a double. Surprisingly, it was Evan Phillips in the 6th, and he got a scoreless frame. Blake Treinen amusingly faced the minimum in 7th — despite giving up a single and hitting a batter — due to the former being erased on a caught stealing and the latter being picked off.

——

That showing proved important, as after they couldn’t come through in the 7th by driving in a single, they did in the 8th. After two outs, Will Smith and Freeman tallied back-to-back singles to corner the runners, and Teoscar singled oppo to tie the game at 3-3. Miguel Rojas got unlucky and lined out, but things were reset.

Still it looked bleak when Michael Petersen got into immediate trouble in the 8th, issuing a walk and then balking the runner to second. However, he rebounded with a strikeout, shallow fly out, and a groundout.

That gave the Dodgers the chance to rally in the 9th, and they did so. With one down, Chris Taylor came through with a single, and Austin Barnes followed as the eventual pinch-hitter, singling on the first pitch to corner the runners. With two down, it was Ohtani that stepped up and seemed to pummel a homer, but instead it was merely a ground-rule double to put the Dodgers up 4-3.

The ball bouncing over the wall cost the Dodgers at least a run, and after an international walk followed to Will, a sliding catch on a Freeman liner to right cost them at least two more.

That seemed important when Daniel Hudson entered in the 9th for a save and barely got a strikeout to start on a 3-2 count and then promptly walked two batters in a row. However, after a Mark Prior visit, Hudson struck out the next batter and got a medium-deep fly out to end it.

Phew.

======

NL WESTRECORD
Dodgers56-39
Padres49-47 (7.5 GB)*

*Playing later.

Alrighty … tomorrow’s game is at 7:10 AM HT/10:10 AM PT/1:10 PM ET on MLB Network, so needless to say, I’m not sure on the statuses of the site’s content for tomorrow (or the day after, for that matter). Anyway, it’ll be Justin Wrobleski looking to build on his last start against Keider Montero.

About Chad Moriyama

Avatar photo
"A highly rational Internet troll." - Los Angeles Times
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2014-2023 | Dodgers Digest | All Rights Reserved