Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers came into the three-game series against the Giants with the teams at opposite ends of the division. However, even when that’s the case, the Giants always make the Dodgers at least work for it. The same held true tonight, as a tightly-fought affair eventually led to the Giants getting the last big hit to end the Dodgers four-game winning streak, 3-2.
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As they tend to do at AT&T Park, the Dodgers struggled to score. Jeff Samardzija went just five innings, but he didn’t allow a run in limiting the Dodgers to two singles and a walk.
That didn’t bode well, but bizarrely the Dodgers got to reliever Tony Watson with lefties. Joc Pederson started the 6th with a rare hit for him against a lefty by going against the shift and Justin Turner had a one-out single to put runners on the corners. That set the table for who else but Cody Bellinger, who singled to drive in the game’s first run, making it 1-0. Not to be outdone, Max Muncy followed by ripping a double to right to plate another run and make it 2-0.
Bellinger is having a decent April.
He was doing it defensively to back Kenta Maeda as well.
Speaking of Maeda, plays like that to help bail him out about summed up his luck today. While he allowed no runs and struck out three over his five innings, he also gave up seven hits and two walks, but could’ve given up like a half-dozen more knocks.
Scott Alexander followed with a walk but a scoreless frame in the 6th to keep things rolling. But the 7th is where the trouble started, as Ross Stripling made a disasterous 2019 pen debut by getting an out on a bunt attempt to start but then giving up a single, double, and walk to load the bases. That brought on Dylan Floro and his 0.00 ERA, the only member of the pen to yet have a disaster. Floro had a promising start by striking out Buster Posey, but then left a sinker up to Evan Longoria who cleared the bases with a double down the line in left to make it 3-2 in favor of the Giants.
Joe Kelly allowed a double in the 8th, but did manage a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Is a 1-2-3 frame too much to ask? Probably.
That kept the Dodgers well within striking distance, but while they managed a single and two walks in the final two innings, they didn’t have much the way of a scoring threat going.
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The loss drops the Boys In Blue to 19-12 on the year. They’ll do it again tomorrow at 3:45 PM HST/6:45 PM PST/9:45 PM EST with Walker Buehler facing off against Drew Pomeranz.
