FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Marlins - Series 28

FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Marlins – Series 28

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Los Angeles Dodgers (54-34)  |  Miami Marlins (38-48)

 

“As long as you live keep smiling because it brightens everybody’s day.”

– Vin Scully

 

Game 4:

 

After a taxing couple of days from the Dodgers bullpen, Julio Urias went seven innings in L.A.’s 6-1 victory over the Marlins. After losing three straight games in Miami, the Dodgers will have a happy flight back to Los Angeles after a 5-3 road trip.

With Friday being another bullpen game for the Dodgers, it was going to be crucial for him to try and eat as many innings as possible. Well, he did just that. For the fifth time this season, Urias went seven innings. His 101 pitches were a season-high, so he really gave L.A. everything he had.

For the game, Urias had nine strikeouts and was essentially in control all game. The lone run he allowed came in the first inning off a solo home run, but that was it. The only other time the Marlins had any kind of potential rally was in the sixth inning. They had two runners on with one out, but Urias escaped the inning without allowing a run.

“That first inning was difficult getting through it,” Urias said following the game. “I knew going into the game I had to give a lot of innings. To calm down and give the length was something I was very happy with.”

It was the fifth time Urias has struck out at least nine this season, but this was a nice bounce-back outing after he struck out only three last week in Washington. Urias picks up his 11th win of the season, which leads all of baseball.

“The name of the game is to win baseball games,” Dave Roberts said following the game. “It shows when he takes the mound, we win a majority of his games so he should be proud of that.”

“It’s truly a blessing to pitch in a season as a full-time starter,” Urias said. “Obviously I’m more happy about my healthy and what’s going on there.”

 

He enters the All-Star break with a 3.64 ERA and a career-high 119 strikeouts and career-high 106 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

After Urias was done after seven innings, the Dodgers turned to Blake Treinen in the eighth and then Garrett Cleavinger in the ninth. They combined to throw two scoreless innings.

Meanwhile, most of the offense came from the Dodgers in one inning. They scored five of their six runs in the fifth inning. If it feels like you’ve seen the Dodgers score 5+ runs in an inning a lot this season, well it’s because you have.

The Dodgers began the fifth inning with four consecutive singles. The fourth from Matt Beaty gave the Dodgers the 2-1 lead. A sacrifice fly from Will Smith extended L.A.’s lead to two. Chris Taylor then doubled off the third-base bag to bring in two runs. Taylor had three RBI on the afternoon and has been hot at the plate for the Dodgers since he was named an All-Star.

Zach McKinstry then drove in two runs after a fielder’s choice, giving the Dodgers a 6-1 lead.

Game 4 Boxscore:

 

WP: Julio Urias (11-3)

LP: Sandy Alcantara (5-8)

HR: Jazz Chisholm (10)

 

The Dodgers head back to Los Angeles as they’ll host the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks for three games this weekend at Dodger Stadium before the All-Star break. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have yet to announce who will start the game. The first pitch is at 7:10 and can be seen on SportsNet LA.

 

 

 

Game 3:

 

The Dodgers on Wednesday surpassed their offensive output of the first two games of the series, but their flaws were laid bare in a third consecutive loss to the Marlins, this one 9-6 in Miami.

Miami scored runs in seven of nine innings on Wednesday, the cracks of a taxed bullpen widening into gaping holes. Edwin Uceta was brought into a tie game in the ninth and gave up a two-out, walk-off, three-run home run to Jesús Aguilar after Sandy Leon singled and Starling Marte was walked intentionally.

The Dodgers, who got a home run from Zach McKinstry in the top of the ninth to extend the game into the bottom of the frame, have scored in five of 28 innings in the series.

“They’re doing a great job of capitalizing on every mistake we make, and we’re paying the price for it,” said third baseman Justin Turner, who had three hits. “We’re not doing the little things right now.”

With the Dodgers bullpen taxed and several leverage relievers unavailable on Wednesday, Kenley Jansen entered the game in an unusual situation for him, in a tie game and one out in the eighth.

Pinch-runner Magneuris Sierra posed another problem for Jansen, one of the easiest relievers to run on in the majors. Eight runners were successful in eight tries against Jansen before this game, and he allowed 45 runners to steal without getting caught since the start of 2017.

That has to be at the front of mind of Austin Barnes when, with Sierra running on a 1-1 pitch, he reached for a strike too soon. Aguilar fouled the pitch off but instead was awarded first base on the fourth catcher’s interference call on Barnes this season, tied for the major league lead. Barnes has been called for catcher’s interference in each of his three starts on the road trip.

The previous two didn’t score, but after Sierra later reached third on a delayed steal, Jansen allowed a two-out single to Jesus Sanchez, giving the Marlins the go-ahead run.

 

Jansen and Joe Kelly recorded five outs on Wednesday. The other 21 outs were recorded by four pitchers who started the season in Triple-A, and each of them allowed a home run.

The Dodgers were staring down a pair of sixes to start the third inning. Ross Detwiler, Miami’s opening salvo in the double bullpen game, retired his first six batters of the game. AJ Pollock led off the frame, having struck in each of his previous six at-bats. But one pitch later, Pollock hit one over the fence in left-center.

That was the Dodgers’ first home run of the series, and before the inning was over, they’d add two more. Mookie Betts hit one to left, then singles by Albert Pujols and Max Muncy set up Justin Turner’s three-run home run.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate in the third inning, nine against Detwiler, and turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 advantage. Three home runs in the inning matched a season-high, which the Dodgers also did on June 11 in the first inning against the Rangers at Dodger Stadium.

The eight home runs — four by each team — are the most in a Dodgers game this season. The previous high was six, on May 31 in Milwaukee.

 

Game 3 Boxscore:

 

WP: Anthony Bender (1-0)

LP: Edwin Uceta (0-3)

HR: AJ Pollock (9), Mookie Betts (11), Justin Turner (14), Zach McKinstry (6); Garrett Cooper 2 (9), Jesús Aguilar 2 (4)

 

The Dodgers and Marlins are right back at it this morning, right now at 9am, in Miami. The Dodgers start Julio Urias, while the Marlins start Sandy Alcantara. The game can be seen on SportsNetLA.

 

 

Game 2:

 

A game that featured three total runs somehow lasted four and a half hours, a maddening affair by two teams, had to have a winner. After several fledgling attempts by both sides, the Marlins got their second straight win over the Dodgers, this one 2-1 in 10 innings thanks to a wild pitch and throwing error on Tuesday night in Miami.

Blake Treinen, who got the final out of the ninth inning, got the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th with the free runner on second. But a wild pitch allowed Starling Marte to reach third base, exacerbated by a bad throw by catcher Will Smith that got away from Justin Turner at third base, sending Marte home with the game-winner.

“In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have thrown it,” Smith said.

That the game even got to extra innings was a surprise. A 2-2 pitch by Treinen with the bases loaded in the ninth was low and got through Smith, but instead of careening to the backstop, the ball instead hit the leg of home plate umpire Carlos Torres. The runners had to hold, and one pitch later, Treinen induced a ground out to end the threat.

Chris Taylor, one of the Dodgers’ best hitters, opened the 10th by bunting with a free runner on second, but instead, Jorge Alfaro’s strong-arm turned that into the lead runner getting erased at third base. The Dodgers did not score in that inning.

Neither team was very good at cashing in opportunities on Tuesday. Los Angeles was just 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and the Marlins were 1-for-14, the only hit an infield dribbler by Jon Berti in the ninth that didn’t score a run.

Both teams have struggled in one-run affairs this season, with the Dodgers dropping to 11-16 and the Marlins improving to just 9-19 with the win. The Dodgers left a runner in scoring position in each of the last three innings, spoiling an otherwise strong night for the pitching staff.

Tony Gonsolin pitched his best game of the season, allowing no runs and only three batters to reach base. It was also his longest game in 2021, pitching past the fourth inning for the first time in six starts. Gonsolin got into the sixth and was pulled up 1-0 with one out and nobody on.

Gonsolin’s slider and splitter were working the best for him, with seven combined whiffs and seven called strikes in 36 pitches, compared to just two whiffs, and three called strikes in 33 fastballs.

The relative length from Gonsolin was very much needed after the bullpen pitched 17 innings over the previous three days. But with a planned bullpen game coming on Wednesday, one wonders if Gonsolin could or should have pitched even longer than his 72 pitches.

After all, the Dodgers used six relievers to get the 11 outs needed to get to extras.

Jake Reed, the 29-year-old sidearm right-hander, called up by the Dodgers earlier Tuesday, made his major league debut in relief of Gonsolin with one out in the sixth. He allowed an infield single and stolen base to put the tying run in scoring position but then got Garrett Cooper on a sweeping slider for his first major league strikeout.

Jesus Aguilar followed with a hard grounder to shortstop that could have ended the inning, but it got by Gavin Lux, bringing home the equalizing run. The play was originally scored an error on Lux but was later changed to an RBI single.

Things got even messier after that, with a Miguel Rojas double followed by an intentional walk to load the bases. But Reed got Jorge Alfaro to line out softly to second base to escape.

Cody Bellinger entered the series in a horrific slump, with just one hit and 10 strikeouts in his last 22 at-bats. He didn’t start in Monday’s series opener but then narrowly missed a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning, settling for a game-tying sacrifice fly.

He got the scoring started in the fourth inning against Pablo López with another impressive at-bat. Bellinger fouled off six pitches — including four different types of pitches (changeup, cutter, four-seam fastball, curve) — before lining the 12th pitch, a changeup, into right field for a single. Garrett Cooper let the ball get by him for a two-base error that put Bellinger on third with nobody out in the inning.

 

Smith singled home Bellinger, and two more singles loaded the bases. The Dodgers were 0-for-8 with a hit by pitch and five strikeouts the first time through the batting order against López. The second time through the order, they were 4-for-8 with a walk, but López escaped further damage by striking out Mookie Betts — the only hitter he was allowed to face three times — to end the fourth.

Betts also struck out three times, the ninth time in his career and the second time this season with at least that many strikeouts. His career-high is four strikeouts, set on April 10, 2015, in his first full major league season with the Boston Red Sox.

Miami stole five bases in the first two games of this series, buttressing the Dodgers’ status as the easiest team to run on in MLB. Teams have tried to run on L.A. 91 times this season, 16 more than any other team, and they’ve been successful 69 times, 15 more than the next-closest team.

On Monday, all three steals came against starter Walker Buehler, but on Tuesday, both thefts came against the Dodgers bullpen. Starling Marte stole second off both Reed and Jimmy Nelson. Jazz Chisholm was caught stealing in the seventh against Phil Bickford and Will Smith, but even though replay seemed to show Chisholm reach his mitt into the bag, the out call was upheld.

But even with the caught stealing, Dodgers relievers have allowed 38 steals with only six caught stealing. That’s just under the major league average (39 steals) for entire teams this season.

“When you give teams extra outs, extra bases, it’s tough to win a big-league ballgame,” Roberts said.

 

Game 2 Boxscore:

 

WP: David Hess (1-0)

LP: Blake Treinen (2-4)

 

Wednesday night is a bullpen game for both teams. The first pitch is at 4:10 with the game being televised on both SportsNet LA, and ESPN, but the ESPN broadcast will be blacked out in local markets.

 

 

 

Game 1:

 

The Dodgers put two across the board in the third inning. Walker Buehler scorched a double to lead off the inning for his fifth hit of the season. He’d come in to score on a double from Chris Taylor, giving L.A. the 1-0 lead. Justin Turner brought in Taylor with a single, putting L.A. up by two runs.

It looked like it was going to be a 1-2-3 bottom of the third for Buehler, but chaos with two outs ensued. After two quick outs, everything just went wrong. He hit Starling Marte with a pitch, putting a runner on. He then proceeded to steal second base. Garrett Cooper followed by singling in Miami’s first run of the game. Cooper then stole second for his first stolen base of the season.

After a single from Adam Duvall put runners at the corners, Miguel Rojas singled in the tying run. Instead of getting out of the inning, an error from Zach McKinstry then allowed the Marlins to score their third run of the inning.

Miami played smart baseball an inning later to put another run on the board. Joe Panik led off the inning with a bunt and then proceeded to steal second base. It was the third stolen base of the game for the Marlins through the fourth inning. Jazz Chisolm Jr. then singled in Panik to give the Marlins the 4-2 lead.

L.A. had multiple chances to try and tack on more runs but failed to capitalize. Taylor led off the fifth inning with a single but was stranded there to end the inning. In the seventh inning, the Dodgers had runners on first and second with one out. AJ Pollock and Turner followed with back-to-back strikeouts, ending any chance of a rally.

The Dodgers tied it up in the eighth, but they easily could have had so many more runs. The first four hitters reached base, with three coming via the walk. L.A.’s deficit was trimmed to only one run. Cody Bellinger came in to pinch-hit and just missed hitting a grand slam.

 

Mookie Betts then came off the bench to pinch-hit and walked, loading the bases yet again. Taylor had a golden opportunity, but he flew out into foul territory and couldn’t advance the runners. Pollock was then given three straight sliders down the plate, but he struck out on three pitches to end the inning.

Victor Gonzalez took the eighth and quickly recorded two outs on six pitches. Needing one more strike to send things to the ninth, he allowed the go-ahead and ultimately the game-winning home run to Jorge Alfaro. It was only his third homer of the year.

The Dodgers still had a chance in the ninth. Turner reached base to begin the inning, which was then turned into Matt Beaty at first base after a forceout. With one out, the Dodgers had two of their top hitters on deck in Will Smith and Max Muncy. Sadly, they couldn’t deliver in the clutch. Smith struck out, and Muncy flew out to end the inning.

After the Giants lost, the Dodgers had a chance to take first place of the division. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait at least another day.

 

 

Game 1 Boxscore:

 

WP: David Hess (1-0)

LP: Victor Gonzalez (3-1)

SV: Anthony Bender (1)

HR: Jorge Alfaro (3)

 

 

The Dodgers and Marlins will once again go at it later today in Miami. The first pitch  is at 4:05 with Tony Gonsolin on the mound for L.A. and the Marlins are scheduled to start their ace, Pablo Lopez. The game can be seen on SportsNet LA.

 

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– Joe Arrigo

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