FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Padres - Series 24

FSM Essential Recap: Dodgers vs Padres – Series 24

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Los Angeles Dodgers (44-30)  |  San Diego Padres (45-32)

 

“Say ‘Dodgers,’ and people know you’re talking about baseball…Say ‘Padres,’ and they look around for a priest.”

– Tommy Lasorda

 

 

Game 3:

 

The Dodgers never led in the three-game series against the Padres, though on Wednesday they found enough offense to at least tie San Diego twice, the first time they’ve done so after the first inning all series.

But in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Dodgers couldn’t find their defense, or much of anything else in dropping the series finale 5-3 on Wednesday at Petco Park, finishing off a Padres sweep.

Jake Cronenworth drove a ball to right field that Matt Beaty took a circuitous route on, then had go off his glove for a double. Dave Roberts said Mookie Betts, who was unavailable on Wednesday with the stomach flu and sent back to Los Angeles early after receiving IV fluids, would have made the play.

“Mookie’s an elite defender, and Matt’s not,” Roberts conceded. “He’s doing the best he can.”

Manny Machado followed with a ground ball to third baseman Justin Turner, who in trying to look Cronenworth back to second took too much time in throwing to first. Instead of two outs and nobody on, Blake Treinen left his second inning of work with two on and nobody out.

“I went to check back Cronenworth and didn’t have a good grip,” Turner said. “I had to reset my grip and obviously took a little too long.”

Victor Gonzalez was brought in, and after a sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position, Roberts intentionally walked Wil Myers to load the bases. That decision immediately backfired when Gonzalez walked Trent Grisham on six pitches to force home the go-ahead run.

 

After three walks in his previous 14 outings, Gonzalez has three walks in his last three games and allowed three of four inherited runners to score.

Joe Kelly followed and got the final two outs of the frame, though one was a sacrifice fly by catcher Victor Caratini to right field that Beaty almost dropped before making a snow cone catch.

Meanwhile, in the bottom of the ninth with the Dodgers’ tying runs on base, Machado provided the defense for San Diego, snaring a line drive by pinch-hitter Albert Pujols and throwing to second for the game-ending double play.

 

Game 3 Boxscore:

 

WP: Tim Hill (4-3)

LP: Blake Treinen (1-3)

SV: Mark Melancon (23)

HR: Jake Cronenworth (11), Manny Machado (12), Victor Caratini (6)

 

The Dodgers return home to face the Cubs for a four-game series beginning tonight. Walker Buehler on the mound in the opener against Chicago’s Zach Davies. The first pitch is at 7:10 and can be seen on SportsNet LA.

 

 

 

Game 2:

 

The Dodgers fell to the Padres for the second time in as many games, this one 3-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

The Dodgers got seven runners on base against Blake Snell in his five innings and even had a hit with a runner in scoring position. But just one, and it was an infield single that obviously couldn’t score a runner from second base. None of those runners scored against Snell, who looked like he might have been pulled by manager Jayce Tingler with two on and two outs in the fifth inning. But Tingler didn’t bring the hook, and instead Snell struck out Albert Pujols to end the threat and his night.

“We’ve just got to continue to take good at-bats, and get those hits when we need them,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We had Snell on the ropes. We got his pitch count up. We had opportunities.”

Snell on the season has a 5.29 ERA and 4.26 FIP. Against the Dodgers he’s allowed four total runs in 15⅓ innings for a 2.35 ERA, completing five innings in all three of those starts. Against everyone else, he has a 6.18 ERA and has only completed five innings four times in 12 starts.

The Dodgers haven’t scored much at all against Padres starting pitchers this season. Los Angeles has plated nine runs in nine games against San Diego’s rotation, in 47⅔ innings.

No Padres starter has allowed more than two runs to the Dodgers in a game this year.

Five of those games were started by left-handers, with rookie Ryan Weathers starting the two non-Snell games. Left-handed starting pitchers have posed a problem for the Dodgers all season long, to the tune of a 3.14 ERA with 120 strikeouts in 117⅓ innings.

The Dodgers have made hay against the Padres bullpen this year though, to the tune of 25 runs in 37⅓ innings.

 

It took a little time on Tuesday, with Nabil Crismatt pitching two perfect frames before running out of gas in the eighth. He allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases with nobody out. Crismatt then left a curveball down the middle to Will Smith, who grounded into a bizarre double play, thanks to Manny Machado tagging Justin Turner with his bare hand before throwing to second base for a force-out.

That run pulled the Dodgers to within two runs, but Machado’s play effectively neutered the rally. Right-hander Mason Thompson, making his major league debut, walked Max Muncy but got AJ Pollock to ground out to Machado, this time for just one out, to end the threat.

“There’s a few instances where we’ve got to capitalize,” said Chris Taylor. “Bases loaded, no outs, a few other opportunities we weren’t able to get the job done. We’ve got to get better there.”

Padres closer Mark Melancon, pitching in his third game in four days, allowed a home run to Austin Barnes, the second ninth-inning, pinch-hit home run by Barnes this season. Taylor followed with a two-out single, putting the tying run on base, but Turner’s drive to right field was tracked down in right field by Wil Myers to end the game.

The Dodgers played from behind all night again, with Tuesday’s first-inning home run hit by Jake Cronenworth off Clayton Kershaw just three batters into the game for a 2-0 San Diego lead. The left-handed Cronenworth entered Monday with no home runs in 149 career plate appearances against left-handed pitching, but he’s homered off a pair of southpaws — Julio Urías on Monday, then Kershaw — in each game of this series.

Kershaw mostly settled down after that and struck out seven in his six innings. But he also allowed another home run, this one on a curve to pinch-hitter Ha-Seong Kim in the fifth to widen San Diego’s advantage.

“I threw a curveball the pitch before and thought he didn’t look that great on it. It’s a pretty quick adjustment, so give him credit there,” Kershaw said. “It’s a tough night when your mistakes go over the fence.”.

 

Game 3 Boxscore

 

WP: Blake Snell (3-3)

LP: Clayton Kershaw (8-7)

SV: Mark Melancon (22)

HR: Austin Barnes (3); Jake Cronenworth (10), Ha-Seong Kim (5)

 

Trevor Bauer starts Wednesday night’s series finale with Joe Musgrove going for San Diego. The first pitch is at 7:10 and can be seen on SportsNet LA and ESPN, which won’t be broadcast blacked out in the local markets.

 

 

Game 1:

The Dodgers’ three-game winning streak ended on Monday night, as they fell to the Padres, 6-2. After winning the first two games in the season series, the Dodgers have now lost five of their last six games against San Diego.

After playing two entertaining series before limited-capacity crowds, this was the first time this season the teams faced each other in a full-capacity ballpark after California’s reopening plan went into effect last week. The sellout crowd of 42,220 appeared to be fairly evenly split between Dodgers and Padres fans.

It was a quiet night from the offense. L.A. did hit two home runs, but those would be their lone runs of the night. Mookie Betts and Will Smith each hit a solo shot, but both came when the Dodgers were trailing. Betts came in the third when L.A. was trailing 4-0, and Smith’s came when the team was trailing 6-1 in the eighth.

Justin Turner added a hit, and that would be it for L.A. in the offensive department. They had a chance in the seventh inning to potentially make things interesting, but Betts flew out with the bases loaded to end the inning. For the game, L.A. struck out 16 times, tying a season-high.

The offense had no answer for Yu Darvish, who has always done well against the Dodgers in his career. He struck out 11 in six innings while allowing only two hits. He reached the 1,500 strikeout mark, reaching that number faster than any pitcher in MLB history.

“Honestly, I think the stuff Darvish had tonight, the lanes he was pitching in, the slider, the cutter, I mean, I just don’t see him not dominating any major league lineup tonight with the stuff that he had,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’ve seen him before, but it was really good. He’s a strikeout pitcher, and he certainly had his way with us. Sixteen punches is not something we do very often.”

 

Julio Urias got the start and got pretty roughed up. He allowed four runs in the first inning, with three coming off the bat of a Manny Machado home run. In the fifth inning, he allowed a two-run homer to Jake Cronenworth. For the game, Urias allowed six runs in four innings. In addition to the long ball, he struggled with command as he issued four walks.

“It’s been fun all weekend having the crowd back at full capacity,” Manny Machado said. “It’s been fun to play in front of. I know the fans in San Diego have been waiting for this for a long time. … We’re feeding off that big-time. It’s fun to see.”

It just wasn’t Urias’ night.

If you do want a bright spot, it’s that the bullpen didn’t use any high-leverage arms, and they kept the Dodgers in the game. Phil Bickford, David Price, and Joe Kelly combined to throw four scoreless innings.

 

Game 1 Boxscore:

 

WP: Yu Darvish (7-2)

LP: Julio Urias (9-3)

HR: Mookie Betts (9) Will Smith (9) Jake Cronenworth (9) Manny Machado (11)

 

 

Clayton Kershaw gets the start in the middle game of the series tonight against the Padres Blake Snell. The first pitch is at 7:10 and can be seen on SportsNet LA or ESPN 3.

 

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– Joe Arrigo

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