After winning the first two games of a three-game set against the Phillies to start their current road trip, the Dodgers fell in extras in the finale on Sunday in a game that was very much winnable.
Los Angeles starter Tony Gonsolin was once again solid, as all indications seemed he was cruising to his fifth victory of the season. He went six full innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Gonsolin’s only downfall is that he wasn’t as economical as the team would have liked, causing skipper Dave Roberts to dip into his much-exhausted bullpen in the seventh.
The Dodgers carried a 2-1 lead at Gonsolin’s exit, thanks to a pair of solo home runs from Mookie Betts and Edwin Rios. Betts was a one-man offensive machine in Saturday’s contest, going 3-for 4 with a double, a homer and three RBI.
After having an average as low as .171 on April 19, Betts is currently hitting .273 and leads the team with 10 long balls and 38 runs scored. Mookie’s 145 OPS+ is second on the club to only Freddie Freeman.
Maintaining the narrow lead, the Dodgers were in a position to seal the win in the ninth. With limited relief options and Craig Kimbrel having pitched the previous two games, Roberts decided to stick with righty Yency Almonte to close. Almonte struck out Alec Bohm and retired Bryce Harper on a ground out, but he allowed the tying run to score after surrendering a double to Nick Castellanos and a single to Jean Segura.
The Dodgers cashed in during the tenth when Betts scored on a Trea Turner single to right field, putting themselves back in the lead and in a position for the sweep. However, Roberts opted to use righty Evan Roberts in the 10th.
J.T. Realmuto started the tenth inning on second base for the Phillies and unsuccessfully tried to score on a Garret Stubbs grounder to short. Phillips struck out Johan Camargo next, but he surrendered a single to Roman Quinn, who advanced to second on the throw to nail Stubbs at third base.
The Phillies went on top when both Stubbs and Quinn scored on a Bohm ground ball to second base that Max Muncy couldn’t handle. The Dodgers challenged that Quinn was out at home, but the call was upheld.
Despite the wasted opportunity, stealing two wins in Philadelphia can be considered a victory. Still, with Blake Treinen on the shelf until after the All-Star break and Tommy Kahnle out with forearm inflammation, the immediate future of the Los Angeles bullpen doesn’t seem bright.
The Dodgers now move onto D.C. for a three-game set against the Nationals. Tyler Anderson gets the ball in the opener on Monday.
Catman has really exceeded my expectations. The more he pitches, the more comfortable he seems to get. We really need him and he’s stepping up when it counts.
I could not possibly feel worse for Max. He can’t perform at the plate and then he blows the game in the field. I’ve been saying he needs to be allowed to play his way out of this batting funk, but maybe it really is time to set him down for a while and let Rios take his at bats.
Mookie said that he came out of his slump when he just decided to stop pressing and have fun. Maybe Max needs to do the same.
Having the chance to sit and watch up close, I think I was most impressed by Freeman. He just does every single thing right in his approach, even when he’s not producing. He had some really hard hit balls on Saturday that might have fell 90% of the other time. Maybe he could offer Muncy some advice. Hopefully, Mookie continues to produce.
It’s really sad when you need to turn to Evan Philips or Yency Almonte to bring the game home for you.
First I have been advocating Roberts let Muncy rehab that elbow. Give Rios more at bats the kid is hot. Maybe if he gets enough at bats he can stay hot all season!
Kembrel did one inning yesterday and 1/3 the game before. Why can’t he pitch every day with that few innings? Plus we were winning the one game handily why use Kimbrel at all? Roberts is a horrible in-game pitching manager and will lose about 10 games this year because he cannot figure out how to use his people. But everyone likes Nice Guy Roberts…
Maybe Roberts is smarter than we think. Perhaps these recent bullpen management strategies are his subtle way of telling Friedman that he needs some relief pitching help from the outside. 😀
I like Robert’s as a person. I highly dislike him as a strategist. As long as Bauer is hanging over the Dodgers bottom line they are hamstrung I think. Plus Robert’s has one of the most expensive and talented teams in Baseball. They are in first place. His pitching management has lost a few games already and will continue to do so. I too would have left Alamonte in but would not have closed with Phillips. He had better options.
They did exactly what they needed to do to pull out a W and then gave it away. These things happen. But, it was Muncy. 0fer again, GIDP, 2 more Ks, 5 LOB and boots the game ending ground ball to allow 2 runs to score. What does he have to do to get benched? It’s like he’s begging for it.
Muncy needs a trip to OKC.
Yes Munch needs to sit when you’re going bad at the plate it usually carry’s over to the field. He is lost at the plate he takes to many good pitches then is down two strikes and is swinging at a bad third pitch. Yes Rios needs to play.
Allegedly Roberts says Muncy stays in the lineup.