Landon Knack vs Michael King. Knack had a clean first inning getting the Padres in order. Ohtani led off the Dodgers first with a screaming double down the line. Betts then hit a grounder to Bogaerts that he threw way over Solano’s head for an error. Betts went to second and Ohtani scored. Freeman lined out to Solano. Teo singled to left and Mookie went to third. Muncy hit a short fly to left for the second out. With Smith up and a 1-2 count, Teo and Mookie attempted the delayed double steal, but Betts was thrown out diving back to second. Dodgers 1, Padres 0.
Knack got Machado on a pop out, and then Merrill singled to left. Bogaerts struck out and then Cronenworth hit a 2-run homer into the right field stands. Solano flied out to Edman. Smith singled leading off the second. Edman grounded out to second, and Smith advanced on the play. Lux struck out for the second out. Rojas was then hit by a pitch. Ohtani then walked. The bases were loaded with 2 outs. Betts then struck out on a pitch that was a good foot off of the plate.
Knack set the Padres down 1-2-3 in the third. Freddie flew out to open the bottom of the third and then Teo walked. Muncy hit a line drive to second, and Teo was doubled up. In the 4th, Knack allowed a leadoff double to Profar. Machado struck out and Merrill lined out to deep center, and Profar went to third. Bogaerts singled him home. Knack committed a balk and Bogaerts went to second. Cronenworth then doubled him home. 4-1 SD. He made a wild pitch and Cronenworth went to third. Solano walked and then stole second. Knack struck Higashioka out.
King got the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 4th. Graterol came in to pitch the 5th. He got the Padres 1-2-3. King did the same to the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. Hudson took the mound for LA in the 6th. He got Machado to ground out and he struck out Merrill. Bogaerts then got an infield single on a ball hit to Muncy. Cronenworth then hit a grounder to Rojas, and he forced Bogaerts out at second.
In the bottom of the sixth, Adrian Morejon took over for King. Freeman grounded out and Teo struck out. Muncy singled to center for the Dodgers first hit since the second inning. Smith then walked bringing up Edman. Padres changed pitchers bringing in Jeremy Estrada. Edman flied out to Profar. With that out, LA was 1-7 with RISP. They left 6 runners on base. The rookie, Edgardo Henriquez came in to pitch the 7th making his MLB debut. He got his first MLB K, getting Solano on 4 pitches. Higashioka singled to center. He got Arraez to pop out to Freeman. Higashioka then stole second as strike two was made to Tatis. The kid then struck Tatis out.
Tanner Scott came in to pitch the seventh and Kike hit for Lux. Kike singled to left. Rojas then hit into a double play. Dodgers not getting clutch hits so far in this game. Shohei then struck out. Honeywell came in to pitch the top of the 8th inning. Profar, Machado and Merrill due up. Honeywell got Profar to ground out to Freeman. Machado then doubled to left. Merrill grounded out to Freeman and Machado went to third. Bogaerts flied out to center to end the inning. Jason Adam came into pitch the bottom of the 8th for the Padres.
First batter up, Mookie Betts. Mookie lined out to Profar in left. Profar made his second great catch of the game, the first one was on Ohtani. Freeman then flied out on the first pitch he saw. Teo then doubled with 2 strikes on him. On a 3-1 pitch, Muncy flied out to left field. 1-8 with RISP. Honeywell stayed in the game to pitch the 9th. Cronenworth lined out to Edman who made a great sliding catch. Solano also flied out to Edman. Higashioka grounded out to Muncy to end the top of the 9th, and the Padres brought in their closer, Suarez for the bottom of the 9th.
Smith, Edman, and Kike due up for LA in the 9th. The Dodger pen pitched well, pitching 5 scoreless innings. Smith singled for his second hit of the game. Edman then singled and Smith went to third. Kike singled to center scoring Smith. Rojas hit into a triple play to end the game. Unbelievable. So, the Dodgers lead is down to 2 games. So, the Dodgers magic number stays at 4. Flaherty against Cease tomorrow. The next two games are must win games in my mind.
The Dodgers have lost the division once since 2013. That was 2021. But in 2018, they ended up tied with the Rockies and had to play game 163 because then, there was no tiebreaker. Now, with 5 games left, they are in serious danger of losing it again since the Padres have the tiebreaker. Looking back on this game, the Dodgers were awful with RISP. The were 2-10 with RISP. They left 7 men on base, they scored their first run on an error. The next two games they really need to play clean baseball. We also found out today, that Kershaw and Gonsolin will not pitch until the playoffs.
What a way to lose game 1,triple play.a few line drives at somebody no breaks all n all good game.we need to take the next 2 games on order to get some respect.
Padres 9-1.
They’re the hot team.
FF and Mookie 0-8….no bueno. Now is the time to step up and be clutch.
I ran the scenarios in my head after Edman’s base it.
It should’ve been a bunt the entire time, as that most most likely ensures only 1 out is made and Ohtani comes up as the tying run. If they pitch to him? Great!
If they walk Ohtani and pitch to Betts with bases loaded? Great.
If we let Rojas hit, the worst he could do is hit into a double play, right? Wrong.
I never imagined a triple play, in any scenario.
I didn’t know Roberts said definitively Gonsolin wouldn’t pitch until the playoffs. There is a need for a starter on Thursday. I would get him into that game, would you?
Tough loss. Dodgers could not catch a break. They all went the Puds way. Mookie and Freddie need to show up. Might be time to sit Lux. He is ice cold.
When Rojas came up to bat, Joe Davis said the Dodgers were guaranteed to have Ohtani come up to bat. My first thought was “unless there’s a triple play “.
I take full responsibility for what happened next and promise to stop thinking going forward.
I have a number of issues with Dave Roberts in this game. And the only reason I am bringing it up is because it looked very much like playoff Dave. Which is a Dave I am not fond of.
Why in the H are you doing your double steal crap and stranding two runners in the first with Will Smith at the plate who reached base 4 times last night? Like seriously? What in the H are you doing? That was a disaster and we will never know if it ultimately cost us the game.
Is Miggy bunting or not? You give up a strike. Then take the bunt off? Why are you mind screwing your batter in the biggest plate appearance of the game?
BUNT HIM! Who did not know Miggy was going to minimally hit into a double play? I saw that coming from a million miles away. Load the bases for Mookie after Ohtani walks. Why do we know this and the LA Dodgers manager does not? You screwed your 1-2 MVP hitters our of at bats!
I have no faith in this guy in the playoffs. He absolutely hurt the Dodgers last night.
Hey Bear, what you say now ?
Dodgers called up Henriquez after all. And the kid showed he got the stuff.
Typical Roberts managed clutch game. Going for the double steal was simply dumb.
And then not having Rojas bunt in the 9th.
Have Rojas bunt and what is the worst can happen ? He strikes out or the runner is out at thrid. Still it brings up Ohtani with either 2nd and 3rd or 1st and 2nd. If they walk him we have Mookie and FF next up. I take my chances with those scenarios every day and twice in a playoff like game like today.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First Henriquez, now make it two and bring up Rushing too.
This team needs a killer bullpen AND offense in the playoffs. Smith will catch almost all postseason games anyway. No need for Barnes on the roster. Give the spot to Rushing.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Game ending triple play around the horn happened in The Odd couple too. 😀
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!1
No homers. No win.
A lot of people talk about how much they want the Dodgers and Dave Roberts to do more small ball, and bunt and steal, or hit and run more lol, but it seems that anything that the Dodgers and Roberts try and do always ends up being a cluster f*ck or a total disaster.
The chances of a game ending triple-play being turned are in the 1% range. Look, the Dodgers are really bad at this small ball stuff. They can’t execute it. It’s not their game and whenever they try to force it, the results are always dismal. Ohtani is the only guy that can steal bases anyways, the rest of the position players are station to station. I’m ok with this. I think Dave tends to panic in these types of situations and succumbs to pressure and then overthinks. The Dodgers are better when they do what they do best which is Slug…(obviously) and work counts and draw walks. They were able to work up King’s pitch count enough where he was removed after 5. They had a rally going in the 9th. Stop trying to turn into the 88 Dodgers. It’s not happening with this club. Asking for anything else is like asking Friedman to have a regarding henry moment with baseball lineups.
The game was really lost in the early innings, which it normally is with this year’s Dodgers. King gave up one unearned run on 5 hits across 5 innings. Landon Knack allowed four earned runs in four innings. 2 runs in the second, another 2 runs in the fourth. The Dodgers are constantly playing from behind early because the starting rotation is so pathetic. The Dodgers starting pitching is absolute garbage. It’s caca, doo doo, poo poo, excrement, dung. I don’t know how many more descriptions I can type to describe crap. You get it though if you’ve been watching Dodger baseball in 2024 (and 2023, 2022, most of 2021…)
In comparison, the Padres look like a championship caliber club. They went from a .500 team at the all-star break and turned things around in a mere few weeks. Friedman needs to take notes on this, because with smart moves, with smart baseball people you can do this and rebuild a club on the fly. They didnt need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to do it. This is a club that lost their best starting pitcher (Snell) and their closer (Hader) to free agency and traded Juan Soto, and this team could be arguably better than the 2022 team that knocked out the Dodgers. They are more well rounded this year. One of the guys they picked up in the Soto trade (along with a decent backup catcher) was Michael King. He’s been one of the better pitchers in the NL over the last 4 or 5 months. Dylan Cease was the guy the Dodgers probably should have picked up (when it comes to starting pitchers they always trade for the weaker or weakest pitcher on the market).
The Padres have a very strong pitching staff. They don’t give up runs early in games. They have lock down relievers, and give hitters different looks. Their lineup doesnt have a weak spot, 1-9. They have strong fielding. They hit well, they pitch well, and they field their position well. And they are hungry.
They haven’t won anything yet, but they look to be a much better club than the Dodgers this year, and with that strong pitching staff (gee who could have thought that strong pitching, especially starting pitching can win titles….) are a legitamate championship contender.
The Dodgers on the other hand are preparing to embarass themselves again tonight, with Dave Roberts loading his excuse cannon. Have fun guys.
The Dodgers’ starters have posted a 6.20 earned-run average this month, the worst in the league. Their relievers have pitched 95 innings this month, the most of any NL bullpen — and five more than their starters.
Knack is 2-1, 1.75 and has allowed 2 HR in 25 IP against sub .500 teams. He is 1-4, 5.03 and allowed 11 HR in 39 IP in games against winning teams. He can’t be trusted in the post-season. But they may not have any other choices
There are a lot of reasons the Dodgers find themselves in the position they are in right now. And it is easy for fans to want to place blame on someone. The major factor is all of the injuries sustained by the pitching staff. Except for Yamamoto, who just returned from being out for almost 3 months and Miller, who was sent to AAA a bunch of times, there is not one single starting pitcher from the opening day roster who is healthy. Stone, Glasnow, down for the year, Paxton traded. It is a patchwork pitching staff. Their best month was again, August when they went 19-8. But this month, when they need to be playing their best baseball, they are 11-10. Their longest winning streak was 7 games from May 1-8. They have had 1 6-game streak and 2 of 5 games. The bullpen has been over worked because the starting staff can barely go 5 innings. The offense has been boom or bust. Last night was a typical bust type of game. Clutch hitting was non-existent. Then the 9th inning rally was cut short by the most improbable play. Now, to his credit, Miguel Rojas explained what happened to clutch points, which I read today on Microsoft news. He said the bunt was on for the first pitch. It was taken off, but he made the decision to swing because he thought he could get a hard grounder through the infield. He took full responsibility for that. Now, I have never really called for the Dodgers to look to getting some new leadership. But some might be right. It might be the time for a new voice and direction, and if so, it would most likely occur in the dugout. I have to believe Freidman is all but untouchable at this point. Ownership has full confidence in the guy. But Dave Roberts and his staff, except maybe Ebel, have to be feeling the heat. If they flame out and lose the division, especially since they seemingly had a comfortable lead, it could spell the end of Roberts reign.
Definitely seeing a pattern in Mookie and Freeman’s game playoffs and in playoff-like games. I don’t like it and it better change real quick or Dodger players will be packing up for vacation time.
Personally, I’ll reserve my opinions on acquiring Glasnow (instead of the other rumored guys, Cease and Burnes) until 2024 season is over. Let’s hope that ‘s 5 weeks away and not 1 week away!
Like Badger said above, I usually don’t blame Dave Roberts as I believe players, especially stars, need to show up in October, and far too otten, our stars don’t show up.
However, last night, knowing we’re down 2, and knowing there’s 2 on and zero out, and knowing Ohtani Betts Freeman are due up after Rojas, I have Rojas bunt until he can’t bunt no more.
Letting him swing was a risk, and we paid the biggest, most unrealistic price of all, a triple play which occurs less than 5 times per year. But it happened to us, in a playoff type game. The manager needs to be blamed for not thinking ahead. I haven’t heard his excuse or explanation on that yet, but I’d love to know why call off the bunt after 1 attempt.
As I wrote earlier, it is looking more like déjà vu all over again. Specifically, 2022 NLDS and their inability to hit WRISP. It is not Gavin Lux, Chris Taylor, Andy Pages, Kevin Kiermaier, or Kiké Hernández who are failing to come through with RISP. It is Mookie, Freddie, Max, and until recently Ohtani. In this game, Mookie, Freddie, and Max had the opportunity to turn this game around, and not only could not get hits WRISP, they had nonproductive outs.
Mookie Betts –
Freddie –
Max –
That changed in the 9th, when Kiké got a run scoring single, and put the Dodgers in a clear opportunity to walk off a much needed win. Unfortunately Miggy Ro hit a 97+MPH ground ball right on the 3rd base bag, right where Machado was playing, and it turned into a triple play. I am not going to blame Miggy Ro who hit the ball hard, something none of those above did (including Kiké’s single).
IMO, it is the approach. It is one thing to slug HRs against Colorado and Miami pitching, and another against SD or Philadelphia pitching. Against Colorado, LAD scored 15 runs, with 11 coming from 8 HRs (5 solo). They were 5-21 WRISP against Colorado pitching. Not all that encouraging for teams with good pitching.
With the lack of starting pitching, this team is going to need to manufacture runs whenever they can. At the very least, that means hitting behind the runner to move a runner up. Maybe a little run and hit. Maybe bunting with runners on 1st and 2nd, nobody out, and Ohtani coming up. So they walk him. Teams have walked Ohtani twice this year to get to Mookie, and twice he has come through. .If Mookie does not hit into a DP, they get one more shot with Freddie.
Against Miami, Muncy got two 2-run scoring doubles into LC field with a more controlled swing. Last night, he was swinging to hit the ball into oblivion. No strikes, go ahead and look to slug. 2 strikes, take something off the swing, even look to give yourself up to move the runner up. I cannot count the number of ground balls to 2B by Freddie this year, except last night when that would have worked.
It also requires the manager to look at the game, and make a decision that puts the team in the best position to win. Last night that was bunting the team’s best bunter in the 9th. I can count the number of times we have heard the game broadcasters tell us how much Miggy is practicing his bunting because he may be needed to do that in crucial situations. And yet, when he had the opportunity…Don’t leave it to the player to decide if he should bunt; manage the game.
I also agree that the Dodgers look tight. Again, very similar to 2022 and 2023 NLDS. Why??? And I agree that San Diego is not afraid of the Dodgers, and look as if they believe they can beat them any time.
There was some discussion last week on whether the Dodgers will be favored in the playoff series. Sorry Bluto, not silly, but I see no way the Dodgers are favored over the Padres or Phillies. I do not bet, but if I did, I am not betting on the Dodgers in either of those two playoffs (if they occur). There is a good chance that they will have to beat NYM in a Wild Card.
One final point. With runners on 1st and 3rd, I have watched teams run the runner on 1st and the LAD catchers not throw through. For at least the third time in the last few weeks, in the same situation, I have watched the LAD runner on 1st try to get into a rundown between 1st and 2nd presumably to score the runner on 3rd, and every time it miserably failed. It is a Little League play, and there are no Little League teams on the field. If you are going to run…RUN.
Let’s see what LAD can do against Dylan Cease tonight. We can predict 1-2 HRs against Jack Flaherty.
Z. Hope on the AFL roster at a tender age of 19!
With the recent demotion of CJ Abrams by Washington due to off field issues (all night casinos), he no longer can be considered an untouchable. Washington does not have a veteran base to keep these issues in check. Do the Dodgers make a run for Abrams knowing they have the veteran base to keep him in line? Abrams is not going to tell Ohtani, Betts, Friedman that he would rather go to all night casinos rather than properly prepare for the next game. He will cost a lot because he is not arbitration eligible until 2026, and will not become a FA until 2029. Just a thought. I am sure AF will check in, but he is going to want to win that trade.
Cole Irvin got DFAd again, this time by the Twins. Bo Bichette is going to have surgery on his finger.
Tigers winning in the 9th. Twins tied in the 6th. If Minnesota loses, Detroit has a 3-game lead on them for the final AL wild card.
SI said that they would not count the Dodgers out of the Juan Soto sweepstakes this winter. He most likely would stay in NY, but if he doesn’t LA might be where he goes.
Anybody seen Mookie Betts?
Interesting and uplifting that Roberts went to Edman and Pages instead of Chris Taylor and his appalling 59 OPS+
Great and important win. Lux looking much better. Bullpen was nails. Ohtani with 2 big RBIS. Now has 125. 56 steals also.
Roberts managed a great game. The bullpen was outstanding again. Clutch hitting. Great win
Last 10 games in the National League the Dodgers are tied for second in best record.7 wins and 3 losses. Proud of the Dodgers