Dodgers Still Manage To Lose To Philly
Dodger fans had their hearts ripped out once again on Tuesday night as their “Boys in Blue” relinquished another lead as they lost their second in a row to the powerhouse Philadelphia Phillies.
To rub salt into the wound, Dodger starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani held Philly hitless over the first five innings. Ohtani struck out five and walked one, throwing 42 of 68 pitches for strikes. He retired his final 13 batters. In the matchup of men vying for the National League MVP, Ohtani twice retired Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, the man who leads the league in homers.
On the strength of homeruns by Alex Call and Kike Hernandez, the Dodgers had a convincing 4-0 lead after five complete innings.
But the decision to remove Ohtani from the mound after five innings was made long before the first pitch was thrown. An audible grown could be heard throughout the stadium as Justin Wrobleski made his way to the mound to start the sixth inning.
It didn’t take long for “Wrobo” to load the bases with three consecutive one-out singles before Bryce Harper doubled to center on the first pitch, scoring Harrison Bader and Rafel Marchan. Brandon Marsh followed with a three-run homer to right.
“My job is to go out there and put up zeroes and I did not do that,” Wrobleski said.
Manager Dave Roberts was greeted with a chorus of boos as he came to take the ball from Wrobleski with the Phillies leading 5-4. Adding insult to injury, Max Kepler scorched Dodger reliever Edgardo Henriquez for another dinger, giving the Phillies a 6-4 lead.
This was the Dodgers’ 18th blown-lead loss since July 4. There is no way to Sugar Coat that glaring statistic.
In the eighth inning Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th home run of the season and when Alex Call hit a sacrifice fly to score Tommy Edman the game was all tied up 6-6 heading into the ninth inning.
Everything was looking good for Dodger closer Blake Treinen who shut down the first two Philly batters. But Weston Wilson doubled to left and the Dodgers intentionally walked Bryson Stott putting two men on base when Rafael Marchan came to the plate. Treinen served a flat 91mph cutter which Marchan took over the right field wall putting Phiadlphia back on top 9-6.
Philly closer Jhoan Duran shut the Dodgers down quickly in the bottom of the ninth to secure the second win in a row over the Dodgers.
“I know it’s frustrating to the fans,” Treinen said. “I can promise you from the bottom of our hearts we’re trying our darndest every single night. There’s nothing we haven’t done, there’s no stone we haven’t unturned. It’s not an effort thing, it’s not a preparation thing. It is literally just sometimes things aren’t working. We’re really good at being resilient. You have to understand what this team does year in and year out, and we’re winners. We’re going to find a way to get that done.”
The Dodger bats have woken up, the starting pitching is stellar, but the bullpen is in shambles. In this series alone the bullpen has given up 14 runs in 8 1/3 innings. Those numbers are unacceptable going down the stretch.
On his bullpen Roberts quipped, “They’re lacking confidence. They’re not making good pitches when they need to, just a little too careful at times.”
As far as the Ohtani pitching situation goes, the fans aren’t going to like, the local media is going to lamb baste Roberts over and over again, but the powers that be have made their decision on how they are going to treat Ohtani’s pitching comeback, and according to Roberts, nothing is going to make them veer from that plan.
On taking Shohei off the mound after five inning Tuesday night Roberts made it clear, “He wasn’t going to go back out. We’ve been very steadfast in every situation as far his usage, from one inning to two to three to four to five. We haven’t deviated from that. So, I was trying to get his pulse for going forward, where he’s at, continuing to go to the sixth inning. And he says, ‘Feel okay.’ That was good.”
“But I’m not going to have a plan for five innings and then he pitches well and say, ‘Okay, now you’re going to go for six innings.’ He’s too important. And if something happens, then that’s on me for changing it, and we haven’t done that all year. So, I’m not going to do that right now. I would’ve loved to have had him go out there. But if our conversation was ‘If he’s efficient, he can go to the sixth inning,’ that’s a different conversation. But, (tonight), it was a hard five innings.”
When asked about being pulled after five innings, and if he could go six, Shohei stated, “As a player I do want to pitch as long as possible, but I also understand and respect the decision the front office and the manager make. Ultimately that’s what a player is supposed to do, it’s to make sure you fulfil the given role you are assigned. But again, as a player, you always want to pitch as long as possible.”
As to his conversation with Roberts after pitching five innings Shohei revealed, “I was asked how my body was feeling at that point. I said I felt good, my stuff was good, but ultimately, it’s up to the manager to make the decision.”
It’s very clear that Roberts and Ohtani are going to “Tow the company line”. That is all well and good, but the fans in Los Angeles are fed up. The Dodgers are limping into the playoffs and Dodger faithful have hit the Panic Button. Yes, the Dodgers are the defending World Champions, but we live in a “What Have Done Lately” world, and quite frankly, what the Dodgers have done lately has fallen way short of the lofty expectations.
As Rick Monday said in the Dodger broadcast booth Tuesday night, “It’s time for the Dodgers to put on their big boy pants!”
By William Trillo
