The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the worst teams in baseball. They have a 59-91 record after tonight’s game and one of the worst starting pitchers on the mound in the series opener. The pitching match-up was Clayton Kershaw against Nick Pivetta. So let me set the stage for you. The Dodgers were playing the worst team in baseball with a guy on the mound with a 6.75 ERA against Kershaw. That’s the definition of a mismatch. You would think the Dodgers would score 10 runs and win in a landslide. They got 5 hits and Kershaw allowed a grand slam home run to Aaron Altherr and the Dodgers were embarrassed in a pathetic 4-3 loss to the Phillies on Monday night.
What else can you say here? Chris Taylor led off the game with an inside the park home run, which was the first inside the park homer for a Dodger since manager Dave Roberts did it back in 2003. Then Justin Turner immediately followed with a conventional home run that landed over the fence. That was it for the Dodger’s offense for the rest of the game save for a rare solo home run from Curtis Granderson in the top of the ninth.
Dodgers 3 5 0
Phillies 4 4 0
WP-Pivetta-6-10
LP-Kershaw-17-4
SV-Neris-22
HR-Taylor-20-Turner-21-Altherr-17-Granderson-24
Kershaw cruised through the game until the sixth inning when he walked two (Ty Kelly, Rhys Hoskins) and a Freddy Galvin single loaded the bases. With two outs Altherr hit the grand slam home run that put the Phillies in front for good with a 4-2 lead. That was Kershaw’s first ever grand slam allowed of his career. Kershaw pitched six innings and allowed four runs on four hits while striking out six. He walked two and made 97 pitches. His ERA has now ballooned to 2.26.
The Dodgers literally did nothing with the bats for the rest of the game garnering just five hits, and four walks. Pivetta allowed just the two homers in the first inning tossing six frames and striking out eight to pick up the win. He’s now 6-10 on the season with a 6.57 ERA. That is absolutely pitiful.
The Dodgers now fall to 96-54 and the lead in the NL West is at 9 with Arizona playing tonight at San Diego. The magic number is stuck at 4. The Dodgers will try and not give up another game tomorrow as Yu Darvish will counter a much better pitcher Aaron Nola in the second game of the series. The Dodgers should get 4 hits, maybe.
Seriously pathetic. Maybe the Dodgers can just clinch the division already? They should have clinched like two weeks ago had they not sucked so much this month. I don’t know maybe try to suck less Dodgers?
This is truly an embarrassment for Kershaw. I think the team has got to step it up. Good job on the post Scott.
Part of the problem was the line up. Kike is an automatic out. Bellinger, other than his single, was swinging at pitches he could not have hit with a bat 100 inches long. Utley looked overmatched by a lousy pitcher. They never really had the guy on the ropes. Puig did hit into a rally killing DP, and chased a couple he should have let go. Just a pathetic performance all the way around. They are getting some help from SD who on the strength of 2 HR’s are up 4-0 in the 2nd inning, so there is a chance the magic number drops to 3. And of course, Granderson hits a meaningless homer in the 9th. Meaningless because that is all they got.
Those bloggers (not here) who thought that the Dodgers are back were just letting hope getting in the way of reality. The team is not playing well. Yet. While I believe it will turn around, I am old (and young) enough to admit it is a function of me being a faithful realist.
Will everyone in Dodger Nation learn all the lessons that needs to be learned before the 2018 season about life and baseball? We will find out.
This was just weird. Earlier today the Padres recalled Hunter Renfroe, then DFA’d the guy, then he is in their lineup tonight and hits a 3 run tater in the first. I am wondering how they accomplished this sleight of hand. He was in the transactions section of MLB.Com…
Sorry beside Taylor’s HR, and Turner’s HRs in the first inning, the top of the order didn’t do to much, beyond the first innng.
Taylor had another hit which was good to see, and Cody had a hit too, but other then that, the top of the line up, didn’t do much, as well, as the whole team.
Turner left two runners on base, and Puig left three runners on base, but we need the whole team to produce on offense.
And unfortunately Granderson did hit that HR, I say unfortunately, because I hope that doesn’t get Granderson 83 more at bats, since he has hit a hundred points under the Mendoza line, since he joined the team.
The front office needs to realize when they make a move, they shouldn’t continue to play a player, and try to revive them, it would be better to admit the move hasn’t worked, and give another player, a try to make the line up, with so few games left in the season!
That Phillie starter, might have a high ERA, but everyone including our players, have to realize, everyone we will face, are going to want to put their best game at us, so we will always make a team, or a player from another team’s day, if they can beat the LA Dodgers, so they also have to play at the top of their game too!
YF
Have you noticed the way our pitchers have been pitching batters, because it seems like our pitchers, are giving up way to many HRs, on high fastballs?
And even us fans know, that a fastball at the top of the strike zone, or just out of the strike zone is coming, from our both our starting pitchers, and the guys in the bullpen.
They used this strategy the first time we played the Rockies at Dodger stadium, against Arrenado, and got him out, but the next time we faced the Rockies, the Dodgers pitched Arrenado a high fastball, and he was more then ready, and he hit it out on Kershaw’s first pitch that day!
Roberts talked about the HR that Stripling gave up the other day, and he said that was in Zimmerman’s wheel house, but if that is in Zimmerman’s wheel house, why are they pitching him in that zone?
This was a simple loss based on Kershaw giving up his 1st career Grand Slam. His FIRST! The rest of the analysis is meaningless.
Taylor is back. Corey is not. Nothing to do at this point but wait till the playoffs.
Nothing simple about it except the offense fell on its ass once again. This guy had an ERA of almost 7 and they could not put him away? Please, CK made a bad pitch, but they should have been up by 4 or 5 runs by that time.
agree.
The term “embarrassed” is hyperbole, this is baseball. Shit happens.
Yaye, Magic Number down to 3!!!
Thank you Padres for the assist.
A small poll….how many out there think Kike deserves to be on the playoff roster. Just wondering.
I vote no on Kike. I don’t think he’s that much better than Forsythe against lefties and Forsythe plays better infield defense. Also we have Barnes and Utley who can also play first and Taylor plays SS. I don’t think we need an utility infield/outfield guy. I’d rather have Ethier who’s a better outfielder overall, can hit the ball the other way, and can play all 3 outfield spots.
This is the team that lost so many games and then, miraculously?, won 4 in a row. Everyone thought that they were back but it looks as if the winning may have been a blip. This team is just not very good right now. They are cursed against the West (34-33) and can’t even hit against one of the worst lineups in baseball. If we face the Dbags in the NLDS, our season may be over. What a weird season!