Everyone will be talking about that deep fly ball off the bat of Gavin Lux with two outs in the bottom of the ninth that looked like it was going out to tie the game. Instead the gail force winds at Dodger Stadium on Monday night kept that ball in the park as the home crowd watched it caught at the wall for the final out. The Dodgers lost 1-0 pushing the team to the brink of elimination with one more game at Dodger Stadium tomorrow night.
It didn’t seem fair because Dodger Starter Max Scherzer was nearly flawless tossing seven dominant frames allowing just one earned run on three hits with one walk while striking out ten. The lone mistake was a lead-off solo home run to Evan Longoria in the top of the fifth. That was the difference in the game and the wind did not stop that ball from going out. Call it what you will.
The Dodgers only had one legitimate chance to score in the bottom of the seventh. With one out consecutive singles from Steven Souza Jr. and Will Smith put runners on first and second. For some unknown reason, with the game on the line and the most important plate appearance of the game Dave Roberts made the worst decision of the year having Austin Barnes pinch-hit for Billy Mckinney who had pinch-ran for Albert Pujols earlier in the game. Not surprisingly he struck out. I understand that Barnes has had a couple of big hits in postseasons past and perhaps Roberts wanted to save Lux or Matt Beaty for the ninth, but Barnes is a terrible hitter and never should have been up there. Their last chance was Mookie Betts, who smashed a line drive that looked like it was going into left field, but Brandon Crawford leaped like four feet into the air to make the catch and rob Mookie of a game defining hit.
Now the Dodgers have to win tomorrow to force a game 5 in San Francisco on Thursday night. I don’t see this happening. Especially when they don’t have anyone to start tomorrow. Their best bet is to go to Walker Buehler on short rest and pray. This series is over. I know they came from behind to win three in a row to beat the Braves last year, but this isn’t last year and the Giants are not the Braves. Honestly the Giants won 107 games for a reason. Tomorrow should be the last game. We haven’t see real pain in a while. This will be on a whole different level. Brace yourself.
Can’t really blame it on the wind. Both teams had to deal with it, Longoria able to do what the entire Dodger lineup failed to do…jack it out of the park. Longoria was feed a cookie, and he jumped all over it, as he should. One bad pitch. Other than that, Scherzer pitched courageously and kept the team in the game. Another wasted quality start… It has been like that all year.
One measly run is all they needed. The all-star lineup could not or would not adjust. They kept swinging from their heels, choosing to challenge the wind conditions. With runners in scoring position, all they needed was a little base hit. All they could manage were popups and flyouts to the outfield. The team could not follow the lead of Tío Albert, and just put the ball in play. Pujols was 2-2 and then gets pulled for a pinch runner. The Dodgers only offense now taken out of the equation. Why pinch run, if you cannot steal a base or get the runner over and home? Tío could have stood on 1st, just as good as McKinney. How many one-run games have the Dodgers lost this year due to RISP? …It has been like that all year.
The Gnats did their homework, and beat the Dodgers with pinpoint defensive alignment. Dodgers continue to overshift and beat themselves… It has been like that all year.
Dodger All-Star offense shut out two of three games…. Totally unacceptable. Impotent offense, with only the long-ball in mind…. It has been like that all year.
Now they have their backs against the wall, and have their whole season depending on a bullpen effort… It has been like that all year.
Dodgers are certainly not out yet… they are hanging by a thread of hope. Losing the NLDS to the Gnats at home would be embarrassing and will leave the team and the fans looking for answers. Heads will have to roll. No excuses. The only consolation would be to return to the Bay and steal game 5 on their turf, but they have to win Game 4, first.
Might be a sad evening in Dodger Stadium tonight, if the team cannot salvage a win.
Dodgers’ Murderer’s Row (The Boardwalk):
Betts, T. Turner, J. Turner, Seager, Pollock, Bellinger ($109,417,500)
More like Suicide Row:
10-67 (.149 BA)
They better wake up tonight and get an early lead for Buehler.