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What the hell happened to the Padres? I don’t know but the last time the Dodgers and Padres faced each other both clubs were in the thick of the NL West race. After today’s match the Dodgers are 33 games above .500. The Padres on the other hand have fallen right into the toilet. The Friars are now not even in control of the second wild card one game behind the Cincinnati Reds as they keep falling further and further down in the standings. The Dodgers dealt their postseason hopes another blow with a 5-2 beating at Petco Park in the opening game of the three game series on Tuesday evening.
This was the AJ Pollock show. The veteran outfielder continues to have a solid season. His leaping catch against the wall in the fourth inning robbed former Dodger and jerk Manny Machado of a home run to preserve a 1-0 Dodgers lead. Pollock added a two-run knock for good measure in the top of the seventh that extended the Dodger’s lead to 3-0.
Will Smith got the show started with a solo home run in the second inning. The Dodgers added two sacrifice flies to go up 5-0. Southpaw Julio Urias returned from the injured list to pitch five scoreless frames before leaving way for the Dodger bullpen. The Dodger pen pitched admirably as five relievers (Phil Bickford, Alex Vesia, Corey Knebel, Blake Treinen, and Kenley Jansen) limited the San Diego hitters to just two runs on two hits while scattering three walks. Urias allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out four en route to his fourteenth win of the season.
The Padres only runs came on a Jurickson Profar home run in the bottom of the eighth. San Diego actually had the tying runs at the plate in the eighth and ninth frames. However Treinen struck out Jake Cronenworth and Kenley struck out Adam Frazier to end the game. The Dodgers have now won 14 of their last 16 games but still remain in second place 2.5 games behind the Giants who shutout the Mets earlier today. The series continues on Wednesday night with Walker Buehler facing Blake Snell at 7:10 PM.
The Pollock Show is in hiatus for the moment. One of the Dodgers hottest players is injured, trying to do his Trea Turner imitation on the basepaths. What a stupid move…. Absolutely no reason to attempt a steal at that moment in the game. The Dodger buggy lost two wheels in the process. Not only did they lose Pollock, they now are forced to put Belli-Flop (The Flat Tire) in the lineup.
The Dodgers are a mess in the stretch run. A prime opportunity to take advantage of the Gnats’, flushed down the toilet. An embarrassment, to say the least. RISP continues to be the Dodger Achilles Heel. Wasted scoring opportunities with pop outs and strikeouts…. All hitters swinging from their heels trying to smack homers, when all they need is a base hit to keep the train rolling. Sloppy defense does not help either.
Dodger starting pitching is rolling on just three tires, so when one of those three blows out (Buehler meltdown), or like in the case of Scherzer, a slow leak (hammy tightness), they are left with a unicycle, Urias, singlehandedly trying to keep the Dodger wagon rolling. And why all this talk about Cy Young Candidate Buehler? How about Urias? Why is he left out of the discussion? Urias would have over 20 wins already if the Dodgers had not blown some wins for him. Oh yeah, time to shelve the David Price Experiment. He is just taking up a valuable roster spot.
The lackluster offense needs an overhaul. I think Mookie should get his leadoff spot back, move Cory up to second. JT 3rd, Muncy 4th, Trea 5th, CT3 6th, Smith or Barnes 7th, pitcher 8th, and if they have to play Belli-Flop, put him 9th. DR has too many cards (players) in the deck, so he overthinks his lineup and batting order. He needs to find a lineup that works, and stick with it…. All hands on deck, at this point of the season. Screw the scheduled off days, and extra days of rest.
If Kershaw and Gonsolin do not come back strong, I see the Dodgers having to face the Reds or Phillies in a one game Wild Card Playoff.
One last thing…. Diss those disgusting Blue Pajamas.