Dodgers Dugout: Here's what went wrong in Game 3 (spoiler alert: almost everything)

Assistant Sports Editor

Oct. 28, 2017 8 AM PT

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Los Angeles Mitchell. I sold my house and car, turned in all the recycling material I had, sold all my blood and mowed every lawn in the neighborhood and still can’t afford World Series tickets.

Game 3

—Could anyone have looked less comfortable on the mound Friday night than Yu Darvish? The Dodgers traded for him for situations like this, and he failed big time. He looked like he had no clue out there. Perhaps he said it best, though, when he uttered before the game, “You can leave your mark in history, but once you’re dead it doesn’t matter.”

—This leaves the Dodgers in quite a quandary. If the Series goes seven games, who starts Game 7? Darvish was on pace to. Now it would be either Darvish or Alex Wood, who is pitching Game 4. Or, they could dip into the bullpen and use Kenta Maeda or Brandon McCarthy, but that means Maeda can’t pitch in Games 4, 5 or 6. And he has been very valuable in the bullpen. Will they bring Clayton Kershaw back for Game 4 to line him up for Game 7? I doubt it. I guess the Dodgers will cross that Game 7 bridge if they come to it.

—Dave Roberts made some really head-scratching decisions on Friday. Let’s take a look:

1. Why was Joc Pederson the DH instead of Andre Ethier? Ethier has never made an out against Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr., going 3 for 3.

2. Or, why was Enrique Hernandez starting in left field instead of Ethier? Don’t let the three-homer game fool you, Hernandez can’t hit right-handers.

3. Why did Chase Utley bat for Logan Forsythe in the sixth inning? Utley is 0 for October while Forsythe is hitting .304 in the postseason.

4. Why did Yasmani Grandal bat for Austin Barnes in the top of the seventh? Have we suddenly decided that Grandal is better than Barnes?

5. Dave, did you see what Astros manager A.J. Hinch did? He threw all the analytics out the window and stuck with Brad Peacock, who was pitching great, for a 3 2/3-inning save. Sometimes you have to do that. I’d rather see Maeda pitch an extra inning and save Brandon Morrow for the next time you have a lead. I just get a bit frustrated when I see a pitcher who is doing really well get pulled after he gets a batter out. Especially with games Saturday and Sunday. And you know Alex Wood isn’t going more than five or six innings, so the bullpen will be extra strained.

—Let’s sum up the game: Bad hitting (only four hits), bad baserunning (Yasiel Puig gets thrown out at second), bad fielding (two errors). The Dodgers hit the trifecta, which is about the only thing they hit.

—Cody Bellinger is 0 for 11 in the World Series with seven strikeouts. Just roll the ball up there and he will swing and miss. It’s almost like having Curtis Granderson back in the lineup.

—In the two losses, Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Bellinger are a combined two for 31. If a couple of those guys don’t break out, this Series could end on Sunday.

—Maybe the Dodgers should drop Bellinger to fifth in the order and move Puig up to fourth.

—Or, do you not panic and stay with the lineup that got you this far? Astros stuck with George Springer at leadoff, and now it’s paying off.

—The bullpen once again did its job, not allowing an earned run, with the only blemish coming on Tony Watson’s throwing error.

—The Dodgers have nine hits in the last two games. The Astros have 26.

—I like Seager, but when a pitcher has walked the bases loaded and looks frazzled, you may want to work the count a bit before grounding into a double play.

—Let’s take a deep breath now. Darvish got lit up, but the Dodgers were in the game until the end. The big worry for me isn’t Darvish, it’s the top four in the lineup.

—Still, it’s only 2-1, and many teams have come back from that to win a World Series. It was just a frustrating night. All you can do is put it behind you and focus on Game 4. The Dodgers have not played their best baseball the last two games and still had chances to win both games.

The gesture

So Yuli Gurriel homers off of Darvish, then returns to the bench, pulls back on his eyes to “look Asian” and calls Darvish an offensive racial term. Stay classy, Yuli.

Let’s hope MLB looks into it and does something to punish him. And the next time he appears in L.A., let’s boo the heck out of him.

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Game 4 preview

Astros vs. Alex Wood

George Springer: .333 (1 for 3)

Josh Reddick: .000 (0 for 4)

Jose Altuve: .000 (0 for 3)

Pitchers: .000 (0 for 2)

Team: .067 (1 for 15), 6 strikeouts.

Dodgers vs. Charlie Morton

Andre Ethier: .600 (3 for 5), 1 homer