Pitching woes prove costly in Dodgers’ loss to the Mets
For the first time in five years, the Dodgers have a losing record beyond the opening series of a season.
And as their 8-6 loss to the New York Mets on Monday night at Dodger Stadium showed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint just one explanation.
The offense came to life early, scoring six runs in the first six innings to put the Dodgers (8-9) in front three times. Late in the game, however, the offense went silent, turning back into a top-heavy unit incapable of producing enough key hits.
The pitching was even worse, with a five-run fiasco from starter Dustin May quickly being topped by a seventh-inning debacle from a sputtering, unreliable bullpen, as a game-tying balk from Phil Bickford was followed by back-to-back RBIs for the Mets (11-6).
It’s still early, and the Dodgers are indeed short-handed. Will Smith (concussion) missed his fourth consecutive game, though he could be back as soon as Thursday. Tony Gonsolin (ankle) will begin a rehabilitation assignment this week, lining him up for a return in early May. And Chris Taylor left Monday’s game early because of a side injury that could cost him at least a couple of games.
There are other reasons, however, that the Dodgers are playing like a shell of their typically dominant selves.
“They’re frustrated,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Because we know what we’re capable of.”
There were flashes early Monday.
Freddie Freeman ended a two-for-20 slump with a solo home run in the first. Catcher Austin Wynns marked his Dodger debut with a two-run double in the second, erasing Daniel Vogelbach’s two-run blast a half-inning before.
But the Dodgers’ shaky pitching failed to make the lead last.
May gave up three runs in the fourth and ended his night with eight hits yielded and just one strikeout in 5 2/3 innings.
Then, after home runs from Freeman in the fifth (his first multihomer game with the Dodgers) and Max Muncy in the sixth put the Dodgers back ahead 6-5, their bullpen struggled again.
Alex Vesia gave up three straight singles to load the bases to start the seventh. Bickford then came set twice for a balk that forced home the tying run, setting up Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso to drive home a run each in the next two at-bats.
The Dodgers had a chance to rally in the eighth, with James Outman’s double putting the tying runs in scoring position with only one out.
But Muncy popped out, Miguel Vargas struck out and a club that won 111 games last year stumbled to a well-deserved sub-.500 record.
Dodgers leave two in scoring position in eighth inning
The Mets did not score in the top of the eighth, and Brooks Raley stayed on the mound to start the bottom of the inning. Freddie Freeman singled to left. J.D. Martinez struck out looking. James Outman, who took over in left at the top of the inning, hit a fly ball that lodged between the padding and scoreboard in right for a ground-rule double. Thee right fielder could have picked it up, but smartly raised his hands as if it was unplayable, preventing Freeman from scoring. Max Muncy popped to second. Right-hander Drew Smith replaced Raley. Miguel Vargas struck out swinging to end the threat.
Score after eight: Mets 8, Dodgers 6
Mets retake the lead in the seventh
Tomas Nido singled to left to start the top of the seventh. Brandon Nimmo followed with a single to third, and Starling Marte with a single to left to load the bases. Phil Bickford replaced Alex Vesia. And Bickford balked on his first pitch, every runner moves up a base, so we are tied again. Second and third, nobody out. Francisco Lindor grounded to first, scoring Nimmo, and the Mets lead again. Pete Alonso singled to left, scoring Marte. It’s 8-6 Mets. Jeff McNeil popped to second. Mark Canha walked. Tommy Pham walked to load the bases. That brings in left-hander Justin Bruihl to pitch to Brett Baty, bases loaded, two out, his first game with L.A. this season. So, no pressure. Baty flied to center.
With Brooks Raley pitching for the Mets, Miguel Rojas grounded to second. Austin Wynns struck out. Mookie Betts flied to right.
Score after seven: Mets 8, Dodgers 6
Max Muncy homers to give Dodgers the lead
Dustin May’s night came to an end in the top of the sixth. Pete Alonso grounded to second. Jeff McNeil doubled down the right-field line. Mark Canha grounded to short. Left-hander Alex Vesia replaced May to face the left-handed hitting Daniel Vogelbach. Tommy Pham hit for Vogelbach and was walked intentionally. Brett Baty struck out swinging.
Chris Taylor field to right in the bottom of the sixth. Max Muncy homered to DEEP right. I couldn’t tell how deep, because the Dodgers like to show off their fancy new lights by turning them off when it’s obvious a ball is a homer. Because, who wants to watch a home run land, I guess. Miguel Vargas grounded to third. Trayce Thompson flied to right.
Score after six: Dodgers 6, Mets 5
Dodgers tie it up in fifth
The Dodgers evened it up in the fifth. Miguel Rojas grounded to short. Austin Wynns struck out. Mookie Betts singled to center. Freddie Freeman homered to left-center, his second of the game. J.D. Martinez grounded to short.
Score after five: Dodgers 5, Mets 5
Mets storm back to take lead in fourth inning
Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth. Pete Alonso singled to center, Lindor to third. Jeff McNeil singled to left, scoring Lindor, Alonso to second. Mark Canha grounded to first, runners moving up. Daniel Vogelbach grounded to second, scoring Alonso. Brett Baty singled to right, scoring McNeil. Tomas Nido lined to short. It’s 5-3 Mets.
Through four innings, Dustin May has given up five runs, six hits and has struck out one.
In the bottom half, Max Muncy flied to center, Miguel Vargas grounded to short and Trayce Thompson struck out swinging.
Score after four: Mets 5, Dodgers 3
Dodgers still lead after three innings
Tomas Nido flied to right, Brandon Nimmo grounded to first and Starling Marte flied to left as the Mets were retired quickly in the top of the third.
In the bottom of the third, Freddie Freeman grounded to short, J.D. Martinez lined to second and Chris Taylor (stop me if you’ve heard this before) struck out swinging.
Score after three: Dodgers 3, Mets 2
Austin Wynns’ first hit as a Dodger gives them a 3-2 lead
Pete Alonso led off the top of the second with a single, but was erased when Jeff McNeil grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Mark Canha singled. Daniel Vogelbach homered to left-center, making it 2-1 Mets. Brett Baty grounded to first.
Max Muncy singled to lead off the bottom half. Miguel Vargas grounded to third, forcing Muncy at second. Trayce Thompson singled to right, Vargas to second. Miguel Rojas struck out swinging. Austin Wynns, in his first at-bat with the Dodgers, doubled to right-center, scoring both runners. Welcome to the Dodgers, Austin Wynns. Mookie Betts grounded to short.
Score after two: Dodgers 3, Mets 2
Dodgers take 1-0 lead
After the Mets went three up, three down in the top of the first against Dustin May, the Dodgers took their turn.
It appeared Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch, but it was overturned on appeal. Joe Davis pointed out something very interesting. Mets manager Buck Showalter hired a guy who used to handle video replay reviews for MLB to tell him whether to challenge a ruling during games. Since then, Showalter has the highest success rate for appeals in the majors.
Betts then struck out.
Freddie Freeman, in a 2 for 20 slump with eight strikeouts, homered to right.
J.D. Martinez popped to second. Chris Taylor struck out.
Score after one: Dodgers 1, Mets 0
Tonight’s Dodgers-Mets starting lineups
A look at tonight’s starting lineups:
Tony Gonsolin set for triple-A rehab stint; when might he return?
Tony Gonsolin will begin what the Dodgers hope will be a two-start minor league rehabilitation stint for triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, a step that should put the All-Star right-hander on a course to return to the Dodgers’ rotation in early May.
Gonsolin, who suffered a left ankle sprain during spring training fielding practice March 6, had been throwing to hitters at the team’s spring training complex in Phoenix for several weeks.
He returned to Los Angeles on Monday and threw a 32-pitch bullpen session and completed some defensive drills at Dodger Stadium before Monday night’s game against the New York Mets.
Manager Dave Roberts said Gonsolin, who went 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 24 starts during his breakout 2022 season, will fly to Albuquerque, N.M., on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw four innings and about 60 pitches in Thursday night’s game against the Isotopes.
Barring a setback, Gonsolin will throw five innings and about 75 pitches Sunday against Albuquerque or April 25 against Sacramento in Oklahoma City. If all goes well, Gonsolin “should be back by early May,” Roberts said.
Dodgers shake up bullpen: Justin Bruihl recalled; Andre Jackson optioned
The Dodgers shook up their pitching staff for the first time this season Monday, calling up left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl and sending down long reliever Andre Jackson.
Manager Dave Roberts said the move was matchup-driven for the Dodgers’ current series against the New York Mets and their trip to Chicago to face the Cubs later this week.
“There’s some lefties that we want to make sure that we’re equipped to handle,” Roberts said.
Though Roberts insisted Jackson’s demotion wasn’t the result of his last outing — in which he gave up four home runs in two innings to the Cubs and realized afterward he was tipping pitches — the manager acknowledged it would be better for Jackson to rectify the issue in triple A.
“He’ll be back at some point,” Roberts said.
Will Smith (concussion) feeling better; could be back by Thursday
A day after landing on the seven-day injured list because of a concussion, Dodgers catcher Will Smith said Monday that he was feeling better after experiencing lingering symptoms over the weekend and plans to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip to Chicago.
“I feel pretty good right now,” said Smith, who is eligible to return to the active roster as soon as Thursday’s series opener at Wrigley Field. “We’re just kind of playing it safe. I don’t want to get whacked again in the face. Hopefully a couple more days and we’ll be in there.”
Smith hasn’t played since the Dodgers’ road trip to San Francisco last week, when he took a couple hard foul balls off his mask behind the plate. Initially, there was no indication that Smith was ailing. He played all 27 innings of the series. In Wednesday night’s finale, he reached base three times and recorded his 12th RBI of the season.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, though, Smith didn’t feel right. He was experiencing headaches, dizziness and other “typical concussions stuff.”
Smith, who had never been concussed before, said he did pass a series of concussion tests over the weekend but wants to be back at 100% before making a return behind the plate.
“I don’t want to rush this,” he said. “I think there are plenty of things that you can play through and deal with. But head stuff, concussion stuff, is not one that anyone should mess with.”
Smith, whose IL stint was backdated to Thursday, said he could “possibly” be back in action this Thursday but that there is still a progression he has to complete first.
“We’ll see how I recover after today,” Smith said shortly after completing a full workout that included taking swings in a batting cage and playing catch on the field. “Just kind of day by day.”
The Dodgers could certainly benefit from a quick return from the 28-year-old.
This past weekend, the team managed just six runs and 16 hits while dropping two of three games against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium — the club’s lowest-scoring three-game home series since 2019.
Smith’s absence wasn’t the only factor, not with Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts slumping, early-season rookie sensations James Outman and Miguel Vargas cooling off, and team-wide production issues with runners in scoring position.
Still, without their burgeoning backstop anchoring the batting order, the Dodgers looked thin at the plate. Their lineup lacked the punch it had displayed during the first couple of weeks of the season.
‘We haven’t got it going.’ Dodgers’ offensive woes continue in loss to Cubs
It was former NFL coach Bill Parcells who coined the phrase, “You are what your record says you are,” a quote that perfectly fits an inconsistent and clearly flawed Dodgers team that suffered another frustrating loss Sunday, this one a 3-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs before 52,180 at Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers, winners of 111 games last season, have lost six of their last nine games, including two of three in the series against the Cubs, to fall to 8-8 on the season. They never know what they’re going to get from an offense that has scored eight runs or more in five wins and two runs or fewer in five losses.
Neither the rotation nor the bullpen is as deep or dominant as it has been in recent years. The defense has been a little spotty, as evidenced by an error that led to an unearned run in the fifth inning Sunday. Opponents have run wild on the Dodgers, stealing 23 bases in 25 attempts, including nine by the Cubs in this series.
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
