Alex Wood took the mound Friday night against the Atlanta Braves a perfect 11-0 this season in 16 games (14 starts). He became the organization’s first starting pitcher to open a season 10-0 since Don Newcombe in 1955.
Wood was handed his first loss of the season, which coincided with the Los Angeles Dodgers dropping a second consecutive game for the first time since losing three straight from June 4-6. Not only did Wood endure his first blemish, the outing was unlike any seen from the 26-year-old this season.
“I just didn’t have my command like normal,” Wood explained. “I didn’t execute, got behind, and they have a quality lineup. It was a tough one. I felt normal, good, confident. It was just one of those nights.”
There were early signs suggesting the Dodgers were in store for a long night. Ender Inciarte opened the game with an infield single.
Johan Camargo followed with a double that scored Inciarte from first base, but only because Yasmani Grandal lost control of the ball when he went to apply the tag. Otherwise, Inciarte was likely out.
Then with runners on first and second base with two outs in the fourth inning, Braves starter Jaime Garcia hit a routine popup roughly one-third of the way up the first-base line. Wood was forced to attempt to make the catch, and he dropped it, allowing two runs to score.
“Cody just lost it, I think. Dark sky, it’s tough at night sometimes,” Wood said. “I looked at the last second to see if anybody was going to catch it and heard Yas yelling my name. Instincts take over and you try to catch it. In retrospect, you probably won’t see me attempt to catch a fly ball anymore.”
That blunder paled in comparison to what transpired in the fifth inning, however. With two outs and the bases loaded, an 0-2 pitch to Garcia was sent into the pavilion in right-center field. The grand slam knocked Wood out of the game and gave the Braves a commanding lead in what finished a 12-3 victory.
While the Dodgers took their share of lumps in a second straight game, and Wood looked nothing of the pitcher that earned his first All-Star selection, the alarms were hardly triggered.
“You’re not going to win them all,” Wood said. “No panic here.”
