While Clayton Kershaw retired 20 batters in a row after a leadoff double and subsequent walk with nobody out in the bottom of the first inning, the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to generate much of anything against Milwaukee Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson.
The Dodgers’ first threat came on Yasiel Puig’s two-out double in the fifth inning. Nelson retired Brett Eibner to keep the game locked in a scoreless tie. Nelson to that point had scattered two his and collected eight strikeouts.
With the Dodgers trailing, 1-0 in the eighth, Puig led off with an infield single. Eibner followed with a base hit to left field to put two on with nobody out.
Kershaw, who was at 103 pitches through seven innings, was pinch-hit for by Chris Taylor. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts instructed Taylor to square around for a sacrifice bunt.
The decision struck some as curious, considering Taylor’s previous trouble in a similar situation this season. What’s more, he’s been one of the Dodgers’ better hitters this season, and Kershaw is certainly capable in dropping down a bunt.
“I trust C.T. to get the bunt down,” Roberts explained to Alanna Rizzo postgame, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet LA.
“If the count went in his favor, I was going to have him hit. Right there he got behind. Typically, you play more aggressive for a win on the road. But with our bullpen, I was willing to take our bullpen over their bullpen.”
Taylor fouled off a bunt attempt to fall behind in the count 1-2. He swung to foul off the fourth pitch of his at-bat, and ultimately grounded into a force out. Had Jonathan Villar not booted the ball, it likely would’ve been a double play.
No matter, Nelson induced Logan Forsythe into a grounder that was turned for a double play to end the inning. Of course, the second-guessing didn’t reach its full potential, with the Dodgers squeaking out a victory in the 12th inning.
While Roberts, the 2016 National League Manager of the Year, has been an overwhelming success, the tendency to take the bat out of his hitter’s hands remains one of the more curious habits.
