The Los Angeles Dodgers opened their final road trip of the season with a loss where the offense struggled both at the plate and on the bases against the Colorado Rockies.
Trailing 3-0 in the fifth inning, the Dodgers began to rally when Austin Barnes drew a two-out walk. That was followed by a single from Mookie Betts and another from Freddie Freeman.
However, the inning came to an end on that single from Freeman when Betts rounded second despite Barnes being held up at third base. The end result was a base running blunder that cost the Dodgers an opportunity with the bases loaded.
It was a rare mental error from Betts, who is among the best base runners on the team, and the superstar explained it was a decision he made hoping it would help Barnes score, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I thought it was going to be a close play (at home) so I just tried to draw a throw – not a throw but force him to cut it – so he can get me and the run scores. But he (Dino Ebel) didn’t send him. In the grand scheme of things, there’s no way I can go back and forth. My instincts told me one thing and they were wrong.”
In the following inning, J.D. Martinez was also thrown out easily when attempting to score from third base on a fielder’s choice that came as a result of a ground ball to Ryan McMahon at the hot corner.
The Dodgers did end up scoring a run in the sixth inning on a passed ball that allowed Heyward to score, but it proved to be their only run in a 4-1 loss.
Their offense did have multiple opportunities to score with nine hits and two walks in the game, but they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, with the lone hit being Freeman’s single, for a total of 11 runners left on base.
Dodgers rebound in second game of doubleheader
After their 4-1 loss in the first game, the Dodgers came back with an 11-2 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. This time, the Dodgers went 6-for-17 with runners in scoring position while Chris Taylor, David Peralta and Freeman all drove in two runs.
The pitching was also a strength in each game with Ryan Pepiot and Bobby Miller both turning in fantastic outings.
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