LOS ANGELES — Earlier than the descent into chaos and trash littered the sphere, earlier than Jurickson Profar deked Dodger Stadium right into a frenzy and earlier than the invective spewed over the course of 9 innings, the Dodgers entered October with this actuality.
In the event that they had been going to go anyplace, they must slug their means by it. Twice in as many nights, they’ve been handed three-run deficits and a possibility to show that truism.
Then got here a 10-2 battering in Recreation 2 that was as ugly because the scoreboard. Flashbacks of final October had been delayed by a day earlier than crashing again on Sunday night time.
“We had been s—,” Max Muncy put bluntly.
The beatdown got here with an additional sting. Freddie Freeman’s ankle turned an excessive amount of, forcing him out of motion within the sixth inning. His standing stays unsure, supervisor Dave Roberts stated Sunday night time.
What’s extra: A lineup stirred to life in Recreation 1 went dormant an evening later, floundering in early alternatives in opposition to San Diego Padres starter Yu Darvish earlier than permitting the right-hander to finish seven one-run innings. San Diego’s stars have carried out: Fernando Tatis Jr. has homered twice, bettering to 9-for-14 to begin his postseason, and standout rookie Jackson Merrill and $280 million shortstop Xander Bogaerts related on back-to-back residence runs for good measure.
The Dodgers drop Recreation 2, 10-2. The NLDS is tied, 1-1.
The Padres outslugged, outpitched and out-defensed the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman exited with ankle discomfort. The Dodgers might want to win not less than one at Petco Park to play one other sport right here this yr.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) October 7, 2024
They head to Petco Park with a possibility squandered. Slightly than seize their home-field benefit, they’ll journey down Interstate 5 with a measly cut up. Getting again to Dodger Stadium — be it within the NLCS or a possible Recreation 5 – would require extracting extra out of a lineup that produced the second-most runs in baseball this season.
Doing so, doubtlessly with out Freeman, brings a distinct problem.
It would require superhuman feats from Shohei Ohtani, who swung Recreation 1 with one ferocious swing. It would require extra out of Mookie Betts, who’s now hitless by his previous 22 at-bats. It would require an encore ensemble efficiency of what the Dodgers acquired within the collection opener, the place the membership flexed the size of its lineup and twice rallied for explosive innings.
It’ll additionally require one thing the Dodgers have hardly afforded themselves every of those final three postseason appearances: an opportunity to construct momentum by scoring first.
“It definitely places somewhat bit on the offense,” Roberts stated. “They performed higher, however we’ve acquired to catch a lead too.”
So dire is the Dodgers’ current run of beginning pitching performances that Jack Flaherty’s night time may rely as progress. He left a fastball to the second batter he confronted that Fernando Tatis Jr. pummeled for a house run.
“I missed within the first inning and I threw the ball over the center,” Flaherty stated.
An inning later David Peralta – whose painful proper elbow prevented him from slugging a homer after July a yr in the past for the Dodgers – struck in opposition to his former membership for a two-run homer, clubbing a slider over the plate over the center-field fence for a 3-0 lead.
Flaherty settled in however the injury was largely executed. The prized deadline acquisition allowed 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings, which certified because the longest postseason begin for a Dodger in three years. A bullpen that mixed for a yeoman’s effort in Recreation 1 couldn’t duct tape collectively one other tight ballgame, permitting 4 extra residence runs because the beatdown commenced.
The Dodgers’ pitching was at all times going to be a difficulty. They conceded that a lot within the run-up to this postseason. The subsequent, extra obtrusive difficulty: Will this Dodgers membership slug sufficient to dig out of it?
The Dodgers appeared primed to take action within the first inning when Betts related on a dangling breaking ball from Darvish, lofting a ball towards the seats for what appeared to be a house run. Then Profar drifted over, reached his glove out and caught the ball — which he revealed solely after a pause lengthy sufficient to persuade the Dodger Stadium sound system and Betts that it was a house run, trolling the followers seated close by within the course of.
It continued a depressing stretch of postseason baseball for Betts, who went 0-for-10 final October and has not recorded a postseason hit since main off Recreation 3 of the 2022 NLDS with a single. The previous MVP reached thrice — twice on intentional walks — in Recreation 1 however has but to make his presence identified.
“They’re all outs,” Betts stated of his at-bats. “So that they’re all horrible. I don’t know actually what to say about it. I’m giving my greatest, doing my greatest. Clearly it’s not ok proper now.”
The Dodgers mustered one other prime likelihood an inning later, loading the bases with no outs in opposition to Darvish with a possibility to chew off not less than a piece of their three-run deficit. Gavin Lux hit a sacrifice fly. Tommy Edman lined a ball proper to Padres first baseman Luis Arraez for an inning-ending double play.
Roberts known as the sequence “deflating.”
The at-bats that adopted confirmed it. The Dodgers had simply two runners in scoring place the remainder of the night time. They didn’t report their first extra-base hit till Muncy’s solo residence run with two outs within the ninth inning reduce the deficit to eight.
“We now have to proceed to remain on the assault,” Miguel Rojas stated. “There are going to be days which can be going to be more durable than others. Sadly tonight we didn’t get the hits once we wanted them. However we had been actually shut proper there.”
“That’s not us as a gaggle,” Muncy stated. “We’ve been good all yr. We’ve come again from video games earlier than.”
Shedding Freeman didn’t assist. Roberts stated the primary baseman “simply couldn’t preserve going” after taking part in the early innings with discomfort. His severely sprained ankle stays a long-term difficulty that the Dodgers will deal with as day-to-day. It took loads simply to get Freeman within the lineup for Recreation 1 when he collected a pair of hits and even stole a base.
If Freeman can’t go, the Dodgers will doubtless transfer Muncy to first base, with Kiké Hernández taking part in third. A lineup constructed round three former MVPs loses a few of its luster when considered one of them isn’t accessible.
“It’s not perfect,” Roberts stated.
Neither is the efficiency his membership offered in a sport marred by a seventh inning that noticed a 10-minute delay after a baseball seemed to be thrown in Profar’s path and trash thrown at Tatis. The scene was jarring even amid a rivalry between division rivals squaring off of their third postseason collection in 5 years.
If the Dodgers are to get out of this, it’ll be with their bats. Not barbs.
“We simply acquired to be higher at hitting and protection and pitching,” Rojas stated. “It’s baseball. It’s not boxing.”
(Picture of Max Muncy: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Photos)
