Dodgers News: Brett Anderson Frustrated After Start Against Phillies

By losing Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu for the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers quickly became more reliant on Brett Anderson than they likely envisioned when the left-hander signed a one-year deal last December.

After some mixed results in the early stages of the season, Anderson began to find his footing in late May and has since become a dependable third starter in the rotation. Given Anderson’s injury history, that isn’t necessarily a praise one would expect to be heaped on the 27 year old.

However, coming off two consecutive starts in which he tossed seven innings and allowed just one earned run in both outings, Anderson labored against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. “It was a long game yesterday [Monday] and it kind of seemed like we came out lethargic on all sides — defense, offense, myself included,” he said after throwing 87 pitches over five innings.

Anderson was charged with four runs, three earned. An infield single, walk and Justin Turner throwing error allowed the Phillies to load the bases with two outs in the first inning. A Freddy Galvis infield single gave them a 1-0 lead before Anderson managed to get out of the jam.

“I felt good early,” the left-hander said. “I gave up some weird hits and infield singles, which is my thing, I guess.” Anderson also lamented himself for throwing a “tremendously bad” breaking ball to Jeff Francouer that resulted in a two-run double, extending the Phillies’ lead to 3-0 in the third inning.

With the Dodgers trailing 4-0 in the fifth, manager Don Mattingly made the decision to pinch-hit for his starter. It was to no avail as Kiké Hernandez struck out swinging in what finished as a scoreless inning. Taking Anderson out of the game wasn’t indicative of Mattingly’s view of his pitcher’s performance. “I didn’t think he was that bad,” Mattingly said.

Anderson said after the loss his preference was to remain in the game, but understood the move. As for losing to the team with the worst record in all of baseball, Anderson doesn’t believe the Dodgers took the Phillies lightly, and voiced his belief Los Angeles should come away victorious more times than not, regardless of the opponent.

“I think we should win a lot of the games,” Anderson said. “Going into it, I think we have the advantage more times than not.” The Dodgers and Phillies will play two more games before the Milwaukee Brewers arrive for a three-game set.

Yasmani Grandal On Making The NL All-Star Team