Bullpen Falters And Dodgers Lose First Home Series Since August 2014
Tony Cruz opened up with a leadoff single in the fifth, but the Cardinals again couldn’t get a run across. Lynn laid down a sacrifice bunt, which was followed by a Wong grounder to second. Greinke picked up his sixth strikeout to end the inning.
Greinke collected his second hit of the night with a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth. As Lynn continued to look uncomfortable on the mound, Joc Pederson drew a walk to put two on with no outs. Lynn battled however, getting Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner all to fly out, ending the inning and keeping the Cardinals within two runs.
The Cardinals quickly rewarded Lynn for getting out of the jam behind a Jhonny Peralta solo home run with one out in the sixth that cut the Dodgers’ lead in half. With his pitch count soaring, Greinke retired the next two batters to limit the damage.
Mitch Harris replaced Lynn in the bottom of the sixth and issued a leadoff walk to Ethier. Yasmani Grandal nearly provided some breathing room for the Dodgers, but his fly ball was caught on the warning track in center field.
Ethier moved into scoring position by stealing a base for the first time since Aug. 6, 2014. It nearly paid off as Rollins singled to right field, but Jason Heyward gunned Ethier down at the plate. After giving up a one-out single to Cruz, Greinke struck out pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk.
Greinke’s night came to an end at 99 pitches as Adam Liberatore and Howie Kendrick entered as part of a double switch for Greinke and Hernandez. Liberatore struck out Wong to end the inning, preserving the Dodgers’ 2-1 lead.
Kendrick’s first at-bat since missing the last three game with a gimpy right knee ended in a strikeout to start the bottom of the seventh. Siegrest also struck out Pederson looking and Puig swinging for a scoreless inning out of the bullpen.
After Liberatore walked Carpenter to open the eighth he turned the ball over to Juan Nicasio. The right-hander didn’t fare much better as he promptly gave up an RBI double to Holliday that tied the game. Holliday was also able to take an extra base as Puig let the ball roll by him.
As they did Friday night, the Cardinals cashed in on Dodger miscue, this time on Peralta’s RBI single to left with the infield drawn in. Nicasio’s night worsended as then allowed and RBI double to Reynolds and was subsequently removed from the game. Yimi Garcia came on and ended the inning on a double play by catching a soft liner and throwing over to second.
Randy Choate retired Gonzalez for the first out in the bottom of the eighth before Matt Belisle was the next man called on. The right-hander came on and got Turner to ground out, then struck out Ethier.
Trevor Rosenthal protected the Cardinals’ 4-2 lead in the ninth, giving his team their fifth win over the Dodgers in seven games this season, and handing Los Angeles their first home series loss since August 2014.
[divide]Don Mattingly Says He Isn’t Scared Of The Cardinals
Don Mattingly you are the worst manager in the major leagues. Metheny with 20 concussions can out think you. Nicasio…That’s the best you could do to defend a one run lead?…pretend like you want to win all the time And quit playing everybody like this is AYSOI know there are lot of injuries but right now you’re not putting your best 8 available players on the field.all of the sudden you developed a hard on for Guerrero and you won’t let him play. Shame on you
I totally agree with you, why has Callaspo, Heisy and Kike been played over Guerrero?In a all right handed lineup, that Mattingly made to face a lefty, he played Callaspo over Guerrero! Callaspo is batting 056 against left handers! Guerrero ranks third on the team in RBIs and HRs! Mattingly gave four at bats to Callaspo, Heisy, Rollins, instead of Guerrero! All of the above hitters are hitting at, and below the Mendosa line! I know that Guerrero has been shakey in left field, but he had only played left field six times in AAA last season, a season that was broken up,by the attack on Guerrero, by the a teammate! I know Guerrero played left field in spring training, and some this year, but that’s not much! It is really hard to learn to play any new position in the big leagues! Guerrero’s best position is third base, and he has worked hard to improve his defense at third! Why has Mattingly not played Guerrero at third, and when was the last time that Mattingly has played Guerrero at third base? With the Dodgers struggling to score runs, why is Guerrero not playing! Playing Guerrero at third base, would be good for Guerrero, as well as for the Dodgers! Guerrero would probably be much more confident playing third, and that might even improve his bat. The Dodgers would benefit from playing Guerrero at third, because Guerrero plays third much better than left field. Playing Guerrero at third, there would be no real big take away on defense, and this would make Guerrero ‘s bat look so much better! I thought they traded Uribe, to give more playing time for Turner and Guerrero. Just think about this, Guerrero in much fewer at bats, ranks third in RBIs and HRs on the Dodgers, and only trails Gonzales, with one less HR! It seems like Mattingly is not learning from his mistakes! He continues to not know, when to pull or keep the starting pitching , and he doesn’t seem to know his pitchers in the bullpen! Also, the front office needs get some better arms for Mattingly, in the bullpen, and an arm for the starting pitching!