Dodgers Team News

Game Recap: Dodgers Lose Slugfest, Buehler Struggles

The Dodgers came into the final game of the four-game series after dropping the first three games of the roadtrip. The Dodgers sent budding ace Walker Buehler up against right-hander Michael Wacha in hopes to avoid a devastating sweep.

1st Inning:

Joc Pederson led things off with a triple and Justin Turner immediately followed up with a sac fly to open the scoring in the first inning of play. Corey Seager then followed up with a single but AJ Pollock struck out and Max Muncy grounded out to end things.

Walker Buehler started the game off strong with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out both Paul Goldschmidt and Paul DeJong.

1-0, Dodgers.

2nd Inning:

Cardinal legend, David Freese, drove a solo homer into the left field seats to double the lead. 108mph off the bat. Two quick outs gave way to a Walker Buehler solo homer. Yes, you read that correctly. Walker Buehler drove an opposite field home run that traveled 409 feet at 104mph off the bat.

Walker Buehler’s strong showing was short-lived. Jose Martinez and Tyler O’Neill started off with singles and Jedd Gyorko walked to load the bases with nobody out. Harrison Bader got hit by a pitch to score the Cardinals first run. Matt Wieters drove a sac fly to cut the lead to one. Tragically, Walker Buehler threw a wild pitch with Kolten Wong up to bat and two runs scored as a result and the Dodgers’ lead vanished in the second.

4-3, Cardinals.

3rd Inning:

Justin Turner singled and Corey Seager doubled to open the third inning. AJ Pollock drove a sac fly to score Turner and tie the game, moving Seager to third. David Freese singled to score Seager. Enrique Hernandez then proceeded to pound a two-run bomb to extend the lead to three.

Walker Buehler was knocked around a bit more in the third. Paul DeJong opened up with a ground-rule double followed by a Jose Martinez base knock. Jedd Gyorko singled to score DeJong and cut the lead to two. Buehler picked up strikeouts of Tyler O’Neill and Matt Wieters.

7-5, Dodgers.

4th Inning:

The Dodgers chased Michael Wacha in the fourth but did not score even with a JT walk and Seager hit-by-pitch. Corey Seager would later leave the game as a result of the plunking.

Buehler led a 1-2-3 effort with a Giovanny Gallegos strikeout.

7-5, Dodgers.

5th Inning:

Max Muncy singled but Gallegos picked up three strikeouts of David Freese, Enrique Hernandez, and Rocky Gale.

Pedro Baez came on in relief for Walker Buehler and surrendered the lead in swift fashion. Three singles in a row from Paul DeJong, Jose Martinez, and Tyler O’Neill loaded the bases. Harrison Bader was hit by a pitch to score a run and cut the lead to one. Matt Wieters then singled to score two runs and give the Cardinals a one-run lead. Kolten Wong later reached on a fielding error to extend the deficit to two.

9-7, Cardinals.

6th Inning:

Tyler Webb, in relief for Giovanny Gallegos, led a 1-2-3 effort capped by a strikeout of Justin Turner.

Yimi Garcia came in to relieve Pedro Baez. He walked Paul DeJong and surrendered a double to Jose Martinez to further the deficit to three. He was able to get out of the rest after getting three quick outs, capped by a Harrison Bader strikeout. Yimi Garcia also tossed a wild pitch to make it a four-run deficit.

11-7, Cardinals.

7th Inning:

Tyler Webb and John Gant worked in conjunction to toss a 1-2-3 inning.

Recent callup Jaime Schultz tossed a nearly clean inning outside of a Kolten Wong walk. He picked up a K of John Gant.

11-7, Cardinals.

8th Inning:

John Gant tossed another 1-2-3 inning including striking out Enrique Hernandez.

Dylan Floro tossed a 1-2-3 inning of his own, capped by Tyler O’Neill striking out.

11-7, Cardinals.

9th Inning:

Andrew Miller picked up three strikeouts of Alex Verdugo, Joc Pederson, and Cody Bellinger to close the game despite a Justin Turner single.

That completes a four game sweep of the Dodgers.

Results

W: Giovanny Gallegos (1-0)

L: Pedro Baez (0-1)

Next Up

The Dodgers open up a homestand against Yasmani Grandal and 2018 NLCS foe, the Milwaukee Brewers. 7:10 PT.

Daniel Preciado

My name is Daniel Preciado and I am 19 years old. I am a sophomore Sport Analytics major and Cognitive Science and Economics dual minor at Syracuse University. When I am not in New York, I live in Whittier, California --- not too far from Chavez Ravine. I am pretty old-school for being an analytics guy and I will always embrace debate. Also, Chase Utley did absolutely nothing wrong.

14 Comments

  1. I will make this short and to the point..GET BAEZ AND GARCIA OFF THIS DAMN ROSTER! With this state of the BP, which BTW let the game get away, we WILL NOT worry about any October baseball if they don’t turn this around and find some relief help! This is as pathetic as it gets. And just so ya know, on MLBN High heat it is said that with Dodgers not having any real big stars on this team or any real star pitching, they won’t survive another WS appearance.

    1. Hi Paul!,
      Yeah you and I (and so many others) agree our team has holes and the bullpen IS a black hole right now……..but consider the source……….that guy on High Heat, he is A BIG Giant fan. He hates the Dodgers and he hates the fact they have been dominating the West for the last six years. This guy predicted the Giants would win the West just LAST season, i couldn’t believe it when he said it. He is never going to give you an objective viewpoint on anything the Dodgers do. Just my opine, I know. But I watch him almost daily, his baseball memory, about baseball events, that is his strength, it’s unreal! His opinions/predictions, not so much…………..

  2. Before I depart here for the day the Dodgers IMHO CANNOT afford to carry a defense only position player, even if it’s a back up catcher because with the 8th reliever here, we are short on position players to begin with. Rocky Gale has to be the worst hitting catcher in history. He wasn’t doing much in minors and although it’s only 1 start, he struck out 3 times today…Dodgers certainly could have brought another fill in for Martin but whatever….

  3. Guess the Walker Buehler to the HOF bandwagon was a little premature. Of course, things might have been different it we had actually had him pitch during Spring Training. Meanwhile we continue to pass on the pitchers who could be a #2 (although with Kershaw starting to fade, we might be in need of an “ace” sooner rather than later). Meanwhile, it is clear that we will win the West again. but then come up short later in the playoffs because – once again – we have done nothing to improve our chances against the better teams.

  4. PaulDodgerFan
    I couldn’t have said it any better. Roberts will never learn after 4 years of bringing in Baez only to lose a lead or the game. The few outs he gets are usually weak hitters or in a situation where the game is decided. Garica is maybe a notch above or below Baez as he can’t get anyone out either. When is the last time you can remember either of these guys getting a 1-2-3 inning when it counted. We couldn’t afford to lose this game after losing the first three and I’ll put this one on Roberts for his choice of relievers again in a game where the results were predictable. Friedman gets to share in this debacle as well for bring Gale up when he could have signed a decent back up catch off the free agency lists. Even if Gale isn’t in the game, you’re right in that he isn’t a threat coming off the bench when we need a hitter. Personally, I’m tired of being pissed off after another loss that could of been avoided especially when Baez and Roberts are tied to the outcome. Will he ever learn, I doubt it and we haven’t seen the last of this sort of thing. Lots of arms were available in free agency that Friedman wouldn’t sign so he could save a few bucks. And to think he says this may be one of the best Dodgers teams ever. We will need all the help we can get if Roberts and Friedman hang around very long.

  5. It is obvious, Friedman has not, and will not, change his ways. Go for the deal. His penny-pinching has cost us. If losing in two WS is enough, then we are good. If being champs is what we want, we might have to look for a different FO.

  6. Mike
    You’re right on. It could be we are focusing too much on what Roberts does when, in his defense, he has to work with what Friedman gives him to work with. Just look what he did two years ago. Dodger fans forget that Friedman could have traded for Verlander but chose Darvish. With Verlander on board, we would have won that world series and he would be a part of our rotation today. Every Dodger fan that knows what is going on with our team knows Friedman didn’t do s— with the bullpen this past winter when he could have. We were weak last year as far as sizing up against playoff teams and with Roberts pulling our starters a little early, that only puts more pressure on the pen. So he goes out and gets an arm that can’t get anyone out this year. Friedman prides himself on finding a broken arm or someone that can’t make any other teams roster. You’re right, he isn’t going to spend the money necessary to bring a World Series title to L.A. and we will have to live with this nonsense for who knows how long before the Dodger brass realize we are in trouble. Pitching, speed and defense are how we won in past years with just enough offense to put a few runs on the board. Baseball execs everywhere know you can’t win it all without pitching, that means starters and a strong bull pen. We love the home run but winning the game is what its all about.

  7. It’s obvious. Guggenheim has never been about the Dodgers or even about baseball. It is a business that is in it, solely for the money. At least McCourt pretended to be interested in the game. Guggenheim picked a F.O. that will keep the team competitive, but with the focus on spending the least amount of money. Season tickets are sold, Time Warner/Spectrum got conned into the $8 BILLION scam Guggenheim pulled on them. Not millions, but BILLIONS. “Oh, sorry, we didn’t know locals wouldn’t be able to watch. It was out of our hands.” But, Guggenheim never forgot to include ESPN from being in their contract agreements. I feel for the players who know the “game” being played here, but can’t do a thing about it. At least I can see some baseball and have my Dodger Dogs, no matter who wins.

      1. Hello NODH. Don’t forget that tomorrow, April 13 is RECORD STORE DAY! Back to this team, Denny and Mike above here have said it all for now anyway. Is it any wonder why Joc went cold after the firat 4 days of this season? No not really, because we can all thank Roberts for cooling off because of the Dodgers sitting him once the LH starting pitching appeared against us.

        1. I’ll be going to Port of Sound Record Shop in Costa Mesa, I plan to buy a record player soon. As far as Joc I had a feeling that would happen they sabotaged what could’ve been a good starting point to a breakout season.

  8. Prior to the start of the season, I stated that the Dodgers were not as good a team as the 2018 and 2017 squads. We are even less capable than I thought!!!!! As I wrote yesterday after the loss, why Baez and Yimi are on the team defies the imagination. Verdugo rarely plays. CT3 is hitting beneath 075, and I am using the word “hitting” loosely. Ryu and Kersh are not 100%. Kiki is platooned all over the field. Rocky Gale is rocky : he should not be on the team. And considering all the talk about Ruiz and other wunderkind catchers, why is Gale even with the Big Club? Three of the Cards top players were not even in the lineup yesterday and we still were beaten. Buehler looked as lost on the mound, as did Jmi and Baez. Kimbrel is still out there, FO!!! Why not make a move that may potentially help the team? Its for darn sure Joe Kelly adds nothing to the BP. All is not lost yet, but fan resentment is increasing. Go Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. “Why not make a move that may potentially help the team?” you have asked.
    The question to ask would be: “How would it benefit Guggenheim to win a World Series?” To sell tickets? They are already selling them. For marketing a product? They are already popular around the nation. For a lucrative TV deal? You can’t get any better than EIGHT-THOUSAND MILLIONS. That is what eight-billion is.
    If the Dodgers lost every game from here on, and no one showed up, they would still be making more money than ever. The Dodgers marketing does not need people in the stands. In fact, nobody at the game would save them from paying employees and maintaining the stadium. Even the players are becoming dissatisfied. Nobody grew up dreaming of playing baseball to be a part-time player. Not even in little league did they “platoon.” To be a Dodger today, you must accept some concessions. One is, you do not play every day. You don’t even play according to your performance. You play according to some modern-day Enigma machine they’ve created.

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