The Dodgers suffered their first shutout in 74 video games Wednesday.
It wasn’t for a scarcity of possibilities late within the sport.
In every of the ultimate two innings, the Dodgers had runners on first and second with one out — a base hit away each occasions from erasing a one-run deficit in opposition to the Washington Nationals.
Nonetheless, the staff got here up empty in every scenario, sealing a 1-0 defeat at Nationals Park that denied them the prospect of a sequence sweep and squandered a formidable six-inning, one-run begin from left-hander Julio Urías.
On a day Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Cody Bellinger had been all out of the Dodgers beginning lineup — Betts and Smith each had scheduled days off, whereas Bellinger didn’t begin for a second straight sport due to an sickness — all three nonetheless had vital at-bats off the bench late.
Betts was summoned to steer off within the eighth, however struck out wanting. The Dodgers manufactured an opportunity later within the body, after Trea Turner singled and stole second, and Freddie Freeman was deliberately walked.
However Justin Turner popped out and Edwin Ríos struck out swinging.
Although supervisor Dave Roberts stated he briefly thought of it, Betts wasn’t saved within the sport for the ultimate inning.
Conserving Betts’ streaking bat — he was batting .345 this month and hit two dwelling runs Tuesday — out of the lineup within the first place had been the harder choice for Roberts on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely not straightforward to relaxation a participant of his magnitude,” he stated.
Whereas Roberts stated Betts nonetheless needed to play, regardless of making 40 begins within the staff’s first 42 video games, the supervisor had additionally been planning to offer him a time off this week. And even with the hindsight of the shutout defeat, Roberts stated postgame he would have made the identical choice.
“I’m the primary advocate to say that each sport is vital and also you attempt to win each sport, however there are prices,” Roberts stated. “I do consider that within the brief and long run, he’s going to remain wholesome and it’s going to permit him to be extra productive the remainder of the way in which.”
Roberts acknowledged that, “in a vacuum, for one sport, to not have him within the lineup, might it have made a distinction? Certain. However I nonetheless believe within the guys we ran on the market.”
“And,” Roberts added, “we nonetheless had possibilities.”
Maybe none was greater than within the prime of the ninth, when the Dodgers had the tying and go-ahead runs on base with one out.
Bellinger had the primary likelihood to avoid wasting the day, having entered the sport within the seventh after battling a cough and different signs the final couple days (Bellinger stated postgame he's feeling adequate to start out on this weekend’s sequence in Arizona).
After getting forward within the depend in opposition to Nationals nearer Tanner Rainey, nonetheless, Bellinger flied out to middle.
Had Betts stayed within the sport, his spot within the order would have come up subsequent. As a substitute, it was Smith who stepped to the plate for the primary time all day, scorching a deep fly ball to proper solely to look at it die on the fringe of the wall.
It was the Dodgers’ ninth at-bat of the day with a runner in scoring place. They didn't report a success in any of them.
“Over the course of 162, I feel that’s gonna occur,” Bellinger stated. “It’s simply a type of days.”
Earlier within the day, Urías had saved the Dodgers within the sport. He didn’t surrender a success by 4 innings. The lone run he gave up didn’t come till the sixth, after a stroll, bunt single and RBI hit from César Hernández to start the inning.
Urías nonetheless acquired by the body. With one out, he froze Nationals star Juan Soto with a late-breaking curveball for a referred to as third strike. Then, after a motivational mound go to from Roberts, he retired the aspect when Nelson Cruz hit a grounder that led to a rundown on the bases.
“It gave me lots of confidence [for Roberts] to come back out, ask me how I used to be feeling and depart me on the market,” Urías stated by an interpreter. “Give me the chance to get out of it.”
The Dodgers lineup couldn’t get Urías off the hook. Erick Fedde blanked them for six innings. And although the Nationals bullpen bent after he exited, the pitching workers with MLB’s second-highest staff ERA didn’t break.
“They pulled the suitable strings,” Roberts stated. “And so they beat us as we speak.”
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