On a wet, muddy infield at a rain-soaked Wrigley Field on Sunday, the weakness was highlighted repeatedly before their eventual 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs was delayed for nearly three hours in the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the first inning, an error by first baseman Freddie Freeman contributed to three unearned runs, all of them courtesy of a bases-loaded double from former Dodgers prospect Michael Busch.
In the third inning, a ground ball that got past Mookie Betts at shortstop led to another unearned run, the fourth in a five-run start from right-hander Gavin Stone.
The frustration ultimately peaked in the final moments of the fourth.
In the first at-bat after an extended mid-inning pause, during which the grounds crew futilely tried salvaging the playing surface by spreading around several bags’ worth of fresh dirt, third baseman Miguel Rojas went to his knees to field a grounder before misfiring on a throw to first.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
That led to yet another run, making it 6-0 Cubs.
Only then did the umpires call for a delay, which lasted 2 hours, 51 minutes.
As Rojas was walking off the field following the stoppage, he traded a few choice words with the umpires — seemingly (and understandably) upset they let the game continue despite the poor conditions.
A bundled-up Dave Roberts also huddled with the umpires for a minute before he and the team retreated back to the clubhouse.
While the rain might have impacted the Dodgers (8-4) defensively Sunday, their play in the field has been as inconsistent as expected through the first couple weeks of the season.
Even before their delayed series finale against the Cubs (6-3), the team’s seven errors gave them the 13th-worst fielding percentage in the majors.
All but one of those miscues were committed on the dirt: Two from Max Muncy, one each from Freeman and Betts (who is playing shortstop regularly for his first time as a professional), and even a couple catcher interference calls against Will Smith and Austin Barnes.
Now, the only infielder without an error is second baseman Gavin Lux — who, ironically, was the biggest defensive question mark in spring training, leading to a position switch between him and Betts at the two middle infield positions.
According to Sports Info Solutions, the Dodgers infield as a whole was worth negative-one defensive runs saved this year.
Whether the rain was a valid excuse or not, Sunday’s performance won’t help those metrics.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Cubs in the first inning.
(Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
Pitching plans for Minnesota series
Before the start of Sunday’s game, Roberts said that newly acquired reliever Connor Brogdon will join the Dodgers during their series in Minnesota against the Twins this week.
That means the Dodgers will have to make a roster move before Monday’s opener, though Roberts wasn’t yet ready to announce who in the team’s current bullpen would be making way.
Brogdon, a 29-year-old right-hander the team got in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, has a career 3.88 ERA in 142 big-league appearances.
The one thing the Dodgers won’t need in Minnesota: A bullpen game.
Unlike last week, when the Dodgers used a bullpen game to give their starting pitchers an extra day between outings, the team will pitch Bobby Miller on normal four days’ rest Wednesday, since he threw only 58 pitches in a 12/3-inning start on Friday.
“The way it played out, it just made a lot of sense,” Roberts said of pitching Miller twice on this week’s road trip. “Fortunately or unfortunately, we didn’t have to have that conversation” about another bullpen game.
Walker Buehler continues rehab
After pitching 42/3 scoreless innings for triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, pitcher Walker Buehler will need at least one rehab outing, as expected, Roberts said.
Saturday’s outing was Buehler’s second minor-league appearance this year, as he continues to work his way back from a 2022 Tommy John surgery.
Roberts said Buehler “threw the ball really well” Saturday, when he struck out six batters while giving up two hits and issuing no walks.
“He came out of it really well,” Roberts added. “Really good outing for him.”
The Dodgers have been expecting Buehler to need four rehab starts before making his long-awaited return to an MLB mound. His next rehab outing will either be back with Oklahoma City or with single-A Rancho Cucamonga. After that, the Dodgers will evaluate where the two-time All-Star right-hander is at in his recovery.