Dodgers Dugout: A great game, then an embarrassing game. Who’s ready for Game 3?

Sports Desk

1 month ago

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Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.

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Game 1 was an amazing game, back and forth, between great teams.

Game 2 was … less amazing, with the further embarrassment of a couple of Dodger fans acting like idiots.

So let’s look back at the first two games with these random thoughts I jotted down as the games were happening.

Game 1

—OK, who thought “Here we go again!” after the Padres took a 3-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1? C’mon, raise your hand. You there in the back, you’re not raising your hand, but I bet you should?

—And why did it have to be Manny Machado who hit the home run? Anyone but Machado. Because there’s an old baseball saying, I believe coined by Yogi Berra back in the 50s: “Nobody likes Manny Machado.”

—And who thought “Wow, this year might be different!” when Shohei Ohtani hit that three-run homer to tie the score? Wow, everyone’s hand went up really fast!

—Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked a bit nervous. After the game, Dave Roberts indicated that Yamamoto was tipping his pitches, saying “There are some things that I think we’re going to dig into, because I think at second base they had some things with his glove [that were] giving away some pitches,” Roberts said. “We’re going to clean that up. That’s part of baseball. So it’s on us to kind of clean that up and not give away what pitch he’s going to throw.”

—This has been a problem all season for Yamamoto. You’d think they’d have it cleaned up by now.

—After his homer, Ohtani showed something I have been begging the Dodgers to show for many postseasons now: A little emotion. OK, a lot of emotion. I hope everyone was out of the way of the bat after he tossed it aside about as hard as he hit the ball. That was the extra oomph needed to keep the crowd in the game.

—Before Game 1, the Padres said they had a plan as to how to stop Ohtani, but that they weren’t telling the media. They didn’t tell some of the Game 1 pitchers either, apparently.

—I like the team of Joe Davis and John Smoltz. Davis does a good job of switching from Dodgers broadcaster to national broadcaster, and Smoltz is very prescient in what he says. He called more than one thing before it happened. Smoltz said Yamamoto was holding the ball too long, causing his splitter to bounce early and his fastball to stay straight. And then, the home run.

—Are we absolutely sure Freddie Freeman has a sprained ankle and this wasn’t some elaborate ruse?

—Freddie, we appreciate the effort, but really, don’t try to steal again. Protect that leg.

—When the Padres got the lead back almost immediately, there wasn’t the same sense of dread as when they took the 3-0 lead.

—Hey look, for all you small ball fans out there, a bunt single started the fourth-inning rally that gave the Dodgers the lead. Way to go, Tommy Edman.

—The Padres walked Mookie Betts twice intentionally to get to Freeman. The way Betts has played in the postseason the last couple of years, I’d probably take my chances with him at this point.

—From the 2021 National League Championship Series through Game 1, Betts is six for 50, a cool .120 batting average. He went 0 for 11 last year. Two for 14 in 2022. Four for 23 in the 2021 NLCS. The Dodgers lost all those series. His last hit was Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS, when he went one for five.

—The Dodgers have two guys who definitely rise to the moment: Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández, who got the go-ahead single in the fourth inning.

—How about the bullpen: Six innings, two hits, no runs, four walks, seven strikeouts. At this rate though, their arms will be dead by the NLCS.

—And how about Roberts not sticking with a pitcher for too long? He got Michael Kopech out of there as soon as he could, since Kopech couldn’t find the strike zone with a map and GPS.

—The Padres aren’t a good team for Kopech. He is effectively wild against free-swinging teams, but the Padres are very disciplined and don’t swing at pitches other teams would.

—Of course, other teams wouldn’t have been swinging at Kopech’s wild offering. Hopefully just Game 1 jitters.

—The Dodgers took advantage of a Padres mistake, the Machado error, to score an insurance run. That’s what winning teams do.

—The bottom third of the lineup went five for 12 with two runs scored. If they keep doing that, the Dodgers will win a lot of games.

—Blake Treinen had some nasty stuff to close out Game 1. But will he be available for Game 2? (Turns out, it didn’t matter).

Game 2

—Everyone on the Fox pregame show seems to be underestimating the Dodgers.

—Am I watching a repeat of Game 1 by accident? It’s 3-0 already.

—Note to Dodgers fans: When a an opponent leans over the fence and into the stands, you can slap his glove away to help your team get a home run. Come on people!

—That catch by Jurickson Profar was great, though. It seemed to suck the life out of the crowd, who didn’t realize Betts didn’t have a homer until after he crossed second base. They were even playing the home run music.

—Oh sure, now Yu Darvish decides to pitch well in Dodger Stadium in a postseason game.

—Bases loaded and nobody out, you’ve got to get more than one run. Though both balls that turned into outs were hit hard.

—The plate umpire had a much narrower strike zone for the Dodgers pitchers than the Padres. That’s not why they lost, but it was noticeable.

—There’s no way that Jack Flaherty was throwing at Fernando Tatis Jr. in that situation. Machado needs to calm down. As Yogi Berra always said “Nobody like Manny Machado.”

—I do believe Flaherty used some grown-up language after he struck out Machado.

—For the middle innings of Game 2, it seemed both teams needed a break from the tension and just made a bunch of outs.

—If I’m Allstate, I hire Miguel Rojas for my next series of commercials. Because you are in good hands with Miguel Rojas.

—Tough to see Freeman come out of the game earlier. Afterward, Roberts said said he expects Freeman to play in Game 3, but he might rest Freeman in Game 4 if the Padres start a left-hander.

—Whatever idiot in left field threw a ball at Profar should be arrested and spend a few days in jail. That person does not represent Dodger fandom and is a complete loser. Profar made a great catch. Sure, doing a bunny hop and hiding the ball might have been over the top, but you don’t throw a ball at him later like a coward. And, Profar later offered the fan who he grabbed the home run from a ball. Trying to make peace. The fan threw that ball back onto the field, not toward Profar. The ball thrown toward Profar came later, from a different person.

—And the person or persons who threw objects (including, reportedly, a bottle) at Tatis. Ridiculous. None of these “fans” should be allowed in Dodger Stadium ever again.

—Of course, there’s the incident in 2022 where a Padres fan threw something at Cody Bellinger when he made a catch in left-center, so Padres fans don’t all have clean hands here.

—At some point, the Dodgers need to get a handle on their alcohol sales. Evading their set limits is so easy, it’s a joke.

—I was getting ready to write about how great the Dodger bullpen has been, and then Michael Grove came into the game.

—At some point, if they want to win this series, the Dodgers need to get a quality start from someone. Hey, Sandy Koufax is sitting right there in the stands … his arm must be fresh.

—From the 2021 NLCS through Game 2, Betts is six for 54, a cool .111 batting average.

—You have to hope the poor Game 2 outing doesn’t destroy Edgardo Henriquez‘s confidence. He has a bright future.

—But in all honesty, the loss in Game 2 was my fault. My daughter Hannah went to the Huntington Beach Air Show on Saturday and took her son. For Game 2, she left my grandson with me and my wife. That threw off all the mojo. Because I wore my lucky Dodger socks, so everything else was fine.

—It’s probably better to lose 10-2 than a heartbreaking 5-4 loss. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

—I feel bad for any Dodgers fans who saved all their money to go to one postseason game and chose this one.

—Whoever wins Game 3 will win the series.

—My prediction remains: Dodgers in five.

A look at Dodgers starting pitching the past few postseasons:

2024 NLDS (Series tied, 1-1)

Game 1 (Dodgers 7, San Diego 5)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, three IP, five hits, five ER, two walks, one strikeout

Game 2 (San Diego 10, Dodgers 2)
Jack Flaherty, 5 1/3 IP, five hits, four ER, two walks, two strikeouts
Series: 8 1/3 IP, 10 hits, nine ER, four walks, three strikeouts. ERA: 9.72

2023 NLDS (Arizona wins, 3-0)

Game 1 (Arizona 11, Dodgers 2)
Clayton Kershaw, 1/3 IP, six hits, six ER, one walk, no strikeouts

Game 2 (Arizona 4, Dodgers 2)
Bobby Miller, 1 2/3 IP, four hits, three ER, two walks, one strikeout

Game 3 (Arizona 4, Dodgers 2)
Lance Lynn, 2 2/3 IP, six hits, four ER, no walks, one strikeout

Series: 4 2/3 IP, 16 hits, 13 ER, three walks, two strikeouts. ERA: 25.11

2022 NLDS (Padres win, 3-1)

Game 1 (Dodgers 5, San Diego 3)
Julio Urías, five IP, four hits, three ER, no walks, six strikeouts

Game 2 (San Diego 5, Dodgers 3)
Clayton Kershaw, five IP, six hits, three ER, no walks, six strikeouts

Game 3 (San Diego 2, Dodgers 1)
Tony Gonsolin, 1 1/3 IP, four hits, one ER, one walk, one strikeout

Game 4 (San Diego 5, Dodgers 3)
Tyler Anderson, five IP, two hits, zero ER, two walks, six strikeouts

Series: 16 1/3 IP, 16 hits, seven ER, three walks, 19 strikeouts. ERA: 3.86

Manny throws at Dave?

Jack Harris reports that before the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 2, Manny Machado threw a ball toward the Dodgers dugout between innings that almost hit manager Dave Roberts. This was after Jack Flaherty struck out Machado the half-inning before and shouted expletives toward him on his way back to the dugout.

“I don’t know his intent. I don’t want to speak for him,” Roberts said. “But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it.”

According to Machado: “I throw balls all the time into the dugouts, both dugouts. I mean they have foul balls, you know, you throw the ball back in there.”

Of course, that’s not really answering whether he was throwing at Roberts.

It just goes to prove what Yogi Berra always said, “Nobody likes Manny Machado.”

You can watch video of the incident and decide for yourself here.

No Clayton Kershaw

The Dodgers announced before Game 1 that Clayton Kershaw has been ruled out for the entire postseason. It’s a shame, but it’s probably the best for everyone involved. Hopefully he gets healthy in the offseason and exercises his player option for 2025.

Games 3 and 4 starters

The Dodgers will be facing Michael King in Game 3 and, at the time this newsletter was written, have not announced a Game 4 starter. Here’s how each Dodger has done against King.

Kiké Hernández, two for four, two strikeouts
Miguel Rojas, one for two, one RBI
Shohei Ohtani, .429/.467/1.214, six for 14, three homers, four RBIs, one walk, three strikeouts
Teoscar Hernández, .300/.364/.450, six for 20, one homer, three RBIs, two walks, five strikeouts
Mookie Betts, .200/.333/.800, two for 10, two homers, five RBIs, two walks, one strikeout
Freddie Freeman, .200/.273/.200, two for 10, one walk, two strikeouts
Max Muncy, .200/.273/.600, two for 10, one double, one homer, one RBI, one walk, five strikeouts
Will Smith, .182/.182/.182, two for 11, six strikeouts
Kevin Kiermaier, one for six, two walks, one strikeout
Gavin Lux, 0 for 9, four strikeouts
James Outman, 0 for 5, two walks, one strikeout
Tommy Edman, 0 for 4, one strikeout
Andy Pages, 0 for 1, two walks
Chris Taylor, 0 for 3, two strikeouts

In his career against the Dodgers, King is 2-0 with a 2.82 ERA.

The Padres will face Walker Buehler in Game 3 and Landon Knack in Game 4, though they may go with an opener in Game 4 and, hopefully, have Knack pitch the next five innings.

Padres vs. Walker Buehler

Jackson Merrill, two for four
Kyle Higashioka, one for two, one double
Manny Machado, .308/.357/.385, eight for 26, two doubles, one RBI, two walks, four strikeouts
Fernando Tatis Jr., .296/.296/.741, four homers, five RBIs, 12 strikeouts
Xander Bogaerts, one for four
David Peralta, .226/.314/.290, seven for 31, two doubles, three RBIs, four walks, six strikeouts
Luis Arraez, one for five, one RBI
Jake Cronenworth, .118/.167/.294, two for 17, one homer, one RBI, one walk, strikeouts
Nick Ahmed, .105/.105/.105, two for 19, 11 strikeouts
Jurickson Profar, .083/.154/.083, one for 12, one walk, four strikeouts
Donovan Solano, 0 for 8, one RBI, one walk, two strikeouts
Elias Diaz, 0 for 8, one RBI, one walk, one strikeout

In his career against the Padres, Buehler is 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA.

Padres vs. Landon Knack

Jake Cronenworth, two for two, one double, one homer, three RBIs
Xander Bogaerts, one for two, one RBI, one strikeout
Jackson Merrill, one for two
Jurickson Profar, one for two
Nick Ahmed, 0 for 2
Luis Arraez, 0 for 2
Kyle Higashioka, 0 for 2, two strikeouts
Manny Machado, 0 for 2, one strikeout
Donovan Solano, 0 for 1, one walk
Fernando Tatis Jr., 0 for 2

In his career against the Padres, Knack is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA.

Dodgers’ NLDS schedule

Saturday: Dodgers 7, San Diego 5. WP-Ryan Brasier. LP-Adrián Morejón. Save-Blake Treinen.
Sunday: San Diego 10, Dodgers 2. WP-Yu Darvish. LP-Jack Flaherty.
Tuesday: Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 1-6, 5.38 ERA) at San Diego (Michael King, 13-9, 2.95 ERA), 6:08 p.m., FS1
Wed.: Dodgers (TBD) at San Diego (TBD), 6:08 p.m., FS1
*Friday: San Diego (TBD) at Dodgers (TBD), 5:08 p.m., Fox

*-if necessary