LOS ANGELES — Offense is down — way down — all around the major leagues. And the Dodgers are doing their part.
The Dodgers scored once in the first inning Monday night but couldn’t do it again, sinking back into the offensive slump that characterized the early innings of their previous two games and losing to the San Diego Padres 2-1 at Dodger Stadium.
Over the past seven games, the Dodgers are batting just .189 as a team (42 for 222). Nonetheless, they have managed to win four of those seven games thanks to a more robust average with runners in scoring position — .261 (12 for 46) — and the home run ball. Twenty of their past 26 runs have scored on home runs.
That deserted them Monday against the Padres. They had just four singles and went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, wasting two prime opportunities to put the Padres on their heels.
“I really haven’t kept in touch with with teams outside of us or teams we play,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, unaware that the .230 average across baseball before Monday night was the lowest in history, seven points less than the “Year of the Pitcher” in 1968, and the .311 on-base percentage matched 1972 (the year that gave birth to the DH) for the lowest since ’68.
“I think that overall runs per game that we’re one of the leaders in baseball, in the National League, specifically. But, yeah, when you get opportunities that you need a ground ball or a fly ball, we’ve got to cash in. Tonight, I think that Eddie (Rios) had a really good at-bat (with the bases loaded in the fourth inning). We got doubled off, but that could have easily been three runs right there. So it’s baseball. But I still like the intent behind what we’re doing.”
Right-hander Luis Perdomo got the start against the Dodgers despite a 1-6 record and 8.08 ERA in 13 previous appearances against them. The Padres’ intent was to use Perdomo as an “opener” hoping to get him through the Dodgers’ order once.
He almost got there in the first inning. Joc Pederson drew a walk to start the game. Mookie Betts followed with a single and Pederson came racing home when Cody Bellinger hit a line drive single off the glove of Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer.
Perdomo’s history against the Dodgers seemed to be playing out again when Justin Turner drove a fly ball to deep center field. But it came down in the glove of Trent Grisham on the warning track. Betts was caught in a rundown between third and home when Max Muncy bounced to Hosmer and Chris Taylor grounded out to end the inning.
Perdomo ran for cover and a parade of Padres relievers took it from there.
“Those are situations where you need to put up a crooked number,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers had another Padres pitcher, Cal Quantrill, on the ropes in the fourth inning. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs. But Matt Beaty struck out and Rios lined into a double play.
They had another runner in scoring position with one out in the seventh. But Muncy’s infield single in the fourth (one unexpectedly upheld by replay review) was the last of their four hits in the game.
The Padres’ hitters didn’t do much to pump up MLB’s offensive numbers. Dodgers starter Dustin May allowed just five hits in six innings. One was a solo home run by Padres catcher Austin Hedges, who came to the plate batting .091 before that fifth-inning drive.
Another came after May had walked two in the sixth inning. They were May’s only walks of the night.
Roberts stuck with the young right-hander to face the left-handed Hosmer despite having multiple left-handed options in his bullpen. Hosmer stroked a two-out RBI single into left field to put the Padres ahead.
“I thought it was a pretty good outing overall They just hit the mistakes when I threw them,” May said.
“I was trying to go in again (against Hosmer), kind of like the earlier pitches in the AB, trying to get a swing over on the cutter. But I kind of left it more middle and he got his hands extended to it, punched it over the infield.”
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August 11, 2020 at 11:55AM
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Dodgers lose to Padres after wasting early scoring opportunities - OCRegister
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