Dodgers fall; Betts is hit on forearm
L.A. loses second straight, and its star will have tests after he was struck by a pitch.
SEATTLE 4 DODGERS 3
The Dodgers lost to the Mariners 4-3 on Monday night at T-Mobile Park in Seattle to drop consecutive games for the first time this season, but they might have suffered a more significant loss before the game was over.
Mookie Betts crumpled to the ground, biting his gold chain in pain, in the ninth inning when Seattle righthander Rafael Montero hit him on the right forearm with a 95-mph sinker. Betts drew an immediate visit from manager Dave Roberts and trainer Yosuke Nakajima. He eventually stayed in the game. Corey Seager then grounded into a double play to seal the defeat.
After the game, Roberts said Betts will undergo tests. He said he didn’t know whether Betts will play in Tuesday’s matinee. Betts went two for four before he was plunked.
“A lot of soft tissue,” Roberts said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some bruising, maybe some swelling. So I just won’t know more until he shows up tomorrow.”
The Dodgers already have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season. Cody Bellinger (fibula) and second baseman Gavin Lux (wrist) are on the injured list, while Betts dealt with a lower-back injury that kept him out of four games earlier in the season.
The Dodgers still have posted the best record in the majors at 13-4, but losing Betts, the reigning National League MVP runner-up, for a long stretch of time would be difficult to absorb.
“Obviously, Mookie is going to want to be in there. I just want to make sure that it doesn’t affect his throwing or his swing,” Roberts said. “So I think that he’s pretty honest with me. So if he feels like he can play, then he’ll be in there.”
May shows progress with curveball
The next step in Dustin May’s development entering the season was generating more swings-and-misses to then produce more strikeouts. The right-hander boasts an elite arsenal — he touches 100 mph and can make hitters look foolish with the movement on his pitchers — but he posted just 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings last season. The number didn’t match the stuff.
As a result, May’s focus was on improving his curveball to change speeds and hitters’ eye levels. Monday’s game was a significant step in the right direction, though he had trouble commanding his fastball. All eight of May’s strikeouts came on Mariners whiffing on curveballs. He has had at least six strikeouts in each of his three starts this season and 22 total.
Overall, May surrendered four runs (three earned), four hits and a walk in five innings. He gave up a two-run home run to Jose Marmolejos in the first inning and a solo shot to Taylor Trammell in the second.
Offense muzzled
The Dodgers were held to five hits Monday and have 11 hits over their last three games. Betts, Seager and Justin Turner — the top three batters in Monday’s lineup — combined for four of the hits and three walks. Seager’s two-run home run was the only offense. The rest of the team went one for 21 with two walks.
The Dodgers encountered some bad luck with runners on first and second in the seventh inning when Will Smith smacked a line drive that Mariners third baseman Dylan Moore caught with a leap.
“We had a chance to win tonight, and you’re going to have games like that,” Roberts said.
Max Muncy didn’t start Monday and was available to pinch-hit in the ninth inning, but Roberts elected to have Luke Raley and Edwin Rios hit for themselves to begin the inning. Raley flied out before Rios walked to bring up Betts.
More sloppy defense
Second baseman Chris Taylor’s error with two outs in the fourth inning ended up hurting May when Trammell followed with an RBI double. Taylor’s miscue continued the Dodgers’ poor defense as of late. On Friday, the Dodgers committed three errors against San Diego. On Sunday, Seager’s throwing error in the eighth inning of a tie game ultimately cost the Dodgers three runs.
“I just think that we’re a really good defensive team,” Roberts said. “I think that ball took a hop on C.T. But we still have to make pitches, that’s the bottom line, and I’ll take our defense against anybody.”
Dodgers close to reaching threshold
The next time the Dodgers are on the road, their lives off the field might closer resemble pre-pandemic times.
Roberts said the team is “darn close” to reaching the 85% vaccination threshold Major League Baseball established to incentivize clubs to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
On the other side, Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters Monday that 10 teams had reached the 85% threshold. He acknowledged his club hasn’t and — based on internal polling — he isn’t sure whether it will this season.