Dodgers’ bats better wake up ... soon Their inability to hit Nationals starters is disturbing trend with Scherzer probably next
These aren’t the Colorado Rockies.
Or the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Or any of the other pitching deprived National League teams against whom the Dodgers inflated their offensive statistics.
With Stephen Strasburg opposite them Friday, the Dodgers were overmatched. They looked clueless. And they were taken down by the Washington Nationals in a 4-2 defeat at Dodger Stadium that leveled their National League Division Series at one game apiece.
The Dodgers remain in control of the best-of-five series, which resumes Sunday at Nationals Park. They still have the better team and the Nationals’ bullpen is still historically inept.
A disconcerting pattern has emerged over the two games of this series, however. The Dodgers haven’t been able to touch the Nationals’ starters.
“Certainly not ideal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
They managed only a run and three hits over the six innings pitched by Strasburg.
The previous night, they were limited to two runs in the six innings pitched by Game 1 starter Patrick Corbin.
And Max Scherzer is probably up next.
The highest-scoring lineup in the NL better wake up. Or else.
The Dodgers collected only five hits and struck out 17 times Friday, including 10 times against Strasburg. Roberts credited Strasburg, specifically his change in approach.
“We haven’t seen Strasburg use his breaking ball as much as he did tonight,” Roberts said. “We just didn’t see it well.”
Only three days removed from a three-inning relief appearance in the wild-card game, Strasburg cruised for the majority of the contest, pitching one quick inning after another.
The 18-game winner had a perfect game until rookie catcher Will Smith singled to left-center field with two outs in the fifth inning.
As troublesome as the absence of runs was how few pitches the Dodgers forced Strasburg to throw.
Strasburg delivered 13 pitches in the first inning, 10 in the second, 14 in the third and 10 in the fourth.
The Dodgers often found themselves behind in the count. They couldn’t catch up to his fastball and they chased his off-speed pitches.
From the second inning onward, the Dodgers were down, 3-0.
They didn’t mount their first sustained attack until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Matt Beaty hit for Clayton Kershaw and stroked a single to right field. Beaty reached third on a double by Joc Pederson and scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Turner.
With the deficit narrowed to 3-1 and Pederson now 60 feet from home plate, A.J. Pollock lined a screamer that Strasburg snagged out of the air. The inning was over.
Strasburg’s pitch count was at 85, which under normal circumstances would have meant the AllStar had another inning to give.
But these weren’t normal circumstances. He had pitched three days earlier. His night was over.
“He started getting the ball up a little bit,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I thought that was it.”
Except turning the ball over to the bullpen wasn’t the death sentence it was the previous days. With a two-run lead, the Nationals could be more aggressive.
Martinez went in the seventh inning to one of his team’s two serviceable relievers, Sean Doolittle. Max Muncy reminded Martinez of why Doolittle lost his role as the team’s closer, sending a first-pitch fastball halfway up the right-field pavilion to move the Dodgers within 3-2.
The Nationals gave themselves a 4-2 cushion after scoring an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning, after which they deployed their secret weapon.
Instead of throwing a bullpen session to prepare for his Game 3 start, Scherzer came out of the bullpen to pitch the eighth inning. Scherzer was downright nasty, touching 99 mph and striking out Gavin Lux, Chris Taylor and Pederson in succession.
Roberts acknowledged he didn’t expect Scherzer to pitch.
Closer Daniel Hudson reopened the door for the Dodgers in the ninth inning. Turner doubled and remained on second base as Pollock struck out and Bellinger popped up on a questionable first-pitch swing.
Muncy was walked intentionally and Smith unintentionally, loading the bases with two out for Corey Seager, who ended the game by striking out.
The series will now move to Washington. Martinez said he will check in on Scherzer on Saturday before locking him in as the Game 3 starter.
The Dodgers should expect him to pitch and should expect to have to hit better than they have in the first two games.