Wasted Opportunities for Dodgers in Loss to St. Louis

The Dodgers wasted big opportunities on Friday night at Dodger Stadium not only within the game itself but also in the division race. The Giants lost, but the Dodgers failed to take advantage and pull within one game. The Cardinals tied up the series with some help from the Dodgers’ horrible base running and stagnant offense and their own catcher’s bat and glove.

Hyun-jin Ryu pitched decently, although he wasn’t his sharpest. Vin Scully thinks that Ryu pitches best on 5 days rest and he was noticeably more tired pitching on 4 da’s rest. Until Yadier Molina‘s homerun in the fourth tied it up, the Dodgers were ahead 1-0 after a RBI single by Dee Gordon in the second. St. Louis added another two runs in the next inning on the Jhonny Peralta double.  Neither team scored after the fifth inning.

The score stuck: 3-1.

The wasted opportunities for the Dodgers were scattered throughout the game. The Dodgers were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, and the team left 6 men on base. They made an out at home, they got caught stealing second, bad base running by A.J., and they ultimately failed to come up with another clutch hit.

The Dodgers just can’t seem to win four games in a row. This was their seventh attempt at a four-game winning streak this season. Is it a curse? Tell us why you think they can’t string together more than three wins in the comments below.

Dodgers 1 8 0

Cardinals 3 9 0

WP- Maness (3-2)

LP- Ryu (9-4)

S- Rosenthal (24)

HR- Molina (7)

Hyun-jin Ryu pulls the string on Matt Carpenter, who strikes out looking to start off the game in the top of the first. Matt Holliday draws a one-out walk. Matt Adams singles to left field, and the Red Birds are in business with two on and one out. Ryu rears back to strikeout Jhonny Peralta and Yadier Molina, and the Dodger southpaw ends up striking out the side!

Yasiel Puig gets aboard with one out in the home half of the first on a grounder hit down to third. Matt Carpenter can’t make the play fast enough to beat out Puig who is sprinting down the line. Adrian Gonzalez goes the other way with a single to left, and Puig belly flops into third. Carlos Martinez is in a jam with runners at the corners and one out. Matt Kemp chases a curveball and goes down on strikes while Martinez falls down after making the pitch. Scott Van Slyke draws a walk, and the Dodgers load the bases with two outs. Juan Uribe flies out to right field and the Dodgers leave the bases loaded and fail to score.

Ryu pitches a very easy 1-2-3 inning in the second.

Yadier Molina continues to torment the Dodgers with his glove and his bat. Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers get on the board in the bottom of the third. A.J. Ellis leads off the inning with a walk, and Miguel Rojas follows with a single on a soft ground ball to third. Ryu can’t move the runners over and strikes out. Dee Gordon comes up clutch with a base hit which goes just under Matt Adam’s glove and into right field. A.J. Ellis is able to score, and Rojas and Gordon move to second and third on the throw home. With Puig at-bat, a ball gets away from Molina. Rojas tries to come home, but Molina nabs him at the plate. Puig grounds out to end the inning, and the Dodgers waste a perfect opportunity to notch more than one run in that frame.

In the top of the third, Carlos Martinez reaches first safely on an infield single to the left of the mound which Juan Uribe can’t get to in time. Ryu probably should have tried to field that ball, but he just stood there and made no attempt.

“The Cardinals try to come roaring back.” -Vin Scully

Carpenter singles, but Holliday grounds into a double play. Adams grounds out, and the Cardinals fall short of scoring.

The Dodgers go down in order in the bottom of the third. Craig makes a diving catch on a Van Slyke fly ball to end the inning.

Yadier Molina ties up the game with one swing in the top of the fourth. The one-out solo homerun hits the left field foul pole.

With one out, A.J. Ellis singles on a line drive to right field, but Allen Craig makes a nice throw to get Ellis out at second by a lot when the slow catcher tries to stretch his single into a double. Rojas strikes out swinging, and the Dodgers can’t break the 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth.

Martinez, the opposing pitcher, picks up his second single of the game to lead-off the fifth for the Cards. Carpenter bunts into a force play as Gonzo makes a very nice play to get the lead runner at second. Holliday singles to center on a 0-2 pitch, and St. Louis has two on with one out. Adams strikes out. The Cardinals bring in two runs as Peralta doubles to right center where SVS and Puig both fail to get to. A better center fielder catches that ball. Perhaps Van Slyke hesitated because he was scared to collide with Puig, but as a center fielder he should be directing traffic out there.

Two Matts come home, and the Red Birds have a 3-1 lead.

Gordon singles to center with one out in the bottom of the fifth. Puig draws a walk, and that’s going to be all for the young right-hander Martinez. Seth Maness will be brought in by Mike Matheny to pitch to Gonzo. Maness gets his signature double play as Gonzo hits a grounder to the mound. Maness initiates the double play, and the Cardinals send the Dodgers back to the dugout empty handed.

Carlos Martinez pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed 1 run on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks on 82 pitches.

Ryu pitches a scoreless sixth inning, and only allowed a Mark Ellis double in the frame.

Yadier Molina remains the wrench in the Dodgers’ plans. Matt Kemp leads off the bottom of the sixth. SVS strikes out. Jon Jay makes a diving catch in center field to retire Uribe. With A.J. Ellis at-bat, Kemp is mowed down by Molina at second. Don Mattingly goes out to argue, and he is apparently ejected by home plate umpire Bill Miller. Scott Van Slyke is also ejected after getting angry about his at-bat.

Andre Ethier comes in to take over in center field in the seventh. Ryu pitches a 1-2-3 inning, and hopefully the Dodgers have settled down a bit.

Seth Maness is still in for the bottom of the fifth for St. Louis. A.J. strikes out. Rojas grounds out. Clint Robinson will make his MLB debut as a pinch-hitter for Hyun-jin Ryu. Matheny will go to the pen to bring in the left-hander, Sam Freeman. Robinson grounds out sharply to Peralta at short, and the Dodgers go down in order.

Hyun-jin Ryu pitched 7 innings and allowed 3 runs on 9 hits with 7 strikeouts and a walk on 101 pitches.

Jun 27, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas (72) is out tagged out at home by St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez (44) as he tried to score a run on a passed ball in the second inning of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon League will pitch the top of the eighth in relief of Hyun-jin Ryu who goes out losing. We get to see Uribe’s slick fielding as he makes a nice play at third to retire Peralta for the first out. Molina grounds out to Dee at second. Craig grounds out to third, and League has pitched a perfect frame. Yet the Dodgers are still down by two.

Dee Gordon drops a single to center to lead-off the bottom of the eighth. Sam Freeman gets the quick hook after the Gordon hit, and Matheny will make a you guessed it… double switch. Peter Bourjos will take over in center, and Pat Neshek will face Yasiel Puig. Puig pops out to Mellis for the first out. Gonzo has a long 12-pitch at-bat versus Neshek, but he ends up grounding out to first. Gordon moves to second on the play. Kemp grounds out to third right at Carpenter, and the Dodgers waste another opportunity with the lead-off Dee single.

With the Dodgers losing going into the ninth, Mattingly will use Paul Maholm out of the pen.  Uribe snaps up a Jon Jay liner by going up the ladder. It’s so good to have Uribe back! Mark Ellis also grounds out to Uribe, who makes the play look easy. Bourjos strikes out, and Maholm pitches a perfect frame.

The Dodgers are down to their last three outs. Trevor Rosenthal will be in for the Cards in the bottom the ninth. Rosenthal blows Ethier away with his 97-mph fastball for the first out. Uribe manages to draw a one-out walk, and the Dodgers are still alive, momentarily. A.J. Ellis grounds into a 6-4-3 double play which ends the game and the winning streak for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers fall to 45-37, but remain 2 games behind the Giants. Game 3 on Saturday afternoon will feature Zack Greinke versus Lance Lynn.