POST-GAME BRIEFING
It was a pure pitching matchup that mirrored a possible playoff game. For 6 innings, Clayton Kershaw and Dinelson Lamet matched each other strike for strike. That all changed in the 7th inning when the bottom fell out on Kershaw and the Dodgers. After giving up 2 singles with 1 out, Dave Roberts brought out the hook for Kershaw and went to Pedro Baez out of the pen. Unfortunately for Baez, a poor fielding decision and a throwing error by Max Muncy would end up opening up the flood gates. The Padres took advantage scoring a total of 5 runs in the nightmarish 7th inning which put the game away. Lamet would end up beating Kershaw by completing his 7th inning clean and only allowing 1 run and a strong performance from their bullpen to keep it that way.
The offense was struggling to figure out Lamet and the Padres bullpen as they could only manage 2 runs on 4 hits tonight. The Dodgers ended up going 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position while failing to capitalize on the mistakes of the Padres which was a deciding factor in tonight’s loss. This is arguably the biggest series of the season for the Dodgers as the Padres are close on their tails for the division and a spot in the postseason, any wins against the Padres would be a huge advantage for the Dodgers.
SCORING PLAYS
- TOP 3rd: Corey Seager RBI groundout (1-0) LAD
- BOT 6th: Trent Grisham solo HR (1-1) LAD/SD
- BOT 7th: Jorge Ona RBI double (1-2) SD
- BOT 7th: Greg Garcia RBI fielder’s choice (1-3) SD
- BOT 7th: Jorge Ona scores on an error by Max Muncy (1-4) SD
- BOT 7th: Manny Machado RBI single (1-5) SD
- BOT 7th: Austin Nola RBI groundout (1-6) SD
- BOT 8th: Wil Myers solo HR (1-7) SD
- Top 9th: Chris Taylor RBI double (7-2) SD Final Score
DLD PLAY OF THE GAME
The play of the game goes to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, which despite the frustrating loss, managed to strikeout Wil Myers in the 4th inning which helped him surpass A.J. Burnett for 37th place on the all-time strikeouts list for Major League Baseball.
Clayton Kershaw, Mean 93mph Inside Fastball. 😤 pic.twitter.com/1pqkgVsbnF
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 15, 2020
DLD PLAYER OF THE GAME
The player of the game also goes to Clayton Kershaw as he seemed to know how important this series was and pitched just like it. Despite getting taken out of the game in the 7th inning, he went 6.1 innings allowing 3 runs with 9 strikeouts.
"His line is not going to show how well he threw the ball tonight." @OrelHershiser & @Joe_Davis discuss @ClaytonKersh22's outing and the @Dodgers division lead being cut to 1.5 games after tonight's loss. pic.twitter.com/IkSgXNej10
— Dodgers-LowDown (@DodgersLowDown) September 15, 2020
UP NEXT
The Dodgers will look to rebound from tonight’s loss and win game 2 of this crucial 3 game series by sending Tony Gonsolin who will be making his 6th start of the season. Gonsolin 0-1 with an ERA of 1.57 in 28.2 innings has 28 strikeouts and has been a reliable arm for the Dodgers this season. His last appearance was an emergency relief appearance for an injured Dustin May, Gonsolin ended up going 5 innings giving up 3 runs in that appearance. The Padres will counter with Zach Davies who has been strong for the Padres as in 9 games he comes in with a 7-2 record with an ERA of 2.48 in 54.1 innings pitched with 50 strikeouts. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 PT.
Photo credit: Denis Poroy; Getty Images
Jacob Cisneros is a writer for Dodgers-LowDown. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @_JacobCisneros.