Dodgers on the wrong side of another 1-run game

DETROIT — The Dodgers hit the road on Monday. They haven’t hit much else since then.

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Another sluggish offensive performance left the Dodgers’ bullpen living on the edge with no margin for error. Jack Dreyer made one in the ninth inning, giving up a leadoff double to Javier Baez that led to the deciding run as the Detroit Tigers handed the Dodgers their second walk-off defeat this week, 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.

The Dodgers have played five consecutive one-run games on this trip, losing four of them. It’s not hard to pinpoint the reason – they have managed to score just three runs in their past three games and 11 in the first five games of this road trip.

“For me, right now, personally speaking, I’m just trying to figure out solutions,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re all frustrated. We know we should be better. But again, now it’s more of, ‘What are we gonna do about it?’ So that’s kind of where my head is at.

“I do know, coming down on guys when guys are putting in the effort isn’t the answer. And then you gotta figure out, is it a process thing? Is it an approach thing? Is it a focus thing? Those are things I’m trying to figure out collectively, individually.”

Roberts will make some lineup changes Sunday. But that is more about getting right-handers in the lineup against Tigers left-handed starter Framber Valdez than about shaking things up.

“This has been two months. I think,” Roberts said of the extended cold snap. “Honestly, I think every night is different. Whether it’s not having a good two-strike approach, not hitting with runners in scoring position, situationally, getting a leadoff guy on, controlling the strike zone – whatever.”

After having one of the more productive offenses through the end of June, the Dodgers posted a team OPS of .711 in July, 20th in MLB. It has gotten even worse in August, dropping to .686 (still 20th in MLB).

“We put big innings together. We get on base, but for some reason, the big hit is not happening right now,” Teoscar Hernandez said. “So you just gotta look back and see what we can do better, and just go the next day and execute it when you have the opportunity.”

After stranding 33 runners on base over the previous three games, the Dodgers cut out the middle man early Saturday. They had just two baserunners through the first five innings against Tigers starter Keider Montero – a two-out walk of Kyle Tucker in the second inning and a bloop single, also with two outs, by Shohei Ohtani in the third.

Dodgers starter Blake Snell was less stingy about allowing baserunners but nearly as effective in preventing runs.

The Tigers got to him just once. Javier Baez drew a leadoff walk to start the third inning. Max Clark dropped a bunt down but Max Muncy booted it, putting two runners on with no outs. Gleyber Torres drove in one run with a double that hopped off the back wall in center field. It could have been a two-run double but the hit was ruled a ground-rule double.

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Snell said he was struggling with a blister on his push-off foot during that inning. Home plate umpire Chris Guccione allowed him to leave the field at one point and remove a bandage that had slipped loose inside his shoe.

“I have on my big toe, when I drag my foot, I have a big blister,” Snell said. “So I have a bandage on there, and it was wrapped up, but then it went under my foot. So anytime I was pushing, I was slipping. And I thought if I kept doing that, I’m gonna hit somebody because I had no clue where the ball was going. So that was the first time I was like, ‘Chris, can I change my bandage or just throw the bandage off and come back out?’ So yeah, I went down a couple steps (into the tunnel behind the dugout), took the bandage off, put my sock back on, and then went back out.”

Snell worked his way out of the inning from there, leaving the bases loaded when he struck out Dillon Dingler and Eduardo Valencia.

The Dodgers marshalled all of their forces to get a second hit and push across their only run of the day in the sixth inning. Alek Thomas led off with a double and moved to second when Shohei Ohtani grounded out. Freddie Freeman dropped an RBI single into right field to drive in Thomas.

A single by Mookie Betts and a walk of Muncy loaded the bases with one out, handing the Dodgers another excellent opportunity – to strand runners. They did when Tommy Edman bounced into an inning-ending double play.

They failed to advance Tucker after a leadoff double in the seventh inning and had a runner on in the ninth when Hernandez sent a drive into left-center field off Kenley Jansen. Baez ran it down.

“I don’t know what’s missing,” Roberts said. “Today we got one opportunity, one real opportunity. Obviously the big hit from Freddie to tie the game. And then we had a bases-loaded situation, and the pitcher induces a double-play ball, gets out of that. Outside of that, we really didn’t threaten.

“It’s been going on for quite some time, obviously. So just being able to put crooked numbers up and not play these one-run games where every margin is so fine. … I know the work is there. I know the will is there. I know the talent is there. But yeah, we just haven’t put it together in quite some time consistently.”

Snell packed 99 pitches into just five innings, sending Roberts to the bullpen early Saturday. He got scoreless innings from Seth Halvorsen, Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez.

But the Tigers put the winning run in scoring position against Dreyer to start the ninth. After a sacrifice bunt moved Baez to third, the Dodgers intentionally walked Torres and Hao-Yu Lee drew another walk to load the bases. Kevin McGonigle drove in the winning run with a drive to the wall in center field.

“It is a toll. It is a ripple effect,” Roberts said of the one-run games – the Dodgers have now played 25 of them in August. “It’s more on the pitching, where you feel like you can’t give up a run or we lose. And that’s not the way it should be, certainly with this offense. We’re using our leverage guys, a lot of guys, in big spots. So yeah, that’s the toll. But again, the offense knows that. They’re not blind to it. But that just doesn’t translate to hits and runs.”

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