The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped Game 2 of the National League Division Series with much of the blame to be placed on familiar woes with runners in scoring position.
With the series notched at one game a piece, the failures to drive in an extra run at various points loomed large in the closing innings of Wednesday’s game. Despite three early solo home runs from Max Muncy, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers stranded 10 men on base.
Overall, the offense went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and just as they did in Game 1, didn’t score past the third inning. Following Wednesday’s game, Freeman said he believes the offense is in a good spot, they just aren’t getting that one extra knock.
“I thought we played a pretty good ballgame. We had a lot of opportunities, we just didn’t cash them in. If we keep creating those opportunities on Friday and get those big hits, we’ll be just fine,” Freeman said after Game 2.
“That’s a good ballclub over there. Great pitching, good bullpen, Robert Suarez is throwing 100 (mph). Sometimes you have to give them credit. You can’t just always put it on us not getting the job done. They’ve got good pitchers over there. But we created opportunities for four straight innings, so if we can do that on Friday, hopefully we can just cash them in.”
Game 1 followed a similar script, but the opportunities the Dodgers capitalized on from Tuesday, the Padres didn’t let slip away in Game 2.
“It’s going to be going back and forth,” Freeman said. “You’ve got two good teams going at it that have faced each other a lot,” said Freeman. “There’s not really anything to pinpoint. We just didn’t get the big hit.”
Records in the regular season can sometimes be an indicator, but in the playoffs, each moment is elevated much higher than any game over the prior 162 games. The Padres aren’t without premier talent, and Freeman acknowledged these two teams still have a tough battle ahead.
“They still won five games against us. That happens. It’s postseason baseball. You’ve got to look at like we had opportunities for four straight innings. We just didn’t get the hit,” he said.
“They’re a good ballclub. Just like we’ve been saying, you can’t take anybody lightly in the postseason. They’re here for a reason. They play good baseball, they played really good against the Mets, and they just came out on top.”
Dodgers going with Tony Gonsolin for Game 3 of NLDS
With the series tied, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that Tony Gonsolin will get the ball against the Padres in Game 3 when the matchup moves to Petco Park.
After missing five weeks of the season due to a right forearm strain, Gonsolin made one start prior to season’s end. He allowed just one run in his two innings of work but tallied three strikeouts.
“Feel good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about the decision to start Gonsolin. “We extended him in the live sim games that we had this past week, so we feel good about the length and how he’s throwing the baseball.”
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
