The three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles concluded with a 14-inning thriller on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. Despite the 12:10 p.m. start, the game carried into the early evening hours as both clubs squandered multiple opportunities.
The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind a Justin Turner two-run homer, but found themselves trailing, 3-2, by the fourth. After Los Angeles took the lead in the fifth, Baltimore answered right back in the sixth inning to tie the game.
The score remained locked at 4-4 until a Jonathan Schoop sinking line drive landed in front of a diving Trayce Thompson to give the Orioles a 6-4 lead in the 14th inning.
With runners on first and second in the bottom of the 14th, Howie Kendrick was in position to add to the Dodgers’ momentum. The first pitch from Orioles closer Zach Britton was called for strike despite appearing to be out of the zone.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts objected to the call from the dugout and was promptly ejected by home plate umpire Pat Hoberg. At that point Roberts came rushing out of the dugout to voice his displeasure:
“I thought there were some pitches that were questionable but that’s baseball,” Roberts said after the loss. “We had opportunities, left 16 guys on base. We have to take advantage of the opportunities we had.”
It marked Roberts second career ejection as a manager, with the first coming April 8 during a game with the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Roberts during that exchange came to the defense of reliever Chris Hatcher, who had grown agitated with a tight strike zone.
Wednesday’s balls and strikes played a role in the Dodgers and Orioles combining to set a single-game record at Dodger Stadium with 36 strikeouts. It surpassed the previous record of 32 strikeouts, set in 1996 during an 18-inning game between the Atlanta Braves and Dodgers.
