Ben Casparius labored through a short start and the Los Angeles Dodgers suffered an 18-1 blowout loss to the red-hot Houston Astros to put a damper on Fourth of July at Dodger Stadium.
The 18 runs are the most the Dodgers allowed in one game since a 19-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 14, 2013, which also was at home. The 17-run defeat marked the Dodgers’ worst loss in Dodger Stadium history.
Friday was the second time Casparius made a start since the Dodgers implemented a plan to move him into their rotation, and the outing was an extension of the struggles he’s encountered since taking on that role.
The Astros knocked Casparius around for six runs in only three innings of work in the series opener.
Isaac Paredes started their scoring by ambushing the first pitch of the game for his 18th home run this season. Christian Walker added an RBI single before Casparius could get through the first inning.
Casparius bounced back with a scoreless second inning, only for the Astros to break the game open in the third after Will Smith’s solo home run cut the Dodgers’ deficit in half.
Jose Altuve responded with a two-run homer and Walker also connected for blast that brought in two more, extending the Astros’ lead to 6-1. That gave Walker a home run in six consecutive games at Dodger Stadium, which is a record for the ballpark.
Casparius’ first game as a pseudo starter saw him hold the San Diego Padres to just one run over four innings on June 11. But in four appearances (one start) since that point, the right-hander has now given up 17 runs on 25 hits, including six home runs, across 15.2 innings.
Casparius had been followed Shohei Ohtani for three consecutive appearances before Friday, and recently commented that he felt they formed a strong duo. Ohtani’s next start as a pitcher is on Saturday, during which he’s being paired with Justin Wrobleski.
If the game hadn’t already been put out of reach, the Astros made sure of that by scoring 10 runs against Noah Davis in the sixth inning. That marked the most runs the Dodgers allowed in a single inning since giving up 11 to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 23, 1999.
Victor Caratini hit a grand slam and Altuve slugged his second home run of the night to power the Astros’ big inning.
Astros, Dodgers among MLB’s best
The Astros and Dodgers went into their weekend matchup with the two best records in baseball since the start of June, going 21-8 (.724) and 20-10 (.667), respectively.
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