The Los Angeles Dodgers tried to salvage a series in the finale against the Boston Red Sox, but they were unable to do so.
The Dodgers now have their fourth three-game losing streak of the season and second three-game sweep, with their last coming July 10-12 at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Red Sox continued their red-hot stretch, winning 22 of their last 26 games.
Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4: key takeaways
Emmet Sheehan turns in another poor outing
Emmet Sheehan’s season-long struggles continued as he turned in the worst start of his already highly inconsistent year. Sheehan lasted just 2.2 innings on 58 pitches before exiting the game, and prior to leaving, he allowed five runs on six hits, which included three home runs.
His game started with a leadoff walk, and then he allowed three singles in the first inning that put the Red Sox up 2-0. Masataka Yoshida and Caleb Durbin each had RBI singles with two outs.
After the Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the second, Sheehan immediately gave the Red Sox the runs back, and more, in the third inning. He allowed a leadoff home run to Ceddanne Rafaela to tie the game, and then Wilyer Abreu went back-to-back to put Boston up.
One batter later, Yoshida blasted a homer of his own to extend the Red Sox’s lead to 5-3. Sheehan went on to record another out, but then hit Andruw Monasterio to end his outing.
The most concerning part of Sheehan’s outing was his velocity, which has already been an issue all year. The right-hander’s fastball averaged just 93.3 mph, a drop of 1.2 mph from his season average, and by the third inning, it averaged just 92.1 mph.
Sheehan entered the game with a 4.95 ERA, and it now sits at 5.29 over 95.1 innings.
Dalton Rushing a late scratch
Dalton Rushing was originally in the Dodgers lineup for the series finale, but he was a late scratch just minutes before the game due to what the Dodgers described as minor arm irritation. They did not specify whether it is in Rushing’s throwing arm or his left.
Eliezer Alfonzo was inserted into the lineup in place of Rushing.
It was Alfonzo who drove in the first run of the game for the Dodgers, which came when he grounded out with the bases loaded. After that, Andy Pages put them ahead with a single to drive in two runs, giving them a 3-2 lead.
But Alfonzo also cost them a run in the eighth inning when he allowed a passed ball with a runner on third to give the Red Sox their eighth run. That passed ball followed a wild pitch by Wyatt Mills for the seventh run.
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