The Los Angeles Dodgers were shut down by Yu Darvish for seven innings but managed to get to the San Diego Padres bullpen before ultimately falling in extras to snap a 10-game winning streak in head-to-head meetings.
Chris Taylor was the designated runner to begin the 10th inning, and he was quickly erased from the basepaths on a double play. Gavin Lux flied out to left field and Jurickson Profar threw a strike to third base for the momentum-changing play.
Conversely, the Padres excelled at small ball in the bottom of the 10th inning behind a sacrifice bunt and fly ball to win the game.
Following the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss, manager Dave Roberts explained why he did not take issue with Taylor attempting to tag up, via SportsNet LA:
“It was a good baseball play. He felt that it was deep enough, and when you get a guy going back and catching it on his back leg, he’s got to make a perfect throw. You’ve got to give Profar credit. He made a perfect throw.”
There of course was no guarantee of Taylor scoring had he not been thrown out at third base, but it robbed Mookie Betts and possibly Freddie Freeman of a chance to bat with a man in scoring position.
L.A. did struggle in such scenarios, going 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranding six on the night.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers went 6-12 in extra innings last season and now have dropped their first such contest in 2022. Roberts and several players were unable to explain the team’s struggles in extras last year.
Taylor recovering from elbow surgery
The Dodgers cautiously handled Taylor with respect to playing the field during Spring Training due to offseason surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. Thus far in the regular season he has only played left field.
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