The Los Angeles Dodgers twice were ahead by three runs and they held four total leads, yet Tuesday resulted in a walk-off loss to the San Francisco Giants in extra innings. It snapped the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak and marked their first defeat in three extra-inning games this year.
At 22-9 they still are in possession of the best record in baseball, one game ahead of the Oakland Athletics. Three games separates L.A. from the Chicago Cubs for the No. 1 seed in the National League.
But for all the success the Dodgers have enjoyed this season, their loss to the Giants left a visible sting for manager Dave Roberts.
“Justin (Turner) had a great night, played both sides of the baseball, ran the bases, didn’t give away any at-bats. But it just wasn’t a well-played game for us,” he said. “We didn’t do a lot of things right, which kept those guys in the ballgame and they found a way to walk us off.”
When asked to elaborate, Roberts only offered, “There’s a lot of things. Defensively, giving some at-bats away, some things on the pitching side. We could’ve done a lot better. It just wasn’t a clean game.”
Donovan Solano delivered the walk-off home run in the 11th inning, but Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt went a combined 8-for-10 with six runs scored and six RBI. Belt hit two home runs and had a game-high five RBI.
“I just don’t think we made good pitches. In certain cases we had count leverage and didn’t put them away,” Roberts said.
Justin Turner backs Dodgers bullpen
The Dodgers’ bullpen has been a highlight through the first half of the season, and though they took the blame for Tuesday’s loss, Justin Turner defended the group.
“Our bullpen’s been great all year, so I’ll bet on those guys every night,” he said. “We just weren’t able to shut the door.”
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