The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup continued to struggled and it resulted in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Wednesday’s rubber match at Chase Field. It marked L.A.’s first series defeat against Arizona since dropping three of four on the road from Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2019.
After being held without a run for seven innings, the Dodgers’ fortunes changed in the eighth, behind a spark from Mookie Betts. After lining a one-out single into center field, he took second base on a wild pitch. Trea Turner later tied the game with a two-out RBI base hit.
However, like on Tuesday night, a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth inning spelled doom for the Dodgers. Max Muncy cleanly fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt but threw high to first base, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Muncy didn’t make any excuses after the game and explained he simply threw too high to Gavin Lux at first base, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I threw the ball high,” Muncy said, offering no other explanation. “I just threw the ball high.”
To Muncy’s credit, his throw did appear reachable for Lux, who was covering for Freeman crashing in on the play. However, the 21-year-old would have needed to come off the bag to make the catch and likely still led to a run scoring.
Arizona wound up adding another on a fielder’s choice and nearly scored a third run in the inning but Freeman got his foot down in time to save Lux from what would have been his second throwing error in the series.
Roberts disappointed by Dodgers’ play
A previous defensive miscue by Lux was at the center of attention in the Dodgers’ 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Will Smith’s three-run double from the first inning still represented the only scoring in the game before Lux’s error allowed the Diamondbacks to begin their comeback.
The inning started with Geraldo Perdomo leading off with a single, which was followed by Gonsolin issuing a four-pitch walk to Jose Herrera, the Diamondbacks’ No. 9 hitter who entered the game batting .063 this season.
A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance, then Lux threw wide of first base for a two-run error. Following the game he lamented not taking an extra step to get a better grip on the basebal.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed his disappointment with the team’s overall performance at Chase Field, outside of their pitching.
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