Of the various judgments rendered on the Los Angeles Dodgers thus far in 2016, one commonly heard over the past few weeks has centered around an inconsistent offense. Where Corey Seager and Trayce Thompson have emerged, Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick have been among those who continue to struggle.
After scoring just two runs and dropping the series opener Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers were held hitless through four innings on Tuesday by Archie Bradley. They eventually erupted for four home runs, including a pair from Joc Pederson, en route to a 7-4 victory.
However, the outburst failed to carry into Wednesday’s series finale. Los Angeles had two runners reach in the first inning only to be stranded. The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead on a Rickie Weeks Jr. solo home run in the second, which Patrick Corbin protected into the sixth.
After retiring the first two batters, Corbin allowed back-to-back singles to Gonzalez and Kendrick. Scott Van Slyke followed with a three-run home run to put the Dodgers ahead 3-1.
Given Clayton Kershaw was on the mound, Van Slyke revealed he was sure the Dodgers would come away with a win at the time of hitting his homer, per Bill Plunkett of the OC Register:
“To be honest, as I’m running the bases (after the home run) I’m thinking, ‘All right, we’ve got this game won.’”
Kershaw did allow a run in the bottom of the sixth, and needed luck to avoid the Diamondbacks tying the game. With two outs and a runner on second base, Paul Goldschmidt lined a ball off the top of the wall in left field for an RBI single.
He missed a game-tying home run by mere inches, with the original ruling upheld after a Diamondbacks challenge. For Van Slyke, the home run was his first of the season. He returned June 3 after landing on the disabled list April 12 due to a back issue.
