The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped their series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, losing 2-1 in Clayton Kershaw’s first start coming off the disabled list with bicep tendinitis.
While the biggest story of the game was Kershaw’s back tightening up and him being set to undergo an MRI, there was a key play in the second inning that in some sense was a deciding factor.
With two outs and runners at first and second base, Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro hit a single up the middle. Cody Bellinger had a chance to throw out Maikel Franco at home, but Yasmani Grandal couldn’t coral Bellinger’s throw and Franco was ruled safe, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
Upon looking at the replay though, it was easy to see that Franco missed touching home plate by a wide margin. The only problem is that neither home-plate umpire Will Little nor anyone on the Dodgers bench noticed it to call for an appeal or review, so play went on and the run remained on the board.
After the game, Grandal admitted that he did not see if Franco touched home or not, and said that Little told him that he did, via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“He said yeah, and nobody screamed at me or anything,” Grandal said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted that neither he or anyone on his staff noticed it either, and felt bad for costing Kershaw and the team a run:
“I missed it,” he said. “It’s all of us. We just kind of missed it.”
By the time Roberts realized the mistake it was too late.
“You’re frustrated because you just gave them a run, essentially,” he said. “We didn’t see it. It cost Clayton a run. It cost us a run.”
Even though it happened in the second inning, with the Dodgers only losing by one run, that was a crucial play in deciding the outcome of the game.
That was not the only factor in the loss, however, as the Dodgers could only manage two hits against Phillies starter Aaron Nola and reliever Seranthony Dominguez, which usually isn’t good enough to win a game.
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