Bobby Miller turned in a solid start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it wasn’t enough to sweep the New York Mets as they dropped the series finale in extra innings.
Miller pitched 4.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits with five strikeouts to only one walk. It was a nice bounce-back for the rookie who had allowed at least three runs in each of his previous four starts.
There was some concern however as the 24-year-old began to deal with knee discomfort late in his outing. It doesn’t appear to be anything serious though as Miller made a case to stay in the game, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts already had different plans for how to manage the game, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
Miller was dealing with “a little discomfort in the knee” near the end of his outing, which concluded after only 77 pitches. Roberts said he would have turned to Graterol anyway with star shortstop Francisco Lindor due up next.
Miller, who unsuccessfully lobbied to conclude the inning, said after the game his knee felt fine.
The Mets loaded the bases in the fifth inning against Miller and ended up taking the lead on his final pitch of the game. Brandon Nimmo hit a comebacker to Miller, who was unable to cleanly field the ball, allowing a run to score to break up the scoreless tie.
Miller did record an out at first base, but he was still frustrated by not preventing the run at home:
“Really no excuse,” said Miller, who had to settle for only one out at first base as the game’s opening run crossed the plate. “I have to make that play. We’ve practiced it enough.”
That proved to be the only run the Mets scored until extra innings when Luis Guillorme doubled in the ghost runner in the bottom of the 10th. The Dodgers’ only run came on a single from Mookie Betts in the eighth inning, which would have been enough to get a win if not for Miller’s mishap.
Still, the Dodgers have a lot to be pleased with from Miller’s start, as long as the knee discomfort doesn’t pop back up in the future.
Bobby Miller learning from mistakes
During Miller’s struggles over his previous four starts, he used his mistakes as a learning experience to continue improving. “Just figuring out who I am at this level,” Miller said after his start before the All-Star break.
“I’m figuring out how to mix better. I think I did a better job of that today. I thought the fastball was a lot better, and fastball command. I was able to move it around the whole strike zone. Just a couple bad pitches, I thought. I thought my command was a little bit better.”
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