The Los Angeles Dodgers saw the return of Clayton Kershaw in the opener of their 10-game road trip. But was largely predictable considering the amount of time missed, Kershaw wasn’t at his usual form against the Miami Marlins.
Meanwhile, Jose Fernandez continued with his string of dominance at home. Justin Turner walked with two outs in the first inning, and Adrian Gonzalez followed with a base hit. However, both runners were stranded as Yasmani Grandal struck out.
J.T. Realmuto lined a hanging slider over the left-field fence to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Kershaw rebounded to retire the next two batters, throwing 14 pitches in the inning.
Josh Reddick extended his hitting streak to seven games with a leadoff single in the second. Fernandez walked Joc Pederson to put two on with nobody out, but escaped the small brush with trouble three batters later.
After Kershaw started the bottom of the second with a strikeout, he allowed a double to Jeff Francoeur and RBI single to Chris Johnson. The run-scoring hit came on a hanging curveball that Kershaw immediately reacted to by yelling in frustration over leaving it up in the zone.
Fernandez lined a base hit into center field, which Kershaw had to duck in order to avoid taking the ball off the face. He got Dee Gordon swinging to strike out the side. Fernandez matched Kershaw’s work but without allowing a run, striking out Corey Seager, Turner and Gonzalez.
Seager and Turner both argued with home plate umpire Brian Knight upon being called out on strikes. Kershaw allowed a single and struck out a pair in a scoreless bottom of the third. He became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach 150 strikeouts before walking 10 batters in a single season.
Reddick doubled with one out in the fourth inning to give him a fourth multi-hit game during his hitting streak. But again, Fernandez struck out the side. Although Kershaw lobbied to remain in the game, he was replaced by Louis Coleman in the bottom of the fourth.
Kershaw’s night came to an end after throwing 66 pitches and allowing two runs on five hits in three innings. Coleman retired the side in order to keep the Marlins lead at 2-0. Dodgers squandered a Howie Kendrick leadoff walk in the fifth.
The bottom half of the inning saw Gordon’s speed have a tremendous influence and the Dodgers use four relievers. Bud Norris gave up a one-out infield single to Gordon, walked Realmuto, and was removed after a fly out.
J.P. Howell replaced Norris and had his pocket picked as Gordon stole third base on Howell’s throw over to first base. That loomed large as Christian Yelich dropped down an RBI bunt single. Josh Field was then summoned out of the bullpen, and he promptly walked Marcell Ozuna to load the bases.
Pinch-hitter Ichiro Suzuki was hit by a pitch on his right shoulder to bring in a run. The ball ricocheting and striking home plate umpire Brian Knight on the neck/shoulder area and he was removed from the game. Luis Avilan replaced Fields and faced pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who struck out to end the 39-minute inning.
Fernandez made quick work of the Dodgers in the sixth to protect the Marlins’ 4-0 lead. He returned in the seventh to strike out the side swinging, including pinch-hitter Yasiel Puig. It was the third time on the night Fernandez struck out the side, and he matched a career high with 14 strikeouts.
Josh Ravin and Adam Liberatore combined to throw two scoreless innings. Grandal got the Dodgers on the board in the ninth with a solo home run. Reddick and Joc Pederson combined for back-to-back singles with no outs to chase Fernando Rodney.
A.J. Ramos endured a small scare as Toles drove a ball to the warning track. Ramos proceeded to shut the door without allowing any damage. The Dodgers’ 4-1 loss snapped their five-game winning streak. Miami improved to 5-0 against Los Angeles this season.
