Shohei Ohtani pitched two scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers received home runs from Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas, but it was not enough in a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros.
Ohtani induced a double play after allowing a single to start the game and thus faced the minimum in the first inning. He then struck out the side in the second, marking his first time doing so as a Dodgers pitcher.
The three strikeouts also represented a season-high for Ohtani.
He was staked a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to Betts’ second home run in the last three games. He’s looking to break out season-long slump that despite the extended stretch, does not have Dodgers manager Dave Roberts overly concerned.
Rojas’ two-out RBI single extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0 in the second inning.
Whereas Ben Casparius had followed Ohtani after his first three starts this season, that task fell to Justin Wrobleski on Saturday. His bulk innings appearance immediately began on a down note as he gave up three hits in a row that allowed the Astros to tie the game.
An uncharacteristic throwing error by Rojas gave the Astros a 3-2 lead and Christian Walker added an RBI single before Wrobleski could get through the inning. The Dodgers’ deficit then grew to 5-2 when Yainer Diaz hit a solo home run in the fourth.
Rojas tried to atone for his defensive miscue with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning that pulled the Dodgers back within 5-4. Rojas was starting at third base for a second time in the three games the Dodgers have played since putting Max Muncy on the injured list with a left knee bone bruise.
Wrobleski managed to settle in a bit and retired 11 batters in a row before an Isaac Paredes base hit with two outs in the seventh inning. Wrobleski provided the Dodgers with 4.2 innings.
Houston pushed across an insurance run off Lou Trivino in the eighth inning. That was set up by Jose Altuve hitting a leadoff triple.
Josh Hader completed a four-out save to wrap up the Astros’ win.
Dodgers’ streak snapped
With back-to-back losses, the Dodgers had their series winning streak snapped at seven. Prior to this weekend, they had not lost a series since dropping two of three to the St. Louis Cardinals from June 6-8.
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