After hanging on for a victory in the series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers looked for the two-game sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium in a Wednesday afternoon matchup. Brandon McCarthy took the mound for the Dodgers and he was opposed by Rays lefty Matt Moore.
McCarthy gave up a two-out single to Evan Longoria in the top of the first, but then got Corey Dickerson to fly out to the warning track in center to end the inning. Howie Kendrick led off the bottom of the first with a single to right.
Justin Turner drew a one-out walk but the inning came to an end as Scott Van Slyke hit into a 5-4-3 double play. After McCarthy retired the Rays in order in the second, the Dodgers mounted a small two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning.
Joc Pederson walked and went first to third base on an A.J. Ellis flare single into right field. Ellis then stole second base, which allowed Pederson to score as Rays catcher Luke Maile’s throw went into center field.
The stolen base was the first for Ellis in his nine-career. Spotted a 1-0 lead, McCarthy struck out the side in the third inning. Kendrick improved to 2-for-2 on the day with another single but Moore retired the next three batters faced.
McCarthy struck out the side in the fourth, but not without first allowing some damage. Brad Miller opened the inning with a double and it was followed by an Evan Longoria go-ahead, two-run home run. Steven Souza Jr. walked with one out and stole second base on a pitch Logan Morrison struck out on.
Maile pulled an RBI double down the third base line to extend the Rays’ lead to 3-1 before McCarthy managed to end the inning. Moore sailed through the bottom of the fourth, extending his streak of consecutive batters retired to six.
With Louis Coleman on the mound, Miller hit a slow chopper to Chris Taylor and wound up on second base with one out after Taylor’s throwing error. Longoria singled to center to put runners on the corners and knock Coleman out of the game.
J.P. Howell replaced Coleman and got the Dodgers out of the jam without allowing a run. Kendrick was stranded by Seager in the bottom of the fifth after drawing a two-out walk. Luis Avilan took over for the Dodgers in the sixth and collected a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 inning.
Moore again worked around a two-out baserunner as Adrian Gonzalez singled in the sixth. Ross Stripling allowed a leadoff single to Moore in the seventh, then walked Miller to put two on with one out. However, Stripling worked out of trouble by inducing Longoria into an inning-ending 1-4-3 double play.
After Pederson drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, Ellis nearly connected for an extra-base hit but was robbed by Dickerson on a leaping catch at the left-field wall. Moore got Utley to foul out and his day was over after 6.2 innings pitched.
Rays reliever Kevin Jepsen was aided by Morrison, who went tumbling into the stands off first base and still hung on for a catch to end the inning. Xavier Cedeño struck out Seager in the bottom of the eighth to effectively end his nine-game hitting streak.
The left-handed reliever then retired Turner and worked around a Van Slyke single to send the game to the ninth with the Rays still leading 3-1. Stripling allowed a one-out double to Kiermaier before completing a third scoreless inning of relief.
Alex Colome shut the door on the Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth to wrap up the Rays’ victory that gave them a series and season split.
