Tyler Glasnow provided seven innings in his longest start since June 22, but a squeaky Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen was unable to protect the lead in a 6-5 walk-off loss to the San Diego Padres.
Trouble arose in the ninth inning when Blake Treinen surrendered solo home runs to Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill, which tied the game. Alex Vesia then entered in the 10th as he looked to extend the game for the Dodgers.
He walked the leadoff hitter and intentionally put on Jurickson Profar to load the bases after a Luis Arraez sacrifice bunt had advanced both runners. Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano then delivered a walk-off single for the Padres.
It was the fourth consecutive appearance in which Vesia allowed at least one run.
“I just felt to keep (Tyler) Wade on the bench in the sense of late in the game, 10th inning, it’s easier to get the guy over. So I liked Vesia right there, but unfortunately he walked him,” manager Dave Roberts explained after the loss.
“And I thought it was going to bleed into the lefties, so I felt good about Alex in the 10th inning versus a lefty getting him over and Arraez coming up, a guy who puts the ball in play. Profar has been really good, obviously, and then you’ve got (Jake) Cronenworth behind. Solano put the ball in play.
“We had count leverage and just didn’t get it to the dirt. He put the ball in play, and that’s what happens.”
Vesia’s fastball velocity remained down and he continued to be slider-heavy, though Roberts did not have an explanation for either. Roberts did relay that Vesia assured during their conversation prior to the game that he was in good health. Roberts surmised pitch selection and sequencing was at the direction of Dodgers pitching coaches and game planning.
Dodgers tried pitching change
Solano pinch-hitting for Jake Cronenworth prompted a mound visit from Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior as Evan Phillips warmed up in the bullpen to potentially face the right-handed batter. That was par for the course, as the Dodgers regularly have Prior meet with a pitcher whenever a pinch-hitter enters, particularly in a late-game situation.
But after Prior returned to the dugout, Roberts emerged to speak with home plate umpire Dan Iassogna. Their brief conversation ended with Vesia still in the game, Iassogna issuing a pitch-clock violation and Solano’s at-bat beginning with a 1-0 count.
MLB rules do not permit back-to-back mound visits, which in this case also would’ve been a pitching change for the Dodgers.
“I just wanted to clarify that Mark went out there to talk to Alex after they pinch-hit Solano. I was asking if I could bring in Evan at that moment, but once we already visited, then he’s got to face a hitter,” Roberts explained.
Vesia nearly managed to mitigate the misstep as he threw a strike and got Solano to foul off a second fastball. But a 1-2 slider remained high enough in the zone for the veteran infielder to pull into left field for a walk-off hit.
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