The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup exploded against the San Diego Padres in Monday’s series finale, winning 13-7 behind by an eight-run fourth inning and five-run sixth.
The first two innings were scoreless for both sides, and it was the Padres who went up 5-0 against Tony Gonsolin in the third before the Dodgers bounced back to take the lead with their eight spot. That led to a short outing for Padres starter Seth Lugo, who pitched 3.1 innings, giving up eight runs on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Dodgers’ rally began with a single by Freddie Freeman and walk to Max Muncy before David Peralta doubled to put them on the board. Beginning with the walk, the Dodgers had a runner on second base for the entire inning up until Mookie Betts hit a grand slam and Lugo was replaced from the game.
Lugo said it felt like the Dodgers were on all of his pitches and suspected they were stealing signs from second base, via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com:
When asked, Lugo said he felt the Dodgers knew what was coming in that fateful fourth. He said he thought they’d been relaying his pitch grips from second base, though he refused to use it as an excuse for his poor outing, saying he needed to be more conscious of that possibility in the moment.
“You try to stay locked in and focused on executing pitches, and some other stuff just slips your mind,” Lugo said. “… I knew coming in what they were going to do, especially on second base.”
It’s worth noting stealing signs is legal and part of the game, which makes it the responsibility of the pitcher and catcher to mix up their signals and not tip anything. The problem is when technology is used to steal signs, which the 2017 Houston Astros did, and is not what Lugo accused the Dodgers of doing.
Although it was a rough outing for Lugo, he has been in the midst of a solid season, entering the game with a 3.54 ERA, 3.75 FIP and 1.19 WHIP in 89 innings while striking out 24% of hitters and walking 5.2%. The 33-year-old now has a 4.19 ERA and 3.89 FIP.
As for the Dodgers lineup, they have been red-hot as of late and outscored the Padres 34-22 in the series after putting up 25 runs in three games against the Oakland Athletics.
In August, their offense is averaging 8.43 runs per game, and Dodgers manger Dave Roberts is feeling good about the state of his club.
Dodgers tried to sign Seth Lugo in offseason
As the Dodgers searched for starting pitchers in the offseason, Lugo was one of their targets and he reportedly narrowed his decision down to the Padres and Dodgers.
Primarily a reliever with the Mets, the Padres guaranteed Lugo a starting role and he joined them on a two-year deal worth $15 million.
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