A bullpen game for the Los Angeles Dodgers initially yielded manageable results but their offense failed to up its end of the bargain in a 7-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The series loss at Citizens Bank Park gave the Dodgers a disappointing 2-4 record on their road trip.
Sunday’s defeat was the Dodgers’ only loss on the road trip that was not a walk-off. The Dodgers are now 17-19 on the road after going 54-27 away from Dodger Stadium last season.
Caleb Ferguson was the opener for his first start of the season and saw the Phillies take a 1-0 lead thanks in large part to some bad luck. After Trea Turner lined a one-out single off Miguel Vargas’ glove, Nick Castellanos’ soft chopper got through a shifted infield to put runners at the corners.
Bryce Harper then threw his bat at a pitch low and away to bloop an RBI double into left field.
Turner helped set the table again in the third inning with a double, and he led a double steal after Harper was intentionally walked. Adam Kolarek, who had his contract selected Sunday, was summoned to face Bryson Stott with two outs, only to give up a two-run single.
Taijuan Walker built on an impressive outing against the Detroit Tigers by getting through five scoreless innings. He limited hard contact and held the Dodgers to just two hits and two walks.
Walker was removed from the game despite only throwing 83 pitches, and the decision immediately backfired as Gregory Soto gave up a leadoff home run to Freddie Freeman in the sixth inning.
Jason Heyward also hit a solo homer in the seventh, but sandwiched between the two long balls was Alex Vesia allowing a run, and thus the Dodgers trailed 4-2.
The Phillies then pulled away by scoring three runs off Nick Robertson in the seventh inning.
The Dodgers loaded the bases against a struggling Jose Alvarado in the eighth, only to score one run as he limited the damage while essentially being effectively wild.
NL West: Dodgers standings update
Coupled with the Arizona Diamondbacks rallying in the ninth inning for a comeback win on Sunday, the Dodgers are now 3.5 games back of first place in the National League West standings.
The Diamondbacks and Atlanta Braves are tied for the best record in the NL at 40-25.
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