Dylan Floro and Joe Kelly failed to back a strong start from Hyun-Jin Ryu and it resulted in the Los Angeles Dodgers squandering a lead in a 5-3 loss to the Los Angels Angels of Anaheim in the Freeway Series opener.
Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to eight games with one-out double in the second inning that wound up sparking a bit of a rally for the Dodgers, but they additionally were aided by rookie Griffin Canning hitting Russell Martin with a pitch to put two on with two outs.
Chris Taylor promptly cleared the bases with a two-run double, and then scored when Cesar Puello couldn’t quite corral a sinking line drive for a shoestring catch, resulting in an RBI double for Kiké Hernandez.
The Dodgers threatened to pad their lead when Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger combined for back-to-back singles in the sixth inning. However, Canning stranded both runners by retiring the next three batters faced.
Kole Calhoun cut into the Dodgers’ lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning, and it wound up being the only blemish for Ryu. Puello doubled after the homer, only to be left on base by Jonathan Lucroy and Wilfredo Tovar.
Ryu was tested again in the fifth as he allowed back-to-back singles to start the inning. A force out put runners at the corners for Mike Trout, who struck out for the second time to end the inning.
Ryu finished with six strikeouts and went at least six innings for an eighth consecutive start.
He exited in position to win but ultimately didn’t factor into the decision because the Dodgers failed to make it through the seventh unscathed.
That was a result of Trout redeeming himself with a game-tying, two-out home run off Floro. The hit was Trout’s first in three career at-bats against Floro. The Dodgers bullpen continued to spiral downward in the eighth, which marked Kelly’s first high-leverage situation in several appearances.
His inning consisted of a four-pitch leadoff walk, strikeout on four pitches, errant pickoff throw, intentional walk, wild pitch, pitch to the backstop and another walk that loaded the bases. Kelly then induced a soft tapper to third base but Max Muncy’s throw to home plate required Martin to leave his feet and resulted in a safe call.
Replay appeared to show Martin’s foot touched the plate before Shohei Ohtani could get his left hand in but the call was upheld. Kelly uncorked yet another wild pitch that allowed a second run to score before he could get out of the inning.
While the bulk of the blame will lie with Floro and Kelly, the Dodgers’ offense failed to capitalize on their fair share of opportunities. Muncy’s walk and Turner’s single put two on in the eighth for Bellinger, who flied out. L.A. then had the tying runners reach with nobody out in the ninth.
