The Los Angeles Dodgers received contributions from the bottom of their lineup but it came in a 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins, who avoided being swept at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers had their four-game winning streak snapped but still have taken back-to-back series at home.
Unexpectedly put into the lineup minutes before first pitch because of Chris Taylor getting scratched due to right wrist soreness, Sheldon Neuse started a small rally with a one-out double in the second inning.
He then scored on Austin Barnes’ double to left field, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Mookie Betts added to it with a soft liner that dropped for an RBI base hit when it split Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Isan Diaz as both players were in a shift and pulled up to avoid potentially colliding with each other.
The Dodgers relying on a bullpen game was panning out until Neuse’s error in the fifth inning led to trouble. Chisholm’s base hit gave the Marlins two on with nobody out, which Edwin Uceta nearly worked out of. However, a mistake pitch to Adam Duvall leaked over the plate and was sent into the loge level down the left-field line for what held as a game-winning home run.
It was the Marlins’ first time scoring since the eighth inning on Friday night.
The Dodgers had the tying run immediately reach scoring position when Betts led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to the gap in left-center field. But that was followed by 11 straight being retired.
Matt Beaty snapped that drought with a two-out single off former teammate Dylan Floro in the bottom of the eighth. Beaty finished with a game-high three hits.
Gavin Lux did his part to keep the Dodgers’ rally alive with a base hit, but both runners were stranded by Luke Raley. It marked a 12th consecutive scoreless appearance for Floro this season.
Fellow former Dodgers relief pitcher Yimi Garcia worked around a Barnes infield single to convert the save opportunity.
Dodgers fortunate with Seager
Although Corey Seager sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal in his right hand that will sideline him for at least one month, surgery won’t be required.
“Fortunately, I think we dodged a bullet on that one,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s in a splint and we’re just going to kind of let it heal. With a broken hand, the timeline is pretty vague. So that’s kind of where it’s at.”
The Dodgers placed Seager on the 10-day injured list prior to first pitch and recalled Keibert Ruiz from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Ruiz struck out swinging during a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning.
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