The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped the second game of the series against the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2, despite the best efforts from Shohei Ohtani.
Bobby Miller’s struggles continued as he made the start in place of Tyler Glasnow, who was placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow tendinitis. The 25-year-old looked similar to what he was before going to the Minor Leagues to work on things, showing no real signs of progress.
Although he only walked one, his command was awful all game and his velocity trended down each inning after coming out in the first touching 100 mph. He was unable to locate his pitches and often found himself behind in counts, putting hitters in good positions to take advantage when he had to come back in the zone with his fastball.
Miller ended up going just 4.2 innings while allowing four runs on eight hits. He struck out just one and allowed two home runs as well. The homers were hit by Alex Burleson on a 96 mph fastball in the third inning, which gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead, and by Masyn Winn in the fifth, on a 96 mph sinker in the heart of the zone.
The Dodgers offense didn’t have much going for them, either. They took a lead in the first inning when Shohei Ohtani took a walk, stole second base, and came around to score on a single from Freddie Freeman.
Their only other run came when Ohtani homered in the fifth inning, a solo shot that cut the deficit to one run. However, the Cardinals added that run back their half of the inning.
Ohtani finished the game with one home run and two stolen bases, moving him closer to a 40-40 season, which would be the first in Dodgers’ history. Matt Kemp was the closest player to reach it with 39 homers and 40 stolen bases.
Ohtani now has 38 home runs and 37 stolen bases this year, making it possible he becomes the first 50-50 player in MLB history with roughly 10 weeks left in the season. Only 5 players in MLB history have accomplished a 40-40 season.
Dodgers remove Freddie Freeman early with injury
In the eighth inning, Kiké Hernández replaced Freeman at first base. Ken Rosenthal reported on Fox that Freeman injured his finger fielding a ground ball from Nolan Gorman in the sixth inning, but there was no word on the severity of it.
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