May Injured in Tough Loss to Brewers – 5/1/21
As we enter the month of May, the only thing we as fans focused on was the offense finally getting hot at the plate. The starting rotation had been solid, and the bullpen looked good these past few games. Now it was all about the offense figuring it out. Unfortunately, not too long into this game, we realized much bigger problems lie ahead. May came out injured in early innings and the team had to rely on a tired bullpen to finish the game.
Mookie Betts was out of the lineup in last night’s day, and the Dodgers have been desperate to get his bat going. Things were off to a good start when Betts launched the first pitch of the game into left-center-field, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. The lead wouldn’t last long, however. The Brewers tied it up on Urías’ solo shot in the second. But that was the least of the Dodger worries that inning.
May Injured
With two outs in the inning, May threw his 27th pitch on a 3-2 count to McKinney. After hitting 99 MPH on his four-seamer, this one clocked in at 94 MPH. May showed immediate signs of pain. He called the trainer out of the dugout as soon as he threw the pitch. You could see how much pain he was in when they zoomed in on him. He dropped more than a few f-bombs. Based on his reaction alone, it’s hard to imagine this is something minor. The Dodgers may be looking to the alternate site, or taxi squad for some starting pitching help real soon.
This one essentially turned into another bullpen game for the second inning in a row as Cleavinger had taken over for May. He would end up loading the bases before getting out of the inning.
The best one-two punch in baseball worked of their magic today. Betts came up with two outs in the third and was hit by the pitch. Luckily, Mookie had an elbow guard on (something he started wearing after Darvish hit him there last week) smiled as he took his batting gear off. Seager came up and hit a triple to dead center that skimmed over JBJ’s head, and the Dodgers had the lead once again.
Evened Up…Again
But as we’ve seen through this entire slump, those leads don’t last very long. Travis Shaw, who had already homered against Bauer this series, took Cleavinger deep, and we were all tied up at 2-2 in the bottom of the third. He would get JBJ swinging to finish up his day of work. Nelson and Alexander, who both pitched in yesterday’s bullpen game, put in an inning of work. Neither surrendering a run. González gave up two hits in a shaky seventh. Barnes helped him out by throwing out Wong as he tried to steal second. Jansen did his thing in the eighth, only walking one while hitting 95 MPH on the gun.
The Brewers brought Hader in to pitch the ninth for the third game in a row. Pollock made hard contact but hit it right at Shaw, who threw him out for the first out. Taylor and Barnes both singled against Hader on Friday, and they’d get another opportunity against him tonight. This time Taylor put up a great AB and worked an eight-pitch walk. He then did the unthinkable and stole second base. I know, crazy. Barnes flew out to deep center for the second out. Roberts would pinch-hit for Ríos, bringing Smith to the plate with the go-ahead run at second. Unfortunately, he flew out, and the Dodgers wasted another chance to take the lead. That happened a few times tonight.
Treinen got the bottom of the ninth and made quick work of the Brewers, setting them down in order on 11 pitches. Now we head to extras. As always, a runner starts on second, and tonight that was Will Smith after he was the final out of the ninth. Betts flew out to deep left on a play that twisted up the left fielder a bit, but Smith didn’t tag up on the play. The way things have gone lately, it felt like that was going to cost the Dodgers.
Seager drew a five-pitch walk bringing the Dodgers hottest hitter to the plate in JT. Turner does what he does best and lines a base hit to right-center, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead! Brewers intentionally walked Muncy to load the bases for Kershaw, who was pinch-hitting for Treinen. Kershaw struck out, and Pollock grounded one back to the pitcher to end the inning. They needed three more outs to come away with the win.
Extra Innings Yet Again
Alex Vesia, who was recalled yesterday, made his Dodger debut in the tenth inning. With a runner in scoring position, the Dodgers threw the rookie right into the fire. He walked the first two batters, quickly loading the bases with nobody out. He got JBJ looking for a huge first out of the inning. The next batter flew out to Pollock in left, and what should’ve been a closer play at home ended up allowing the runner to score easily. The game evens up once again. Vesia got McKinney swinging to end the inning.
Now in the 11th inning, Pollock began at the inning at second for the Dodgers. Taylor started the inning off with a strikeout. Barnes works a six-pitch walk bringing Smith to the plate. After three straight balls, Smith watched a fastball for a strike before fouling off three straight pitches. On the eighth pitch of the AB, Smith smoked the ball down the right-field line for a two-run triple. The Dodgers were back on top! Brewers decided to intentionally walk Betts to set up a double play. Betts would make a mental mistake trying to steal second and was easily thrown out. With a runner on third with one out, he took away the opportunity for Seager to try and drive home a run with a sac fly. Seager wound up striking up to end the inning on a questionable check-swing.
With White the only arm left in the bullpen, the Dodgers sent Vesia back out in the eleventh to try and close this one out again. As he did in the tenth, he walked the first two batters of the inning. This time it ended his night, and White came into pitch with the bases loaded and nobody out. Wong flies out to deep right allowing the runner from third to score, bringing the game within one. Dodgers had a 5-4 lead, and the tying run was at third with one out. White got Hiura swinging at a slider for the second out of the inning. A single from Garcia looked like Seager should’ve handled it for an out, but the ball got under his glove allowing the Brewers to tie the game. Shaw singled home the winning run, and the Brewers handed the Dodgers their third straight series loss.
Another Series Loss
The Dodgers were put in a tough position early on when May got injured and left the game in the second inning. After a bullpen game yesterday, their options were somewhat limited today in how deep guys could go. The offense and defense made some costly mistakes towards the end of the game, and right now, it seems like nothing can go our way. With another one-run loss in the books, the Dodgers will look to avoid being swept tomorrow.
First pitch is at 11:10 AM PDT.
After the game, Roberts spoke to the media about May and said that he felt a shooting sensation in his arm after one of his curveballs. And said he would get an MRI in Chicago.
For last night’s game recap, click here.
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