Dodgers suffer first shutout defeat since 2019
By: Rowan Kavner
Tags: Dodgers, Postgame, Phillies, MLB, Clayton Kershaw

(Photo by Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Rowan Kavner

Fresh off Reopening Day at Dodger Stadium, when his late-inning go-ahead homer gave 52,078 fans a reason to stay on their feet, Mookie Betts was prepped to play the role of hero once again with his family in attendance on his jersey giveaway night. But it wasn’t meant to be in the Dodgers’ first shutout defeat since Sept. 14, 2019.

Two nights ago, three hits were enough to secure a series opening win against the Phillies. In trying to wrap up a sweep Wednesday, even with Betts at the plate representing the tying run in the ninth inning, five hits wouldn’t cut it in a 2–0 defeat.

“We had a chance to win a baseball game,” said manager Dave Roberts. “We just came up short.”

Clayton Kershaw struck out nine Phillies batters and limited damage to two runs in six innings despite allowing eight hits. But a Dodger lineup playing without injured sluggers Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager — and missing Justin Turner, who was given the night off to rest — couldn’t scratch a run across.

The Dodgers put two runners on base in the ninth inning on hit by pitches, but the first was erased on a double play from Austin Barnes and the second was left stranded at first base on a game-ending flyout from Betts. Both the Dodgers (0-for-6) and Phillies (0-for-10) finished the night hitless with runners in scoring position.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler, who already threw a shutout earlier this year, had been challenging enough for full-strength clubs let alone a shorthanded Dodger lineup. Wheeler entered the outing with a 2.29 ERA this year and was coming off a 12-strikeout performance of eight scoreless innings against the Braves when he held the Dodgers scoreless in six innings Wednesday.

“He’s aggressive in the strike zone,” said Steven Souza Jr., who recorded his first hit as a Dodger in the loss. “When you’ve got a guy throwing 100 mph who can command the fastball like that it’s going to be tough, especially with late movement.”

Four walks against Wheeler gave the Dodgers multiple opportunities to strike, but the hit they needed never arrived.

In the first inning, two walks and a Gavin Lux single loaded the bases but a Zach McKinstry strikeout left the Dodgers emptyhanded. The Dodgers placed runners at the corners in the third inning when an AJ Pollock groundout ended the threat. Lux, who finished 2-for-3 with a walk and has a .273 batting average over his last month, singled again in the fifth inning as two of the first three Dodgers reached to start the frame. But the Dodgers failed to scratch a run across.

“We were one hit awa from opening the door,” Souza said.

Patience at the plate did help get Wheeler’s pitch count up, forcing him out after six innings. Despite the Dodgers’ lack of success against the Phillies ace, they were still within striking distance because of Kershaw, who consistently escaped some unpromising circumstances, including a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.

Kershaw finished his outing with three straight strikeouts, the last of which came on his 110th pitch of the night — his most pitches in a game since Aug. 13, 2018. Kershaw said he felt fine afterward, and the off day Thursday will help.

“They made me grind, got my pitch count up, fouled off a lot of pitches,” Kershaw said. “Overall I thought I had decent stuff. My curveball wasn’t good, but I thought my fastball and slider were OK tonight. But they made me work.”

Dodger relievers Phil Bickford and David Price combined to hold the Phillies off the board the rest of the way, but the Philadelphia bullpen was just as unyielding. Phillies reliever José Alvarado, who was acquired from the Rays in the three-way deal that sent reliever Garrett Cleavinger to the Dodgers before the season, struck out four batters in two perfect innings before Hector Neris escaped trouble in the ninth.

“It’s one of those nights,” Roberts said. “And you wash it away.”