Bullpen blows lead late as Dodgers lose

Well, all good things must come to an end.

For the first time in what seems like all season, the Dodgers bullpen simply couldn’t get it done. After having arguably the best bullpen in all of baseball through the first week of the season, Blake Treinen allowed four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Though, thanks to a Justin Turner error, all four runs were unearned. The Dodgers couldn’t come back in the ninth, as they fell to Arizona, 5-3.

After a Turner error with one out in the eighth, Kole Calhoun walked to put two runners on. Starling Marte grounded out, advancing the runners to second and third. Instead of facing Eduardo Escobar, who was hitting .133, the Dodgers opted to intentionally walk him to load the bases for Christian Walker. In his career, Walker has a .981 OPS against LA, the highest against any team he’s faced at least 10 times. He made the Dodgers regret their decision, as he brought in three runs with a bases-clearing double.

Joe Kelly relieved Treinen, but allowed a run to score as well. As mentioned, all the runs were unearned, so technically their ERA is still practically zero???

The Dodgers did have a chance to make things interesting in the ninth. Matt Beaty walked and Mookie Betts doubled, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Cody Bellinger stepped up to the plate, hoping to get out of his season-long slump. He swung at the first pitch and flied out, ending the game. On the season, Bellinger is hitting .139. He’s 1-for-20 over his last four games.

Tony Gonsolin makes season debut

After starting the season at the alternate site at USC, Tony Gonsolin made his first start of the season. It was an identical situation to his 2019 season debut (which was his MLB debut) as his first game of the year was at Chase Field. This outing went a lot better, as he threw four innings of scoreless ball.

He allowed a leadoff hit (which I’ll get to in a second), but that was it. It was the only hit he’d allow the rest of the way. He walked one and struck out one. His velocity looked great, touching 95 and 95 mph on a frequent basis. With the uncertainty of Alex Wood’s health, we could see Gonsolin remain in the starting rotation for some time.

Mookie Betts looked great

Today was arguably his best game as a Dodger, as he truly did it all for them. In the first inning, it looked like Ketel Marte had an easy triple. Betts had other ideas. He gunned him out at third, on the fly!

Later in the game, he finally hit his first career homer as a Dodger. The first of many, might I add.

Friday particulars

WP: Hector Rendon (1-0) ¹⁄₃ IP, 1 SO

LP: Blake Trienen (0-1) ²⁄₃ IP, 4 R, 0 ER

SV: Archie Bradley (2) 1 IP, 2 SO

Home runs: Mookie Betts (1) Corey Seager (3)

Up next

The Dodgers look to get back into the win column tomorrow night at Julio Urias makes his second start of the season. First pitch is at 5:10 P.M. PT on SportsNet LA.