Dodgers drop frustrating series to Diamondbacks

The most promising pitching matchup of the series certainly did not disappoint. Zac Gallen and Julio Urías put mostly zeroes on the board for the first six innings of this ball game, with the exception being a Nick Ahmed solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.

But the Dodgers imploded defensively in the eighth inning, losing to the Diamondbacks 3-1 at Chase Field.

Although it’d be easy to look at the performance from these two offenses and chop it up to solid pitching from Gallen and Urías, if you look at the whole series, low scoring was the theme through and through.

Even Tony Gonsolin, Zach Davies, and Kelly who all looked very vulnerable in certain innings managed to buckle down and allow no more than three runs each. The Dodgers didn’t even have the hot start it had during the first two that helped raise the floor for the whole game.

Zac Gallen and Julio Urías combined for 12 innings, three hits, one run, with four walks, and nine strikeouts.

Neither pitcher was his best self in this outing, but the two cold offenses were unable to capitalize on four free passes.

Urías’ fastball continued to hover around 92.5 MPH, the velocity he’s shown in 2022, and the Dodgers’ lefty didn’t have a good feel for his changeup in this outing. Urías powered through this performance relying solely on his curveball that was responsible for three of his seven whiffs, and 10 of his 16 called strikes.

Gallen also kept the Dodgers offense quiet without his best day on the mound. His pitch usage was about what we’ve come to expect. Around 54-percent fastballs, but he mixed it up with more curveballs and fewer changeups on this one, the latter which didn’t work particularly well.

Going back to Tuesday’s game, the Dodgers offense went 15 innings without scoring a single run against the Diamondbacks. Will Smith had the three-run double in the first of the second match, and the next run came when Trea Turner singled in Mookie Betts in the top of 8th.

Unlike what most expected and looking at a couple of big starts in the first two, the Dodgers let the Diamondbacks hang around in all three games of the series, and failed to capitalize on Urías’ six innings of one-run ball.

Much like yesterday’s game, the wheels came off after a leadoff walk in the late innings, this time around it was Daniel Hudson on the mound when a questionable no-swing call by Daulton Varsho earned a leadoff walk, subsequently followed by a Max Muncy throwing error on a bunt trying to get the winning run to second.

The D-Backs caught another break when a slow-roller remained fair for an infield hit. Daniel Hudson did the best to work around these miscues, but ultimately the D-Backs took a 3-1 lead to the ninth after an RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Pavin Smith.

Dodger killer Mark Melancon came in for an easy three up, three down save, and the road trip ends on a melancholic note with a 3-3 record.

Wednesday particulars

Home run: Nick Ahmed (1)

WP — Ian Kennedy (2-1): 1 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 strikeout

LP — Daniel Hudson (1-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs (1 earned), 1 walk

Sv — Mark Melancon (4): 1 inning, 1 strikeout

Up Next

The Dodgers return home for a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers over the weekend. Tyler Anderson is the announced starter for Friday (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), facing southpaw Tyler Alexander for the Tigers.