Missed opportunities headline Dodgers loss to Diamondbacks

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have exchanged wins so far in this season, and in Friday’s game not only did that trend carry over, but it was a part of the back and forth, as Arizona tied the game on three separate occasions, before taking the lead in a 6-3 win over Dodgers.

Neither Clayton Kershaw nor Madison Bumgarner were particularly sharp, allowing a combined 20 base runners, but they both somewhat limited the damage, conceding four and three runs, respectively.

However, the Dodgers' offense has more to lament, as it wasn’t able to do any damage against the D-Backs bullpen, setting up another loss, while Arizona at least padded their lead with two runs off Yency Almonte in the eighth inning.

Wasted opportunities against Bumgarner came back to bite the offense

Madison Bumgarner is far from the pitcher he once was, and we all know that, which makes all the more baffling, the fact this lineup only managed to score three earned runs off the D-Backs southpaw with 11 men reaching base in fewer than five frames.

Most of the damage came in the long ball, as James Outman took Bumgarner deep for his first career hit in the big leagues off a left-hander.

And an inning later, it was Chris Taylor’s turn to smash a solo homer.

However, the tough blow came in the fifth inning, as the Dodgers led 3-2, and Outman chased MadBum with a walk that loaded the bases, but with Torey Lovullo turning to the right-hander Drey Jameson, the Dodgers stranded all three runners with a Taylor ground out.

Jameson once again was able to provide length, relieving a starter for multiple innings, as he did in the D-Backs 2-1 win over the Dodgers last Friday. With the young right-hander holding down the fort for two and a third.

By the time Jameson’s night was done, the eighth inning had rolled around and the D-Backs were out in front, for the first time, leading 4-3, having jumped on Kershaw for two solo bombs in the sixth inning.

Kershaw’s struggles in Chase Field continue

The Dodgers’ starter made the 43rd start of his career against the Diamondbacks, and the second of the young season, and for Kershaw the splits on those two games have followed his career trends.

Back in Dodger Stadium, the left-hander continued the dominance he’s shown against Arizona at home, with six scoreless, but on enemy grounds, his four earned runs over the same six innings perpetuated his struggles at Chase Field.

Kershaw’s 3.91 ERA at Chase Field is the third worse for any park he’s thrown in, at least five times, only trailing PNC Park (3.98) and Coors Field (4.82).

Interestingly enough, one of the few batters Kershaw managed to keep at bay for most of the night, and probably a main reason why this outing avoided truly disastrous outputs, was Christian Walker, as the Dodgers' starter managed to strike him out in two of the three times they faced each other.

Kershaw’s start ended on a bitter note as it looked like the southpaw was going to power through a bit of an off night, having allowed only a couple of runs through the first five frames, including sitting Arizona down in order in the fifth.

However, in the sixth inning, Evan Longoria jumped on a slider to tie the game at 3-3 with a solo bomb, and Corbin Carroll went back-to-back taking Kershaw deep as well. Turning his final line into four runs over six frames.

Friday particulars

Home runs: James Outman (2), Chris Taylor (2); Evan Longoria (2), Corbin Carroll (2)

WP — Drey Jamison (2-0): 2⅓ IP, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

LP — Clayton Kershaw (1-1): 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Sv — Andrew Chafin (2): ⅔ IP, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers and D-backs are back at it on Saturday, with an earlier start time (5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Noah Syndergaard starting for Los Angeles against Zach Davies for Arizona.