LOS ANGELES ― The Dodgers used up all their late-game magic to beat the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings on Monday night.
They used up all their pitchers too.
Although Clayton Kershaw and three relievers did their best to keep a resilient Twins lineup at bay Tuesday, the Dodgers’ failure to capitalize on runners in scoring position resulted in a 5-1 loss.
The Dodgers went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Their mistakes were conspicuous.
Max Muncy made the final out of the fourth inning at home plate, where he was thrown out on a botched double-steal attempt. They left the bases loaded in the seventh inning. They got their only run when Michael A. Taylor caught a Freddie Freeman flare in shallow center field, then lost the ball sliding on the turf – a rare break on a night of stellar defensive plays by both teams.
So it was that the Dodgers’ winning streak ended at six games before an announced crowd of 52,159.
“We were pretty extended today on the pitching and they had some timely hits,” Manager Dave Roberts said.
The Dodgers kept the game close until the ninth inning, when former Dodger Kyle Farmer hit a two-run home run against reliever Justin Bruihl to cap the scoring.
Typically a one-inning reliever, Bruihl threw the game’s final two innings despite appearing for the third time in three games. Right-hander Shelby Miller allowed one run in two innings in relief of Kershaw, who lasted a season-low four innings. Victor Gonzalez threw a scoreless seventh inning as Roberts stayed away from his high-leverage relief pitchers.
“You sort of concede sometimes at some point to potentially give yourself the best chance to win the series,” Roberts said. “What Shelby did for us was incredible. What Justin Bruihl did for us was incredible. That not only preserved tonight but gave us a very good opportunity to win a game (Wednesday).”
The Dodgers (27-16) will send Dustin May to the mound in the series finale – a noon game followed by a flight to St. Louis.
Twins starter Bailey Ober (3-0) allowed one run over six innings. Ober, coincidentally, was drafted by the Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 2016 draft but did not sign. Several former Dodgers did damage for the Twins (23-19).
Donovan Solano led off the game with a double into the left field corner. The former Dodger minor leaguer scored on a two-out single by Farmer, who had three RBIs against his former team. Brock Stewart made a scoreless relief appearance in his return to Los Angeles.
Pitching three days after the death of his mother, Marianne, Kershaw allowed three runs on seven hits in four innings. He walked one batter, hit another and struck out seven. He was also charged with a balk when he threw to first base and failed to pick off Taylor on his third throw over; he also incurred a pitch timer violation.
“There were not a ton of hard-hit balls tonight,” Kershaw said. “A couple were, but other than that, just long at-bats. They put good at-bats on me the whole night. I wasn’t able to have any quick innings tonight.”
Kershaw (6-3) needed 47 pitches to record the game’s first six outs.
In the fourth inning, Minnesota used a leadoff walk by Taylor, and back-to-back singles by Joey Gallo and Willi Castro, to take a 3-0 lead. Kershaw was fortunate to strike out Solano and induce a double-play groundout by Carlos Correa – thanks to a slick-handed play by second baseman Mookie Betts – to end the inning without allowing another run.
Roberts then decided that Kershaw had reached the end of his rope.
“I think he just wasn’t as crisp as he has been,” Roberts said. “I thought he was fighting himself, couldn’t really find a rhythm, get into a rhythm. In the fourth inning, I thought the sharpness of the slider just wasn’t there. The hope was for him to go deeper into the game.”
Roberts and Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman were prepared to allow Kershaw time away from the team on the bereavement list, but the pitcher said he will make his next start as scheduled in St. Louis. He said it was “humbling” to hear from fans and others who reached out to offer their condolences in recent days.
Was the emotional impact weighing on Kershaw?
“No,” he said. “All good. All good.”
“Everything physically felt good, just wasn’t coming out like I wanted it to.” @ClaytonKersh22 talks about how he felt about his pitch choices and decisions against the clock. pic.twitter.com/yDLhuxbqiz
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) May 17, 2023
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