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More umpire controversy, another bad Clayton Kershaw start mark Dodgers’ loss
ST. LOUIS — A night after his controversial called third strike ended one Dodgers loss, umpire Paul Emmel was in the middle of more controversy with the team Sunday.
In the fourth inning of the Dodgers’ 10-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Max Muncy was ejected by Emmel after being rung up on a called strike, getting tossed by the crew chief — who had cycled to third base Sunday — after continuing to complain about the call on his way back to the dugout.
Unlike Saturday night, when Emmel’s missed call in a Mookie Betts at-bat extinguished a potential ninth-inning comeback, Sunday’s ejection of Muncy had minimal impact on the rest of the game.
Dodgers lose 10-5 and drop four-game series to Cardinals
⚾ Cardinals 10, Dodgers 5 — FINAL
Top of the ninth: Facing Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera (1-0, 5.06), pinch-hitter Trayce Thompson was called out on strikes. Miguel Rojas singled to left for his second hit of the day. Pinch-hitter Austin Barnes flied out to deep right-center field. Freddie Freeman took a called third strike on a ninth pitch from Cabrera to end the series.
Clayton Kershaw failed to reach the fifth inning in consecutive starts for the first time in his career. An overworked bullpen couldn’t keep the Dodgers in the game. The Dodgers also suffered their first series loss in almost a month.
The Dodgers open a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
Dodgers tack on a couple runs in the eighth inning
⚾ Cardinals 10, Dodgers 5 — Eighth inning
Top of the eighth: Freddie Freeman took a pitch off his elbow from Cardinals reliever Matthew Liberatore and was grimacing as he jogged to first. Will Smith drew a walk and Chris Taylor singled to left, loading the bases. J.D. Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field to score Freeman. James Outman followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Smith. Liberatore struck out Miguel Vargas to end the rally.
Bottom of the eighth: Dodgers reliever Phil Bickford (1-1, 5.66) struck out Lars Nootbar. Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras each flied out to send the game into the ninth.
Paul DeJong’s three-run homer gives Cardinals a commanding lead
⚾ Cardinals 10, Dodgers 3 — End of the seventh
Top of the seventh: Jason Heyward grounded out, Miguel Rojas struck out and David Peralta flied out. The Dodgers have four hits so far.
Bottom of the seventh: Nolan Arenado picked up his third hit of the day on a single to left off Wander Suero. Alec Burleson struck out before Tommy Edman singled to right for his third hit today. Paul DeJong followed with his seventh home run of the season, a three-run blast to left field to give the Cardinals a commanding, seven-run lead. Suero struck out Brendan Donovan and Oscar Mercado flied out to end the inning.
Cardinals lead by four heading into the seventh inning
⚾ Cardinals 7, Dodgers 3 — End of the sixth
Top of the sixth: The Dodgers went down in order on nine pitches from Drew VerHagen.
Bottom of the sixth: Wander Suero (0-0, 5.79) took over in relief, overseeing a 1-2-3 inning that included a strikeout of Willson Contreras.
Cardinals extend their lead with three more runs in the fifth
⚾ Cardinals 7, Dodgers 3 — End of the fifth
Top of the fifth: Miguel Vargas initially reached first on a grounder to short before the on-field call was challenged by the Cardinals and overturned after a video review. Jason Heyward drew a walk after a 10-pitch at-bat. Miguel Rojas grounded out softly to first. Jack Flaherty walked David Peralta before Freddie Freeman singled on a liner to left field, giving Heyward barely enough time to beat the throw home and score from second.
Will Smith then drew the Dodgers’ third walk of the inning, loading the bases and ending Flaherty’s afternoon after 4 2/3 innings. The Cardinals pitcher allowed four hits, two earned runs, walked four and struck out five over 103 pitches. Drew VerHagen took over in relief and was called for a balk while facing Chris Taylor, allowing Peralta to score. It was the first balk of VerHagen’s eight-year MLB career. VerHagen struck out Taylor for the final out.
Bottom of the fifth: Shelby Miller struck out Willson Contreras on three pitches. Nolan Arenado then singled on a liner to left. Dave Roberts pulled Justin Bruihl (1-0, 2.31) out of the bullpen for a lefty-lefty matchup against pinch hitter Alec Burleson, who drew a walk. Tommy Edman singled to left, loading the bases. Paul DeJong followed with an RBI single to left, scoring Arenado. Bruihl fielded a soft grounder off the bat of Brendan Donovan to force out Burleson at home.
Oscar Mercado then picked up his fourth and fifth RBIs of the game on a single that went off the glove of a tumbling Vargas at second. Mercado, who is three for three today, was caught trying to steal second to end the inning.
Max Muncy ejected, Clayton Kershaw exits as Cardinals extend lead
⚾ Cardinals 4, Dodgers 1 — End of the fourth
Top of the fourth: Max Muncy was ejected by third base umpire Paul Emmel when he said something Emmel didn’t like after taking a called third strike. The strike call came on a 95-mph fastball from Jack Flaherty below the zone.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had a somewhat heated discussion with Emmel as Muncy tried to get a word in while being ushered back by third base coach Dino Ebel. The ejection came less than 24 hours after controversial strike calls thwarted the Dodgers’ hope of a comeback Saturday against the Cardinals.
After J.D. Martinez singled to center, James Outman popped out to first to end the inning. Chris Taylor replaced Muncy at third base.
Bottom of the fourth: Clayton Kershaw struck out Juan Yepez. Tommy Edman then grounded out to third before Paul DeJong drew a walk. Brendan Donovan followed with a single to right field, moving DeJong to third. Oscar Mercado drove in his second run of the game on a single to left field, plating DeJong as Kershaw hit the 90-pitch mark.
Kershaw then walked Lars Nootbar, bringing his afternoon to an end after 4 2/3 innings. Kershaw gave up five hits, four earned runs, walked three and struck out six over 95 pitches. Shelby Miller (1-0, 2.57) took over on the mound. Paul Goldschmidt lined out to Taylor for the third out.
Dodgers cut into the Cardinals’ lead in the third inning
⚾ Cardinals 3, Dodgers 1 — End of the third
Top of the third: Jason Heyward doubled on a popup to shallow left that bounced off the head of Cardinals shortstop Nolan Arenado after he lost the ball in the sun while trying to make a catch. Miguel Rojas then drove the ball through the right side of the infield for a single. A sacrifice fly by David Peralta to deep center field scored Heyward from third. Freddie Freeman followed by grounding into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Bottom of the third: Clayton Kershaw struck out Paul Goldschmidt for the second time today. Then, David Peralta made a fearless sliding catch as he sprinted toward the sidewall in left field to get out Willson Contreras. Nolan Arenado struck out to cap the 1-2-3 inning.
Cardinals score three runs in the second inning
⚾ Cardinals 3, Dodgers 0 — End of the second
Top of the second: SoCal native and Harvard-Westlake grad Jack Flaherty struck out J.D. Martinez and Miguel Vargas as part of a 1-2-3 inning.
Bottom of the second: Nolan Arenado led off with a lead-off double to the warning track in left-center field, slapping a pitch low in the strike zone from Clayton Kershaw for the Cardinals’ first hit. Kershaw got Juan Yepez to chase a slider outside the zone for a strikeout. Tommy Edman then punched the Cardinals into the lead with a double to left, scoring Arenado from second.
Paul DeJong reached first on a grounder that was quickly fielded by Miguel Rojas and thrown to Max Muncy, who tagged out Edman as he tried to slide into third. Brendan Donovan drew a two-out walk to put runners on first and second before Oscar Mercado banged out a two-run double into left field. Lars Nootbar grounded out to end the inning. Kershaw stands at 49 pitches so far.
Dodgers and Cardinals scoreless heading into the second inning
⚾ Dodgers 0, Cardinals 0 — End of the first
Top of the first: Facing Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (3-4, 5.24 ERA), David Peralta struck out and Freddie Freeman grounded out. Flaherty then walked Will Smith. Max Muncy fouled a pitch off his foot before striking out.
Bottom of the first: Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (6-3, 2.52) struck out Lars Nootbar and Paul Goldschmidt before Willson Contreras flied out to right to cap the inning.
Top Dodger pitching prospects Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller to start against Braves
ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers promised a youth movement this season.
This week in Atlanta, it’s about to take center stage.
After recent injuries to Dustin May (forearm strain) and Julio Urías (hamstring strain), the Dodgers are planning to start top pitching prospects Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller against the Braves on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Manager Dave Roberts confirmed Stone will pitch the series opener, in what will be the second major league start this season for the former fifth-round draft pick.
Miller, a former first-round pick and the No. 2 ranked prospect in the club’s farm system by MLB Pipeline, will make his MLB debut Tuesday, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly.
Mookie Betts gets day off in series finale against Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — If the Dodgers are going to split their series against the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, they’ll have to do it without Mookie Betts in the lineup.
The Dodgers’ star outfielder and leadoff hitter is getting a scheduled day off Sunday, manager Dave Roberts said, with the team in the midst of a 13-day stretch of games.
David Peralta will slot in as the leadoff hitter instead, while Jason Heyward will play right field.
Sunday’s pitching matchup features a couple big names, with Clayton Kershaw (6-3, 2.52 ERA) squaring off against Jack Flaherty (3-4, 5.24 ERA).
Here is the Dodgers’ full lineup:
Another Dodgers pitcher injury: Julio Urías lands on IL with hamstring strain
ST. LOUIS — Already thin on starting pitching depth, the Dodgers’ rotation suffered another blow Saturday before a 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
Two days after a woeful three-inning, six-run start against St. Louis, left-hander Julio Urías was put on the 15-day injured list because of what the Dodgers called a left hamstring strain.
The move came as a surprise. Despite Urías being removed after only 68 pitches Thursday night — and a third inning in which he gave up four home runs — neither he nor manager Dave Roberts indicated the pitcher had any physical problems.
Saturday recap: Controversial third strike call dooms Dodgers’ comeback bid
ST. LOUIS — Mookie Betts didn’t have time to toss his bat, unstrap his shin guard or take even a half-step toward first base.
After laying off what should have been a pivotal ball four with two outs in the ninth inning of a one-run game Saturday night, the Dodgers star was instead rung up instantly — and, in a controversial moment that rankled everyone on the visiting side, incorrectly — by home plate umpire Paul Emmel for a game-ending third strike.
“He called it,” Betts said. “There’s nothing I can do.”
Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season
Here’s a look at the Dodgers TV schedule for the 2023 regular season. All times and broadcast/streaming options are subject to change.
