The Los Angeles Dodgers have a final chance to salvage what has been a disastrous road trip.
That comes Sunday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles, who have won the first two games of the series in walk-off fashion.
“There’s a lot of good things we did, so that certainly makes it tougher,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
The Dodgers (78-64) have lost the first five games of the trip. For the leaders of the National League West, these matchups with the AL East-worst Orioles (66-76) have been difficult to digest.
“There’s still a lot of games left,” Roberts said. “It takes continuing to compete. To just fight for everything, which I see we’re doing.”
Roberts said there were elements Saturday night that could have allowed the Dodgers to take momentum into Sunday’s game.
The Dodgers wasted Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s 8 2/3 innings of no-hit pitching — before he yielded a solo home run — by allowing four ninth-inning runs in a 4-3 defeat.
Two relievers couldn’t finish the task for Los Angeles.
“We’ve got to be able to get one out,” Roberts said.
The Orioles were on the brink of being no-hit victims and then had a result to savor.
“It’s definitely a roller coaster of emotions,” said Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday, whose home run broke up the no-hit bid before the next five batters reached base. “I don’t think there’s any give-up in us.”
The sudden turnaround gave the Orioles another late-season boost.
“That’s wild. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like that,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Our guys stayed positive.”
The Orioles want to keep these recent good times rolling. They’ve won five games in a row and six of their last eight games overall.
“Being resilient, being optimistic every once in a while pays off,” Mansolino said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are getting their first opportunity in the big leagues and they’re fighting for their careers right now. I think when you get that, it creates a different vibe.”
Los Angeles turns to left-hander Clayton Kershaw (9-2, 3.28 ERA) to start Sunday’s game. He went 5-0 in August before Tuesday’s no-decision while allowing four runs in five innings of the team’s 9-7 loss at Pittsburgh.
This will be the first time Kershaw faces Baltimore in his 18-season career.
The Dodgers need offense to back up whatever Kershaw can deliver.
“I think the focus has been sound,” Roberts said. “It’s just kind of getting the offense to get that continuity. It’s going to happen. I really do believe it’s going to happen.”
The Orioles will send right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (10-7, 4.41 ERA) to the mound as he tries to snap a personal two-game skid. In those losses, he has surrendered 11 runs and 16 hits across 9 1/3 innings to the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants. He’ll be pitching for the first time in a week.
Mansolino said rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, who was Friday night’s hero with a walk-off homer for a 2-1 victory, exited Saturday’s game because of a sore right hand. X-rays came back negative, but he’ll sit out Sunday to give the hand more time to heal, the manager said.
–Field Level Media
