[Jim: Well, I can’t get into the feed to post the guest recap, and I can’t figure out how to add users, so I’m effectively posting this as TheRealRamona!]
I won’t lie – I’m not on the whole “we’ve still got a shot at the postseason” bus. This is intended neither as a flex nor a condemnation of you if you are; it just is what it is. As such, while I am mildly disgruntled that we did not put Los Doyers to bed this afternoon, we’ve still had a hell of a road trip. We split the last series with the hottest
team in baseball, and we won this one against the best team in the NL West, and that is all stuff of which to be very proud. So, let’s all have that, whatever bus we’re riding on this cusp of the final month of regular baseball.
Although we have flensed Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the past, it was not to be today, as he successfully knocked down Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and Corbin Carroll in the top of the first. Brandon Pfaadt was on the mound for us, and was doing Pfaadt things, which gave Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts singles and Freddie Freeman a double that drove Ohtani home. Betts was brought home on an Andy Pages groundout, bringing the score to 2-0 DODGERS. Fortunately, Pfaadt got out of the inning without more damage, but it was still a less than auspicious start, especially when compared with our last two outings.
The inauspiciousness continued through the second, as Yamamoto retired Blaze Alexander, Adrian Del Castillo, and Tyler Locklear, who seems like a nice guy and all but is really hapless at hitting, alas. Pfaadt, thankfully, was able to settle down a bit in the bottom half of the second, striking out Alex Freeland, Dalton Rushing, and Ohtani, allowing only a single from Miguel Rojas. The third was a one-two-three on both sides of the fence, and then some things started to happen, however minute, in the fourth, when Marte, Carroll, and Del Castillo all singled, bringing Marte home and the score to 2-1 DODGERS. The Dodgers got one back, though, in the bottom of the fourth, with two singles courtesy of Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas to bring home Alex Call, who’d grounded into a forceout earlier that sent Michael Conforto, who’d walked, back to the dugout. 3-1 DODGERS
It really, really wasn’t our day against Yamamoto. The top of the fifth saw another one-two-three, with Alek Thomas lining out to third, Jordan Lawlar striking out (again, I have nothing against the kid, but…well…he has yet to get a major league hit this season, and that’s not good), and Jake McCarthy grounding out softly to third. The Dodgers got another one in their half of the inning, with Betts and Pages singling to bring home Betts. 4-1 DODGERS At this point, Brandon Pfaadt was replaced by Brandon Garcia, and pinch-hitter Enrique Hernandez GIDP’ed. So, one out on one pitch! Always a good thing.
Nothing much happened in the sixth; one-two-threes on both sides. Adrian Del Castillo singled in the top of the seventh, but it came to naught, with Blaze Alexander and Tyler Locklear striking out and Alek Thomas lining out to left. Similar activity for the Dodgers in their half, with Ohtani flying out to McCarthy, Betts lining out to Alexander, and Pages striking out swinging. The top of the eighth, however, saw Tanner Scott replacing Yamamoto on the mound, which allowed the Sneks to do some business. Geraldo Perdomo singled, as did Marte, and Corbin Carroll, gods love him, homered, bringing everyone home. 4-4 TIE
John Curtiss was in for Brandon Garcia in the Dodgers’ eighth, delivering a very nice one-two-three against Enrique Hernandez, Alex Call, and Alex Freeland. I was hoping, as were we all, that the replacement of Blake Treinen for Tanner Scott might yield more Dbacks runs, but this was not in our cards. And I won’t lie, when I saw it was Locklear, Thomas, and Lawlar up to bat the ninth, I wasn’t particularly optimistic that it would be. Again, nothing against them as people, but they really, really cannot hit, and that is a problem. But, hey, Will Smith can, even though he hasn’t been much of late, and he homered on a fly ball to center, and the Dodgers walked it off. 5-4 DODGERS, FINAL
BELLS AND WHISTLES, COURTESY OF JIM
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Summer Nights: Corbin Carrol, +37.9%
A Summer Place: Adrian Del Castillo, +12.6%
Ssummer of Ssam: John Curtiss, -25.7%
Summer-y judgment: Pfaadt, -22.6%; Locklear, -16.1%; Thomas, -11.8%
It was a fairly well-attended Gameday Thread, with 212 comments as of this writing. CotG goes to kilnborn, who made some reference that I don’t get, but whose comment squared nicely with my own sentiments today.
[Jim: It’s a reference to a very good YouTube Channel called Pitch Meeting, where Ryan George plays a scriptwriter and also the Hollywood producer to whom he’s pitching a script. It’s a ruthless takedown of the idiocy of most Hollywood movies, and is peppered with catchphrases, including the one above, where the producer will say “[SOMETHING WILDLY INAPPROPRIATE] is tight”]
Join us tomorrow back in Phoenix, when we take on the Texas Rangers at 5:10 pm. Ryne Nelson will be on the mound for us, and former Dback Patrick Corbin will take the hill for Texas. Have a wonderful rest of your Labor Day weekend, and let us light a candle to say goodbye to the lazy, crazy days of summer and the last month of regular baseball. As always, thanks for reading/watching, and, as always, go, Dbacks!
