Dodgers Waste Blake Snell’s 10-Strikeout Start in 2-1 Walk-Off Loss to Tigers
Blake Snell gave the Los Angeles Dodgers another performance good enough to win.
Once again, the offense gave its pitching staff almost no room for error.
The Detroit Tigers walked off the Dodgers 2-1 Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park, with Kevin McGonigle delivering the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning against Jack Dreyer.
The loss dropped Los Angeles to 81-55 and evened the three-game series at one victory apiece. Detroit improved to 63-72.
It was another frustratingly familiar result for the Dodgers.
Snell struck out 10 hitters over five innings and limited Detroit to one run. Three relievers followed with three consecutive scoreless frames. Yet Los Angeles managed only six hits and scored its lone run on a Freddie Freeman single in the sixth inning.
The Dodgers have now lost four of their last five games — all four defeats by exactly one run.
That makes the pattern increasingly difficult to ignore.
Blake Snell Strikes Out 10 Despite High Pitch Count
Snell’s afternoon was not especially efficient.
It was still extremely effective.
The veteran left-hander finished with:
5 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 3 BB | 10 K | 99 pitches
MLB confirmed Snell piled up 10 strikeouts across his five innings, continuing his impressive run since returning from elbow surgery earlier this month.
The Tigers made him work, particularly in the third inning.
Detroit began the frame with a walk before Max Muncy committed a fielding error on a bunt attempt. Gleyber Torres then drove a ground-rule double into right-center field, scoring Javier Báez and putting Detroit ahead 1-0.
The inning could have gotten away from Snell from there.
Instead, he limited the damage.
With traffic still on the bases, Snell worked through the heart of Detroit’s order and recorded consecutive strikeouts to escape with only one run allowed. He then responded by striking out the side in the fourth.
Snell encountered more traffic in the fifth but again kept the Tigers from adding to their lead.
His pitch count reached 99, ending his afternoon after five innings.
The Dodgers could hardly ask for much more from a starter who repeatedly had to pitch out of trouble.
They simply needed to score.
Dodgers Offense Quiet Again
Friday night’s 2-1 victory came despite the Dodgers stranding 15 runners.
Saturday presented a different problem.
Los Angeles did not create nearly as much traffic.
Tigers starter Keider Montero kept the Dodgers quiet through the first five innings, allowing only a pair of two-out walks before Los Angeles finally broke through in the sixth.
Alek Thomas started the rally with a double.
Shohei Ohtani followed with a groundout that moved Thomas to third, setting up Freeman with a runner 90 feet away.
Freeman delivered.
The first baseman lined an 88.2 mph changeup into right field, scoring Thomas and tying the game at 1-1.
It was the second consecutive day Freeman produced a crucial late-game RBI against Detroit.
And for a moment, the Dodgers appeared positioned to do considerably more.
Mookie Betts followed Freeman with a single, and Max Muncy walked after Detroit went to the bullpen.
The bases were loaded.
One out.
A tied game.
It was exactly the type of opportunity the Dodgers have repeatedly said they need to capitalize on.
They did not.
Another Bases-Loaded Opportunity Goes Nowhere
Tommy Edman came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
He grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Just like that, an opportunity to turn a 1-1 game into a potentially comfortable Dodgers lead disappeared.
The moment felt particularly significant given what happened Friday.
Los Angeles repeatedly loaded the bases during the series opener and finished the night with 15 runners stranded despite eventually winning 2-1.
Saturday provided fewer scoring opportunities.
That made wasting one of the best chances even more costly.
The Dodgers finished 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, according to the box score, and Freeman accounted for their only RBI.
There is nothing inherently alarming about losing a 2-1 game occasionally.
Even excellent offenses get shut down.
The larger concern is how frequently Los Angeles has found itself in exactly these types of games lately.
Atlanta beat the Dodgers 4-3, 6-5 and 1-0.
Los Angeles then beat Detroit 2-1 Friday.
Saturday produced another 2-1 game — only this time the Dodgers were on the wrong side.
The margins have become razor thin.
Kyle Tucker’s Double Goes to Waste
The Dodgers created another opportunity in the seventh.
Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after sitting Thursday against Braves left-hander Chris Sale, doubled to put himself in scoring position.
He never came around.
Detroit escaped again, preserving the 1-1 tie.
Tucker finished 1-for-3.
Ohtani, Freeman, Betts, Edman and Thomas also had hits, while Miguel Rojas contributed a pinch-hit single.
But Los Angeles never produced an extra-base hit with a runner in position to score, and there was no home run to compensate for the lack of situational production.
Detroit did not overwhelm Dodgers pitching either.
The Tigers finished with six hits.
This was simply a game where one timely hit in the ninth separated the teams.
Dodgers Bullpen Keeps Game Tied Until Ninth
Snell left after five innings with the game even.
For three frames, the Dodgers bullpen did exactly what was needed.
Seth Halvorsen worked a scoreless sixth.
Alex Vesia handled the seventh without allowing a run.
Edgardo Henriquez followed with a scoreless eighth and struck out one hitter.
That sent a 1-1 game to the ninth inning.
The Dodgers failed to score in the top half, leaving the pitching staff needing another zero just to send the game to extras.
Dave Roberts turned to Dreyer.
This time, Detroit finally broke through.
Tigers Walk It Off Against Jack Dreyer
The ninth inning unraveled quickly.
Báez opened the inning with a double, immediately putting the potential winning run in scoring position.
Detroit then used a sacrifice bunt to move him to third.
The Dodgers intentionally walked Torres, attempting to create a more favorable situation and preserve the possibility of a force play.
Dreyer then issued another walk.
Bases loaded.
One out.
McGonigle came to the plate with a chance to end it.
He did.
McGonigle singled to bring Báez home, giving Detroit the 2-1 walk-off victory.
Dreyer was charged with the loss, falling to 5-2.
Kenley Jansen recorded the final out of the top of the ninth and earned the victory for Detroit.
For the Dodgers, another excellent pitching day had ended in defeat because the margin for error was virtually nonexistent.
Snell Continues to Look Like an October Weapon
The loss should not overshadow what Snell is doing.
His comeback from elbow surgery has been one of the most encouraging pitching developments for Los Angeles this month.
He had already thrown six innings in each of his previous three starts since returning, allowing only two earned runs over that span.
Saturday brought a different challenge.
Snell did not have his best command.
He walked three.
Detroit repeatedly extended innings.
His pitch count climbed rapidly.
And yet, the Tigers still managed only one run.
That can be just as meaningful as overpowering a lineup when everything feels perfect.
Postseason starters sometimes need to win without their cleanest command.
Snell showed Saturday that he can still miss bats and escape jams when his efficiency is not there.
Ten strikeouts in five innings provide plenty of evidence that the stuff remains dangerous.
The Dodgers simply wasted the performance.
Offensive Questions Aren’t Going Away
Friday’s win offered Los Angeles an opportunity to view things positively.
The Dodgers stranded 15 runners, but they still found a way to win.
Rojas came through.
Freeman came through.
The bullpen protected the lead.
Saturday removed some of that optimism.
The Dodgers did not dominate the bases and fail to cash in.
They simply did not generate enough offense in the first place.
Their lone run required Thomas to double, Ohtani to advance him and Freeman to finish the job with a single.
Outside of that sequence, Detroit pitching kept Los Angeles off the scoreboard for eight innings.
The Dodgers did not homer.
They drew only two walks.
And when they finally loaded the bases, a double play ended the threat.
Those are legitimate concerns for a team approaching September with championship expectations.
Dodgers Need More Than Great Starting Pitching
The pitching staff has repeatedly given Los Angeles a chance during this difficult stretch.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed only one run in Thursday’s 1-0 loss in Atlanta.
Tarik Skubal allowed one run over six innings Friday.
Snell allowed one run Saturday.
That means Dodgers starters have allowed a combined three runs across their last three games.
Los Angeles has won only one of them.
That tells the story.
Starting pitching was supposed to be one of the biggest questions surrounding this roster because of injuries.
Right now, it increasingly looks like one of its strengths.
The lineup has become the bigger uncertainty.
There is still more than enough talent for that to change quickly.
Ohtani can change a game with one swing.
Freeman continues delivering important hits.
Betts has recently shown signs of improving.
Tucker, Muncy, Teoscar Hernández and Edman all have track records suggesting more production should be available.
But October will not be decided by track records.
At some point, the Dodgers need the offense they have on paper to become the offense they see on the field.
Series Comes Down to Sunday
Saturday’s loss leaves the Dodgers and Tigers tied at one game apiece heading into Sunday’s finale.
Tyler Glasnow remains lined up to pitch for Los Angeles, while Shohei Ohtani’s previously discussed pitching return has become increasingly uncertain after Dave Roberts said Saturday that the two-way star is not physically 100%.
For the Dodgers, however, the immediate focus should be simpler.
Score enough runs to give the pitching staff a reasonable chance.
Friday required two.
Saturday produced only one.
And for the fourth time in five games, Los Angeles walked away from a one-run game with a loss.
Blake Snell did his job Saturday.
The bullpen nearly did too.
The Dodgers offense just never gave them enough.
After a 10-strikeout performance from Snell and eight innings of one-run pitching, one Detroit single in the ninth was enough to send Los Angeles to another painful one-run defeat.