DETROIT – The All-Star break is not coming at a good time for the Dodgers. They could have used it a week ago.
One day after blowing a five-run lead in the ninth inning, the Dodgers tried to nurse a one-run lead over the final three innings of a ‘bullpen game’ with limited resources in that bullpen. It didn’t work.
Yohan Ramirez (who surrendered the walkoff home run in the 10th inning in Saturday’s loss) gave up the tying and game-winning runs in the ninth inning. This time, the Detroit Tigers walked off with a 4-3 win on Ramirez’s throwing error on a sacrifice bunt.
The Dodgers reached the All-Star break in first place in the National League West for the eighth time in the past 10 full seasons. But they got there with just one win in their last seven games and five in their past 15, having been less than a .500 team (23-24) since mid-May.
The Dodgers needed pitching so badly this weekend that they claimed a pitcher off the waiver wire from the Pittsburgh Pirates one day and started him the next.
Desperate times?
“If you’re talking about the last game before the All-Star break, in a day game, on the road, and it’s a waiver claim – it’s desperate times. Absolutely,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before sending Brent Honeywell Jr. to the mound against the Detroit Tigers Saturday. “I don’t think there’s any other way to say it. It’s unfortunate. We’re here for various reasons but it doesn’t change the fact that this is where we’re at. We still needed to find someone and I just hope to God that Brent can go out there and give us some length today.”
Well-traveled, oft-injured former top prospect Honeywell gave them quality if not quantity. He retired nine of the 10 batters he faced in three scoreless innings in his Dodgers debut.
Honeywell arrived in Detroit late Saturday night. His new teammates welcomed him to town with a three-run lead before he even threw his first pitch in Dodger blue.
Will Smith reached base on a bloop double in the first inning then scored on Teoscar Hernandez’s double to left field with two outs. It was Hernandez’s team-leading 25th two-out RBI.
Andy Pages drove him in with a single then went to third when Miguel Rojas reached on an infield single and Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry made a throwing error. Pages scored when Rojas was caught up in a rundown between first and second on a steal attempt.
The Dodgers’ offense was done for the day at that point. five Tigers pitchers held them scoreless over the next eight innings – including 3 ⅔ one-hit, five-strikeout innings from former Dodger Kenta Maeda.
Honeywell’s three scoreless innings left 18 outs for the Dodgers’ taxed bullpen to cover.
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Ryan Yarbrough got eight of those but it wasn’t easy. He gave up five hits and walked two in his 2 ⅔ innings. The Tigers scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, leaving six runners on base during Yarbrough’s run.
Michael Petersen and Anthony Banda combined to get the game through seven innings with the Dodgers still clinging to a one-run lead.
Ramirez got through the eighth inning without incident. But he went back out for the ninth inning with Alex Vesia warming up in the bullpen and Daniel Hudson theoretically available.
A leadoff triple by Zach McKinstry put the lead in immediate danger and an RBI single by Justyn-Henry Malloy made it go away. Ramirez misplayed two consecutive sacrifice bunts to allow the winning run to score.