LOS ANGELES — More than $1 billion in offseason spending could not cover everything and already the bill for other parts of the roster are coming due.
Adding Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernandez via free agency generated a significant frenzy. Landing Tyler Glasnow in a trade further increased the hype.
Yet there were known areas the Dodgers were willing to wait on before addressing or improving – like infield defense and the bullpen. For the second consecutive day, that relief corps had it rough in the Dodgers’ 6-4 loss to the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon.
Starling Marte drove in four runs for the Mets, including a three-run home run in the sixth inning on the second pitch from right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier. The bullpen not only allowed the Mets to move in front of a tie game Saturday, the relievers also allowed five runs that were the difference in a 9-4 loss to the Mets on Friday.
Yet the offense still was in position to save the day and failed. The Dodgers left the bases loaded to end four separate innings, including with one out in the eighth inning when Teoscar Hernandez and Max Muncy struck out against Edwin Diaz.
The Dodgers have now lost seven of their past nine games and dropped all three of their series in the current homestand that ends Sunday. Overall, the Dodgers have lost four of five series after they were upended at Chicago by the Cubs in early April.
The Mets’ bullpen certainly did its part. The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and had the stadium abuzz as Ohtani came to the plate with a 6-3 deficit. But Drew Smith struck out Ohtani on five pitches, ending the at-bat with a cutter on the inside part of the plate.
Freddie Freeman showed he is set to emerge from his early-season slumber with a two-run single to pull the Dodgers within a run at 5-4. Freeman also had an RBI single in the first inning.
But with the bases loaded for a second time in the sixth, Max Muncy was retired on a sharp grounder to Pete Alonso at first base.
Muncy was again the last out in the eighth inning with the bases packed. The Dodgers ended the game with 13 runners left on base while going 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
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Strikeouts ruled the day as the Dodgers went down 14 times. Andy Pages fanned against New York right-hander Jose Butto with the bases loaded to end the opening inning and Hernandez was fanned to end the second with three aboard.
Ohtani had a double and three walks for the Dodgers to go along with Freeman’s three RBIs, but clutch hitting has been hard to come by after the team’s impressive run of offense to start the season.
The Dodgers are still waiting for the bottom of the order to make its presence known. Pages was added to the roster to help, but he has gone 2 for 14 as he attempts to get comfortable in his new setting after he was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday.