Arrieta stung by Dodgers' lefty-heavy lineup

LOS ANGELES – Phillies manager Gabe Kapler made a point this week to say that the Dodgers are no more of a measuring stick to the Phillies than the Brewers, Cubs or Cardinals.

The Dodgers are a good team, but the Phillies are a good one, too.

• Box score

One series will not change that in his mind, but the Dodgers have showed just how much of a challenge they will be and why they must be considered favorites to win their third consecutive National League pennant. They stacked six consecutive left-handed batters atop their lineup against Phillies right-hander Jake Arrieta and hit him hard in the Phillies' 6-3 loss on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

“We’ve been facing good lineups all year,” Arrieta said. “I get lefties out. You can’t miss middle-in with spin to power-hitting left-handed hitters. You just can’t do it. That’s what I did too many times tonight.”

No NL team hits right-handed pitchers better than the Dodgers, and no team has a better collection of left-handed batters than the Dodgers. Their left-handed batters entered the game slashing .292/.376/.546. The slugging percentage is 41 points better than the second-ranked Twins (.505). The .922 OPS is 69 points better than the second-ranked Twins.

Arrieta allowed 10 hits, five runs and three home runs in five innings. Max Muncy hit a two-run homer to right field on a 1-0 slider in the third inning to hand the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Joc Pederson crushed a 1-1 slider deep into the night in Matt Stairs territory in right for a solo homer in the fifth to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. Corey Seager followed two batters later with a two-run homer to right on a 1-2 sinker to make it 5-2.

Arrieta has allowed nine homers to lefties this season, which is tied with Cincinnati’s Anthony DeSclafani for the most in the Majors.

“The offspeed wasn’t very sharp tonight,” Arrieta said. “I just wasn’t very sharp with the slider, changeup or the curveball. They were able to eliminate too many pitches and they did some damage.”

A collection of talent that hammers righties like Los Angeles could be a problem for the Phillies, not only this weekend, but possibly in October.

“It is different than anything else we’ve faced and certainly it is a unique challenge because we don’t have a lot of left in our bullpen,” Kapler said.

The Phillies have only right-handed starters, unless they start left-hander Cole Irvin in place of right-hander Zach Eflin on Saturday. The Phillies placed Eflin on the 10-day injured list Friday because of “mid-back tightness,” although he said he expects to miss only one start.

The Phillies have only one left-hander in the bullpen in Jose Alvarez, following Adam Morgan’s trip to the IL earlier this week.

Irvin might get the start Saturday, but not because he has success against lefties. In three starts in May with the Phillies, lefties posted a 1.068 OPS against him. They had an .896 OPS against him in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, compared to right-handers' .628 OPS.

So why Irvin then?

“I think what Cole gives us, should we choose to go that route, is a different look than the Dodgers have really faced much this year,” Kapler said. “It’s just a different kind of tempo and a different kind of pitcher and they’ve done damage against high-octane starters. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t consider Vince [Velasquez] in this spot, but at the same time, I think Cole provides a different look.”

Maybe a different look Saturday knocks the Dodgers off their game. If not, the Phillies have right-hander Nick Pivetta and his high-octane fastball ready to roll in Sunday’s series finale.

Phillies center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit his 10th homer of the season, a solo shot to center field in the fourth.