MIAMI -- So far this season, when Walker Buehler takes the mound for the Dodgers, it’s basically a guarantee that the right-hander will pitch at least six innings. Monday was the exception.
Buehler was only able to get through five innings -- his shortest outing of the season -- and the Dodgers dropped the series opener against the Marlins, 5-4, at loanDepot park. The loss snapped their season-high nine-game winning streak.
“We definitely had a lot of opportunities to win that game,” said Dodgers utility man Chris Taylor. “Not our best baseball tonight, but you know, hopefully tomorrow we can start fresh and start a new winning streak.”
The Dodgers did have plenty of opportunities to win on Monday, especially in the eighth. Los Angeles stormed back to tie the game at 4-4 on a Cody Bellinger sacrifice fly, but Taylor and AJ Pollock weren’t able to deliver the big hit with the bases loaded to give the Dodgers a lead. But the missed opportunity in the eighth wasn’t the reason their streak was snapped.
For starters, Buehler’s outing was a rare one as the right-hander recorded just nine swings-and-misses. But his short outing wasn’t due to a lack of stuff, as he still recorded six strikeouts. Instead, it had more to do with some bad luck on balls in play, some poor defense behind him and an inability to control the running game, something that has hurt the Dodgers this season and was on full display again.
Buehler retired the first two batters he faced in the third inning, but the frame then turned into a nightmare for the Dodgers. Starling Marte was hit by a pitch and stole second. He would come in to score on a Garrett Cooper single just a few pitches later.
Once the Marlins realized that they could run on the Dodgers, they continued to take advantage, and Los Angeles had no answer for their aggressiveness. Cooper would follow Marte’s lead, swiping his first career base. He also scored, tying the game at 2. In the fourth, Joe Panik led off with a single and stole second on the next pitch. And just like Marte and Cooper, Panik would also come in to score, giving Miami a two-run lead.
“I just wasn’t as crisp as I needed to be,” Buehler said. “And obviously letting them steal a few bases, that put them in position to score, and that’s on me. I’m not super happy about it.”
The Dodgers don’t have many weaknesses, but controlling the running game has been an issue. It was a weakness that was exposed in their head-to-head matchups with the Padres earlier this season, and now other teams with the same speed are trying to recreate it. After the three stolen bases allowed on Monday, the Dodgers have allowed 67 stolen bases, 13 more than the Mariners, who entered the night with 54.
Aside from the baserunning, the Dodgers’ defense -- which has been solid all season -- has had a tough week. They committed four errors against the Nationals on Friday and have seven in five games after committing two more on Monday. They also didn’t make a couple of plays in the third, allowing the Marlins to break out for a three-run inning.
Still, even with the mistakes, the Dodgers were one hit away from their 10th consecutive win. But it was the Marlins who got the big hit as Jorge Alfaro took Victor González deep in the bottom of the eighth to give them the decisive 5-4 lead. It was only the second homer allowed by González in his career.
González, who made his 36th appearance of the season, hasn’t been as efficient lately, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thinks command has been the left-hander’s biggest issue, not any sort of fatigue.
“The command hasn’t been consistent with the fastball,” Roberts said. “I think that’s kind of what it is. I thought today his slider was really good, but he just threw a slider to Alfaro and didn’t get it to the dirt.”
With the Giants (53-31) losing to the Cardinals on Monday, the Dodgers (53-32) missed an opportunity to jump ahead in the NL West standings for the first time since April 25. They’ll get another chance again on Tuesday.