Dodgers capitalize on bullpen walks in a three-run seventh inning to beat Blue Jays

Article content

Two throwback starters and future first-ballot Hall of Famers and baseball’s biggest star in Shohei Ohtani were on the marquee on a night pitting two of baseball’s best teams in what some viewed as a potential World Series preview.

It all made for a sporting stage befitting Hollywood, maybe even the highest profiled and most anticipated game the Jays will play this season until the cauldron of October rolls around.

To add to the occasion, the Max Scherzer-Clayton Kershaw pitching duel was undoubtedly their final showdown, barring  an actual Jays-Dodgers matchup in the Fall Classic.

Either way, Friday night at Chavez Ravine was not an ordinary game. Above all else, the Jays were made abundantly aware that they were no longer playing the Colorado Rockies as the Dodgers emerged with a 5-1 win, pulling away with a three-run seventh inning off reliever Brendon Little.

The Jays were exposed to what playoff baseball is all about against the reigning champions, who have not been playing only .500 ball of late. The Dodgers, though, rose to the challenge, while the Jays were given a reminder that every little detail must be executed and how a bullpen can’t afford to issue late-game walks in a tight game.

Little (who threw only three of his 12 pitches for strikes) and Louis Varland combined to issue three free passes in the inning — one with the bases loaded.

The following are three takeaways from the opener of a three-game series in which the Jays actually out-hit the Dodgers 10-7 and the Jays’ most effective hitters against the southpaw Kershaw, ironically, were Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger — the only two lefties in their starting lineup — with two hits apiece off him.

Max battles

As if anyone needed a reminder of Scherzer’s competitive spirit and how he relishes the big stage, the first inning pretty much summed it up. What stood out the most was his unrelenting ability to battle.

After giving up back-to-back hits to start the game, the right-hander struck out Freddie Freeman and then watched as Davis Schneider made a great leaping catch at the wall in left field off Will Smith to prevent a couple of runs.

A semi-intentional two-out walk to lefty Max Muncy loaded the bases, bringing right-swinging Hernandez to the plate in the game’s first dramatic moment. The one-time Blue Jay struck out swinging to end the inning.

For Scherzer, four of his hardest pitches of the season were thrown in that first inning, when he needed 23 in total to get out of it unscathed.

Another rare quality the veteran possesses is how he unabashedly wears his emotions on his sleeve. He knew he made a mistake in the fifth inning, allowing a two-run homer to Mookie Betts that gave L.A. a 2-1 lead, and he let it be known with the TV cameras on him. But those were the lone runs Scherzer gave up in providing his team with six complete innings.

What he didn’t receive was offensive support.

Clayton controls the traffic

With his velocity not what it once was, Kershaw’s out-pitch on this night was a lights-out, looping curveball that has been among baseball’s most lethal.

The southpaw faced Schneider to begin the game and went with a slider to record his first strikeout. he after getting Ernie Clement on a harmless pop-up, Kershaw froze Vladimir Guerrero Jr., on a called third strike, his 11th pitch of the inning.

In the second, Bo Bichette recorded his MLB-leading 146th hit when he sent a ground ball into right field for a double. He then scored the game’s first run on Barger’s one-out single.

Ty France then singled to load the bases. But much like Scherzer, Kershaw would benefit from a great defensive play, this one produced by shortstop Betts, who snared Myles Straw’s scorching low liner and threw to second base to double off France.

Kershaw wound up yielding seven hits and a walk in his six innings, but limited the damage with three double plays.

Sho-time

The big-time occasion was dotted with stars, but no star is as big in baseball as Ohtani. Toronto won’t get a chance to face Ohtani the pitcher, but it will see plenty of the Japanese megastar at the plate.

The Dodgers’ leadoff man couldn’t add to his 39 homers on the season, but he did go 3-for-5 with a couple of runs scored.

His hits included a sharply hit ball for a first-inning single, a two-out ground-rule double that preceded Betts’ homer, and a single off Little in the seventh that helped ignite the game-clinching sequence.

Up next

The Blue Jays will once again oppose a lefty in Saturday’s 9:10 p.m. ET first pitch when Blake Snell is scheduled to make his second start following an extended injury absence (shoulder) … Snell went 5.0 innings in his most recent start against Tampa Bay, his former team, striking out eight. He gave up five hits, but two left the minor-league ballpark in L.A.’s 4-0 loss … The Jays are scheduled to start RHP Chris Bassitt, whose most recent start came against visiting K.C., when he gave up one run and one hit in 6.0 innings in a Toronto loss.