Shohei Ohtani Ends Drought in Dodgers Game 6-2 Loss to Giants
Shohei Ohtani ended his home run drought, but the Dodgers game still ended in a 6-2 loss to the Giants on Tuesday. The defeat pushed Los Angeles to a four-game skid and left the club at 24-18, behind the Padres in the division after the night’s results.
Ohtani Breaks Through
Ohtani’s homer ended the dry spell, but it did not change the scoreline at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers had already fallen behind in the first inning, then had to chase a game in which scoring chances were limited.
Will Smith gave Los Angeles its first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Jung Hoo Lee answered with an over-the-shoulder catch in right field that cut off what could have been a multi-run hit, and that sequence helped keep the Giants in control.
Dodgers Streak Reaches Four
The loss was the Dodgers’ fourth in a row, and each one came by four runs or more. That run is tied for the club’s longest such streak in a single season in the modern era since 1901, and the franchise had not gone through a stretch like it since 1936, when the team was in Brooklyn.
Tuesday’s result also ended any chance of winning the four-game series at Dodger Stadium. A split was the best possible outcome, which left little margin after the club had already beaten the Giants just once in five meetings this season.
Roberts On The Margins
Dave Roberts pointed to the way the Dodgers and Giants have played each other this year after the defeat. “I think that we bring out the best in every team,” he said, then added, “... They haven’t had a good season thus far, but against us you can see the emotion that they’re playing with. We have to find a way to match that intensity. We do.”
Roberts also said, “That was a really game-changing play,” after Lee’s catch, and added, “In total, you know, when you don’t get a whole lot of opportunities and you don’t cash in on the couple that you do get, you don’t score a lot of runs.” Andrew Friedman kept the broader view simple: “What we know for a fact is every guy is going to have ups and downs.”
That leaves the Dodgers at 24-18, with the Padres at 24-17 and in front in the standings after Tuesday. Ohtani’s homer drought is over, but the club still needs cleaner innings and better finish on the chances it creates.
