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Dodgers lose to Diamondbacks on late home run

April 1, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― The Dodgers began the new season without a designated closer, a calculated risk after questions persisted throughout spring training about who would inherit a ninth-inning save situation.

The question of who would pitch the eighth inning was a less frequent topic of conversation, but it was more pertinent Friday.

Left-hander Alex Vesia allowed a two-run home run to pinch hitter Kyle Lewis in the eighth inning, sending the Dodgers to a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks before an announced crowd of 45,389 at Dodger Stadium.

“The ball was a little down in the zone today, and I gave up the one hit, and just one bad pitch,” Vesia said.

Vesia (0-1) was scheduled to face two left-handed hitters and a switch hitter, Geraldo Perdomo, to begin the inning. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo replaced all three with right-handed pinch hitters. After Nick Ahmed grounded out, Vesia allowed a double to Evan Longoria.

The next batter, Lewis, pounded a 2-and-1 slider over the inner half of the plate into the left field bleachers to give the Diamondbacks the lead.

It was Vesia’s first regular-season game with pitch-timer penalties in effect, but neither he nor Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believed the timer caused him to hurry.

“Alex, he’s tried and true. He’s been good for us. And he had the experience in spring training” with the pitch timer, Roberts said.

Dodgers starter Dustin May was brilliant over seven shutout innings, allowing three hits, one walk, and striking out four. Perhaps buoyed by a bit of adrenaline in his 2023 debut, May’s four-seam fastball touched 100 mph in the first inning. It was down to the 95-98 range by the seventh, but May was able to retire 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.

The Dodgers did little to support him on offense, putting at least one runner on base in each of the first six innings without scoring a run.

The game was still scoreless until Mookie Betts tagged Diamondbacks reliever Drey Jameson (1-0) for a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. May was suddenly in line for the victory.

“I like going deep into games, giving teams the best chance to win,” he said. “I had a low pitch count. It was a low-scoring ball game. It was a good game all around.”

Arizona quickly turned the tables against Vesia and forced Roberts to bring in his best reliever, Evan Phillips, to finish the eighth inning. Phillips got Christian Walker to fly out to center field on the only pitch he threw.

The Dodgers sent the top of their lineup – Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith – to the plate in the ninth inning. Betts drew a walk against right-hander Scott McGough, then was forced out at second base when Freddie Freeman grounded out against left-hander Andrew Chafin.

Chafin got Smith to ground out, then retired Max Muncy on a pop fly to end the game.

The Dodgers went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base. They collected only five hits and nine walks in the loss. Miguel Vargas reached base in all four of his plate appearances (three walks and a double).

“We had traffic,” Roberts said. “We squared some balls up versus (Diamondbacks starter Merrill) Kelly, unfortunately they were just right at those guys.”

May returned to the Dodgers last August following a 15-month recovery from Tommy John surgery. His results were uneven.

May made six starts last season. Three (two against the Miami Marlins, one against the San Francisco Giants) went well. Three others (two against the Padres, one against the Diamondbacks) did not. Fourteen of the 15 earned runs on his ledger came in the three poorest starts, and the Dodgers left May off their National League Division Series roster.

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May’s spring training results (a 2.95 ERA in 18-1/3 innings) were more encouraging. The 84 pitches he threw Friday were his most in a game since last September. He had never completed seven innings in a major league start.

“We went in with a game plan,” May said. “I thought we executed it well.”

With David Peralta on first base and nobody out in the second inning, the Dodgers attempted their first stolen base of the season. Peralta was initially ruled safe by second base umpire Ryan Blakney. The Diamondbacks challenged the call, however, and Peralta was ruled out after a lengthy review.

The next batter, Vargas, hit a double to the right-center field gap with the bases empty. That was the closest the Dodgers came to scoring a run until Betts’ home run.

The Dodgers used a patient attack to knock Kelly out of the game in the fourth inning. But they could not advance a runner past second base against Kelly or Jameson.

Orange County Register

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Dodgers lose to Diamondbacks on late home run

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