by Megan Garcia
With seven comeback wins under their belt entering Sunday’s game against the Phillies, there’s one thing opposing teams know about the Dodgers — you can’t count them out of any lead.
The Dodgers roared back from a four-run deficit in the series finale in Philadelphia against the Phillies, led by Teoscar Hernández’s five RBI. But the Dodgers lost 8–7.
It marked the sixth time that he drove in five or more runs in a single game.
He gave the Dodgers’ their first lead when he hit a two-run homer in the first against Cristopher Sánchez. The lead was fleeting, however — due in part to rain over Citizen’s Bank Park on Sunday.
The Phillies scored six runs against Tyler Glasnow and Alex Vesia in the third. The Dodgers’ offense was tasked with an uphill battle to make a comeback being down 6–2. Hernández was at the center of it.
“I can’t say enough about Teo,” said manager Dave Roberts. “He just doesn’t let any type of performance, whether it be a (previous) at-bat or game affect the at-bat (following). Today, he pretty much single-handedly kept us in this one.”
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The Dodgers had a 17.6% chance to win the game at the start of the fourth, according to Statcast. So, they chipped away at the lead.
Hernández cut the Phillies’ lead in half with his solo homer in the fourth to the comeback. Then in the fifth, his RBI-double put the Dodgers within two runs of tying the game.
“I was trying to get a little bit more space between home plate and the batter’s box so I can get more space for the sinker,” Hernández said of his success at the plate. “I got some over the plate and try to put it over the plate (to) see what happens.”
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Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Hernández powered the comeback in the Dodgers’ three-run seventh that gave them a 7–6 lead.
But the Phillies responded with two runs in the bottom of the seventh and took an 8–7 lead.
This is the first series loss for the Dodgers this season.
“Obviously you never want to lose a game or a series,” Roberts said. “But the way we kept competing and gave ourselves a chance to win, it just didn’t work out.”
Rain Shortens Glasnow’s Start
Glasnow’s first two scoreless innings on Sunday looked to be the beginning of a promising start. But once the skies opened in Philadelphia in the third, it turned into one of the shortest starts of his career.
Glasnow issued three walks to start the third as he struggled to grip the baseball due to the rain.
“It was hard for me to stay in that rhythm and think about other stuff,” Glasnow said.
After Harper’s single and Max Kepler’s walk tied the game at 2–2, Vesia was called from the bullpen to get out of the jam. He gave up a first-pitch grand slam to Nick Castellanos.
The runs were credited to Glasnow, giving him five runs in two innings pitched with five walks and two strikeouts. He threw 60 pitches and landed 28 strikes. This was the fourth time in his career that he pitched two innings or fewer in a start.
Snell to the Injured List
Blake Snell was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sunday, retroactive to April 3, with left shoulder inflammation. Right-handed pitcher Matt Sauer was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take Snell’s place on the active roster.
“Two (starts) is certainly the floor and we’ll go from there.” Roberts said on the amount of time that Snell could miss.
Snell pitched four innings in his second start for the Dodgers on Wednesday. He walked four batters and struck out two, while five unearned runs scored for the Braves.
Sauer was a non-roster invitee in Spring Training for the Dodgers this year. He struck out eight batters in 7 2/3 innings in four appearances while in the Cactus League. Sauer made one start for Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing one run in three innings.
The Dodgers battle back but leave Philly with a series loss was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.