‘Monster Mashed’: What Los Angeles media had to say after the Dodgers’ Game 1 loss
"There's no reason you take Pedro Baez out of the game."
Unable to stop the Red Sox running on the base paths, or hitting with two outs, the Dodgers fell 8-4 in Game 1 of the World Series.
Reactions from Los Angeles credited the strengths in Boston’s lineup, but also focused on a few costly blunders made by the Dodgers.
While outfielder Yasiel Puig’s ill-fated attempt to throw home on Mookie Betts’s 1st inning run drew criticism, the main talking point focused on Eduardo Nunez’s pinch-hit three-run home run in the bottom of the 7th inning.
From an LA standpoint, manager Dave Roberts’s decision to bring in relief pitcher Alex Wood for Pedro Baez before the at-bat was seen as questionable.
“By inserting Wood, Roberts forced Cora to either stick with an unfavorable matchup or burn another player,” wrote Jorge Castillo of The Los Angeles Times. “But Roberts also was taking the ball out of arguably his best reliever’s hand. Baez hadn’t given up a run since Sept. 9, a stretch of 14 1/3 innings across 14 games, thanks in part to honing a devastating changeup.”
“There’s no reason you take Pedro Baez out of the game,” said Greg Bergman, a radio producer on ESPN LA 710 AM, during a postgame video.
Even having Wood on the World Series roster drew criticism.
https://twitter.com/VeniceMase/status/1054942324306915328
One glaring weakness that the Red Sox exposed in Game 1 was the Dodgers’ inability to halt aggressive base running.
“Baseball is a game of matchups now, as we hear on a daily basis,” wrote the Times’ Bill Shaikin. “This matchup is particularly unfavorable to the Dodgers.”
Shaikin pointed out a cruel irony for LA: Even the base-stealer the Dodgers caught was still an indictment of their defense. J.D. Martinez, thrown out trying to steal in the 1st inning, was an example of the Boston’s bold strategy.
“In reality, that line reveals how the Boston Red Sox believe they have identified a flaw they can exploit,” Shaikin observed of how Martinez’s failed stolen base attempt shows up in the box score. “If the designated slugger is running on the Dodgers, so are the rest of the Red Sox.”
https://twitter.com/michaelwhitley/status/1054984128628752384
Despite the Game 1 loss, Dodgers media consistently reminded itself that this was only the series opener, and not the deciding game.
“I still have these Dodgers in six,” said Bergman.
“If it was a seven-game series, which it is, and they only lose one, I think we’re still fine,” said former Dodgers pitcher – and SportsNet LA analyst – Orel Hershiser after the game. “The great Tommy Lasorda said, ‘You know what? We lost Game 1 of the NLCS in ’88.’ He said, ‘If it was a one-game series, I’d be worried, boys. But it’s a seven-game series.”
Yet with the continued optimism, there’s now a tinge of realism as LA faces a series deficit.
“The margin for error is so small,” concluded Dodgers SB Nation write Ryan Walton.
Game 2 of the World Series gets underway at 8:09 p.m. EST on Wednesday night at Fenway Park. David Price pitches for the Red Sox, while the Dodgers send Hyun-Jin Ryu to the mound.
https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/1054950608107638784
