OUCH!
More homers (including Nelson’s FIFTH in FOUR games) can’t overcome strikeouts and pitching woes . . .
ON the MOUND
Kuma was far from sharp – he threw a TON of pitches (95) and walked WAY too many (not his MO) . . .
FIVE innings ~ SIX hits ~ FOUR runs ~ THREE walks ~ FIVE strikeouts
} Carson posted another “clean-sheet” in his ONE inning of work
} Charlie ran into a bit of trouble, allowing TWO hits without recording an out in the 7th
} Yoervis had a spectacular appearance in the 7th: came in with TWO on, NO out and recorded a strikeout AND a double-play! Then in the 8th: a couple of ground outs, a single and Zu nails a would-be 2B stealer (see IN the FIELD below)
} Nando blew his first save of the season when he allowed back-to-back singles to start the 9th. Then, it appeared they he may pull out a miracle when a fielder’s choice ended with tagging the runner at 3B out. But, what followed was the ultimate BAD FRE: a walk to load the bases and a single (by Howie Kendrick, who else?) that scored TWO. Dodgers win by ONE.
AT the PLATE
and the power surge continues!
~ back-to-back homers in the 1st for Robbie and Nellie made it 3-0 early
wait, there’s more! they can also play small ball . . .
~in the 4th, Willie was HBP, Kuma sacrificed him to 2B and he scored on Rickie’s RBI single
~in the 5th, the M’s loaded the bases via walks and Willie grounded out to score Nellie from 3B
but, the bad news is the TWELVE strikeouts . . .
~ including FOUR for Zu 😦
IN the FIELD
* nice play in the 5th blooper: over Willie at 1B but, Robbie backing up and tossed easily to Kuma covering at the 1B
* Carson had to pitch to one more batter in the 6th after an errant throw (luckily, it only cost him a few pitches, no runs)
* great throw and catch/tag by Zu and Robbie respectively in the 8th to nail a would-be, base-stealer (but, he was initially called SAFE – Robbie immediately pointed to the dugout because he KNEW he’d tagged the runner on the shoulder before his foot hit the 2B bag: played challenged, play over-turned)
tweets of the game . . .
Compass Rosy 