The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a 11-2 loss to the sixth-seeded Arizona Diamondbacks. Designated hitter Tommy Pham led the effort, making four hits, three runs and one homerun. The Dodgers made four hits and left six batters on base.
The D-Backs came out strong, getting six runs out of six hits in the first inning. Third baseman Evan Longoria’s RBI double forced the Dodgers to swap out pitcher Clayton Kershaw for Emmet Sheehan.
Dodgers general manager Dave Roberts on their Game 1 loss in the NLDS pic.twitter.com/DK2nIObeFb
— Amanda Scurlock (@Amandtastic) October 8, 2023
“Obviously, they took a lot of good swings,” said Dodgers general manager Dave Roberts. “Usually Klayton does a great job of controlling and managing damage and tonight, unfortunately, he didn’t do that.”
Despite his performance, Roberts still plans to have Kershaw start for game four.
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“I don’t think anybody in the baseball world was expecting that,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “The next time playing Kershaw on the mound, we’re just as confident in him and hopefully we can get him back on that mound.”
Kershaw described his performance as “disappointing” and “embarrassing.”
“I just feel like I let everybody down,” Kershaw said. “The guys, whole organization looks to you to pitch well in game one and it’s just embarrassing, really.”
In his postseason debut, Sheehan pitched for 3.2 innings, allowed four hits while striking out four batters. He noted how he came into the matchup “ready for whatever happens.”
“I was trying to take it all in as much as I could and just do my job, which is keeping us in the game,” Sheehan said. “[I] felt like we could have got a little better but I was happy to get in there.”
Emmet Sheehan held the D-Backs to one hit in the third inning. He has struck out four batters so far
— Amanda Scurlock (@Amandtastic) October 8, 2023
Corbin Carroll started the second inning with a home run, edging up Arizona’s score to seven. Three batters later, Lourdes Gurriel jr. send two runners home on a double.
The Boys in Blue struggled at bat, only making three hits for seven innings. D-Backs starting pitcher Merrill Kelly was mainly to blame, making five strikeouts in the 6.1 innings he pitched. Arizona outfielder Alek Thomas hit a homer in the seventh and Pham homered in the eighth.
Dodgers fans remained supportive throughout the matchup, even singing the Happy Birthday song to star outfielder Mookie Betts. Betts, who turned 31 Saturday, walked in the bottom of the eighth along with Freeman. This set up Will Smith to whack a two-RBI triple, putting the Dodgers on the board.
“We fought, I don’t think anybody gave up out there,” Smith said. “Just regroup, come back, try to even the series on Monday.”
Last season, the Dodgers paced the MLB with 111 wins only to lose to the San Diego Padres in the NLDS. They entered this postseason dedicated to avoiding that same fate.
“The irony is last year, we won the first game and then didn’t win a game after,” Roberts said. “Hopefully the script flips.”
The Dodgers return home for game two of the NLDS on October 9 at 6:07P.M.
