Astros 3, Dodgers 2: Kershaw’d, Bullpen’d, Minute Maid’d

For the first time this season, the Dodgers have lost five straight games.

Sunday afternoon’s game started off well enough, as Clayton Kershaw was spectacular and the Dodgers had a first inning lead. Chase Utley doubled and advanced on a wild pitch, then scored on a Justin Turner sac fly. The Dodgers added a second run in the fifth with an A.J. Ellis double, passed ball and wild pitch.

The two runs looked to be more than enough for Kershaw, who breezed through five before giving up a run in the sixth. Houston nearly tied the game in the sixth, but Carlos Gomez was thrown out trying to steal home with two outs. He nearly beat the throw, but Ellis got the tag down and got Gomez out despite taking Gomez’s cleat to the facemask.

Kershaw shoved through eight innings, striking out 10 Astros without allowing a walk.

Things unravelled in the ninth, which started with a Carlos Correa single off Kenley Jansen. Correa stole second, and Jansen got a strikeout and a popout before giving up a 2-out RBI single to Marwin Gonzalez, who had struck out in his three other plate appearances.

The Dodgers got Ellis to third in the 10th, but left him there. Chris Hatcher struck out the first batter he faced in the 10th, but gave up a fly ball to Jason Castro that looked to be a normal fly ball. Maybe I got Charley Steiner’d, but it definitely didn’t look like a homer off the bat. A fan in left may or may not have reached over and helped that ball get over the wall, but it went to review and the Dodgers lost the review and the game.

This week was brutal for the Dodgers, who lost their five games by a total of 10 runs. For the most part, the pitching did its job, but the offense struggled to get runners home and they failed to hit a home run against the Astros, who hit five in the three games against the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have tomorrow off before opening up a three-game series in Cincinnati. Let’s just hope the Pirates can keep the Dodgers 1.5 games ahead of the Giants tonight.

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