Andy Pages' baserunning blunder costs Dodgers in comeback attempt vs Rangers

The Dodgers' issues with hitting with runners on reared its ugly head again on Wednesday night, in their second game against the Rangers at Dodger Stadium. Shohei Ohtani kicked things off with a solo homer, but then the Dodgers went scoreless through the eighth despite eight men getting on base.

Luckily, the Rangers weren't faring much better; by the start of the ninth, they were up 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer from Corey Seager off of Walker Buehler, but otherwise left eight of their own men stranded.

In the bottom of the ninth with two outs, with Will Smith at second after a single and a walk from Andy Pages, Jason Heyward came up with the goal of, at least, sending the game into extras and giving the Dodgers a fighting chance. He didn't disappoint, sending a double to center fielder Leody Taveras, scoring Smith easily. Taveras bobbled the ball, and Pages kept his head down and bolted, attempting to score the tying run from first.

He was huffing and puffing as he rounded third, and he completely blew past the stop sign from third base coach Dino Ebel before heading home and getting pretty easily tagged out at the plate by catcher Jonah Heim, ending the game just like that.

Andy Pages baserunning mishap cost the Dodgers a game in dramatic fashion

Dave Roberts was quick to come out of the dugout and challenge the call, citing catcher obstruction at the plate. That argument didn't look like it was going to hold much weight on replay, and sure enough, a quick confirmation of the call on the field came down and the game was officially over.

In the postgame, Roberts said that it was a teaching moment rather than something to reprimand, but Pages said that he hadn't seen the stop sign from Ebel, and replay confirmed that he didn't even look up for one. Maybe he wanted to play the hero in a close game. His sprint speed is pretty good, after all, but the Rangers just made a good play. However, it doesn't excuse the disregard for instructions from a coach, especially with a game on the line.

The Dodgers will look to take the series on Thursday night in Game 3 after routing the Rangers 15-2 in Game 1. If Pages isn't benched for the error — and Roberts made it sound like he wouldn't be — he'll at least be extra aware (we hope) if he gets on base.