Dodgers fail to sweep Yankees thanks to quiet bats, Jazz Chisholm’s late home run
NEW YORK — At the end of a very long doubleheader day at Yankee Stadium, it took until the penultimate inning of Sunday’s nightcap for someone to finally deliver a fatal blow.
With the score tied in the bottom of the eighth between the Dodgers and Yankees, New York second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. delivered the night’s decisive swing, taking Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips deep to lift the Yankees to a sweep-averting 2-1 win.
For New York, salvation should have come much sooner in a series finale that saw the Dodgers go with a bullpen game.
After scoring a quick run in the first off opener Will Klein, they let the Dodgers hang around and stay within striking distance, squandering a string of repeated chances to further pad their lead.
In the fourth, they had runners at second and third with only one out but came up empty thanks in part to a nice play by third baseman Max Muncy to field a ground ball and throw a runner out at home. In the fifth, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs off three singles against Jack Dreyer but couldn’t scratch even one run across after Brock Stewart came in and sandwiched an infield pop-up between two strikeouts.
Finally, in the eighth, the Dodgers made their hosts pay, with Tommy Edman coming off the bench for a game-tying pinch-hit home run.
But then, it was the Dodgers’ turn to waste an opportunity. They got two runners aboard later in the inning with one out, only to watch Shohei Ohtani strike out and Andy Pages pop out against Yankees closer David Bednar.
Thus, the stage was set for Chisholm to launch his game-winning blast in the bottom half of the frame, belting an opposite-field drive off a low fastball from Phillips that stayed over the middle of the plate.
What it means
The Dodgers did not complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees but still leave the Bronx with a series win to begin this nine-game road trip.
At 63-37, they continue to own the best record in the majors, plus an 11 ½-game lead in their division.
Despite Sunday night’s loss, they also got an encouraging performance out of the bullpen — a positive sign for a team that might need to use more bullpen games to compensate for Ohtani’s continued absence from the starting rotation.
Who’s hot
The Dodgers didn’t produce much at the plate Sunday night.
But backup rookie catcher Eliezer Alfonzo provided one memorable moment.
In the third inning, Alfonzo roped a line drive into center for his first career MLB hit, finally breaking through two weeks removed from his emotional debut to snap his 0-for-9 stat line previously.
The knock led to the Dodgers’ best early chance of the night, with Ohtani legging out an infield single behind him. But a flyout from Pages after that ended the inning –– which would be the Dodgers’ only at-bat with a runner in scoring position until their pivotal squandered chance in the eighth.
Who’s not
Two weeks ago, Mookie Betts looked like he was back.
Now, he’s simply back to his previously disappointing form.
After going hitless in four at-bats Sunday night, Betts is now just 4-for-38 over his last 11 games with only one extra-base hit. That slump has dropped his season batting average, which was up to .248 on July 2, back down to .226. His OPS has also fallen from .750 to .689 in that time.
Up next
The Dodgers continue this East Coast road trip with a three-game series against the Phillies beginning Monday. Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.81 ERA) will start Monday’s opener at Citizens Bank Park against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez (11-4, 2.62 ERA).
