Dodgers' pitching concerns creep in as NLDS evens up

LOS ANGELES -- Behind a star-studded lineup and one of the strongest bullpens in the Majors, the Dodgers were able to overcome their starting pitching issues in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night.

But at some point, in order for the Dodgers to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the World Series, they’re going to need help from their starting rotation.

A day after Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s shaky start, it was Jack Flaherty who put the Dodgers in an early hole. This time, the Dodgers weren’t able to outhit their problems, falling to the Padres, 10-2, on Sunday night in Game 2 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium.

The best-of-five series is now tied at one game apiece heading to Petco Park, which gives San Diego the edge. Historically, when a Division Series under the current 2-2-1 format has been tied after two games, the team heading home for Games 3-4 has gone on to win the series 29 of 44 times (66%).

“It certainly puts a little bit on the offense,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But again, those guys made defensive plays and then they tacked on when they needed to. Now, it’s a three-game series. They played better, but we’ve got to catch a lead too.”

With all the momentum on their side after a thrilling win to start off the series against their division rivals, the Dodgers were looking for Flaherty, their big Trade Deadline acquisition, to set the tone early. Instead, the veteran right-hander badly missed his location against Fernando Tatis Jr., who made him pay with a solo homer to left field in the first inning.

The hole got even bigger in the second as former Dodger David Peralta hit a two-out, two-run homer to center field off Flaherty to give the Padres an early three-run lead for the second consecutive game. This time, the Dodgers couldn’t fight back.

“I was able to settle down and get into a little bit of a rhythm,” Flaherty said. “That’s what I tried to do from the beginning, but I missed with a pitch to Tatis and he put a good swing on it. Yeah, just try to keep filling it up.”

To Flaherty’s credit, he did deliver the longest postseason start by a Dodger since Max Scherzer went seven innings in Game 3 of the 2021 NLDS against the Giants. Over the past few postseasons, Dodgers starters have really struggled, consistently putting the offense in early holes.

With Flaherty allowing four runs over 5 1/3 innings, Dodgers starters have allowed 22 runs on 26 hits over 13 innings in their past five postseason games. Los Angeles is 1-4 during that span.

The rest of the way, the Dodgers are going to rely on Walker Buehler, who will start Game 3 on Tuesday night at Petco Park and, likely, rookie Landon Knack to handle the bulk of the innings in Wednesday night's Game 4, which could turn out to be a bullpen game.

“A lot of us have been in this situation before,” said Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux. “Playoff baseball, we all know what to expect. It’s just about fighting back and moving to the next one. That’s the big key, moving on to the next one and just take it at-bat by at-bat, pitch by pitch. And I think at the end, you’re going to be where you want to be.”

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Offensively, the Dodgers also had some early opportunities to strike against Padres right-hander Yu Darvish. In the first, Mookie Betts thought he had hit a solo homer to tie the game. But after Jurickson Profar jawed with some fans for a few seconds, it turned out San Diego’s left fielder had actually caught it.

In the second, the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out. Lux drove in L.A.’s first run with a sacrifice fly, but Tommy Edman then hit a liner right at first baseman Luis Arraez that turned into a double play. That was just about the last real threat the Dodgers had.

“[That was] a big inning,” said Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández. “They made a really good play, Profar robbing the homer. That started everything. And then we didn’t score some runs when we had the opportunity. … So we just need to keep getting better, keep fighting at-bats.”

Moving on from bad losses is something the Dodgers have hung their hat on all season long. They’ll need to tap into that skill immediately. For as encouraging as Game 1 was for L.A., the Game 2 loss was just as disappointing.

The Dodgers had an opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 lead over the Padres. Instead, San Diego spent all night celebrating around the bases, causing the bad blood between the two teams to resurface throughout the course of the night, with Flaherty and Manny Machado taking center stage.

Now it’s time L.A. answers back, this time on the road.

“This is now a three-game series, we need two more games to move on,” said Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas. “I feel like that’s the only thing we’re thinking about right now. We won yesterday. We lost today. Doesn’t matter if you win 1-0 or lose 10-1. It’s one victory each, and now we’ve got a three-game series.”