LOS ANGELES — Roki Sasaki was sharp enough to keep the Dodgers in it, the bullpen held Philadelphia at bay into the eighth, and Los Angeles carried a 3-1 lead with six outs to go. Then Tanner Scott walked to the mound, and everything unraveled in a single inning. The Phillies scored three runs in the eighth on a three-run shot by Edmundo Sosa, and the Dodgers couldn’t answer. Los Angeles fell 4-3 on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium, dropping Game 2 of the series against Philadelphia.
The loss snapped a lead that the Dodgers had worked to earn. They trailed after Alec Bohm’s solo homer in the second, clawed back to tie it on an Alex Call single in the bottom half, and took the lead for good on a Santiago Espinal sacrifice fly in the fourth. Mookie Betts put LA ahead 3-1 with a seventh-inning single that scored Andy Pages. It felt like enough. It wasn’t.
Sasaki Gave LA a Chance
Sasaki earned better than the loss his team handed back. He went 5.1 innings, allowed one earned run on three hits, and struck out seven, keeping Philadelphia’s potent lineup in check through five before the sixth inning tested him. A fielding error on Santiago Espinal put Schwarber on base, Turner followed with a single, and Harper drew a walk to load the bases with one out and the middle of the Phillies order lurking.
Alex Vesia came in and got Sosa to strike out swinging, then got Bohm to ground out and end the threat. It was exactly the kind of bridge the bullpen is built to provide. Kyle Hurt followed with a clean seventh to earn his fourth hold of the season. For six and two-thirds innings, the plan worked. The eighth was where it came apart.
Scott Couldn’t Hold It
Tanner Scott entered the eighth with a two-run lead and didn’t escape clean. Justin Crawford led off with a single. After Kyle Schwarber grounded out to move Crawford to second, Trea Turner singled to right. Then Bryce Harper walked to load the bases for Sosa, who had replaced Brandon Marsh as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and stayed in the game at left field.
Sosa unloaded. The three-run shot to left-center made it 4-3 Phillies, erasing the lead in a single swing. Scott took the loss. It unraveled fast. Three Phillies reached, Sosa did the damage, and just like that the Dodgers were chasing. Bohm grounded out to end the eighth, but Los Angeles had three outs left and very little answers at the plate.
The Offense Left Them Short
The Dodgers finished with nine hits but pushed only three across. Betts was the offensive anchor, going 3-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh, delivering on a night when most of the lineup gave the Phillies’ pitching staff very little trouble. Call was quietly effective too, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, providing the spark in the second that tied the game and keeping LA’s lineup from going completely cold in the middle innings.
But the big names came up empty when it mattered. Ohtani went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts, a muted night for someone who has carried this offense for stretches this season. Freeman went hitless in four at-bats. Tucker was 0-for-4. The Dodgers had a runner at third in the sixth after a Will Smith walk and a passed ball moved him up, and still couldn’t score. Max Muncy entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth and struck out. Blake Treinen worked a clean ninth, but by then there was nothing left to protect.
Up Next
The Dodgers and Phillies close out the series Sunday for Game 3, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto taking the mound against Andrew Painter. First pitch is scheduled at Dodger Stadium to wrap up the homestand before Los Angeles opens a June stretch at home against Arizona.
