Los Angeles Dodgers: Going for Freeway Series split

The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped the first game of the 2019 Freeway Series in a game that was full of missed opportunities and bad luck.

There are two teams that always play the Los Angeles Dodgers tough no matter how big the talent gap between the two is — the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Angels.

Ironically enough, the Los Angeles Dodgers just finished a three-game series in San Francisco in which they fought tooth and nail to walk away with a 2-1 series win despite being the better team by 17.5 games in the standings.

The same fortune did not roll over to Monday as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3. The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead before allowing five unanswered runs, four of which coming from the bullpen.

There was a two-run home run allowed to Mike Trout by Dylan Floro, but it is hard to really blame Floro. Trout hit a good pitch out with two outs and you walk away from that at-bat knowing you threw close to your best stuff.

The other two runs came in the bottom of the eighth with Joe Kelly on the mound. On paper, Kelly had a good inning with three strikeouts and no runs allowed. However, his three walks, two passed balls, an errant pick-off attempt and a botched throw by Max Muncy to home plate allowed the Angels to score two runs.

Not only that but the team was 2-12 with runners in scoring position. That happens in baseball but the Dodgers had a runner in scoring position with no outs three times in this game without scoring a run.

This includes the last inning, where Dave Roberts decided against bunting the runners over with n outs and Enrique Hernandez at the plate in the ninth spot. It was just a frustrating loss, but hey, those happen in a season as long as a baseball season.

The best thing to do is turn towards tomorrow and make sure it does not happen again. As part of our Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak series, here is who we think can get a base hit on Tuesday.

Jason’s streak (Current streak: 2): Alex Verdugo

Nobody on the Los Angeles Dodgers is due for a base hit more than Alex Verdugo is. The rookie outfielder has been struggling of late, not recording a base hit in his last four games.

Despite the struggles, Verdugo is likely going to get a chance in the starting lineup with a right-handed pitcher on the mound. This will be good for Verdugo, though, as an inexperienced right-hander might be just what he needs to get a base hit.

We do not need anything flashy as hero ball is what led to the team losing on Monday. Verdugo will take it one at-bat at a time on Tuesday and record at least one base hit in the process.