The Los Angeles Dodgers lost in gut-wrenching fashion to the Detroit Tigers in the second game of a three-game series at Comerica Park Saturday. The Dodgers took a 9-4 lead into the ninth inning but couldn’t close things out as the Tigers came storming all the way back with five runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game and two in the 10th inning to win it.
Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts appeared disgusted with his team’s performance while speaking with reporters after the loss. “It’s not us. It doesn't happen,” Roberts said before acknowledging, “It certainly happened today,” according to SportsNet LA on X.
After trying to explain the team’s collapse, Roberts got brutally honest saying, “We had a five-run lead and there's just no excuse for us losing that game. We’ve just gotta be better.”
While still atop the NL West with a 7.5 game lead over the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers have now lost five of their last six games and seven of their last 10. The team looks to win the rubber match against the Tigers Sunday before heading into the All-Star break.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani belted his National League-leading 29th home run of the season Saturday – the 200th of his career. The four-time All-Star is the first Japanese-born player to reach 200. Ohtani added a triple and set the Dodgers' franchise record for extra-base hits before the All-Star break with 56. He’s now up to 23 stolen bases, 69 RBI and a league-leading 75 runs scored.
The two-time MVP has 233 total bases on the season, which is tops in the National League. Despite the monster effort from the Dodgers’ superstar DH, Roberts wasn’t able to fully enjoy the offensive display. “It’s really incredible,” Roberts admitted per MLB.com’s Steve Kornacki. “How he’s done it so quickly is pretty remarkable, and he legged out a triple. Unfortunately, we couldn’t celebrate that 200-homer accomplishment with a win.”
Roberts fuming after Dodgers choke, lose in extra innings to Tigers
Ohtani hit his historic home run in the top of the fifth inning, helping the Dodgers build a 5-2 lead. LA added four more runs in the next three innings but the Tigers would not be denied.
Detroit hit four home runs of their own in the come-from-behind victory including two huge shots in the last two innings of the game. In the ninth, Colt Keith smacked a two-run homer with two outs to tie the game at nine. The Tigers’ second baseman had a day with a double, four RBI and his ninth home run of the year.
Then Gio Urshela wrapped things up with a walk-off bomb in the 10th. Urshela didn’t play during regulation but he made the most of his sole at bat in extra innings, crushing a two-run shot off Yohan Ramirez to end the game.
Speaking of the Dodgers’ stunning loss Roberts noted, “There’s some predictability with us that I know hitters are privy to. And then there’s some lack of execution. Today was certainly the pitching part of it.” Roberts reiterated the team's need to improve. “Overall there's some things that we just gotta keep being better at,” he said per SportsNet LA. “This one stings.”
The suddenly red-hot Tigers have gone 7-2 over their last nine games. But the surge has done little to change the trajectory of their season as Detroit is a daunting 13 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central and seven games out of a Wild Card spot.
Despite the recent cold streak the Dodgers still have the fifth-best record in baseball and the third-best run differential. The team will take a commanding division lead into the All-Star break and prepare for a second half push into the postseason.
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