Max Muncy couldn’t help but throw his hands up in disbelief.
In a frustrating loss for the Dodgers, such was the defining image of the day.
In the bottom of the sixth inning Sunday, with the Dodgers facing a four-run deficit to the Braves, Muncy thought he had done everything right in the most pivotal moment of the game.
He’d worked a full count in a bases-loaded, two-out opportunity. He got the pitch he was looking for from Braves reliever Robert Suarez on a fastball up — but not out — of the strike zone. Even though he’s been slumping recently, Muncy connected with what appeared to be a perfect swing, lining a 107 mph rocket deep to right field. And as the ball sailed through the afternoon sun, it seemed like a comeback was on.
Braves right fielder Eli White, however, had other ideas.
With a leaping effort that sent him crashing face-first into the wall and knocked him flat on his back along the warning track, White held on for a game-changing catch.
It was as close as the Dodgers would come in their 7-2 defeat at Dodger Stadium.
And it left Muncy — who later hit a two-run homer that would prove too little, too late — stunned as he pulled up just past first base.
Instead, on a day they fell behind by four runs in the second inning, the Dodgers (24-16) failed to avoid a fourth series defeat out of their last six tries.
While the Dodgers were unable to capitalize on opportunities in the rubber-match game of this marquee series, the Braves (28-13) took advantage, maintaining their status as MLB’s winningest early-season team.
That, at least for now, the Dodgers aren’t baseball’s best team.
That honor probably instead belongs to the Braves, who made Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski pay for his own defensive mistake in their back-breaking four-run second inning.
After giving up one run on three consecutive two-out singles (one of them via a bunt), Wrobleski got Sean Murphy to hit a comebacker that should’ve been turned for an inning-ending double play.
Alas, Wrobleski misfired on his throw to second, which was too high for Alex Freeland to make the turn to first. After that, Wrobleski walked No. 9 hitter Jorge Mateo to load the bases, then gave up a three-run double to Mauricio Dubón.
The Dodgers could not mimic such two-out magic.
In the first inning, they left two runners stranded when Muncy struck out against Atlanta starter Bryce Elder to extinguish the threat. And though they went hitless for the next seven frames, until Muncy hit a two-run homer in the eighth, they still missed a couple more chances along the way; including Muncy getting robbed by White in the sixth following three straight two-out walks that ended Elder’s day, and Freeland and Shohei Ohtani coming up empty with two aboard in the seventh following another walk and catcher’s interference.
Wrobleski might not be any longer. But his strange statistical feats sure are.
A week after becoming the first Dodgers pitcher in a quarter-century to pitch six scoreless innings without a strikeout, the young left-hander turned in another strange line Sunday, going 8 ⅔ innings while giving up seven runs.
After the disastrous second inning, Wrobleski retired 16 batters in a row to keep the Dodgers within striking distance. He also set a season high for strikeouts with seven.
However, he faded late, giving up solo home runs to Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, before coming up one out shy of his first complete game by plunking Mike Yastrzemski with his 100th pitch –– prompting manager Dave Roberts to finally pull the plug.
Quite simply, the Dodgers’ offense once again.
They finished the day with two hits. They concluded this series with seven runs scored.
Most frustrating, once again, was their inability to capitalize in situational opportunities. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. They stranded seven men on base.
It all renews questions about their inconsistent lineup, which remains the biggest culprit in what is now a 9-12 slide going back to April 18.
The Dodgers open a four-game series with the Giants on Monday. Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) will face right-hander Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA).
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