April 08--REPORTING FROM SAN FRANCISCO -- Dave Roberts debuted as the Dodgers manager three days ago, but he underwent his initiation into the big-league fraternity on Thursday.
All managers undergo these trials, because all managers are mortal and all managers err. In a 12-6 loss to the Giants, Roberts exposed himself to questions about his bullpen usage after starter Alex Wood and reliever Yimi Garcia combined to blow a four-run lead.
The blame for the first loss of the season spread from Wood (five runs allowed) to Garcia (two runs allowed) to the team's untidy outfield defense to the vagaries of batted-ball luck to Pedro Baez, who surrendered a comeback-deflating grand slam to Hunter Pence in the eighth.
But the central question to emerge was why Roberts chose to send Wood into the teeth of the San Francisco lineup for the sixth inning.
The Dodgers (3-1) came to AT Park after silencing the Padres with three consecutive shutouts. Wood extended that streak of scoreless innings to 31, establishing a franchise record. But in the fifth inning, as he faced the Giants for the third time through the order, he wobbled and yielded three runs.
As Wood waded through the fifth, Garcia warmed up in the bullpen. He sat down when Wood retired left-handed hitting first baseman Brandon Belt to end the inning. With Wood set to bat third in the top of the sixth, Roberts could have used a pinch-hitter and started the bottom of the inning with a fresh pitcher.
Instead Wood went to the plate. He struck out. Then he returned to the mound and promptly gave up a pair of groundball singles. At last, Roberts left the dugout to fetch Wood.
At this point, the Dodgers still could have escaped. But pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza bunted both runners into scoring position. Garcia pumped a cutter over the middle of the plate to outfielder Angel Pagan. Pagan stroked a two-run single into right.
For the first time all season, the Dodgers trailed. It only got worse. Joe Panik hit an RBI single and advanced to second when center fielder Joc Pederson missed the cutoff man. Thus Panik was in position to score on Buster Posey's single. Posey took second base on a throwing error by left fielder Scott Van Slyke. At that point, Roberts yanked Garcia in favor of Louis Coleman, who put out the fire.
The fifth and the sixth innings tempered the enthusiasm of a day that began with such promise. The Dodgers showed energy at the start despite a quick turnaround from the night before. The players checked into their hotel around 1 a.m. Wood had flown out earlier the previous evening so he could receive a proper night's rest.
The top of the first inning lasted four pitches. Gonzalez's at-bat to start the second took five. He blasted an 88-mph fastball from Jake Peavy off the top of the center-field wall for a double. A single by Pederson advanced Gonzalez to third base. He scored on a hit by Enrique Hernandez, who started for the first time in 2016.
After a single by rookie Austin Barnes, the Dodgers benefited from the improvement of replay technology. Peavy appeared to defuse a bases-loaded jam when Wood rolled into a 6-4-3 double play. But Roberts challenged the call at second base, arguing Panik violated the rules of the neighborhood play. The reversal put a run on the board.
Yasiel Puig batted third on Thursday in place of Justin Turner. The Dodgers afforded Turner a day off in deference to his off-season microfracture surgery. Puig proved an able replacement. He hit a one-out single in the third to set the table for Gonzalez.
Peavy's resume includes three All-Star appearances, two World Series rings and the 2007 National League Cy Young Award. But at 34, his arsenal no longer overpowers hitters. Facing Gonzalez, his former teammate in San Diego, Peavy pumped an 86-mph cutter down the middle. Gonzalez powered it to left field.
Giving chase was Pagan. He jumped at the wall. The baseball evaded his glove. Puig read the play perfectly, sprinting the requisite 270 feet with room to spare for the Dodgers' third run. Two innings later, Van Slyke pushed the advantage to four with another RBI double.
With Wood at the helm, the lead looked safe. His fastball hummed in the low 90s, a tick above the 89-mph heater he showed in 2015. But he walked shortstop Brandon Crawford to start the sixth and could not field an expertly placed bunt single by pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson.
Two batters later, Crawford trotted home on a groundout. It was the first run given up by the Dodgers in 2016. There were two outs. All appeared well.
Except Panik ripped a 92-mph fastball into the right-center gap for an RBI triple. Posey brought him home with a double. Wood bested Belt, left-hander against left-hander, in what seemed like Wood's last encounter of the day. But because Roberts left in Wood, the new manager underwent the initiation of second-guessing.
Follow Andy McCullough on Twitter: @McCulloughTimes
