PHOENIX _ The Los Angeles Dodgers possess the best record in the National League, and have for a while. They're on pace to break the franchise record for victories. They feature the stingiest starting rotation and the scariest offense in the National League. They have drubbed opponents and they have eked out victories.
Since their last losing streak, a two-game skid in Chicago on April 23 and 24, they are 28-9. But a soft spot remains, surfacing to haunt the Dodgers every so often. The bullpen is a wart on an otherwise elite club and another letdown cost the Dodgers on Wednesday in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, snapping their seven-game winning streak.
The disappointment stemmed from an unlikely source: Pedro Baez, the Dodgers' best reliever this season, surrendered the tying run in the eighth inning. His trouble began when he plunked former Dodger Tim Locastro, a magnet for baseballs with 10 hit by pitches in 67 plate appearances this season. Two batters later, Jarrod Dyson, a light-hitting outfielder with a .344 slugging percentage entering the game, banged a two-out double to tie the score.
Ross Stripling held Arizona scoreless over the next two frames, working out of a jam in the 10th. However, Scott Alexander entered to pitch the 11th and immediately faltered. The left-hander surrendered a leadoff triple to Eduardo Escobar, who scored on David Peralta's walk-off single.
If Will Smith's first stint in the major leagues ended Wednesday, he concluded it on another high note. The Dodgers rookie catcher belted a two-run home run in the third inning to give Kenta Maeda an early cushion. It was his second home run since he was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City last Monday. The first was a walk-off blast against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
He has impressed on all fronts, but Roberts has said the plan is for Austin Barnes, who is on the injured list with a groin injury, to replace Smith on the roster Friday in San Francisco.
The Dodgers (43-20) strutted into Wednesday's series finale boasting the best starting rotation in baseball since April 25 _ three days before Rich Hill returned from injury to round out the team's projected quintet. During the 26-game stretch, Dodgers starters led the majors in earned-run average (2.16), opponents' on-base percentage (.243), strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.93) and WHIP (0.92). Their efforts fueled eight shutouts.
The common thread, Roberts believes, has been each starter's ability to amass high strikeout numbers while not walking batters. He separated his starters into two groups. In one group are Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Maeda. They can also induce groundballs. In the other are Rich Hill and Walker Buehler, flyball pitchers who rely more on strikeouts. Beyond that, he said, the pitchers were different. Different pitches. Different sequences. Different demeanors.
"It's kind of how we built our ballclub, expecting these guys to put up quality starts," Roberts said. "What that means, for how long, that remains to be seen."
It was on Maeda to sustain the excellence Wednesday after Ryu recorded seven more dominant innings in Tuesday's victory. Maeda flourished for the first three innings. The right-hander struck out five of the first six hitters _ three looking _ with 21 pitches. He added a clean third inning to extend the perfection until Dyson lined a leadoff single in the fourth. Two batters later, Peralta smacked a two-out double to give the Diamondbacks (31-32) their first run in 16 innings.
Maeda quickly recovered, striking out Christian Walker to end the frame before working around a walk to retire the side in the fifth inning. He emerged with his pitch count at 70. His spot in the batting order was due up fourth in the seventh inning. His exit did not appear imminent. But Roberts decided to replace him in the sixth with Julio Urias with the top of the Diamondbacks order looming for the third time.
In his first appearance since Los Angeles city prosecutors announced it deferred prosecution of Urias after his arrest on suspicion of domestic battery May 13, Urias tossed two perfect innings and singled at the plate before ceding to Baez.
