LOS ANGELES _ The kinetic chain of mistakes went from the pitcher to the catcher to the second baseman. The string of slip-ups cost the Los Angeles Dodgers a run in the eighth inning of a 2-1 defeat to Colorado and snapped a four-game winning streak. Pedro Baez walked a batter he should not have walked. Yasmani Grandal threw a ball too far. Chase Utley threw a ball too short. The sequence proved decisive.
After an uplifting weekend in Washington, D.C., the Dodgers (20-27) face-planted back at Dodger Stadium. They squandered a splendid outing from rookie starting pitcher Walker Buehler. The offense looked helpless at the hands of a pitcher with more hits allowed than innings pitched in 2018. The defense faltered in the eighth as Colorado collected its first lead of the game.
Buehler lasted seven innings for the longest outing of his professional career. After four perfect innings, he yielded only two hits, one of them a solo home run. He remained in the game after getting hit by a liner in the fifth inning. Buehler struck out six.
Baez was the first man out of the bullpen to protect a tied game. The second batter he faced was Colorado backup catcher Tony Wolters, a man with a .130 batting average. Baez lost command of the strike zone, missing high and low to bequeath Wolters first base. Grandal would help Wolters advance further.
As Rockies second baseman Pat Valaika swung through a pitch, Wolters broke for second base. The throw from Grandal sailed into the outfielder. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts argued Valaika interfered with Grandal. The umpires disagreed.
Baez struck out Valaika to push the Dodgers one out closer to escape. Roberts inserted left-handed reliever Scott Alexander in search of a groundball against Colorado outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. Alexander did his job. Gonzalez hit a dribbler toward the middle of the infield, where Utley swept it up in his glove as he charged toward second base.
Utley took two steps and made a jumping, side-arm throw. The ball skipped toward first baseman Max Muncy. Muncy tried to time its arrival, but missed the throw. Gonzalez was safe. The Rockies had the lead. The woes of the Dodgers at their own ballpark would continue, with an 8-14 record thus far in 2018.
