Dodgers fall to Rays behind early offensive attack
by Ron Gutterman
The Dodgers got six innings out of Noah Syndergaard against the Rays on Friday, their first starter to complete six frames since Julio Urías on May 13.
His efficiency came in the latter part of his outing, retiring his final eight batters.
But the Rays got to him early. Tampa Bay’s quick start dug the Dodgers a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 9–3 series-opening loss.
Syndergaard allowed six runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts over six innings. It puts him at a 6.27 ERA and 1.35 WHIP through 47 1/3 innings this season (10 starts).
“I’m just trying to find some rhythm and fluidity and it’s still not creating the result that I want,” Syndergaard said. “I just need to keep grinding and chipping away.”
The Dodgers struck first against Rays opener Jalen Beeks. Mookie Betts walked and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith singled to secure a 1–0 lead in the top half of the first inning.
But the Rays responded with two runs in the bottom half.
This was led by a Yandy Diaz double and RBI by Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe.
Tampa Bay extended its lead in the second inning. This time, it was a Christian Bethancourt double and RBI outs from Diaz and Wander Franco to make it 4–1.
The Dodgers cut the gap to 4–2 in the third inning with a J.D. Martinez RBI single after Freddie Freeman and Will Smith each drew walks against Rays reliever Cooper Criswell.
But Taylor Walls’ effort on the bases — a single followed by steals of second and third base — led to another Rays run. Diaz’s fourth-inning home run made it 6–2 and four consecutive innings with a run scored for Tampa Bay.
The Rays would scratch in the seventh and eighth against Justin Bruihl behind a Brandon Lowe RBI single and a Jose Siri two-run homer to reach their nine-run total.
The Dodger offense had several chances to close the gap with the bats but struggled to get runners home. They went 3-for-14 on the day with runners in scoring position.
“They outplayed us tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought we had Criswell to make it a game but we just couldn’t capitalize.”
Freeman and Martinez extend hit streaks
Freeman’s first-inning single and Martinez’s third-inning RBI single each boosted ongoing hit streaks for the two veteran sluggers.
Freeman now sits at 15 consecutive games with a hit. He went 2-for-4 with a walk on the day.
Martinez, meanwhile, jumped to the double digits with a 10-game hit streak. He went 2-for-5 on the day.
The first-year Dodger is batting .349/.356/.697/1.053 over the course of the 10 games.
Looking Ahead
The Dodgers (31–21) continue their series with the Rays on Saturday at 1:10 p.m. PST.
They see an exciting matchup on the mound with Clayton Kershaw going up against Tyler Glasnow, making his highly-anticipated return to the mound from Tommy John surgery.
Here’s where to watch and listen:
TV: SportsNet LA
Radio: Dodgers Audio AM570, KTNQ1020
