

A lot of games that could have been lost a whole lot of different ways, and we came back and kept fighting and fighting. “It feels like we played a lot better than 4-6, in my opinion. “A slugfest we lost by one run – those games are not what we expected at 11:35,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who had his 15th and 16th doubles of the month and extended his hitting streak to 17 games. It could have gone better – the Dodgers lost three one-run games on the trip. Louis (where a hot Cardinals team took three of four), Atlanta (where the Dodgers took two out of three and reclaimed the best record in the National League) and Tampa (home to the best team in baseball). The early starting epic (necessitated by MLB’s deal with the streaming service Peacock) ended a 4-6 road trip that seemed endless. With all of that, it was a ground out that drove in the winning run as the Rays beat the Dodgers, 11-10.

Starting before most of their fans on the West Coast had even taken the potato salad out of the refrigerator, the Dodgers and Rays combined for 21 runs on 28 hits, including 10 for extra bases (five home runs by the Dodgers). Gavin Stone’s career ERA ballooned to 14.40 – but he still hasn’t taken a loss. Trayce Thompson entered the game hitless since April 17, then didn’t make an out. The Dodgers hit back-to-back home runs – twice. The Tampa Bay Rays scored six runs in one inning. Like the drunk uncle at your Memorial Day picnic, the hitters started early and kept coming back for more Sunday. If Major League Baseball wants to put more action and scoring into games, apparently it just needs to do one thing – start them at 11:30 in the morning.
