Dodgers Duo Defeated Despite Dominance

Opening Day for the MLB started a little earlier than usual this year as the Dodgers began their season against the division rival San Francisco Giants for a four-game homestand.  Dodger fans from all over flocked to Chavez Ravine excited for a new season and a chance to see their team pick up where they left off last year.

And the Dodgers met those expectations by picking up exactly where they left off last season, though not in the same manner fans had hoped.  Instead of the powerhouse team that lead the MLB in wins last season with a 104-58 record, fans were mystified by the seemingly amateurish team that was eerily reiminiscent of the team they saw perform in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series.  A team that produced no runs on only 6 hits in the season opener followed by no runs on only 1 hit in the following game against a team that lost 98 games last year.

There is no doubt that, aside from the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees rivalry, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have one of the greatest rivalries in all of baseball.  It is almost certain that the matchups between these two teams (no matter their given records) are bound to be hard fought; however, to see the Dodgers offense fail to produce runs in the first two games of the season is rare.  In fact, the longest scoreless inning streak to start a season for the Dodgers dates back to 1968 when the club failed to produce a run in the first 19 innings of the season.  After being shutout by the Giants 1-0 in back-to-back games (i.e. 18 innings), the Dodgers are in jeopardy of setting a new franchise record should they fail to score in the first inning of tomorrow’s game. Not to mention the Dodgers were shut out only 8 times all last season, none of which were in back-to-back games.

To pour salt on the wound, Clayton Kershaw received his first loss of the season despite allowing only one run through 6 innings on a solo home-run by Giants’ second baseman, Joe Panik – a home-run that even Panik, himself, thought was foul.  To add even further insult to injury, it was Panik, again, who scored the game’s only run tonight with a solo shot in the 9th inning off of Dodgers’ closer Kenley Jansen to put the Giants up 1–0 which would, ultimately, win them the game.

To put into perspective how unlikely these two shutout losses are for the Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw had a record of 18-4 last season with Alex Wood not far behind at 16-3.  Kenley Jansen, who set an MLB record of 51 strikeouts without issuing a single walk to start last season, had also not been issued a “loss” since June of 2016 but was the unfortunate recipient in tonight’s game in his first appearance this year.  Furthermore, Joe Panik, who is not known to hit for power, now has two home-runs in as many games after tying a season-high record of only 10 home-runs in the entire 2017 season.  And, for the cherry on top, the Giants snapped a Dodgers’ 7-game winning streak on Opening Day.

Though it is fair to say that Dodger fans are and should be disappointed by the poor start to the 2018 season there should NOT be any reason to worry.  Both Kershaw and Wood pitched exceptional games with Kershaw tossing 6.0 innings of 8-hit, 1-run ball and Wood pitching 8.0 innings of 1-hit, no-run ball.  As soon as the Dodgers‘ offense clicks, the team will remember what it’s like to win and prove themselves as the best team in the game.  With 160 games left, anything can happen.  Baseball is a sport where teams have to prove themselves time and again over the course of six grueling months of 162 regular-season games and then win 11 more games to earn a title.  Two games are but a fraction of the season and will soon be forgotten when the Dodgers redeem their rightful place in the division.

BakoBoyInBlue