Dodgers’ hitting woes could cost them World Series title to Toronto

TORONTO— Yes, blame the bullpen. I’m not even going to try to persuade you otherwise.

But, for the Dodgers, the blame for the disaster that is Game 1 of the World Series shouldn’t fall entirely on the bullpen.

A star-studded lineup that stuttered in the previous two rounds of the playoffs stuttered again here Friday, this time without the cover of an outstanding starting pitcher.

Over their last nine games – the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Game 1 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays – the Dodgers are hitting .219.

The Dodgers had seven hits in their NLCS opener, when Blake Snell pitched eight shutout innings. He took the offensive.

They had six hits in Game 1 of the World Series, when Snell allowed five runs in five-plus innings, and they couldn’t get it back.

The Blue Jays scored 11 runs. The Dodgers led the National League in runs during the regular season, but even then, they have only scored at least 11 runs three times since the All-Star break. The Blue Jays have done it three times in these postseasons alone.

“You can do something with it if you want to do something with it,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “We’re more than capable of scoring 10, 11 in a game. That’s just hard to do in the playoffs.

“Obviously, they’ve done it. They’ve done it from the beginning, so maybe it’s not difficult for them. For us, we haven’t. But we’ll find ways to win games.”

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts reacts during an at-bat in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of the World Series Friday night.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

They better find him soon. The Blue Jays are averaging seven runs per game in the postseason. The Dodgers have not scored seven runs in any game in the NLDS, NLCS or World Series.

“If you look at the last two weeks, there are some crucial hitters that can swing games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Sometimes I think the offense looks great as far as building innings, but there are key hitters that you have to win pitches and use the other side of the field, get a hit, take a walk, whatever it is.

“I think we can be better. We have to be better.”

The Dodgers had three hits in seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, which seems pretty good until you realize those seven at-bats came in the second and third innings.

In the third inning, three of their final four batters hit a runner in scoring position, and they scored once. But the second inning was worse: they had the bases loaded with one out on three successive batters, and once again, they scored just one.

“We have to take advantage of this situation, especially against a team like this that knows how to play very well,” Betts said. “I feel like it was an important moment in the game that really changed things.

“It was a real game changer.”

The Dodgers struck out 13, the Blue Jays four. The Jays ran their high-contact, low-strikeout offense to perfection Friday. The Dodgers led the National League in home runs this season, and they hit 50 more than Toronto, but they hit just one home run Friday: a two-run shot by Shohei Ohtani, with the team down by nine runs.

Blue Jays starting pitcher for Game 2, Kevin Gausman, has a long memory. On Friday, he thought back to October 14, 2021.

It was the day the Dodgers eliminated the 107-win San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. Gausman, working in relief, was the Giants’ last pitcher. Max Scherzer, who also works in Toronto now, was the Dodgers’ last pitcher.

The last pitch of the game: a very controversial third strike from Wilmer Flores.

“I always think about the check on Wilmer Flores,” Gausman said. “I don’t think it’s a swing, but, you know, it’s a little bit water under the bridge.”

Four years later, Gausman has not forgotten. The fact is, just because the Dodgers plan to make the World Series every year doesn’t mean they will. If the team with three Hall of Famers at the top of their lineup doesn’t get their bats rolling, the Dodgers might not forget him in the years to come.