Once-dominant Dodgers bullpen unravels again in loss to White Sox

2 3 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. CHICAGO — Dodgers left-hander Jack Dreyer rubbed a new baseball between his hands as he walked back to the mound, a sold-out Rate Field coming alive around him. Fireworks crackled over the center-field scoreboard. Digital pinwheels spun. Dreyer had just surrendered his second home run of the inning, transforming a low-scoring battle into a lopsided White Sox advantage. The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan. The Dodgers tried to come back in the ninth, but fell short. Sheehan was charged with three runs in five-plus innings, a massive turnaround coming off the second-shortest start of his career, only rivaled by a planned one-inning outing at the end of last season. In his third season with the Dodgers, rising star Andy Pages navigates the agonizing reality of being separated from his parents and sister as U.S.-Cuba relations face new flashpoints. Against the Angels last week, Sheehan threw 35 pitches and recorded just one out in the second inning before manager Dave Roberts pulled him. On Sunday, he didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning. All season long, Sheehan’s velocity has been an indicator of how synced up his delivery was on any given start day. On Sunday, his 95.1-mph average fastball velocity was 0.7 mph above his season average, according to Statcast — a promising sign. Results followed. Sheehan retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, just a hit batter away from perfection. With two outs in the fourth, he gave up a double to Colson Montgomery, on a low line drive up the first-base line, just out of reach of Freddie Freeman as he made a diving attempt. Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning Sunday. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press) Advertisement Then against Braden Montgomery, Sheehan worked back from a 2-1 count for an inning-ending strikeout. Out of Sheehan’s hand, the pitch looked like it was going to cross the plate on the inside corner, about belt high. But as Montgomery started his swing, the firm changeup veered away from his bat at a sharp downward angle. Montgomery swung over the pitch. A fired-up Sheehan buried his fist in his glove and shouted. With that strikeout, he preserved the Dodgers’ one-run lead. Freeman provided that run with a solo homer in the first inning. Sheehan gave the Dodgers plenty of time to extend that lead. In the sixth inning, however, the White Sox finally got to him. Sheehan’s fastball to Sam Antonacci wasn’t in a bad spot. But in an 0-2 count, he could have put it a little higher or further inside. Antonacci drove it over the right-field fence. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches a perfect game into the eighth inning and loses a no-hit bid in the ninth during the Dodgers’ win over the Chicago White Sox. A single, a stolen base and an RBI double later, Sheehan walked off the mound, the Dodgers trailing 2-1. Just a few weeks ago, turning the ball over to the Dodgers’ bullpen was a promising move. They were still riding a franchise-record streak of 38 consecutive scoreless innings. Lately, however, it’s been a rocky ride. The bullpen entered Sunday with a 6.71 ERA since ending that scoreless streak on May 25. Only the Giants and Rockies produced a worse mark over that stretch. On Sunday, Dreyer was charged with three runs, after surrendering three hits. Then Blake Treinen and Jonathan Hernández held the White Sox the rest of the way. The Dodgers tacked on three more runs, on a sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Alex Freeland, and a solo homer from Mookie Betts. They stranded runners at the corners in the ninth. Voices Shaikin: Would Dave Roberts snub Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start Shohei Ohtani in All-Star Game? Dodgers manager still might pick Shohei Ohtani to start the All-Star Game for the National League despite Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s sustained brilliance.

Once-dominant Dodgers bullpen unravels again in loss to White Sox

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Once-dominant Dodgers bullpen unravels again in loss to White Sox

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