PHILADELPHIA — The best start in Dodgers history stays with Brooklyn.
The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers ran themselves out of a shot at keeping their undefeated season alive in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday that stuck them at 8-1 on the season.
The Brooklyn Dodgers got off to a 10-0 start in 1955.
This year’s Dodgers can blame their first loss on sloppy and silly baserunning.
“When you give a good team outs and shorten the game,” manager Dave Roberts said, “then it’s hard to win. It’s hard to beat a good team.
Shohei Ohtani always has the green light to run, but the Dodgers superstar made the puzzling decision to try and steal second base with two outs in the eighth inning and eight-time All-Star Mookie Betts at the plate.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto nailed him at second to end the threat.
Ohtani had a 93.7 percent stolen base success rate last season, third-best in the majors.
“With Shohei in that situation, you’ve got to make sure you’re safe,” Roberts said. “Realmuto is one of the best throwers in the game. When you’re down three with Mookie at the plate, you’ve got to make sure you’re safe if you’re going to go.”
The Dodgers are champs for a reason, and wouldn’t go down easy.
Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer, his fifth already this season, with no outs against Phillies reliever Jordan Romano to make it 3-2, as the Dodgers avoided being shut out for the first time since July 26. Romano then escaped on a strike-him-out-throw-him out double play to end the game.
Pinch-hitter Max Muncy whiffed and pinch-runner Chris Taylor was out at second.
“Chris, right there, took a chance,” Roberts said. “Unfortunately, Realmuto made another great throw.”
For added baserunning embarrassment, Andy Pages was picked off to end the sixth inning.
“We hate losing but I think it does go to how we play,” Roberts said. “Giving those guys three outs on the bases, it’s hard to win when you play eight innings on the offensive side. That’s something we have to clean up.”
Realmuto has now thrown out three runners in a two-game span for the fifth time in his career and first time since 2022.
“The Ohtani one surprised me a little bit just because Mookie was hitting,” Realmuto said. “When Chris ran, I had a pretty good idea he was going to try to run because he’s the tying run and he’s usually a pretty good stolen-base guy.”
Everything had gone right for the Dodgers this season.
Ohtani hit a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning on his bobblehead night, lifting the Dodgers over the then-winless Atlanta Braves 6-5 on Wednesday, giving them the best start ever by a defending World Series champion. They’ve trailed in seven games this season, but they already have two walk-off wins. Ohtani failed to score for the first time this season.
With the Phillies up 1-0 in the seventh, starter Jesus Luzardo got into his only jam of the game when he had two runners on base with two outs. Luzardo, who had his fastball humming in the high 90s, got Kiké Hernández to strike out swinging on a slider to that had another sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park roaring in celebration. Hernández fanned three times.
Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out five and allowed one unearned run in six innings. The unearned run came on his own error. Yamamoto threw the ball into foul territory trying to pick off Trea Tuner attempting to steal third in the first inning. The All-Star shortstop hustled home for a 1-0 lead.
Yamamoto tossed at least six innings without allowing an earned run for the fourth time in his career and first time since last June against the Yankees.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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