LOS ANGELES ― There were two kinds of fans among the announced crowd of 46,539 at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night: those who beat traffic, and those who witnessed first-hand that no lead is safe.
The Dodgers rallied from a six-run deficit to tie the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth inning, only to allow two runs in the ninth en route to a 9-7 loss.
After their 7-3 lead evaporated in the eighth inning, the Phillies loaded the bases against Dodgers pitcher Daniel Hudson in the ninth.
With Bryce Harper batting, Hudson (1-3) threw a wild pitch in the dirt that bounced past catcher Will Smith, allowing Odubel Herrera to score from third base. A sacrifice fly by Harper scored Rhys Hoskins with the Phillies’ final run.
The sullen ending was a sudden letdown after the Dodgers made a furious comeback to turn a lopsided game competitive.
With the Dodgers trailing 7-1 in the sixth inning, Smith pummeled a ground ball down the third-base line into left field, bringing home two runs and knocking out Phillies starter Zack Wheeler.
The Dodgers trailed 7-3 in the eighth inning when Smith batted with the bases loaded – this time against left-hander Jose Alvarado. He poked a single through a shallow infield to score another run.
Justin Turner then pinch hit for Edwin Rios with Alvarado, a left-handed pitcher, on the mound. Turner’s double down the line scored Trea Turner and Max Muncy with the Dodgers’ fifth and sixth runs.
Alvarado pitched to Cody Bellinger, a left-handed hitter, with first base open and struck him out. But Chris Taylor punched a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Smith, tying the score at 7-7.
The Dodgers had chances to pad their lead but failed. Pinch hitter Hanser Alberto laid down a safety squeeze, but the ball quickly found the glove of first baseman Hoskins. Pinch-runner Austin Barnes was thrown out trying to score from third base.
The Phillies’ next pitcher, Andrew Bellatti, walked Mookie Betts to load the bases. But Freddie Freeman – the third Dodger to bat with the bases loaded in the eighth inning – popped out in foul territory to kill the rally.
The Dodgers loaded the bases again in the ninth inning against former teammate Corey Knebel. Barnes then flied out to right field, too shallow for Trea Turner to tag up and score from third base. Bellinger popped out in foul territory down the left-field line. Taylor worked the count full, only to hit a lazy fly ball to center field to end the game.
The loss dropped the Dodgers’ record to 20-10, one game ahead of the second-place San Diego Padres in the National League West.
Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson took one for the team.
The veteran left-handed pitcher was no mystery. On most nights, Anderson would have headed for the showers early. Instead, with the Dodger bullpen feeling the effects of a long road trip, and a densely packed schedule looming, Anderson slogged through six innings while allowing seven runs.
Home runs by Bryce Harper and Johan Camargo left the Dodgers down 4-0 after two innings. Single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings padded the Phillies’ lead. Anderson’s ERA went from 2.78 to 4.40.
No opponent had scored seven runs against the Dodgers this season since April 10, a 9-4 loss in Colorado. Julio Urías allowed six runs in that game. Since then, only two Dodger starters had allowed more than two runs in a single game.
Anderson’s performance wasn’t just rare for this season. It was rare for this century. No Dodger pitcher had allowed seven earned runs and 10 hits in a six-inning performance since Darren Dreifort on Aug. 13, 1999.
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Win or lose, Manager Dave Roberts determined the Dodgers needed all of Anderson’s 88 pitches to get through Thursday’s game. Triple-A call-up Ryan Pepiot lasted only three innings in his start Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Five relief pitchers were needed to close that game. Four relievers pitched Tuesday. Amid a stretch of 31 games in 30 days, Roberts could not empty his bullpen for the third time in three days.
A solo home run by Bellinger was the only run Wheeler allowed before the sixth inning. Bellinger later missed hitting a second home run against Wheeler by a few feet wide of the right field foul pole.
Smith and Trea Turner each had two of the Dodgers’ 12 hits.
More to come on this story.