Dodgers, one strike from victory, lose 2-1 in extra iings

PHOENIX >> Singer Luis Coronel’s post-game concert at Chase Field Saturday started a little late. The opening act couldn’t hit the right notes.

The Dodgers went 1 for 15 with ruers in scoring position and stranded 15 ruers on base, failing to hold a one-run lead in the ninth iing and eventually losing 2-1 in 12 iings to the Arizona Diamondbacks after Brandon Drury lined a walkoff single to right.

“We had our opportunities,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We had our opportunities and you never want to feel like you gave a game away. But when you have opportunities like that to put a team away, especially with the performance Mac gave us tonight, it stings a little bit.”

That sting is the lingering pain from multiple papercuts.

The Dodgers had ruers on base in 11 of the 12 iings, and in scoring position in seven different iings. But they managed to push across just one run on Justin Tuer’s RBI single to right field in the third iing after Chase Utley led off with a double.

“Yeah, you don’t want that,” Corey Seager said when confronted with the numbers. “It was one of those days where both teams were searching for runs. Not very normal for Arizona.”

The Dodgers loaded the bases in the seventh and 12th iings without scoring. Howie Kendrick had four hits in the game but struck out with the bases loaded in the seventh. Yasiel Puig, who was 8 for 15 in his career against Diamondbacks reliever Randall Delgado, went to the plate with the bases loaded in the 12th. But he bounced out on a 3-and-1 pitch.

“I don’t want to go through every single at-bat,” Roberts said. “Some of them I think we got too big and a little too aggressive.

“I’d have to go back and look at all those at-bats but obviously the numbers don’t lie. We had opportunities.”

Some opportunities never materialized thanks to poor baseruing.

“One of the things we try to do is not give teams extra outs and not give away outs on the bases,” Roberts said. “Tonight, there were too many outs that we gave away.”

Puig was thrown out trying to steal second base in the eighth iing, his slide stopping comically short of the base, on a full-count pitch. Andrew Toles took the pitch for a called third strike and the front end of a double play.

In the 11th, Scott Van Slyke singled with one out and then got picked off first base by Diamondbacks catcher Welington Castillo.

And in the top of the 12th, Seager was on second base as the potential go-ahead run when he broke for third on a hard ground ball to shortstop Nick Ahmed. He was caught in a rundown and tagged out.

“Bad mental mistake,” Seager said. “Where I thought he was and where he released to (when the pitcher went into his motion) were two different spots. You really kick yourself for that one.”

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Given just a 1-0 lead to protect in the ninth iing, Kenley Jansen was one pitch away from closing it out when Jake Lamb ripped an RBI double to the left-field wall, tying the game.

It was Jansen’s fourth blown save of the season. All four have come on the road against NL West teams – two in San Diego, one in San Francisco and now one in Arizona.

“It was just one of those nights. Those guys made pitches and they hung in there,” Roberts said. “Jake Lamb is a heckuva ballplayer. He got a big hit against one of the best closers in baseball. We expect Kenley to be perfect. It’s not going to happen.”

Lamb was at the heart of things in the 12th as well. He led off with a triple off Dodgers reliever Casey Fien. After intentionally walking the next two batters to load the bases, the Dodgers went to a five-man infield.

It didn’t matter. Drury lined a single into right field to drive in the wiing run.

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