Dropping another winnable game in the month of September, injuries in the rotation aren’t the only concern for Dave Roberts’ team headed into October.
In the ninth inning of their series opener against the Padres, the normally surehanded Dodgers defense fell apart with miscommunication in the outfield between Chris Taylor and James Outman leading to LA’s embarrassing loss.
“Yeah, I mean, I think I went a little out of my territory, so the blame is on me,” Outman said. “The error should have been on me. It’s kind of like nonverbal communication, just peeking. I kind of had my eyes locked on the ball and didn’t peek or anything, so it’s 100% on me.
On a routine flyball from Trent Grisham, Outman inexplicably ran in front of Taylor and dropped what would’ve been the first out of the inning after the team had already given up five unanswered runs up to that point in the game.
On the mound at the time was normally shut down closer Evan Phillips who had a birthday he’d soon like to forget.
After the misplay in the outfield, Phillips elicited a grounder from Fernando Tatis Jr. but failed to field the comebacker for what would’ve been a crucial second out of the inning.
What came next was Juan Soto depositing a pitch into the right field bleachers to give the Friars a three run lead that they wouldn’t relinquish in a devastating comeback win at the hands of LA.
On a night where Mookie…
