KANSAS CITY – This is not how the Dodgers expected this road trip to go.
A six-game tour to Colorado and Kansas City, two of the three worst teams in MLB, ended 3-3 after a disappointing 9-1 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday.
The loss ended the Dodgers’ three winning streaks and by the end of the weekend several areas of concern emerged.
But nothing is bigger than starting to pitch.
Bobby Miller pitched well in the opening game but was the only starter to finish the fourth inning against an offense that ranked 29th in the series in runs per game. The Royals’ 15 runs in the last two games were the most Kansas City has scored in a two-game streak since May 7-8.
Tony Gonsolin, who posted a 1.95 ERA from six starts in May, continued his troubles that began when the calendar switched to June. Gonsolin had a 5.82 ERA last month, but the number has risen to 9.42 in his last three starts after allowing four runs over 3 2/3 innings against Kansas City on Sunday, his shortest stint since Opening Day .
Gonsolin has now allowed four or more runs in each of his last three appearances.
“I just haven’t been very good lately,” Gonsolin said. “I feel like I was out with a lot of guys, falling behind on the counts and just not taking the pitches.”
Gonsolin left the mound visibly frustrated when manager Dave Roberts pulled him before he could get out of the fourth. He had five three-ball counts and threw 49 of his 81 throws for strikes.
Gonsolin threw his slider 16 times, and the Royals hit and missed twice.
“I think what’s most striking is that he just didn’t have a slider,” Roberts said. “With [right-handed hitters], the balance was the slider, and he just didn’t have it. It doesn’t have the bite. It was in the zone and he’s not getting the momentum and miss that we’re used to.”
Gonsolin’s early exit forced the bullpen into an overtime for the second straight day after Julio Urías, who made his first start since May 18 on Saturday, gave up in the first five runs.
And that’s on top of Clayton Kershaw’s left shoulder infection, which Roberts says has forced the Dodgers to bring Michael Grove on the cab team in case Kershaw can’t start his game against the Pirates on Monday.
If Kershaw can’t pitch, a bullpen that started the series at No. 26 in majors in ERA (4.62) may have to gobble up a majority of the innings all over again.
One of the reasons the Dodgers’ pitchers struggled to finish innings was how the Kansas City hitters took chances on the basepaths. There were multiple instances of the royals using their speed to outmaneuver Los Angeles on Saturday and Sunday.
Two runs were scored with flat sacks in Saturday’s 6-4 loss, and aggressive base running with a ball to Jason Heyward in right field allowed an extra run on Sunday to score. Only three of the Royals’ 15 hits were extra base hits, but two Sac Bunts advanced runners eventually scored.
Roberts admitted it was a style of play the Dodgers weren’t used to and couldn’t stop.
“These guys surpassed us,” said Roberts. “It’s a different kind of baseball when it comes to putting the ball in play, hitting behind runners and stealing bases. They were excellent at situational hitting. And so, quite frankly, we couldn’t keep up. And that’s how they beat us. That’s how they won the series.”
And that’s what the Dodgers struggled with all season. Los Angeles has given up the most stolen bases at the majors in 2023.
“[Stolen bases] “They don’t always come back to chase us, but it adds stress to every inning,” Roberts said. “Teams like that have moved from first to third place, stealing short flying balls, slamming balls in the dirt and behind the runners. That got us, and I think that’s a common thread with the teams that beat us.”
The Dodgers began the road trip with the intention of gaining ground in a hard-fought NL West, but are instead returning to Los Angeles, where they started, three games behind the D-Backs for first place.
“If you look at it on paper, obviously we should have won the game,” Roberts said. “But we all understand that you don’t play it on paper. And like I said, they played a better, well-rounded game of baseball.”