White Sox defeat the Dodgers, 8-4
Ninth inning
White Sox: Tayler Scott now pitching for the Dodgers. Tim Anderson grounded to first. Andrew Vaughn walked. Luis Robert Jr. doubled to left, Vaughn to third. Eloy Jimenez singled to center, scoring Vaughn, Robert to third. Romy Gonzalez ran for Jimenez and stole second. Jake Burger struck out swinging. Victor Gonzalez now pitching for the Dodgers. Andrew Benintendi singled to left, scoring both runners. Yasmani Grandal singled to left, Benintendi to second. Clint Frazier grounded to third.
Dodgers: Right-hander Kendall Graveman now pitching for the White Sox. J.D. Martinez flied to center. David Peralta walked. Chris Taylor grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Final score: White Sox 8, Dodgers 4
White Sox retake the lead in eighth inning
Eighth inning
White Sox: Eloy Jimenez doubled to right-center. Jake Burger homered off the left-field foul pole to tie it up. Alex Vesia now pitching for the Dodgers. Andrew Benintendi was hit by a pitch. Yasmani Grandal struck out swinging. Benintendi took second on a wild pitch. Clint Frazier singled to center, scoring Benintendi. Brusdar Graterol is now pitching for the Dodgers. Elvis Andrus grounded to third, forcing Frazier. With Tim Anderson up, Andrus was caught stealing.
Dodgers: Right-hander Keynan Middleton now pitching for the White Sox. Miguel Rojas grounded to second. Austin Barnes walked. Mookie Betts flied to deep left. Freddie Freeman struck out swinging.
Score after eight: White Sox 5, Dodgers 4
It’s 4-2 Dodgers after seven
Seventh inning
White Sox: Tim Anderson grounded to short. Andrew Vaughn struck out looking. Luis Robert Jr. flied to right.
Dodgers: Right-hander Reynaldo Lopes now pitching for the White Sox. Chris Taylor lined to right. Jason Heyward flied to right. Miguel Vargas popped to second.
Score after seven: Dodgers 4, White Sox 2
Dodgers take 4-2 lead in wacky sixth inning
Sixth inning
White Sox: Jake Burger grounded to short, the ball went right between Rojas’ legs for an error. Andrew Benintendi grounded to short. Rojas flipped to Betts, who barehanded it and tried to find the bag, but Burger beat him there. First and second, nobody out. Yasmani Grandal struck out swinging. Clint Frazier struck out looking. Elvis Andrus grounded to third.
Dodgers: David Peralta hir a bouncer off the pitcher, the ball deflected to short and Peralta beat the throw. Chris Taylor singled to center, Peralta to second. Jason Heyward singled to right. Peralta held at third, but the White Sox threw home anyway. The ball got past Grandal and everyone moved up, Peralta scoring. Second and third, nobody out. Left-hander Aaron Bummer now pitching for the White Sox. Miguel Vargas, batting for James Outman, walked to load the bases. Miguel Rojas struck out looking. Austin Barnes hit a high bouncer to short. Tim Anderson tried to get Vargas at second, but he beat the throw. Everybody safe, run scores, score tied. The White Sox manager then came out to complain about something and was ejected. Right-hander and former Dodger Joe Kelly now pitching for the White Sox. Mookie Betts singled to right, Heyward and Vargas scoring, Barnes to third. Freddie Freeman walked. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. David Peralta, who led off this inning, grounded to short.
Score after six: Dodgers 4, White Sox 2
White Sox lead Dodgers 2-0 after five innings
Fifth inning
White Sox: Andrew Vaughn grounded to short. Luis Robert Jr. grounded to third. Eloy Jimenez grounded to the pitcher.
Dodgers: Miguel Rojas singled to right. Austin Barnes singled to center, Rojas to third. Mookie Betts fouled to first. Freddie Freeman fouled to third. With a 1-2 count on J.D. Martinez, White Sox starting pitcher Mike Clevinger had to leave the game with what appeared to be an arm injury. Right-hander Gregory Santos is now pitching for the White Sox. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. Santos gets credit for that strikeout.
Score after five: White Sox 2, Dodgers 0
White Sox lead 2-0 after four
Fourth inning
White Sox: Andrew Benintendi flied to left. Yasmani Grandal doubled to left. Clint Frazier struck out looking. Elvis Andrus walked. Tim Anderson grounded to the pitcher.
Dodgers: Chris Taylor flied to right. Jason Heyward popped to short. James Outman popped to second.
Score after four: White Sox 2, Dodgers 0
White Sox extend lead to 2-0 after three
Third inning
White Sox: Andrew Vaughn flied to center. Luis Robert Jr. homered to left. Eloy Jimenez struck out swinging. Jake Burger flied to left.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts walked. Betts stole second while Freddie Freeman struck out swinging. J.D. Martinez flied to deep left. David Peralta struck out looking.
Score after three: White Sox 2, Dodgers 0
White Sox take 1-0 lead after two innings
Second inning
White Sox: Eloy Jimenez grounded to short. Jake Burger homered to center. Andrew Benintendi flied to left. Yasmani Grandal singled to right. Clint Frazier singled to right, Grandal to third. Elvis Andrus walked to load the bases. Tim Anderson grounded to third.
Dodgers: Jason Heyward popped to third. James Outman flied to center. Miguel Rojas doubled to left-center. Austin Barnes struck out swinging.
Score after two: White Sox 1, Dodgers 0
No score after first inning
First inning
White Sox: Tim Anderson struck out swinging. Andrew Vaughn singled to short. Luis Robert Jr. grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
Dodgers: Mookie Betts grounded to third. Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch. Freeman stole second. J.D. Martinez struck out swinging. David Peralta walked. Chris Taylor struck out swinging.
Score after one: Dodgers 0, White Sox 0
Julio Urias takes positive step in return from hamstring strain; Bobby Miller to pitch Saturday
Julio Urías, out since May 18 because of a left-hamstring strain, threw off a bullpen mound Wednesday, a workout that manager Dave Roberts said “was as good of an effort as I’ve seen from him in quite some time.”
Urías, who suffered a setback in his rehabilitation last week, will probably throw a two-inning simulated game off a bullpen mound this weekend before facing hitters next week. He will need a minor league rehab start or two before returning to the rotation.
With the rotation down to four healthy starters in the wake of injuries to Urías and Dustin May (right-forearm strain), the Dodgers will probably go with another bullpen game for Friday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants.
That will allow rookie right-hander Bobby Miller, who is 3-0 with an 0.78 ERA in his first four big-league starts, an extra day of rest before Saturday night’s start against the Giants.
“The thought was, if we can give him an extra day, there’s probably no downside to it,” Roberts said of Miller. “We don’t have a starter yet for Friday, but I think a bullpen day is safe to say right now, unless we decide otherwise.”
Reliever Shelby Miller rejoined the team and was activated from the bereavement for Wednesday night’s game. Left-hander Adam Kolarek, who threw 1 ⅓ scoreless innings in Sunday’s bullpen game against the Phillies, was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Miller.
Grade 2 hamstring strain will sideline Max Muncy for several games
An MRI test determined that Max Muncy has a grade 2 left-hamstring strain, an injury that will sideline the Dodgers third baseman for the final two games of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox and most likely Friday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants.
But the Dodgers believe the slugger, who suffered the injury in Sunday’s game at Philadelphia, might be able to return Saturday, so they will hold off on a decision on whether to put Muncy on the 10-day injured list until Friday or Saturday.
Utility man Chris Taylor will play third base in Muncy’s absence, like he did in Tuesday night’s 5-1 victory over the White Sox, and the Dodgers will play short-handed until Muncy, who did some defensive work Wednesday, returns to the lineup or goes on the IL.
“I think where we’re at, with the versatility of the bench, I don’t think we’re pressed right now,” manager Dave Roberts said before Wednesday night’s game. “But once we get to Friday … we’ll probably make a decision at that point.
“There’s a temptation [to put him on the IL], but to do that right now would be overreacting. I think today is much better than it was yesterday. So we’re going to take it day to day and see where we’re at come Friday.”
Tonight’s starting lineups
The starting lineups for tonight’s Dodgers-White Sox game:
Plaschke: Dodgers need to remember their history and trade for pitching
This sounds crazy, but so does the fact that this could be the worst pitching staff in Dodgers history.
This seems unimaginable, but so does three walk-off losses in a week.
This may make little sense, but neither does a slowly decaying Dodger mound, so I’ll just write it anyway.
I miss Kenley Jansen. I miss Alex Wood.
I miss the stability that a genuine closer like Jansen once brought to the bullpen, even if his tenure here ended in a dumpster fire. He was never fully appreciated. He should be now.
I also miss the consistency that a resilient starter like Wood once brought to the rotation, even if his second stint here ended with a forgettable few pitches. He was never truly embraced. He should be now.
Jansen appeared in 57 postseason games for the Dodgers while Wood started and pitched great in their only 2017 World Series win at the home of the cheating Houston Astros. Often unsung but always invaluable, both men regularly showed up for most of the West Division championship seasons, keeping the bullpen and rotation in order.
Velocity is down, but results are up for Tony Gonsolin in Dodgers’ 5-1 win
A diminished fastball did not equal diminishing returns for Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin, who blanked the Chicago White Sox on two hits through six innings of Tuesday night’s 5-1 victory before a crowd of 45,561 in Chavez Ravine.
Gonsolin, pitching on six days’ rest–two more than normal–because the Dodgers felt he needed more recovery time between starts, struck out six, walked two and allowed only one runner to reach second base.
Leaning heavily on his split-finger changeup and four-seam fastball and mixing in his curveball and slider, Gonsolin gave up only a single to left-center field by Andrew Vaughn in the fourth and an infield single to Yoán Moncada in the sixth. He induced swinging strikes on nine of 90 pitches.
“I think the extra couple of days really helped me,” Gonsolin said. “For whatever reason, I just didn’t come out of this last start super great. I wasn’t bouncing back right away. It was kind of weird, honestly. I haven’t really experienced something like that, but I feel a lot better now.”
Dodgers seek bullpen improvements, but not necessarily a designated closer
Dave Roberts sat in the dugout, scanned the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup and tried to devise a late-game plan.
At the start of their recent six-game trip, the Dodgers had a three-run lead with nine outs to get at Great American Ball Park. Roberts knew the three relievers he wanted to use. But he and his staff still needed to choose how to best line them up.
In past seasons, such decisions were more straightforward: The Dodgers had a set closer (Craig Kimbrel last year, Kenley Jansen before him), a cast of reliable setup men (the role Evan Phillips served last season) and other right- and left-handed options to be deployed in specific, favorable matchups.
This year, however, the team is operating differently. The Dodgers have no designated closer. No set alignment leading up to the ninth inning.
Instead, they’ve tried rearranging their high-leverage pieces on a near-nightly basis.
And after some early-season struggles, then a short-lived turnaround, the bullpen is in danger of devolving into a mess again.
In that Cincinnati game, the Dodgers burned Phillips against the Reds’ top hitters in the eighth — only to watch Caleb Ferguson come unglued in the ninth, giving up three runs with wild command in a walk-off loss.