In the grand scheme of things, Monday night’s 4-2 loss to the New York Mets was just one of the one-third of the games that Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda says every team will lose over the course of a 162-game season; this to accompany the one-third of the games every team will win. But if it ends up being one of “the other third that makes the difference” as it appears to be, it could be a very long and painful season for Lasorda’s beloved Dodgers. 

Days or perhaps even months from now, most Dodger fans will look back at Monday’s game and vividly recall the two solo home runs given up by Dodgers left-hander Scott Kazmir or the extremely out-of-character error that the normally sure-handed Howie Kendrick made as the reason for the Dodgers losing their seventh out of their last eight games at Dodger Stadium. But if you put this game under a microscope and are one who likes to assign blame for such things, it was the third-inning hit batsman by Kazmir of Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera with one out and the bases empty followed by a passed ball by Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis to move Cabrera to second base that set up the third and eventual winning run for the Long Islanders.

It’s probably safe to say that Dodgers veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick wasn’t shaking his head at Scott Kazmir after allowing a home run to Curtis Granderson on the very first pitch of the game.
(Photo credit – Kirby Lee)

And as it that wasn’t enough – and it most certainly was – Kazmir issuing a two-out, bases empty walk to Mets second baseman Wilmer Flores in the top of the sixth inning (which preceded Kendrick’s error) was the absolute back-breaker for the Dodgers. Instead of putting Flores away for the final out of the inning after having him down 0-2 in the count, Kazmir threw four straight balls to him. Flores would eventually come around to score a huge insurance run for the Mets on pitcher Steven Matz’s RBI double following the walk and the error to make it a 4-2 game.

Of course the real reason for Monday night’s loss is the same reason for most of the Dodgers’ 16 losses this season – their inability to hit with runners in scoring position. This time they were 0 for 8 in such situations, none bigger than in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Dodgers were gifted a one-out fielding error by Mets center fielder Juan Lagares to allow Adrian Gonzalez to reach first base. This was followed by a walk issued to Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner by Mets left-hander Antonio Bastardo after an outstanding nine-pitch at-bat to put runners at first and second. Unfortunately and as we have come to expect, the Dodgers – this time in the form of right fielder Yasiel Puig and center fielder Trayce Thompson – left AGon stranded at second base and Turner at first base, as Puig struck out and Thompson popped out.

The only reason why I mention any of these things which, of course, were blatantly obvious to anyone watching the game on TV is because the SportsNet LA cameras caught Kazmir in the dugout after the Matz RBI double shaking his head in disgust. And though we will never know for sure, it certainly appeared that he was doing so because of Kendrick’s error. Yet the bottom line and the real reason why Kazmir suffered his third loss of the season is because of the two home runs he allowed – including one on the very first pitch of the game to Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson – and hitting Cabrera with a pitch and walking Flores after an 0-2 count, both of which led to Mets runs.

It’s one thing to shake your head in disgust at yourself, which Scott Kazmir very well could have been doing, but it certainly appeared he was doing so because of Howie Kendrick’s rare fielding error which, when all was said and done, didn’t have an impact on the final outcome of the game.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

With the two home runs that Kazmir allowed on Monday, he has now given up a team-high nine – five more than any other Dodgers pitcher. So if he was indeed shaking his head in disgust at Kendrick, who Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully said “makes that play 99.9 percent of the time,” perhaps Kazmir should take a closer look at himself first. Because if there is blame is to be doled out for Monday night’s loss, Kazmir gets the lion’s share of it.