It doesn’t happen often, but it does occasionally happen – both teams ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West standings lose their respective games, thereby opening the door of opportunity for Dave Roberts‘ team to gain a full game on both division rivals in the standings.

It happened on Tuesday night when the NL West first-place San Francisco Giants lost to the Angels of Anaheim and the NL West second-place San Diego Padres lost to the Chicago Cubs.

Dave Roberts’ team did not win on Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium, thereby slamming that door of opportunity shut.

“I thought the line score just doesn’t really tell the story as far as how our offense – the at-bats – we took,” Roberts said postgame. “Yeah, they took… I don’t really know how well (the Cardinals) defend through the season, but tonight it was a difference-maker.”

That difference-maker came in the form of several outstanding defensive plays made by Mike Shildt‘s Cardinals on the night.

Then again, those “at-bats we took” netted Roberts’ team only seven hits in the eventual 3-2 Dodgers loss, with the Dodgers going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranding eight runners on base.

The highlight of the night for the Dodgers was a timely two-run home run by Dodgers left fielder Matt Beaty in the bottom of the seventh inning to turn a 2-0 Cardinals lead into a tied ballgame.

But that door of opportunity slammed shut in the top of the ninth inning when Dodgers right-hander Blake Treinen gave up back-to-back singles – with a stolen base between them – to allow the Cardinals to score the game-winning run.

Opportunity missed.

Play Ball!

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