Hitting into five double plays rarely ends well, but committing a throwing error on an absolute routine ground ball never ends well.

Dodgers de facto second baseman Gavin Lux committed a throwing error on an absolute routine ground ball that even Gold Glove first baseman Freddie Freeman couldn’t get to, turning a 3-1 Dodgers lead into a 3-3 tie and an eventual 5-3 loss to the NL West last-place Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

“I think it’s the first one in quite some time where I felt we gave it away,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame. “Had opportunities, couldn’t capitalize, I don’t know if it was four or five double plays, got a lead early, gave it back, and couldn’t tack on runs late.”

It goes without saying that errors are a part of the game. Heck, even the 2003 Seattle Mariners, who finished second in the AL West that season, committed 65 errors – the fewest by a team in MLB history. But should the Dodgers miss the 2022 postseason by one game, it will be difficult for Dodgers fans not to immediately think of Lux’s throwing which, quite frankly, “gave it away.” (That and an eighth-inning four-pitch walk to Diamondbacks pinch-hitter Cooper Hummel followed immediately by a two-run home run by D-backs left fielder David Peralta on a fat 86.1mph slider right down the middle by Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol).

But hey, ‘There’s no point crying over spilt milk,’ right?

Unfortunately, with the Dodgers loss, coupled with a win by the San Francisco Giants over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, the Dodgers are now in second place in the NL West standings, a half-game back of The Hated Ones. And even though “It’s still early,” as so many like to say, a loss in April and May carries the exact same weight as a loss in September and October, and the Dodgers can ill afford to give games away.

Play Ball!

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