As Dodger fans, Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Angels of Anaheim was a painful one.

As baseball fans, Tuesday’s game between the Dodgers and Angels in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd of 53,725 was exactly what we came for. It simply doesn’t get any better than this – period.

We got to see the undisputed best player of our generation do exactly why he is the best player of our generation. We also got to see the Dodgers’ current best player do exactly – well, part of – why he is the Dodgers’ current best player – period again.

That best player of our generation is, of course, Angels outfielder Mike Trout who, in addition to making an absolutely perfect throw (estimated 98.6-mph) from left-center field to nail Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy at the plate in the bottom of the second inning, hit a spectacular breathtaking 454-foot solo home run off of Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda that landed in the second deck (Loge Level) of Dodger Stadium just inside the left field foul pole.

However, the real blow on Tuesday night came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Dodgers third base coach (and Angels former third base coach) Dino Ebel elected to send the Dodgers’ current best player, right fielder Cody Bellinger, home from second base on a (very) hard-hit single to short right field off the bat of pinch-hitter Kiké Hernandez. The ball was fielded by Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun, who gunned down Bellinger – the tying run – at the plate for the game-ending third out, with Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager standing in the on-deck circle.

“Those two [runs] are on me,” Ebel told reporters after the game. “I know those guys (Trout and Calhoun). When they get their footwork together, they’re going to make a good throw. But they had to put it on the money. That’s what they did.

“Trouty has worked extremely hard,” Ebel added. “When he first came up everybody said he was below average to maybe average (throwing). He worked extremely hard to prove everybody wrong. He’s got a plus arm now with good accuracy.”

Ebel would go on to say that Calhoun has always had a “plus-plus” arm.

“It’s easy to look back when a guy gets thrown out, but I trust [Ebel’s] instincts,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of his third base coach’s decision to send Bellinger.

Bellinger himself had no issue with the decision, although he acknowledged that the play at the plate wasn’t even close.

“To be honest, it wasn’t really close,” said Bellinger. “Calhoun threw the ball real hard and accurate. I was out by a lot.”

When asked if he was surprised that Ebel sent him home on the play, Bellinger did not hesitate with his answer.

“No. Not at all.”

Yeah, the Dodgers lost on Tuesday night. But we got to see exactly what we came for.

Play Ball!

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