The Dodgers lost another game in extra innings on Friday night. It happened in familiar fashion for a team that seems to be perplexed by the free runner on second base.
In the top of the 10th inning, AJ Pollock, Cody Bellinger, and Billy McKinney all flew out harmlessly. It only took nine pitches, six of them to McKinney. Will Smith began the inning on second base, and ended it there, too.
Smith was behind the plate in the bottom of the frame for only four pitches. Josh VanMeter, who doubled three times in the game, lined out to shortstop, but then Asdrubal Cabrera blooped a hit to left field score Daulton Varsho with the game winner. Just like that, the game was over.
The Dodgers are now 1-11 in extra inning games this season. Jimmy Nelson kept the Padres off the board in the 10th inning on April 25 in Los Angeles, but in every single extra inning since then, beginning in the 11th inning on that night, Dodgers pitchers have allowed at least one run. That covers 13 innings, and 10 games. All are losses.
Dodgers extra-inning games in 2021
| Date | Opponent | Inning | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Inning | Runs scored | Runs allowed |
| Wed, Apr 7 | at A's | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Fri, Apr 16 | at Padres | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Fri, Apr 16 | at Padres | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Fri, Apr 16 | at Padres | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| Sun, Apr 25 | Padres | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Sun, Apr 25 | Padres | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| Mon, Apr 26 | Reds | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Sat, May 1 | at Brewers | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Sat, May 1 | at Brewers | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| Tue, May 4 | at Cubs | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Tue, May 4 | at Cubs | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Wed, May 5 | at Cubs | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Wed, May 5 | at Cubs | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| Fri, May 28 | Giants | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Wed, Jul 7 | at Marlins | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Sun, Jul 18 | at Rockies | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| Fri, Jul 23 | Rockies | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| Sat, Jul 31 | at D-backs | 10 | 0 | 1 |
It takes a true team effort to lose so many such games in a row. The pitching has been a mix of rookies getting thrust into high-leverage spots — Garrett Cleavinger lost three extra-inning games in an 11-day span — to the trusted back end. Kenley Jansen has last two extra-inning games. So has Jimmy Nelson, including Friday night. Blake Treinen lost one, too.
Dodgers opponents have scored in 14 of the 18 extra innings this season, while the Dodgers have scored in only seven of the 18.
After the Dodgers’ previous last loss in extras, on July 23 at home against Colorado, third baseman Justin Turner struggled to explain why the Dodgers had lost all but one extra-inning contest.
“I have no idea. If you guys have anything, let me know. It’s pretty weird,” he said. “It’s obviously not good.”
Every extra inning starts with a runner on second base, immediately putting a runner in scoring position. Generally — despite fan complaints from all corners — the Dodgers have actually thrived in such situations this year. With runners in scoring position, the Dodgers are hitting .266/.375/.449, fifth in the majors in batting average and tied for second in wRC+ (123).
In extra innings, the Dodgers are 9-for-59 with runners in scoring position, hitting .153/.292/.305. Their opponents are hitting .283/.441/.522. That’s a recipe for 11 losses in 12 games.
It’s the little things, too. Dodgers opponents have five sacrifice flies in extras this season, while LA batters have scored two runs on outs — one sacrifice fly, and one groundout. Part of the 13 total runs scored in 18 extra innings, and 24 runs allowed.
“I think in retrospect, you can obviously look at things different. But you’ve still got to play the game. You’ve still got to execute,” manager Dave Roberts said Friday. “When you have opportunities on the offensive side and on the defensive side, you’ve got to make pitches. That’s whether there’s a man on second base or not.
“It’s the same for both clubs, but we clearly haven’t played well.”
As is usually the case with runners in scoring position, over a larger sample, a team will perform to its true talent. Keep getting those opportunities, and eventually runs will come. But so far, they haven’t, and the Dodgers find themselves in strange territory.
Since 1901, the modern era, 31 teams have finished a season with an extra-inning win percentage of .200 or worse. The Dodgers’ current 1-11 (.083) mark is tied for third-worst, with the 2012 Astros, a team that tried to lose on purpose and succeeded, dropping 107 games in the middle of a three-year tank that saw them lose two-thirds of their games.
Very bad teams are usually the ones with very bad extra-inning records. The worst Dodgers team in extra innings was the 1908 Brooklyn team that dropped 10 of 11 such games and finished 53-101, seventh place in an eight-team National League.
The only teams with a worse extra-inning record than the 2021 Dodgers are the 1969 Montreal Expos, a first-year expansion team that was 0-12 in extras and lost 110 games, and the 1982 Twins, a 102-loss team that was 1-13 in extras.
The worst extra-inning teams in MLB history
| Year | Team | Extra inn. record | Extra inn. win% | Overall record | Overall win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Extra inn. record | Extra inn. win% | Overall record | Overall win% |
| 1969 | Expos | 0-12 | 0.000 | 52-110 | 0.321 |
| 1982 | Twins | 1-13 | 0.071 | 60-102 | 0.370 |
| 2021 | Dodgers | 1-11 | 0.083 | 62-43 | 0.590 |
| 2012 | Astros | 1-11 | 0.083 | 55-107 | 0.340 |
| 1936 | Red Sox | 1-10 | 0.091 | 74-80 | 0.481 |
| 1908 | Dodgers | 1-10 | 0.091 | 53-101 | 0.344 |
| 1933 | Yankees | 1-9 | 0.100 | 91-59 | 0.607 |
| 1914 | Reds | 1-9 | 0.100 | 60-94 | 0.390 |
| 1989 | Braves | 2-14 | 0.125 | 63-97 | 0.394 |
| 2015 | Rays | 2-13 | 0.133 | 80-82 | 0.494 |
| 1968 | Mets | 2-13 | 0.133 | 73-89 | 0.451 |
| 1934 | Reds | 2-13 | 0.133 | 52-99 | 0.344 |
| 1993 | Cleveland | 2-12 | 0.143 | 76-86 | 0.469 |
| 1951 | Browns | 2-12 | 0.143 | 52-102 | 0.338 |
| 1917 | Browns | 2-11 | 0.154 | 57-97 | 0.370 |
| 1974 | Cleveland | 2-10 | 0.167 | 77-85 | 0.475 |
| 1989 | Cleveland | 3-15 | 0.167 | 73-89 | 0.451 |
| 2012 | Red Sox | 2-10 | 0.167 | 69-93 | 0.426 |
| 1931 | Browns | 2-10 | 0.167 | 63-91 | 0.409 |
| 1919 | Senators | 2-10 | 0.167 | 56-84 | 0.400 |
| 1927 | Phillies | 2-10 | 0.167 | 51-103 | 0.331 |
| 1979 | Blue Jays | 2-10 | 0.167 | 53-109 | 0.327 |
| 1907 | Cardinals | 3-14 | 0.176 | 52-101 | 0.340 |
| 2009 | Pirates | 2-9 | 0.182 | 62-99 | 0.385 |
| 1912 | Yankees | 2-9 | 0.182 | 50-102 | 0.329 |
| 1937 | Browns | 2-9 | 0.182 | 46-108 | 0.299 |
| 2003 | Tigers | 3-13 | 0.188 | 43-119 | 0.265 |
| 1928 | Senators | 3-12 | 0.200 | 75-79 | 0.487 |
| 1987 | Red Sox | 3-12 | 0.200 | 78-84 | 0.481 |
| 1974 | Mets | 4-16 | 0.200 | 71-91 | 0.438 |
| 1939 | Phillies | 2-8 | 0.200 | 45-106 | 0.298 |
| 1909 | Braves | 2-8 | 0.200 | 45-108 | 0.294 |
Of the previous 31 teams to lose at least 80 percent of their extra-inning games, only one finished with a non-losing record. The 1933 Yankees — like these Dodgers, the defending World Series champion — dropped nine of 10 extra-inning affairs. They were 91-59 overall, a perfectly fine record but seven games worse than the pennant-winning Washington Senators, who were 13-6 in extras, including three extra-inning wins in three tries against New York.
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Dodgers are bad in extra innings, a spot usually reserved for bad teams - True Blue LA
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