2024 World Series Game 4 Post-Game Thread: Dodgers Sacrifice Hudson, Knack, Honeywell to Appease Fox Overlords

YANKEES 825, DODGERS 4

The Dodgers were always scheduled to throw a bullpen game for World Series Game 4, forgoing the opportunity for a World Series sweep and making the Fox network overlords happy. But even if it was planned, it doesn't mean today's loss was at all palatable.

Daniel Hudson was the sacrificial lamb tonight, throwing a meatball to Anthony Volpe for a grand slam that breathed life back into the Yankees' lineup. And though Landon Knack--who did the same thing against the Mets to lose the lead in NLCS Game 2--threw admirably from the fourth inning onward, Brent Honeywell served up some serious BP and let this game get way out of hand late.

Final score: Yankees 11, Dodgers 4. Yankees score a franchise record number of runs in a World Series game.

So now, the Dodgers are at a critical juncture. Either this was a brilliant tactical maneuver, resting all of our high-leverage arms while the Yankees had to use all of theirs. Or, we've just breathed life to a sleeping giant (including, literally, Aaron Judge), whose momentum won't be able to be stopped for three more games.

I'm really worried it's the latter.

This is a mess.

2024 NLDS Game 4 Post-Game Thread: I Will Not Go Quietly

Apparently, Don Henley never made a music video for this track, so this is all I could come up with for a visual image.

DODGERS 8, PADRES 0

Dylan Cease lasted 3.1 IP in NLDS Game 1 against the Dodgers. But the Padres, brimming with confidence after winning Game 3 and taking a 2-1 series lead in a best-of-five, sent Cease out there again, on four days rest, for the first time in his career.

Wednesday night, in Game 4, Cease lasted only 1.2 IP. His three ER tonight raised his ERA to 14.40. And the Dodgers jumped on the Padres pitchers all night at Petco Park, with home runs from Mookie Betts (his second in two days, in the first inning off of Cease); Will Smith (his first hit of the 2024 postseason, off of vowel-heavy Bryan Hoeing; and Gavin Lux (off of a fish called Wandy Peralta in the seventh inning).

Max Muncy even had a double, raising his postseason average to .188. Teoscar Hernandez went 2-for-5, and Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-3 with two walks (including an epic nine-pitch AB in the sixth that chased Jeremiah Estrada). Kike Hernandez went 2-for-4.

And sure, Chris Taylor looked like the 2024 CT3: 0-for-4 with 4 Ks (the famous golden sombrero). But in a 8-0 win, we can stomach that malaise.

The Dodgers were 5-for-9 with RISP on a 12-hit evening. The Padres were 0-for-9 with RISP.

And that's because Dave Roberts' use of the bullpen tonight--eight pitchers, in total--was masterful. Ryan Brasier, Anthony Banda, Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen, and Landon Knack: you guys all stepped up and were superb. And as Ben Clemens of Fangraphs pointed out, a bullpen game usually doesn't go well--especially for the Dodgers--but tonight was a master class:

In a few days, no one is going to remember this game. It was a laugher where no one got eliminated. There were no unforgettable plays. Neither Ohtani nor Tatis made me spit out my drink in sheer wonder. These two rivals are about to play again, with higher stakes and a better pitching matchup. Why would you dwell on this one?

But without the Dodger bullpen, there wouldn’t be a fifth game. Every reliever did his part, with no hiccups. These games go wrong all the time. So give them their due. This was the platonic ideal a of bullpen game, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Friday is going to be spectacular. Buckle up.

I didn't watch this game, but I heard Stephen Nelson and Rick Monday indicating that Padres fans left Petco Park in a hurry tonight. I can't wait to watch the condensed game highlights.

On we go to a winner-take-all Game 5! Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Post-Game 1 Thread: Dodgers Comeback Based On Cronenworth's Porous Glove

Okay, I get it, autocorrect. Thanks for ruining my crappy photoshop illustration.

DODGERS 5, PADRES 2

Prior to this game, most of the talk about the defense of the two players on the team revolved around Dodgers shortstop-turned-second baseman Gavin Lux, whose errant throws to first during spring training mandated wholesale infield changes going into Opening Day 2024. But the Dodgers were error-free in this first game of the season, and on the other side of the table, Jake Cronenworth's fielding error opened up the floodgates for the Dodgers in a four-run eighth inning that sealed the victory.

Cronenworth had only three errors last year, and only 20 across four years in the majors. But the webbing on his glove allowed a Gavin Lux dribbler to get past him Wednesday in Seoul, causing him to botch a potential double-play ball, and allowing Teoscar Hernandez to score, giving the Dodgers the 3-2 lead. That lead expanded to 5-2 on a Mookie Betts single to left, followed by a Shohei Ohtani single to left that scored Lux.

Jason Heyward got the Dodgers on the board in the fourth with a sacrifice fly to right that tied the game at 1. But the Dodgers' 1-2-3 batters went 4-for-11 with 2 RBI (Betts 2-for-4 with a walk; Ohtani 2-for-5; Freeman 0-for-2 with two walks). More concerning in the order is Max Muncy, who was 1-for-3 with 2 Ks, including a huge strikeout with the bases juiced in the third in which Muncy was very late.

Lux was also 0-for-5 in the game, and all the defensive positioning machinations can't have helped his confidence, coming off a lost season with a torn ACL last year. Lux and Muncy are two guys that will have to produce for the Dodgers, and fast.

Tyler Glasnow went five innings and gave up two ER, 4 BB and 3 Ks. Daniel Hudson got the win with a scoreless seventh inning; Joe Kelly got a hold for a scoreless eighth, and Evan Phillips picked up where he left off with a scoreless ninth.