Dodgers' offense wastes early opportunities in loss to A's

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - They can afford it.

The Dodgers were playing with house money after winning seven of the first eight games on this road trip - but not playing with Mookie Betts, who was scratched from the starting lineup with a sore wrist. They busted, losing to the A's, 7-1, on Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park.

They were originally scheduled to finish off their visit to the Athletics' temporary Triple-A home with Shohei Ohtani on the mound. But the Dodgers opted to push back Ohtani's next start (to Friday), trading a bullpen game for the potential big-picture benefits of extra rest for Ohtani.

The relief relay has not necessarily been a signal for the Dodgers to go into punt formation. Before Wednesday, the Dodgers had won 20 of their 33 bullpen games from the start of the 2022 season (including splitting four during the 2024 postseason).

The Dodgers' red-hot offense seemed to make it a good bet. They hit .321 as a team with 12 home runs and 56 runs in the first eight games of this trip.

They did not keep it up against A's starter J.T. Ginn, who seemed to suck the life out of the Dodgers' offense in the first three innings.

The Dodgers had seven baserunners in that time against Ginn (the Dodgers' first-round draft pick in the 2018 draft who went back to college rather than sign with the team). Four of those came on walks against Ginn, who threw 68 pitches in the first three innings, only half of them for strikes.

But Freddie Freeman was the only Dodger who touched home plate. He hit a 431-foot solo home run into the berm beyond the right field wall in the third inning.

Ginn transformed himself after that. He didn't give up another hit after Freeman's home run (though he did walk three more batters) and got through six innings - not a good bet during the first half of his outing - retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced.

Promoted from Triple-A Oklahoma City to handle bulk innings on Wednesday, left-hander Charlie Barnes at least did that.

After Jack Dreyer struck out the side in the first inning, Barnes swallowed seven innings. But he gave up seven runs on 12 hits (including home runs to Jonah Heim, Alika Williams and Shea Langeliers) along the way, giving the rest of the Dodgers' bullpen the night off and bloating the ERA he will leave behind when he is thanked for his service and sent back to OKC on Thursday.

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