Dodgers bullpen melts down late as Ketel Marte hits walk-off homer for Dbacks
PHOENIX –– There are no-doubters.And then there are the kind of thunderous swings Ketel Marte uncorked in the bottom of the ninth inning on Thursday night.After leading by two runs entering the eighth inning, the Dodgers got walked off by the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday night.The fatal blow: A first-pitch fastball from Tanner Scott that Marte absolutely crushed deep to left.The ball sailed 431 feet, leaving Marte’s bat at a scorching 113 mph.It was the culminating blow in a bullpen implosion from the Dodgers, who squandered a 2-0 lead by allowing three runs over the final two innings.Will Klein was at fault for blowing the lead, making a mess of an eighth inning that began with a leadoff home run from Corbin Carroll.
After that, Klein walked Gabriel Moreno, then gave up a one-out single to Ryan Waldschmidt.Alex Vesia tried to come in and limit the damage, but Geraldo Perdomo got him with a base hit to center that tied the score.The Dodgers had initially taken the lead Thursday in the most painful of ways.With two outs in the fifth inning, Max Muncy hit a ground ball up the line that Arizona first baseman Ildemaro Vargas fielded directly behind the bag.What ensued next was a brutal head-on collision.Vargas tried to quickly record the out himself, racing back toward first.
Muncy came barreling directly at him. Muncy got there first by half a step, reaching safely for an infield single.But neither player had time to avoid the other, sending them crashing into each and flying to the ground.They each remained down for several minutes before exiting.The Dodgers later announced that Muncy had shortness of breath and was being evaluated for a concussion.The good news: The Dodgers capitalized on Muncy’s effort to get to first safely.The team’s next batter, Ryan Ward, laced a line drive to right field that Corbin Carroll misplayed and allowed to sail over his head, scoring pinch-runner Santiago Espinal from first.
Dalton Rushing followed with a bloop si...