The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered their worst ever loss at Dodger Stadium on Friday night as they were routed 18-1 by the Houston Astros.
The last time the Dodgers lost by 17 runs at home was July 3, 1947, when Brooklyn, where the franchise was based until 1958, was on the end of a 19-2 blowout win by the New York Giants at Ebbets Field, according to ESPN.
“That was one you want to flush as soon as possible,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after Friday’s game, the first of a three-game series between two division leaders. “I don’t think there were many positives from this night.”
Jose Altuve exploded for the Astros, with three hits – two of which were home runs – two walks, four runs and five RBIs. The Venezuelan was booed incessantly by the crowd at Dodger Stadium having been part of the Houston team which beat Los Angeles in the 2017 World Series, after which it emerged that the Astros had been stealing signs.
Dodgers starter Ben Casparius struggled in his three innings on the mound, allowing six runs on nine hits, three of them homers.
“I don’t think Ben was good tonight. It seemed like they were on everything he threw up there,” said Roberts.
“At the end of the day, he’s got to execute better. There might have been 60 throws tonight, and probably only a handful executed where he wanted them to be.”
The night got off to the worse possible start for the Dodgers when Isaac Paredes went deep on the very first pitch, but it wasn’t until the sixth inning that things got out of hand.
The Astros scored 10 runs in that inning, seven of which came of Victor Caratini’s grand slam and Altuve’s three-run home run, representing the most runs given up in a single inning by the Dodgers this century, per AP. Los Angeles allowed 11 in the third inning of a 12-5 defeat to the St. Louis Cardinals in April 1999.
Will Smith’s solo shot in the second inning was the only time the Dodgers got on the board on Friday.
Elsewhere in MLB, it was a different story for the Chicago Cubs, who hit a franchise record eight home runs – three of which were by Michael Busch – in an 11-3 victory over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
In Seattle, Cal Raleigh continued his impressive hot streak with two more home runs in the Mariners’ 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, to take his total for the season to 35 – tying Ken Griffey Jr.’s franchise record for homers before the All-Star break.
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