Opinion: Trevor Bauer, Dodgers are in a sticky situation after being swept by Padres
SAN DIEGO â There were no theatrics.
No showmanship with the umpiring crew.
No antics with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis.
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer, performing for the first time with the foreign substance police keeping close tabs on him, pitched Wednesday night without any commotion.
He pitched well with 10 strikeouts in six innings. But he was hardly dominant, giving up three home runs â including another to nemesis Manny Machado â in the 5-3 loss, a Padres sweep of the Dodgers for the first time since April 15-17, 2013.
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It was the seventh time in eight games the Padres have beaten the Dodgers in baseballâs new rivalry, leaving the Dodgers four games out of first place in the NL West behind the San Francisco Giants. Itâs their largest deficit since Aug. 22, 2018. Yet they still have the second-best record in the National League, one-half game ahead of the Padres.
âThey absolutely kicked our ass from an intensity standpoint," Bauer said. âThey came to play. And we didnât. Thatâs what happens in baseball. You come out, try to attack the other team and win. And when you donât have that mindset, you get rolled.
âAnd we got rolled."
Bauer gave up five hits, but with three leaving the yard, he has now given up six homers in 18 innings in his three starts against the Padres this year.
âI donât know; I just have the worst home-run luck in the league," Bauer said. âIt seems like every time I make even the smallest little mistake, it leaves the yard. So I donât know what to do about that. âŠEvery little mistake leaves the yard. You just hope it doesnât last the season."
If there was any consolation, he was able to shut down Tatis, striking him out twice, two months after accusing Tatis of peeking at signs in their last outing.
âIf you need to know what pitch is coming that badly, just ask daddy nicely next time," Bauer tweeted in April. âYou know I ainât scared homie."
Tatis responded with a phone holding a small kid and photoshopped Bauerâs face, tweeting it back at Bauer with the words, âTranquilo hijo."
Translation: "Calm down, son.ââ
âPeople that play baseball understand what that was,ââ Bauer told San Diego radio station XTRA 1360 this week. âItâs part of the game. Itâs not illegal, but itâs just kind of frowned upon when stuff like that happens. Iâm not going to go hit him for it or anything, just letting him know that people see him doing it. ...
âIf you want to celebrate and all that stuff, thatâs fine, but we see what youâre doing, and weâll have something for you.ââ
Bauer strutted off the mound in the fifth and sixth innings, waving his hands to the Dodgersâ fans. But after he gave up a go-ahead homer to catcher Victor Caratini in the seventh inning and departed following a walk, he was heavily booed by the sellout crowd at Petco Park.
Bauer, who was the first pitcher to publicly accuse the Houston Astros and other pitchers of using illegal foreign substances in 2018, had a lower spin rate on all of his pitches. He was down 196 rpm from his season average on his sinker and 194 rpm on his four-seam fastball.
But when it came time to talk about MLBâs crackdown on illegal foreign substances, Bauer wasnât biting.
Asked how he felt it went with the umpiring crew checking him for substances, he responded: âHow do you think it went?"
He was asked about MLB Commissioner Rob Manfredâs comments that position players, along with some pitchers, actually have had a favorable response to the crackdown, saying it will continue until MLB rids itself of foreign substances.
âI donât know," he said. âIâm here to win baseball games. Iâm focusing on pitching and trying to win a baseball game. I donât have anything to hide. I just go pitch. I donât know what the media is writing. I donât pay attention to you guys really that often, so I donât have an opinion there.ââ
Really, the only message Bauer wanted to send is that the Dodgers better wake up because the Giants and the Padres are pretty darn good.
âWe knew it was going to be a difficult division," Bauer said. âI donât think anyoneâs surprised. The Padres are good. I donât think anyoneâs surprised the Giants are good. So, when you donât play good baseball, and play a good team, you get beat.
âAnd thatâs what happened."
In the meantime, the Padresâ confidence is growing, particularly with baseballâs crackdown on foreign substances. They believe they may have less to worry about than anyone else in the division. They love the fact thereâs a level playing field, and couldnât care less how umpires check on potential illegal activity, as long as everyoneâs finally is clean.
âThe only thing I really donât like is it makes every pitcher that comes onto the mound kind of look like a guilty culprit until proven innocent," Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen said. "We all look like a bunch of cheaters in the publicâs eyes.ââ
The sentiment was echoed New York Yankees veteran reliever Zack Britton Wednesday with New York reporters, believing that baseball should have compliance officers who conduct inspections in clubhouses, dugouts and bullpens instead of during games.
âI just think the optics are just absolutely embarrassing for our game, and that's not what I want to wake up and read about regarding our game in the morning, ââBritton said. âIf Iâm a young kid at the game and Iâm asking my dad, âWell, hey, whatâs going on? Why are they getting checked?â Whatâs he going to say? 'Well, I think everyoneâs cheating.â
âI mean, this that what we want the game to be about, like weâre assuming youâre cheating? I just think itâs a bad look.ââ
Then again, itâs not a good look either when pitchers are dropping their pants, showing up umpires, with Oakland Athletics closer Sergio Romo unzipping his pants Tuesday night and pulling them halfway down when checked by the umpiring crew.
âYou know, heâs a playful guy," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. âI donât think he meant anything by it. I will credit the umpires with the way theyâve handled this, theyâve been fantastic in it. Try to make light of it, smile with guys and do it quickly. So, that wonât happen again.ââ
Who knows, maybe with the crackdown, the blatant cheating will finally dissipate, with hitters furious how prevalent illegal substances were used by ptichers throughout the game. Baseball is on pace for 5,000 more strikeouts than hits this year after never having more strikeouts than hits in a single season before 2018.
âWe were so stupid as hitters saying, â'Oh yeah, itâs for control,â" Cubs All-Star Kris Bryant said. âWe just donât want them to hit us.â
âThat was such a cop-out. I love that things are kind of going the other way."
Look around the league. Spin rates are down. Batting averages are up. And no one is getting hit by pitches any more than they were before the crackdown.
The game is starting to regain some of its purity, and for the Padres, theyâve got nothing to hide, believing that with a level playing field thereâs no reason they canât be the last team standing and winning their first World Series in franchise history.
âHey, we believe, this could be an awfully special year," âPadres pitcher Blake Snell said.
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