Here's what Barry Larkin said Elly De La Cruz, Reds did wrong on Dodgers' go-ahead run
"A clean glove and throw and I think De La Cruz has a chance at a play," play-by-play announcer John Sadak said during the broadcast.
"Yeah, Will Smith with this (hit). I think Gavin Lux does a nice job of playing the rebound off the wall," Larkin said. "We gotta see this throw (from Lux to) De La Cruz. It's a short hop. But you can see right there Matt McLain is the second man in the double cut. You're trained if that ball is gonna handcuff you as that first cut-off man, you let it go. Matt McLain was definitely there."
Outman pinch-ran for Michael Conforto, who walked earlier in the inning. He got the benefit of a questionable check-swing ball call as he rallied from an 0-2 count to draw the walk by Reds closer Emilio Pagan.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Barry Larkin: Elly De La Cruz misplayed Gavin Lux's Dodgers-Reds throw
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shohei Ohtani's Ruthian feats are not enough as bullpen melts down against Cardinals
Only one player in the last 110 years has tried to do what the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani is doing this season, which is to pitch and hit successfully at the big-league level. Babe Ruth twice won more than 20 games and led the American League in ERA and starts before the Red Sox, then the Yankees, decided pitching was distracting from Ruth's hitting and put him out to pasture in right field. Over the next three seasons, Ruth broke the major league record for home runs three times. The Dodgers and Ohtani insist he'll remain a two-way player for the time being, but recent performances suggests both the Red Sox and Yankees may have been on to something when they took Ruth off the mound. Read more: Max Muncy is back with four RBIs in Dodgers' rout of Cardinals Ohtani made his eighth start of the year Wednesday and it was his best as a Dodger, with the right-hander giving up just a tainted run on two hits and striking out a season-high eight in four innings. Perhaps more important, he also slugged his first home run in 10 games in the third inning of a 5-3 matinee loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first truly Ruthian two-way performances for Ohtani since he joined the Dodgers but it was one the team's bullpen wasted, with three relievers combining to yield four runs on 10 hits over the final five innings. The two most important ones came in the eighth, when the Cardinals turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead, greeting Alex Vesiawith a pair of singles before a two-out hit from Jordan Walker drove in the tying run and the winning one scored on a throwing error by third baseman Alex Freeland. As for Ohtani, while he has posted an 2.37 ERA and struck out 25 in 19 innings in his eight starts, his offense has suffered. In the same eight games, he has batted .219 and in his last six starts, he's gone just three for 24 at the plate. That's part of a slump that began in mid-June, when Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Dodgers. At the time he led the majors in runs and led the National League in homers and slugging percentage. Since then, his strikeout rate has risen, his average has plummeted more than 20 points and he's clubbed just 14 homers, one fewer than he had in May alone as a designated hitter. 'I do think that there's something to it,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the difficulty and hitting and pitching at the big-league level. 'Obviously, when he's pitching, there's an added emphasis, understandably so, on pitching. There's a calibration that needs to happen." Read more: Hernández: Mookie Betts sounds depressed, but he isn't giving up on snapping his hitting slump Ohtani both pitched and hit on his way to two MVP awards with the Angels. But last season, the first in five years in which he didn't pitch while recovering from a second elbow surgery, Ohtani sent career highs in virtually every offensive category and led the NL in runs (134), homers (54) and RBIs (130) while becoming the first player in history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a single season. That won him a third MVP award and a World Series ring, replicas of which were handed out Wednesday to the 44,621 sun-splashed fans who came to see Ohtani pitch. But in 2021, when he topped 10 starts for the first time with the Angels, he hit a full-season career-low .257 and struck out a career-high 189 times. Hitting and pitching are both full-time jobs, Roberts said, with bullpen sessions in between starts, batting practice, video to study and strategy meetings to attend. That's one reason no one has tried to do both since Ruth. For Ohtani, the manager said, the challenge now is finding comfort in the crowed new routine. 'It's not the norm,' he said. 'It's been over two years since he's done this, so he's still sort of getting adjusted to this lifestyle, as far as kind of the day to day." Read more: Things are finally turning around for Dodgers' Roki Sasaki Ohtani breezed through his longest start as a Dodger, topping 100 mph multiple times and retiring the first six Cardinals in order. It would have been seven but shortstop Mookie Betts and second baseman Miguel Rojas lost Walker's popout in a high sky leading off the third. That went for a hit and Walker came around to score on a stolen base, a ground out and Brendan Donovan's infield single. Ohtani struck out the next four hitters he faced while giving his team the lead in the third, following Alex Call's leadoff double — his first hit as a Dodger — with a two-run homer to center. The hit was the 1,000th in the majors for Ohtani while the homer was his 39th of the season. The Dodgers added another run in the fourth when Andy Pages led off with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third and continued home when the throw from catcher Pedro Pagés hit the bat of Miguel Rojas and ricocheted toward the Dodger dugout. Then came the daily bullpen meltdown, with the Cardinals pushing a run across against Justin Wrobleski in the sixth, setting the stage for their eighth-inning rally against Vesia. Brock Stewart gave up the final run in the ninth. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Shohei Ohtani strikes out 8, hits go-ahead HR vs. Cardinals, but St. Louis rallies for win against Dodgers bullpen
Shohei Ohtani returned to the mound Wednesday for the first time since ending a July 30 start early due to cramps. All seems well with the National League MVP favorite. Ohtani pitched four one-run innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. And he hit a two-run home run in the third that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-1 lead. But it wasn't enough for a Dodgers win as the Cardinals rallied for a 5-3 victory. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Ohtani quickly quelled any concerns about the cramps from his previous start with a strong first inning. He needed just 10 pitches to get through the Cardinals' side and reached 100 mph on the radar gun with a third-pitch strike to Alec Burleson that ended the inning. Ohtani pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the second that featured two strikeouts and required just 11 pitches. The third inning required more work from Ohtani and saw the Cardinals get on the scoreboard first. Jordan Walker reached on a leadoff infield pop-up that Miguel Rojas lost in the sun. Walker then stole second and reached third on a groundout. Brendan Donovan sent him home with a savvy, two-out bunt that landed for an RBI single and a 1-0 Cardinals lead. The lead was short-lived. Alex Call led off the bottom of the third with a double for the Dodgers. Two batters later, Ohtani sent him home with a blast deep into the center-field stands off Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore. The home run was the 39th of the season for Ohtani, which puts him one behind NL leader Kyle Schwarber and three behind MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh. It was also the 1,000th hit of Ohtani's MLB career. And Ohtani's day on the mound wasn't finished. He returned for the top of the fourth inning, in which he proceeded to strike out the side. Ohtani got each of Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn swinging on third-pitch breaking balls to maintain the 2-1 Dodgers lead. The Dodgers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, and Ohtani did not return to the mound for the fifth inning. Reliever Justin Wrobleski took over. Ohtani finished his day on the mound having pitched four innings and allowed two hits, zero walks and one earned run that was the result of a misplay in the field. He struck out eight and lowered his ERA to 2.37. Ohtani's abbreviated start was part of the continued plan to ramp him back up on the mound following his 2023 elbow surgery. The Dodgers bullpen couldn't hold on for the win. Cardinals rally against Dodgers bullpen The Cardinals added a run in the sixth off of reliever Justin Wrobleski to cut the Dodgers lead to 3-2. In the eighth inning, they capitalized on an opportunity to retake the lead. Burleson and Winn got to first and second with with one out via singles off of Alex Vesia. Walker then delivered the game-tying RBI on a single to left-center field that scored Burleson. Then disaster struck for the Dodgers. After a throw to third base failed to get Winn out, third baseman Alex Freeland attempted to throw Walker out at second. Instead, the ball ended up in right field, and Winn scored the go-ahead run on the throwing error for a 4-3 Cardinals lead. The Cardinals added an insurance run in the ninth, and reliever Riley O'Brien pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to secure the 5-3 win. The Dodgers got a standout game from Ohtani. But in the end, it was the Cardinals who came out on top.
Los Angeles Times
23 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Son Heung-min is an LAFC building block to win and grow global brand
Already the home of Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles is now also the home of South Korea's Shohei Ohtani. Like Ohtani, Son Heung-min has been the most popular athlete in his home country by a wide margin for close to a decade. Like Ohtani, Son has a pleasant disposition that has endeared him to people from a wide range of backgrounds. Son was introduced as the latest addition to LAFC at a news conference on Wednesday at BMO Stadium, and he was everything he was made out to be. He came across as sincere. He was warm. He was funny. 'I'm here to win,' Son said. 'I will perform and definitely show you some exciting … 'Are we calling it football or soccer?' None of this means Son will turn LAFC into the Dodgers overnight, of course. By this point, Major League Soccer and its teams understand that profile players aren't transformative figures as much as they are building blocks. Son will be the newest, and perhaps most solid, block that will be stacked on the foundation established by the club's first designated player, the now-retired Carlos Vela. Outside of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, there might not be a player in the world who could be of a greater value than Son to LAFC, which continues to fight for relevance on multiple fronts. There was a reason the transfer fee paid by LAFC to Tottenham Hotspur of England was the highest in MLS history, a reported $26 million. 'Son's arrival marks a new chapter, not just for LAFC but for the league and for football in the United States,' general manager John Thorrington said. 'He brings not only incredible quality on the field but a magnetic presence off it, someone who inspires millions around the world and now will do so here in Los Angeles.' The most talented Mexican player of his generation, Vela forged an immediate connection with the community, carving out a place for LAFC in the congested Los Angeles sports market. Son will do the same, as this city is home to a large Korean community. Supporters of Mexico's national soccer team also share a fondness of Son because of a late goal he scored against Germany in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, which enabled El Tri to advance to the round of 16. More than ethnic background, Vela's success with LAFC was driven by performance. Son is expected to deliver on that front as well. Son might be 33, but he remains a world-class attacker. He should be one of MLS' best players from the moment he steps on the field, if not the best after Messi of Inter Miami. 'We can say I'm old, but I still have good physicality, good legs and still I have good quality,' Son said. LAFC has become a model franchise in MLS not just because of how it markets itself. The club makes smart soccer decisions and Son is the latest. What will distinguish Son from Vela is the opportunity he will present LAFC to build its global brand. 'From the early days of building this club, we've dreamt of building a club that would win trophies and make a major positive impact in our community and Los Angeles, but also make a mark on the world stage of global football,' lead managing owner Bennett Rosenthal said. As much success as it has enjoyed domestically, as much attention as it received for participating in the recent Club World Cup, LAFC doesn't have as much international name recognition as Inter Miami, which employs Messi; or the Galaxy, for which David Beckham played; or even the New York Cosmos, which made its name by signing Pele in the 1970s. Son played 10 seasons with Tottenham, and by one estimate, the club had 12 million supporters in South Korea — or about one in four people in the country. Koreans traveled to London to watch Son play for Tottenham, just as many Japanese people travel to watch Ohtani at Dodger Stadium. Korean companies sponsored the Spurs. The eyes of South Korea have shifted to LAFC. The team scheduled Son's introductory news conference for 2 p.m. local time — or 6 a.m. in South Korea. An estimated 40 Korean journalists were issued credentials to cover the event. Son acknowledged that as he prepared for life after Tottenham, LAFC was 'not my first choice.' A conversation with Thorrington after the season changed his mind. 'He showed me the destination where I should be,' Son said. Son attended LAFC's Leagues Cup victory over Tigres of Mexico on Tuesday night and received a loud ovation when he was shown on the video scoreboard. 'It was just insane,' he said. 'I just wanted to run into the pitch.' Son will be reunited with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his former teammate at Tottenham. 'He's back to [being] my captain,' Son said. 'So I have to say something good about him because otherwise in the locker room, he's just going to kill me.' Son laughed. His personality will play in Los Angeles, just as it did in London. He will make LAFC a known commodity in South Korea, perhaps beyond. He will further enhance a structure that was built by Vela, ensuring the team's next star will have an even greater platform on which to perform. He won't be as prominent locally as Ohtani or Luka Doncic, but he doesn't have to be.
