Mookie Betts' two homers not enough as Dodgers lose to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — The Dodgers spent much of Monday night digging themselves into a hole that proved too deep to escape.

A late offensive push and a vintage performance from Mookie Betts made the final score look respectable, but the damage had long been done as the Dodgers opened their three-game series in Philadelphia with a 10-7 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Coming less than 24 hours after finishing a taxing doubleheader against the Yankees, the Dodgers (63-38) couldn't overcome an early pitching collapse that featured five Phillies’ home runs and another difficult outing from Emmet Sheehan.

The Phillies jumped on Sheehan almost immediately. Although the right-hander escaped a first-inning jam, the second inning unraveled quickly. Gabriel Rincones Jr. opened the scoring with an RBI double before Justin Crawford added a sacrifice fly. Then former Dodger Trea Turner delivered the game's first crushing blow, launching a two-run homer to cap a four-run inning and hand the Phillies a 4-0 lead.

For a while, it appeared the game might get out of hand.

To the Dodgers' credit, they responded.

Cristopher Sánchez labored through 99 pitches in 5 1/3 innings before the Dodgers finally chased him from the game. Max Muncy, coming off the bench, delivered one of the night's biggest offensive moments, fighting off two-strike pitches before lining an RBI double against Orion Kerkering for his first pinch-hit knock of the season.

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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Snchez (61) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park.

The Dodgers kept applying pressure. Andy Pages later reached on an infield single after Turner couldn't cleanly field a ground ball with the bases loaded, trimming the deficit to 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Philadelphia's defense suddenly looked shaky, and momentum had briefly shifted.

It lasted only a few minutes.

Brandon Marsh immediately answered with a leadoff solo homer to open the sixth, ending Sheehan's night after 5 1/3 innings. His final line, 5 1/3 innings, eight hits, six earned runs, one walk and six strikeouts, reflected another outing where flashes of swing-and-miss stuff were overshadowed by costly mistakes.

The bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding either.

Alex Vesia entered hoping to limit the damage but instead watched Turner strike again, crushing a three-run homer to restore Philadelphia's comfortable advantage at 8-3. It was Turner's second homer of the night.

By night's end, the Phillies had gone deep five times. Turner homered twice while Marsh, Bryce Harper and Derek Hill each added blasts as the Dodgers' pitching staff struggled to keep the ball in the yard.

Landon Knack finished the final two innings, allowing two runs, but the offense continued battling even as the deficit remained substantial.

The biggest bright spot belonged to Betts.

Hours before first pitch, Dave Roberts made a notable lineup change, dropping the struggling Betts to the fifth spot in hopes that a different look might help jump-start the former MVP. The immediate returns couldn't have been much better.

Betts delivered his first four-hit game of the season, ending a prolonged slump that had seen him searching for consistency since late June. He homered in the eighth before launching another towering drive in the ninth, a 421-foot shot to left-center field that cut the deficit to 10-7.

The blast was Betts' 13th home run of the season and the longest homer of his career, surpassing his previous personal best of 420 feet set in August 2023. More importantly, it looked like the version of Betts the Dodgers have been waiting to see again.

Pages also collected a multi-hit night, while Teoscar Hernández drove in the Dodgers' first run with a fielder's choice. But Shohei Ohtani and Dalton Rushing each finished 0-for-4, making them the only two Dodgers without a hit.

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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) strikes out during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The Dodgers even forced Phillies closer Jhoan Duran into the game to record the final out after making things interesting in the ninth, but the comeback ultimately came too late.

Monday served as another reminder that even one of baseball's deepest lineups can't consistently overcome nights when the pitching staff gives up five home runs. The Dodgers showed resilience after falling behind early, but every time they crept within striking distance, the Phillies answered with another long ball.

There was at least one encouraging development amid the loss. Roberts' gamble with Betts paid immediate dividends.

Now they'll look to even the series Tuesday night when left-hander Justin Wrobleski takes the mound in Philadelphia.