ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers sent Bobby Miller down to Triple-A at midseason to get himself right.
They called him back this weekend – but not because he had completed the assignment.
Miller returned Saturday with most of the same problems still unsolved. His velocity is still down. His secondary pitches are erratic and he is vulnerable to giving up home runs.
“It was certainly a matter of circumstance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said when asked before the game if Miller had earned his callback based on his performance in Triple-A where he gave up nine runs in 13 innings. “But I think that’s the way it happens a lot of times also.”
Miller gave up four runs on eight hits – including two home runs – in 4 ⅔ innings in his return start on Saturday and the Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2.
Adding another potential problem to the Dodgers’ list — Freddie Freeman came out of the game in the eighth inning with an apparent injury. FOX analyst Ken Rosenthal reported during the broadcast that Freeman had injured a finger on a play earlier in the game.
Miller’s velocity has been down from last year’s 99 mph average and that continued Saturday. After an early improvement, his fastball averaged 97.2 mph in the loss. He paired that with erratic command of his secondary pitches – he threw four wild pitches and fell behind in counts frequently.
Both of the home runs he allowed came when Cardinals hitters were able to sit on his fastball in a favorable account. Alec Burleson hit a 2-and-0 fastball for a two-run homer in the third inning and Masyn Wynn sent a 2-and-1 fastball over the center field fence for a solo homer in the fifth.
The Dodgers’ offense couldn’t keep up against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante. Shohei Ohtani did the only damage – with his legs and his bat.
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Ohtani started the game by drawing a walk and manufacturing a run. He stole second (the first of two steals in the game, pushing his season total to 37), went to third on a fly out and scored on Freeman’s single to right.
In the fifth inning, he ripped a hanging curveball from Pallante for his 38th home run of the year, a drive that left his bat at 111.9 mph. The Dodgers had just two other hits (singles by Miguel Rojas and Kevin Kiermaier in the second inning) in seven innings against Pallante.
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