Josue De Paula’s first big league homer looked like it might carry the Dodgers to a comfortable win. Instead, Miami ripped the game away late and handed Los Angeles a crushing 6-4 loss Sunday afternoon at loanDepot Park.
The Dodgers had spent most of the day in control behind Emmet Sheehan, who kept the Marlins off the board through six scoreless innings. De Paula, meanwhile, supplied the loudest swing of the afternoon, launching a 416-foot three-run shot in the fourth inning after working a walk in each of his first three games. That gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead and continued the rookie’s remarkable patience at the plate.
Then the game flipped.
Edgardo Henríquez, who had been rolling through opponents lately, ran into trouble in the eighth with the Dodgers still up 3-0. He allowed two singles, including one on the infield, and a walk before Otto Lopez lined a two-run single that cut the lead to one. That ended Henríquez’s streak of 11 straight scoreless appearances, a run that covered 10 1/3 innings.
Tanner Scott stopped the damage there, stranding runners at the corners with a three-pitch strikeout of Griffin Conine to finish the eighth. The Dodgers then added what looked like a useful insurance run in the ninth. Alex Freeland collected his second hit of the day, stole second, and Mookie Betts drove him in with a ground-rule double into the right-field corner.
That should have been enough. It wasn’t even close.
Miami opened the ninth with two more infield hits, first on a bad throw by Freddie Freeman on a Xavier Edwards grounder and then on a bunt single by Jakob Marsee. After Javier Sanoja doubled into the left-field corner to tie the game, Scott was chased with the winning run already in scoring position and nobody out. Brock Stewart needed only four pitches, and the last one disappeared over the wall in left-center when pinch-hitter Agustín Ramírez sent a two-run walk-off homer out of the park.
The Marlins scored twice in the eighth and four times in the ninth, and the Dodgers recorded zero outs in the final frame.
De Paula’s night was still the biggest individual spotlight on the Dodgers’ side. Dave Roberts and the club’s TV and radio broadcasts had repeatedly praised the way the 21-year-old handles himself in the box, noting how rarely he chases pitches outside the strike zone and how seldom he looks overwhelmed. He entered the game with four walks in his first nine plate appearances and no hits, then finally broke through - literally, after putting his broken necklace in his pocket - with the blast that left the bat at 416 feet and sailed over the right-field wall.
At 21 years, 112 days old, De Paula is the sixth-youngest player in the majors this season. Only eight other Dodgers that young have homered, and none had done it since Adrian Beltré on July 27, 2000.
The Dodgers have also been searching for that one big swing with traffic on the bases, and Sunday gave them another example of how valuable it can be. After managing just six home runs with two or three runners on base during July and August combined, in 51 games, they’ve already hit six such homers in only 12 games this September. Kyle Tucker’s grand slam on Friday and De Paula’s three-run homer were the latest examples.
De Paula almost had another one later, but instead settled for a 385-foot double off the wall in right-center in the sixth.
Sheehan’s line was strong even if the result wasn’t. He retired the first nine Marlins he faced, then escaped a jam in the fourth after allowing two singles and a walk, leaving the bases loaded.
From there, he settled back in and finished with two more perfect innings, giving him six scoreless frames on 81 pitches and five strikeouts. He had needed 25 pitches to navigate that fourth inning, but still kept the outing efficient.
This was another sharp step in Sheehan’s recent run. After being optioned to Triple-A on August 3, he found his rhythm with Oklahoma City and rattled off three straight strong starts for the Comets, earning Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week and pitcher of the month honors. Back in Los Angeles, he has allowed one run in 11 2/3 innings this September, with 15 strikeouts and only two walks.
He just didn’t get rewarded for it Sunday.
There were a few other notable moments for the Dodgers. Miguel Rojas appeared to tweak his right shoulder while diving at a Joe Mack ground ball single in the eighth inning. Assistant athletic director Yosuke Nakajima checked on him briefly, but Rojas stayed in the game to finish the inning on defense before Tommy Edman pinch-hit for him in the ninth and stayed at second base.
Will Smith also continued to chip in, doubling in the fourth and reaching base for De Paula’s homer. The Dodgers catcher now has three extra-base hits over his last five games.
Freddie Freeman’s struggles deepened, too. After sitting consecutive games on Wednesday and Friday because of a right knee injury, he went hitless again on Saturday and Sunday. He’s now 0 for his last 16 and just 1 for his last 25, and Sunday’s two double plays gave him 20 for the season, the most in the National League and the most of his 17-year career.
The road trip now moves to Cincinnati, where the Dodgers open a four-game set against the reeling Reds on Monday night at 3:40 p.m. PT on SportsNet LA. Tarik Skubal and Nick Lodolo are set for a left-handed matchup in a rematch of last Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
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