Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Lance Lynn pitching in his first game as a Dodger against the Oakland A’s on Tue Aug 1, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Having won two out of three from the Colorado Rockies, the Oakland A’s came to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. Lefty Ken Waldichuk was on the hill for Oakland. Lance Lynn would make his first start as a Dodger. Lynn did well, going seven innings and allowing three runs and five hits. The A’s just came up four runs short and were defeated by the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium 7-3.

Three of the hits allowed were solo homers. Waldichuk did well for three innings. He struggled in the fourth and ended up being the losing pitcher. The game summary follows below.

Things went south for Waldichuk in the bottom of the fourth. Waldichuk kept the Dodgers hitless for the first three innings. Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman led off the fourth with a single. Waldichuk struck out Will Smith and Amed Rosario.

Suddenly, Waldichuk could not find the strike zone. He walked Max Muncy and Chris Taylor to load the bases. Waldichuk hit James Outman with a pitch to force in the Dodgers first run. A’s manager Mark Kotsay replaced Waldichuk with righty Tayler Scott. Kike Hernandez, recently acquired from Boston, doubled to clear the bases. The Dodgers lead 4-0 after four.

The A’s put a run on the board in the top of the sixth. With one out and no one on board, Zack Gelof blasted his fourth home run of the year into the left-field seats. For Lance Lynn, it was the 29th home run allowed, the most in baseball. The A’s trail 4-1 midway through the sixth.

The A’s hit two solo homers in the top of the seventh. Brent Rooker led off the inning with his 18th dinger of the season. Lynn retired Tyler Soderstrom for the first out. Jordan Diaz, playing third base for the A’s, hit an opposite-field home run to make it a 4-3 game.

It was an opposite-field dinger for the young man. Lynn has now allowed 31 gopher balls season. The Dodgers got two runs back in their half of the seventh. Mookie Betts blasted his 28th big fly of the year leading off the frame.

Freddie Freeman singled. Tarnol stuck out Will Smith for the first out. Amed Rosario walked to put men on at first and second. Lefty Sam Long was brought in to pitch. Long uncorked a wild pitch, Greeman and Rosario advanced a base. The A’s intentionally walked to Taylor to load the bases. Long walked James Outman to force in a run. The Dodgers lead 6-3 after seven.

The Dodgers tacked on a run in the eighth. With one out, Mookie Betts doubled. Freddie Freeman’s fourth hit of the night, a single to center, drove in Betts with the Dodgers’ seventh run. LA leads 7-3 after eight.

The A’s failed to score in the ninth.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 30-78. The Dodgers improved to 60-45. The Dodgers lead the San Francisco Giants by 2 1/2 games in the race for the NL West crown.

The Line score for Oakland was three runs, six hits, and no errors. Three of the hits were home runs.

The line score for LA was seven runs, seven hits, and no errors. The hitting stars for LA were Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Kike Hernandez. Betts had a double and a home run. Freeman had three singles and a double. Hernandez’ double drove in three runs in the fourth.

Lefty Hogan Harris will start for Oakland on Wednesday night. Tony Gonsolin will pitch for the Dodgers. The game will start at 7:10 pm.