The loss transformed into a farce as the baseball rolled between Cody Bellinger’s legs. By the eighth inning of a 14-0 defeat on Saturday, the Dodgers had already been roughed up by the Astros. Kenta Maeda collapsed as Houston strung together four runs in the sixth. The offense sputtered for the second night in a row. And new arrival John Axford had already let five consecutive batters reach base.
Then a grounder bounced toward the bag. Bellinger bent to retrieve it, only to come up empty. The crowd at Dodger Stadium groaned. A run scored. A thrashing by the world champions was official.