The Dodgers clearly didn’t have the same offensive firepower they usually do in the third game of their recently finished series against the Cardinals. Just pair it up with sloppy defense, and it made for their 5-3 loss against on Wednesday night. This happens to be their first-ever series loss since they dropped two out of three against the Red Sox in July. The Dodgers have now lost 9 of their last 12 games against NL Central teams.

They did start off strong against the Cardinals, holding a 3-2 lead early in the game, but couldn’t keep up the momentum later on. Both teams went silent in the second inning, but soon the Cardinals took control.

During the third inning, Jordan Walker led off with a first-pitch single off Shohei Ohtani that Miguel Rojas lost in the sun. It led to Walker stealing second base before he made it to third on a ground ball from Victor Scott II. He notched the game’s first run on a bunt single from Berendon Donavan.

Pointing out Rojas’s costly mistake, Dave Roberts did not hold back in the postgame comments. “You know, that other ball (Rojas), uh, you know, I think there was a miscommunication or lack of communication in the sense that he could have had the lead runner. Um, but you know, chose to get that, that, uh, the batter runner, and so obviously that ended up being the run right there,” he said.

Another game-flipping play that triggered Roberts the most came in the eighth inning. The scores were tied when Alex Freeland fielded a ball at third base and attempted to make a throw towards the second. Instead of nailing the lead runner, the ball went towards the outfield.

That was the error that allowed the go-ahead run to score. “We secured at third base, and I just felt right there that, you know, Alex just didn’t make a good throw. And so, that’s that. That’s that. happens. And he’ll learn from it. If he felt he had a shot at the guy at second base, it’s, you know, it’s the right play. You just got to secure it and make a good throw,” Roberts added.

Admitting the error after the game, Freeland said, “Just rushed it.” To secure the win, the Cardinals added one more run from Lars Nootbaar’s double, and closer Riley O’Brien made sure to keep the Dodgers scoreless in the ninth inning.

Despite the brutal loss, the Dodgers’ two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani gave fans something to cheer about.

Dodgers’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani achieves a personal milestone

Achieving yet another stunning feat, Shohei Ohtani notched his 1,000th career hit with a go-ahead home run against the Cardinals. The same day, he struck out a season-high eight batters, too. The Japanese struck out Ivan Herrera in the third inning with a sharp breaking ball as he slammed a 440-foot two-run homer towards center field. He handed the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. With that, he recorded his 1,000th hit and 264th home run of his big league career.

“He was in the game late last night, running the bases, and then he comes in today and pitches like he did and hits a homer. It’s crazy what he can do,” said Miguel Rojas, while talking about Ohtani.

It was the fourth time in Ohtani’s career and the first time since his surgery that he threw a 100 mph pitch and also hit a home run at 100 mph in the same game. It’s insane to say the least, and a perfect example of what makes the 3-time MVP so special.