Random rantings and ravings about the Los Angeles Dodgers, written by a small consortium of rabid Dodger fans. With occasional comments on baseball, entertainment, pop culture, and life in general.
Fri 7.26 5p: Stone vs. Valdez the Cheater
Sat 7.27 4p: Wrobleski vs. Blanco the Cheater
Sun 7.28 11a: TBD vs. Arrighetti the Cheater
The names may change, but the stench of the 2017 World Series remains clad in Astro orange and blue. And with Cheaters Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve helping the 2024 Astros claw back into first place in the AL West (ahead of Seattle by a game, and Texas by 2.5 games), there's little doubt that they will be up to even more illicit and morally corrupt behavior in this series.
How is it even possible that, on a roster with many All-Stars, Gavin Lux becomes the NL Player of the Week? Well, for one thing, it's a short week:
The Dodger second baseman went 5-for-9 with two home runs, two doubles and a stolen base with a .556/.556/1.444/2.000 in three games after the All-Star Break. His 13 total bases led the National League during the short week.
Talk about benefitting from small sample size. Lux has a 0.5 WAR this year and is batting .222 with a 72 OPS+, carrying an OPS of .603 (below his mediocre career OPS, .687, which is still only an 89 OPS+).
I know Lux is still recovering from his torn ACL in spring training last year. But I've been incredibly frustrated waiting for the pride of Kenosha Wisconsin to reach mediocrity, let alone the levels we would expect from a middle infielder (not only offensively, but also defensively, where he is hovering at league average this year and below league average for his career).
I watched last night's game (a 3-2 win over the Giants), where Lux went 0-for-3 with 2 Ks. Not excatly inspirational. But the Dodgers broadcasters (I think it was Orel Hershiser in particular) were talking about how Lux may finally be turning a corner at the plate.
We'll see. I'm not hopeful.
And anyway, if you want to count the ACTUAL week in baseball, wouldn't you give the NL Player of the Week trophy to Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodger who won the 2024 Home Run Derby? (Hernandez also singlehandedly lifted the Dodgers to victory last night, accounting for all three RBI.)
So, congratulations, Gavin Lux. Let's see if you can string a hot bat to longer than three games in a row. Please.
Mon 7.22 7p: Ryan vs. Snell
Tue 7.23 7p: Knack vs. Hicks
Wed 7.24 7p: Glasnow vs. TBD Ray
Thu 7.25 1p: Kershaw vs. TBD Webb
This is shaping up to to be quite the rivalry series. First, we open up with the major league debut of Dodgers prospect River Ryan, who has 24.1 whole innings of minor league work this year (2.22 ERA, 32 Ks vs 8 BBs), who has started all of five games this year for Oklahoma City. The Dodgers made room for Ryan by felling "Big Maple" James Paxton, who was servicable in yesterday's 9-6 victory over Boston (notching the series sweep), but still carried a 4.43 ERA and 0.4 WAR despite a decent 8-2 record.
Put frankly, the Dodgers may have appreciated the 89 IP this season from Paxton, but think they can do better than an average with Ryan.
And who knows, maybe Friedman has more tricks up his sleeve to fill out the rest of the starting rotation. Looking at the rest of the starters this series, there might be something to justify the Paxton DFA (like getting some value for him from another team): Landon Knack has a 0.8 WAR; Tyler Glasnow is 1.8 WAR (despite nearing his high-water mark for innings (120) already (109 IP this year).
And then there's the season debut of Clayton Kershaw--who knows what to expect from our workhorse at this stage of injury recovery, but he's got a 3.60 ERA over three rehab starts and ten innings in the minors this year.
So maybe Gavin Stone (1.8 WAR) continues fighting on; Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1.5 WAR) comes back; Bobby Miller (-0.9 WAR) shakes his 2024 blues; and Walker Buehler (-0.7 WAR) returns to some sort of form? And we pick up another starter? Or two?
I don't know, but this series against the Giants will definitely be telling...starting with Monday, with the Giants starting this familiar foe (Blake Snell is 0-3 on the year, but the Giants have won his last two starts (both no decisions) since returning from the IL):
"Hmm, maybe I should have signed before Spring Training?Even so, it's still $62M."
I'll be at the game on Wednesday night, alongside my friend, a Giants fan. Let's go!
Happier times: the one bright spot of WS2018.Too bad that guy is still injured this season, though.
Fri 7.19 7p: TBD vs. Pivetta
Sat 7.20 4.15p: TBD vs. Bello
Sun 7.21 4.10p: TBD vs. Crawford
Hopefully the Dodgers rested well in that All-Star Break, because they come out of the break to face the resurgent Red Sox. The Dodgers were a pathetic 1-5 over their last six, and 3-7 over their last 10 games. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have closed the gap to 4.5 games behind the AL East-leading Orioles, and though Boston is in third place, they are playing a lot better than many forecasted earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers have a seven-game lead over both the Snakes and Padres, despite playing .500 ball for over a month. We're certainly on path to limp our way into crunch time. And it doesn't feel good.
Globe Life Field will always be a special place for Dodgers fans. So even though All-Star starer Shohei Ohtani will be one of the few Dodgers able to play in this one (with Mookie Betts and Tyler Glasnow out), we can hope to see Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez get some swings tonight.
I suppose I should be excited that the Dodgers' Teoscar Hernandez is one of eight participants in today's Home Run Derby.
Instead, however, I'm just struck by how stretched this team is already by injuries, and worried that another starting lineup injury would be another crushing blow for this already reeling team.
and, i am furious about the dodgers rolling over and playing dead in philadelphia. our starters suck. gavin lux cannot field nor hit. shohei is swinging wildly at the plate. pages and outman can't handle outfield fly balls. kiké is worthless.
so this thread, from my iphone, will have to do for now.
Where there is brotherly love, there is no kerning.
Tue 7.9 3.40p: Bobby Miller vs. Zack Wheeler
Wed 7.10 4p: Gavin Stone vs. Cristopher Sanchez
Thu 7.11 3p: Landon Knack vs. Aaron Nola
We go from one NL division leader to another! After taking two of three from the Brewers at home, the Dodgers head out to Philadelphia to face not only the best team in the NL East (Phillies are up by eight games over Atlanta; this is a half-game better than our division lead over the Padres, as of Monday morning), but the best team in all of MLB.
The Phillies also have seven All-Stars for the 2024 All-Star Game, one more than the Dodgers. For the Phililes, this includes three starters (Bryce Harper 1B, Alec Bohm 3B, Trea Turner SS). The other four Phillies All-Stars are Jeff Hoffman (P), Matt Strahm (P), Ranger Suarez (P), and Zack Wheeler (P).
The Dodgers had Shohei Ohtani (DH) elected to the starting lineup, with the other All-Stars being Freddie Freeman (1B), Will Smith (C), Tyler Glasnow (P), Mookie Betts (SS), and Teoscar Hernandez (OF).
And guess what, we see Wheeler in the three-game set! And the Phillies don't see Glasnow--who as of Tuesday has been placed on the IL with back tightness--or Mookie, for that matter (obviously). Yeah, this is gonna be grim.
Fri 7.5 7p: Glasnow vs. Civale
Sat 7.6 4.15p: Paxton vs. Peralta
Sun 7.7 1p: TBD vs. Keuchel
The series against the Diamondbacks was supposed to be the easy part, except that Christian Walker pummeled us into dust. So now we host an actually good team, the Brewes, who are six games up in the NL Central (basically the same lead we have over second-place San Diego in the NL West). Get ready for a drowning.
Also, interesting to see Dallas Keuchel back from the dead in Sunday's matchup. To the Brewers' credit, at least they have named a starter for that game.
And, similar to his fellow Boras-represented pitcher Blake Snell, the truncated spring training workout period did not do Montgomery any favors. He is 6-5 this year with a 6.03 ERA, which gives him a -1.2 WAR for the season. (Snell, who signed a one-year deal with the Giants, has a -1.1 WAR, a 9.51 ERA, and is on the injured list.)
Anyway, these Snakes were pesky as hell last year, but at beginning of play on Tuesday, they are 10.5 games behind the Dodgers and two games below .500. We did just drop our series to the sub-.500 Giants last weekend, though, so I'm not feeling especially good about this one.
UPDATE: After all that Montgomery research, the Snakes have scratched his Wednesday start.
The Dodgers typically don't perform very well on nationally-televised games, and this afternoon's matchup with the Giants seemed to be more of the same. In a seesaw affair, the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead, then went down 5-2, before clawing back to tie the game at 6-6 and go to extra innings.
In extras, the Dodgers went up 7-6 in the tenth, only to see that lead evaporate and the Giants have bases loaded with one out on the bottom of the tenth. However, Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson settled down and struck out Patrick Bailey and then induced a pop foulout on Matt Chapman (who started the game 3-for-3, so this was no small feat), to end the threat.
To be clear, with one out in the bottom of the tenth, the Giants had a 82.9% chance to win the game. And they couldn't seal the deal.
Seven runs from the Dodgers in the top of the eleventh inning put this game away. The Dodgers earn a split from the first two of this series--meaningful, since the red-hot Padres trounced the Red Sox on Friday and Saturday, and are now five games over .500 (and 7.5 games behind the Dodgers).
Also meaningful:
Will Smith (3-for-6, 3 RBI) looks like he might have emerged from his recent slump;
the Dodgers' bottom of the order largely contributed to the victory today (which is aberrant, given they are in the bottom third batting in the majors this year), save the black hole batting ninth that is Cavan Biggio (0-for-2 with lame fielding) plus Kiké Hernandez (0-for-4 with a fielding error)--please get well soon Max Muncy!;
and Shohei Ohtani hit his NL-leading 26th home run in the third inning.
The Dodgers go for the series victory tomorrow. LFG!
Fri 6.28 7.15p: Knack vs. Webb
Sat 6.29 4.15p: Glasnow vs. TBD
Sun 630 1p: Paxton vs. TBD
Lots of injuries on the rosters of these two rivals. While we try to push through losses to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Mookie Betts, Walker Buehler, and Max Muncy (not to mention Clayton Kershaw, Michael Grove, and Joe Kelly), the Giants are suffering through injuries to Jung Hoo Lee, Blake Snell, Keaton Winn, Mike Yastrzemski, and Kyle Harrison.
San Francisco might get Lamonte Wade Jr. back for this weekend series, though. I haven't heard of any returning Dodgers scheduled for this weekend (though I expect we'll have Will "Slappy" Smith back in the lineup, sitting recently due to a slump at the plate).
Which means we'll probably see more Cavan Biggio, Chris Taylor, and Austin Barnes this weekend, I reckon.
And that makes me the stick figure in the middle of the above picture.
Stone's shutout was the first by a Dodgers rookie since Hyun Jin Ryu threw one against the Angels on May 28, 2013. It was the Dodgers' first shutout since Walker Buehler's against the D-backs on April 25, 2022.
Mon 6.24: TBD vs. Crochet
Tue 6.25: TBD vs. Flexen
Wed 6.26: TBD vs. Fedde
All games 5p
With the White Sox comfortably positioned as the worst team in the majors all season long (the White Sox start Monday 30 games out of first place in the AL Central), there has been a lot of talk about Garrett Crochet (6-6 in 16 starts with a 3.25 ERA, 124 Ks and a 0.95 WHIP) as being prime trade bait. I'm not here to spin that yarn, but I am thinking that these three games at old Comiskey Park might be the perfect place for Chicago to start Flexen their power with a series win over the Dodgers (who haven't even named starting pitchers as of Monday morning).
SoSG reader karen has been complaining about this for weeks now, and I share her annoyance that the Dodgers don't have a game today (Sunday), a highly uncommon scheduling quirk.
Fri 6.21 7p: Knack vs. Sandoval
Sat 6.22 7p: Glasnow vs. TBD
As SoSG regular karen points out, this upcoming "weekend" series makes no sense. A by-product of the horrible "balanced" schedule (in its second year), the Dodgers now face their crosstown rivals for only four games a season--which, in addition to sharply reducing the number of games against divisional rivals, allows the Dodgers to smush in games against the other 10 AL teams we wouldn't have seen that year (as the interleague divisional play rotated).
I hate this. And I'm not even a fan of having to play the Angels.
I mean, it's great that the Dodgers play the teams like YankMes in every season. But not playing the Giants in the last two months of the season makes no sense--and nor does the Sunday off-day that we'll have this weekend.
(If the Dodgers played 13 games against the NL West; plus 6 games against the rest of the NL; plus 6 games against the Angels; plus 3 games against each of the rest of the AL teams: --> I think that comes out to 160 games. That leaves two more games we could play against the Giants. And then we can put the last three weeks of the season roped off only for inter-divisional play.
The east coast teams might be more vulnerable to September weather issues, but that's their problem. This also avoids the stupid two-game stints littered across the schedule.
Honestly, this isn't so difficult.)
One's only remedy is to take matters into one's own hands, start the bender early Friday morning, and then watch Friday's game drunk and Saturday's game hungover, so one sleeps through Sunday altogether. I might have to give this a try.
Mon 6.17 5.40p: Paxton vs. Quantrill
Tue 6.18 5.40p: Buehler vs. Gomber
Wed 6.19 5.40p: Miller vs. Feltner
Thu 6.20 12p: TBD vs. Blach
Not much great things to say after losing a weekend series against the Royals that we actually won. We took two out of three games, but lost two key pieces of our lineup (Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mookie Betts). So now we play four in Denver and really, I am not emotionally ready for this series. Neither are the Dodgers.
Fri 6.14 7p: Stone vs. Ragans
Sat 6.15 6p: Yamamoto vs. Lugo
Sun 6.16 1p: Glasnow vs. Singer
Putting up a quick Game Thread as I'll be traveling this weekend. It's really disappointing to have dropped that series to Texas after opening of can of whupass in Game 1, only to watch the bats go incredibly silent for the last two games.
Watching the play in isolation, it was maddening to see Dodgers rookie Andy Pages blow right through Coach Dino Ebel's stop sign and try to score from first on the bottom-nine Jason Heyward double to right-center.
Heyward laced a shot to the gap that was misplayed by the center fielder, scoring Will Smith from second base to make it 3-2 Texas. But it didn't look deep enough to justify the baserunning boldness of Pages, and when Pages was thrown out at the plate by a good distance, it seemed like a pretty stupid decision to try and stretch his run by 90 feet. It wasn't very close at home, and Pages cost us the game.
That said, it could be argued that Pages had already overachieved by even earning the two-out walk to get on base in the first place, so maybe we were playing with house money.
And with the nine-hole coming up next, it wasn't like Cavan Biggio, let alone any others in our expansive cast of shitty utility player benchwarmers, was going to get a game-tying RBI single after that point. But at least we would have still been alive.
At the end of the day, Pages should have known better than to take it upon himself to chance it, especially after making another baserunning blunder against the Yankees last weekend. He can't turn into the next Yasiel Puig on the basepaths.
Biggio was recently designated for assignment by the Blue Jays, a surprising move, even considering his numbers. The 29-year-old, drafted by the Blue Jays back in 2016, was batting .200 with a .614 OPS, and some redundancy had developed with the Blue Jays’ roster depth. In L.A., Biggio will have a great opportunity to re-establish himself as a versatile bench piece to support a stacked lineup. [...]
Coming up as a prospect, Biggio was paired alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, a trio of second-generation players who carried the hopes of a fan base. Some of these expectations were unfairly hoisted upon Biggio, which is the nature of having a famous last name, but Biggio has handled the good and bad days admirably. Throughout his tenure in Toronto, Biggio earned respect throughout the organization, making the past week’s decisions difficult for those involved.
I know Biggio is a left-handed bat (and, apparently, the last Blue Jay to hit for they cycle, in September 2019). But picking up a 80 OPS+ guy (career 101 OPS+, so basically average) doesn't seem like it would be a huge benefit to solve that issue. Unless we're looking at Chris Taylor, still struggling with a negaitve OPS+ (-9 this season; Taylor is also right on average with a career 102 OPS+).
Dan Hurley, also not in the running to be new Dodgers manager
Tue 6.11 Paxton vs. TBD Dunning
Wed 6.12 Buehler vs. TBD
Thu 6.13 Yamamoto vs. TBD
All games 7p
Winning two out of three over the YankMes on the road should be cause for celebration, I suppose. But let's remember that we didn't see Juan Soto in their lineup, nor did we see Gerrit Cole in their rotation. So I'm not going to get too excited here.
I might get excited if we can dispatch the defending World Champion Rangers, even if they're 5.5 games behind the AL West-leading Mariners (Dodgers still have a 7.5-game lead over the .500 Padres), and they're a sub-.500 team this year.
I'm going to the game Wednesday night, probably to see another shaky start from Walker Buehler, who is clearly still finding his form. Hey, at least we've named our three pitchers for this series by now.
The Dodgers have plenty of discomfort of their own, what with hordes of players on the injured list, not to mention smarting from two shutdown losses in Pittsburgh to start out this road trip. Sure, Thursday's 11-7 victory was nice, but what should have been a coast to an easy victory (the Dodgers were up 3-0 after three batters, thanks to a Freddie Freeman HR) instead got precarious, thanks to another shaky start by Walker Buehler, an uncharacteristic three runs allowed by Evan Phillips, and yet another Chris Taylor hitless day (to be fair, Taylor thankfully didn't start the game).
So I'm not feeling very good about entering the lions' den here this weekend. The way we're playing, I think we only take one of the three games.
Tues 6.4: Glasnow vs. Jones
Wed 6.5: Paxton vs. Skenes
Thu 6.6: Buehler vs. Falter
All games 3.40p
Paul Skenes is the hottest young prospect in baseball today, with a wicked 100 mph fastball that has the young Pirates pitcher referenced to Stephen Strasburg. And Skenes, from Fullerton CA, is worthy of the hype: after a late call-up likely due to service time manipulation, Skenes has gone 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and has 30Ks in 22 innings.
And seriously, when you watch these highlights of Skenes shutting down the Cubs at Wrigley Field with some wicked movement, it's pretty impressive (from May 17, 2024):
It's too bad we won't have Max Muncy in the lineup, as Muncy is one of the few guys in the Dodgers' lineup who hunts fastballs. We'll see if the rest of the guys can keep up, but I'm guessing the bottom of our order goes pretty quickly.
Skenes is also known for being boyfriend to LSU gymnast (and NCAA champion) Olivia Dunne, who has a large social media following on multiple platforms. I'm sure this Wednesday game against the Dodgers will get the requisite amount of hype. We'll see how James Paxton (still undefeated at 5-0, with a 3.29 ERA) holds up under the pressure.
Oh yeah, and there are two other games bookending the Skenes showdown.
The Dodgers' 2024 Opening Day center fielder was demoted to the minors on May 17. And since then, happy to say, Tarzan has been bringing his moribund bat back to life.
Outman, now playing for AAA Oklahoma City, is 15-for-42 with two doubles and three home runs, batting .357 with an OPS of 1.161. That is awesome news, especially given the bottom of the Dodgers' order is still challenged. Here's a recent tweet from OKC:
OKC got it done both at the plate and on the mound as they won in Albuquerque, 11-1, Thursday night!
James Outman went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, while Kody Hoese went 4-for-4. Starting pitcher Landon Knack delivered five scoreless innings.
Reds' Abbott @ Rockies' Feltner, 5.40p
Padres' Waldron vs. Angels' Andreson, 6.38p
Giants' TBD vs. D'backs' Nelson, 6.40p
The Dodgers enter Monday with a 6.5-game lead on the Padres, a 8.5-game lead on the Giants, and a 10-game lead on the Snakes. Oh, and a 15.5-game lead on the Rockies.
But even though the Dodgers are the only idle NL West team today, it's always good to keep an eye out on the rest of the NL West, even if they're all in the rear view mirror. (There are some other good games on tap tomorrow, including Brewers @ Phillies (TBD vs. Wheeler, 3.40p) and Orioles @ Blue Jays (Rodriguez vs. Gausman, 4p).
The Dodgers rolled to victory Wednesday and won each game of Tuesday's doubleheader by three runs (the first win coming in extra innings). But again, this is the Mets, who are now 22-33, 16 games out of first place in their division. Everyone take a breath.
Will Smith, taking a breath on Wednesday (when he hit two HR)
And remember, we were just swept in Cincinnati prior to the Mets series--and this was to a last-place NL Central team.
This series, again, won't be much of a test; the Rockies are 20-35 and 14.5 games behind the Dodgers, sitting in last place in the NL West. I'm not going to this shortened homestand. We should be in good shape, right?
Yeah, this post is just an excuse to put up this photo, of when the Mets were testing out their new scoreboard (the largest in MLB), last March.
AZ Gallen (5-4, 3.12) vs. NYM Scott (0-2, 3.97)
The only NL West game of relevance today is Snakes @ Mets. The Mets held a post-game team meeting yesterday, after getting swept by the Dodgers in ignominious fashion. We'll see if it helps them rally against the Diamondbacks, who are a sleeper playoff team despite being in fourth place, five games below .500 (and 9.5 games behind the Dodgers).
Tues 5.28 1p: Glasnow vs. Megill
Tues 5.28 TBD: Stone vs. Quintana
Wed 5.29 1p: Paxton vs. Peterson
Quick Game Thread today after that bender of a Memorial Day weekend. I had too much whisky! But while we were enjoying sunny skies here in Los Angeles on Monday, the Dodgers were getting rained out in Queens and now have to squish in a double-header on Tuesday.
Let's hope the extra day off, mulling over getting swept in Cincinnati over the weekend, gives the offense some time to figure out how to rebound against a struggling Mets squad. I'm not hopeful, by the way.
Welcome to Cincinnati! We will give you nightmares for weeks!
Fri 24 4.10p: Paxton (5-0, 2.84) vs. Ashcraft (3-3, 4.25)
Sat 25 4.15p: Buehler (1-1, 4.05) vs. Greene (2-2. 3.22)
Sun 26 10.40a: Yamamoto (5-1, 3.17) vs. Abbott (3-4, 2.68)
The Dodgers finished up their 13-consecutive-games stretch with a couple of meek showings vs. the Diamondbacks at home, putting a downer on a trip that had some momentum after taking three of four games from the Reds to start the homestand. But now they've got three days off in between three series (six on the road, starting tonight in Cincy; then three at home with the Rockies), so hopefully we can get back to form.
A third of the way through this season, we are 33-19 and have a 6.5 game lead over the Padres and the third best run differential in the majors (only to the Phillies, who have beaten up on sub-.500 teams for 45 of their 51 games; and the Yankees). And in the top echelon of teams that has seemed to emerge early--alongside the Phillies, Braves, Yankees, and Orioles--the Dodgers' divisional position should give us the option to continue working out kinks in the lineup (like who can hit in bottom of our batting order; or why Tyler Glasnow can be dominant some nights and lay some serious turds on others).
I'm not stressing out by the fact we've gone 7-6 in our last 13, we have a 2-game losing streak, or the fact that we can't beat interdivisonal rivals in a series. Really, I'm not.
Mon 5.20: Yoshinobu Yamamoto 4-1, 3.21) vs. Joe Mantiply (2-1, 4.67)
Tue 5.21: Gavin Stone (4-1, 3.27) vs. Brandon Pfaadt (1-3, 4.17)
Wed 5.22: Tyler Glasnow (6-2, 2.90) vs. Ryne Nelson (2-3, 7.06)
All games 7p
James Outman, the Dodgers center fielder who finished third in last year's NL Rookie of the Year voting, was demoted to the minors this past weekend. Outman is batting .147 with an OPS of .516 (OPS+ 48), and a bWAR of -0.6, which is awful. The kid definitely has promise but he needs regular at bats, and with the return of Jason Heyward off the IL, that wasn't going to happen in the majors.
Outman is by no means the worst offender in the Dodgers bottom of the lineup, by the way--but that's another topic for another day.
But you know who's not much better than Outman? 2023 NL Rookie of the Year winner Corbin Carroll, still batting leadoff of the Diamondbacks despite similarly slumpy sophomore numbers. Carroll is batting .191 with a OPS of .552 (OPS+ 60), and a bWAR of -0.1, which is also no place for a leadoff hitter to be.
I'm hoping that both Carroll and Outman can turn it around. At least they've been on the field in 2024; the Mets' Kodai Senga, who finished second in ROY voting last year, hasn't pitched this season, sidelined by a shoulder injury. Yikes!
The Dodgers are 2-1 this year against the Diamondbacks, who are in fourth place, nine games behind the Dodgers (the .500 Padres are in second place, 7.5 GB). Arizona was predicted to do well this season, coming off their World Series run last year.
I went to the Thursday 5/18 Reds @ Dodgers game, the only one of the series in which the Dodgers lost to the Reds. Sure, SoSG AC and I got our bobbleheads, which was fortunate as they ran out of them an hour before game time! But it was not fun to watch a lineup ending with Kike Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Chris Taylor, James Outman, and Austin Barnes go a collective 2-for-17 with 7 Ks, basically ceding two-thirds of the nine innings with offensive ineptitude. We didn't stick around to see the Reds tack on the final three runs in the 7-2 loss (nor did we see the Dodgers' only two runs in the bottom of the ninth), but we did leave with bobbleheads in hand.
And then Ohtani capped the weekend off in dramatic fashion, hitting the walkoff single in the tenth inning to give the Dodgers the 3-2 victory and win the series:
"The fans stayed, and Shohei delivered," said Dodger commentator Eric Karros. And Karros was right--the Dodgers set the tenth up well, after Jason Heyward got robbed with a deplorable strike three call in the bottom of the ninth (so Heyward started the tenth as the ghostrunner on second), and then Will Smith subbed out the light-hitting Austin Barnes to earn a walk. Ohtani came up with two out in the bottom of the tenth, and took his 1-2 pitch into right field to win the game.
Dodgers pitching also deserves a lot of credit, notching 11 Ks, including four on Elly De La Cruz alone. The beat goes on, with Arizona coming into town for three starting tomorrow.
Thu May 16 7p: Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 2.53) vs. Brent Suter (0-0, 3.86)
Fri May 17 7p: James Paxton (5-0, 2.58) vs. Frankie Montas (2-3, 4.20)
Sat May 18 6p: Walker Buehler (0-1, 7.36) vs. Graham Ashcraft (3-2, 4.12)
Sun May 19 1p: TBD Landon Knack (1-1, 2.81) vs. Hunter Greene (2-2, 3.27)
Things were rolling against the Giants earlier this week with two good wins, however the series unfortunately culminated in our meek 4-1 loss last night, with plenty of wasted opportunities throughout. Blame the bottom five in the lineup again: Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Andy Pages, and James (Automatic) Outman, who went a combined 0-for-18 with 7 Ks, to thoroughly squash any potential rally we tried to muster.
The healthy division lead gives us time to figure out who else outside the Big Four is going to hit. I had high hopes for Muncy and Lux, both of whom have picked up their defensive play, but Muncy has fallen back to a .223 BA / .798 OPS (still an OPS+ of 125, shockingly) and Lux a .194 BA / .525 OPS (OPS+ 50). And then there's Automatic Outman, batting .151 with an OPS of .530 (OPS+ 51).
I'm excited to go to the Stadium tonight and pick up the Shohei Ohtani bobblehead. And I've got an outside shot at going to the Sunday game, featuring Notre Dame Sherman Oaks High School's Hunter Greene.
Mon 5.13 6.45p: Gavin Stone (3-1, 3.55) vs. Jordan Hicks (3-1, 2.30)
Tues 5.14 6.45p: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-1, 2.79) vs. Keaton Winn (3-5, 5.63)
Wed 5.15 6.45p: TBD vs Logan Webb (3-4, 3.38)
After dropping yet another series to the Padres, who really have our number this year (losing five of eight games played), we sulk up to San Francisco to play a team that might be Giants? I mean, San Francisco made a lot of moves this off-season (including the late signing of Blake Snell), but still finds themselves eight games back and four games below .500, fourth place in the NL West.
But with Shohei Ohtani experiencing back pain (he left the Saturday game early, and didn't play Sunday), and no starter named for Wednesday...I don't know. Don't...let's start?
I don't have much to say about this great shutout victory over the Padres at Petco Park tonight, except that watching this Padres fan react to Teoscar Hernandez' sixth-inning grand slam is great comedy:
The Dodgers wasted a ton of opportunities throughout the game, but James Paxton pitched another great game to pick up his fifth win and keep the Padres off the scoreboard. The Dodgers also had a number of solid defensive plays all over the lineup (Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, James Outman, and Mookie Betts), which was also notable becuase none of those guys got a hit tonight (save Lux, who went 1-for-3). Freddie Freeman also had a solo HR in the first.
Fri 5.10 6.40p: Tyler Glasnow (6-1, 2.70) vs. Michael King (3-3, 4.29)
Sat 5.11 5.40p: James Paxton (4-0, 3.06) vs. Matt Waldron (1-4, 5.82)
Sun 5.12 1p: Walker Buehler (0-0. 6.75) vs Yu Darvish (2-1, 2.94)
2022 was not a good postseason for the Dodgers (losing the NLDS to San Diego)--and 2023 (getting swept in the NLDS by the Diamondbacks) wasn't any better. In both years, the Dodgers won the NL West by healthy margins (22 games and 16 games), and it didn't matter, with the team unable to even advance past its first playoff round.
So here we are, again well ahead in the NL West, but into the Friar's pan. We avoid seeing Dylan Cease (who just struck out 12 Cubs in seven innings on Wednesday), but we are still facing a guy who has already beaten us this year (King, who beat us in Korea game #2), not to mention old friend Darvish.
San Diego should be pumped to get their season in gear. The Dodgers walk in with a seven-game win streak.
With the Dodgers idle today, there are two games of interest for NL West fans:
Diamondbacks at Reds (10a): Cecconi vs. Greene
Giants at Rockies (12n): Winn vs. Quantrill
The Dodgers lead the NL West at 26-13, 6.5 games ahead of the .500 Padres (who host us this weekend). Arizona is eight games back; San Francisco, 8.5 games back; Colorado, 16.5 GB.
The Dodgers once again spotted the Marlins some early scoring, just like last night--playing with them like a spider plays with a fly caught in a web. But even with Jazz Chisholm's first-pitch solo HR off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers laid in wait and then sprung to life in the bottom of the first, charged by a Max Muncy grand slam that put the Dodgers up 4-1 through one.
The Dodgers again posted a four-run inning in the third, punctuated by a two-run homer by Gavin Lux (scoring Teoscar Hernandez), which was Lux's first HR since 2022 (since Lux missed all of 2023 with the ACL injury).
But it was Yoshinobu Yamamoto who was the hero tonight, coasting through eight innings of two-run ball (he gave up a solo HR to Bryan De La Cruz in the sixth), with 97 pitches, 5 H, 0 BB and 5 Ks. JP Feyereisen closed the Marlins out in the ninth. Tyler Glasnow went eight full innings against the Mets on April 21, but I think that's the only other eight-inning start for the Dodgers this year. Yamamoto has really found a groove since his auspicious start in Seoul, and with Joe Kelly on the 15-day IL now, it's appreciated!
12n game tomorrow, so let's start drinking early! And as a reminder, the GT is here.
The Dodgers, looking to bring in crowds after their showdown sweep over the Braves this past weekend, shifted Star Wars Night @ Dodger Stadium to May 6, rather than the traditional May 4. Fun was still had by all, and in particular, Dodger fans who got a chance to see Walker Buehler take the mound for the first time in two years.
Here's Buehler's introduction from the public address announcer, which was pretty cool to hear:
Luckily for the Dodgers, we have Shohei Ohtani, whose first-inning HR (following a Mookie Betts leadoff walk) immediately tied the score, with none out in the first. I was fortunate to get this video (yes, that's me and SoSG AC screaming):
Freddie Freeman followed with a first-inning HR of his own, so it was 3-2. The Marlins then tied it in the second on a Nick Gordon solo HR. Then in the bottom of the second, after Gavin Lux worked a walk, James Outman came to the plate. I jokingly said to SoSG AC that Outman was going to pull an Ohtani of his own and hit a two-run HR. Which, amazingly, he did. We were both cracking up that I had called that.
The Dodgers added one more with a solo poke HR from Teoscar Hernandez, who apparently has seven of his eight HR on the year at Dodger Stadium. Solid performances from Ryan Yarbrough, Blake Treinen, and Alex Vesia gave us the 6-3 victory and our fifth win in a row (we are undefeated in May 2024 so far).
The Star Wars Night theming was pretty good, including a Dejarik board for the hat shuffle, a pre-game trivia contest, and abundant crowd shots of fellow nerds in the crowd. (Anthony Keides of the Red Hots and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 were also at the game.)
The return of onions at Dodger Stadium: possibly the only fiscally positive addition to the Stadium this season
On the downside: the Dodger Stadium food fare has really sunk to new depths of both quantity (small) and pricing (large). They got rid of the chicken sandwich place that I liked from last year (the Nashville spicy chicken sandwich was great), and instead the new Japanese place has a chicken katsu sandwich which is a total ripoff. Not only is the chicken wafer-thin like a smushed McDonald's hash brown patty (breaded of course), the small piece of white "bread" for the sandwich (and I use that liberally, as it's little more than the size of a Triscuit cracker) is pathetically microscopic:
I'm already shelling out $16.50 for a beer at the Stadium. If the food is also going to be both skimpy in portion size and exorbitant in price, I'm going to bring in my own food in the future. Very disappointing from a food front! Thankfully, I've got free food to eat today all over town.
Mon 5.6 7p: Walker Buehler (0-0, -.--) vs. Roddery Muñoz (1-0, 2.45)
Tue 5.7 7p: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (3-1, 2.91) vs. Edward Cabrera (1-1, 6.05)
Wed 5.8 12n: Gavin Stone (2-1, 4.06) vs. Ryan Weathers (2-30, 4.54)
Hot off a surprising sweep of the Braves, the Dodgers welcome back Walker Buehler tonight after a 23-month absence and a long recovery. Buehler's recent minor-league starts have been promising, but the game has changed since his last stint, wronte the LAT's Jack Harris, not to mention the advent of the pitch clock which will ratchet up the pressure even more.
I'll be at the Stadium tonight, along with SoSG AC, to watch this one.
Interesting that the Dodgers went with 1B Freddie Freeman here...hmmmmmmmm
Fri 5.3 7p: Gavin Stone (2-1, 4.68) vs. Charlie Morton (2-0, 3.60)
Sat 5.4 6p: Tyler Glasnow (5-1, 2.72) vs. Bryce Elder (1-0, 1.50)
Sun 5.5 1p: James Paxton (3-0, 3.51) vs. Max Fried (2-0, 4.02)
Wow, what a monumental divisional showdown here early in the season (and just after the four-game Yankees @ Orioles series, with Baltimore taking three of four at home to move into first place in the AL East)! These two teams have been divisional powers in epic struggle for at least the last five years, but also threading back all the way to 1969, when the Braves were inexplicably rivals in the NL West. The Braves actualy won five NL West titles, but never won the World Series from those finishes.
This year, the Dodgers are 20-13, 4.5 games up on the Padres and Giants, with a run differntial of +49. But the 2024 Braves are an even better 20-9 on the year, a half-game up on Philly, with a run differential of +48.
Surely, when these two titans meet this weekend, something's got to give.
This series won't be everything; after all, the Dodgers will still play a three-game series in Atlanta in September. But it certainly will be high-stakes at Chavez Ravine this weekend. I'm out of pocket for most of the weekend, but will try and weigh in with pithy sarcasm from afar!
Diamondbacks ace Jordan Montgomery was slated to start the Tuesday game, but the Snakes' bee delay shifted his start to Wednesday against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That shift wasn't good for Montgomery, who lasted only 3.0 IP and gave up 6 ER, including an onslaught second inning where eight Dodgers tacked on five runs: two on a Andy Pages HR; one on an Austin Barnes double, and two more on a 2-RBI Mookie Betts single.
No, that wasn't a typo: the bottom five in our lineup actually showed up today, with each person scoring a run today (actually, the entire Dodgers lineup each scored a run, save leadoff hitter Mookie Betts). The bottom five looked like this:
5: K Hernandez: 0-for-2 with 3 BB, 1 K
6: Pages: 1-for-5 with 3 Ks but a 2-run HR
7: Rojas: 2-for-4 with an RBI and a BB
8: Taylor: 1-for-2 with an RBI and 2 BB
9: Barnes: 1-for-4 with an RBI and 1 K
Yamamoto had a great outing: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB and 5 Ks. The Dodgers' staff notched 7 Ks, so free Jumbo Jacks will be distributed tomorrow!
The Dodgers, following a difficult homestand, win all three series and go 7-2 on this roadtrip. Day off tomorrow, then a big series at home vs. the Braves this weekend!
Mon 4.29: James Paxton (2-0, 2.61) vs. Tommy Henry (1-1. 5.55)
Tues 4.30: Landon Knack (1-1, 3.27) vs. Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 2.77)
Wed 5.1: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 3.54) vs. TBD
All times 6.40p first pitch
Jordan Montgomery played a big role helping the Texas Rangers win their first World Series last year, by beating the Diamondbacks. In 2023, Montgomery went 3-1 across six games, and though the loss came against the Snakes in WS Game 2, he had 17 Ks in 31 IP and was a big reason why the Rangers kept advancing through the 2023 playoffs. After an off-season standoff in which a long-term deal did not materialize, Montgomery ended up signing with the Diamondbacks in late March for one year, $25M (with player options for subsequent years): well under the $100-150M multi-year projections that had been floated.
So this now becomes an important year for the 31-year-old, as Montgomery has to again show his value in the hopes of signing a long-term deal at year's end. He beat Blake Snell in his first start against the Giants (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB and 3 Ks), but then dropped a decision to Kyle Gibson and the Cardinals last week (7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB and 4 Ks). He's got a potent arsenal, though, as chronicled during last year's playoff run by the WSJ:
Montgomery, who has seven years of major-league experience under his belt, has made changes to his pitch repertoire and usage in the time since he left New York. Montgomery has long relied on secondary pitches, namely his curveball and change-up, to get him through an opposing lineup. It’s the progression of two different types of fastballs, two-seam and four-seam, that have helped him create the varied and effective approach that has befuddled hitters in this year’s postseason.
Oh, and the Diamondbacks also have Joc Pederson this year. The former Dodger is batting .296 with a 169 OPS+ and 2 HR on the year.
4/3 vs. SF (W, 5-4): Sax
4/15 vs. WSH (L, 4-6): Dusty, Orel, Sax
5/6 vs. MIA (W, 6-3): AC, Sax
5/16 vs. CIN (L, 2-7): AC, Sax
6/12 vs. TEX (L, 2-3): Sax
7/5 vs. MIL (W, 8-5): Sax
7/21 vs. BOS (W, 9-6): Sax
