Post-Game 31 Thread: Stripper, Clubbing, And A Lot Of Pink

Joc being Joc: 6th HR of the year.

DODGERS 4, BLUE JAYS 2

It took a while to get rolling, but after Ross "Stripper" Stripling threw six innings of one-hit ball, Joc Pederson clubbed a solo shot to deep right field to tie the game. The Blue Jays answered in the bottom of the frame to make it 2-1 Toronto, thanks to the completely ineffective Chris "Teri" Hatcher. The SoSG stats department (SoSG Dusty) did the research to find that in Hatcher's last seven games, his line is: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 6 BB, 2 K. That is horrible.

Luckily, Howie Kendrick singled home the go-ahead run to make it 3-2, and Corey Seager singled home Trayce Thompson in the ninth for insurance. Kenley Jansen notched the save (his 11th).

Dodgers take the series from the Blue Jays, and, coupled with the Giants' loss at home to the Rockies, move into a tie for first place (which we lead by a thousandth of a percentage point). 16-15, baby! World Series here we come! (The Cubs are quaking in their boots.)

Oh, and the pink was due to the Dodgers' wacky, but cool, Mother's Day uniforms. Happy Mother's Day, moms--from the Sons.

Post-Game 19 Thread: Dodgers Win Despite Another Short Wood Start AND Necessary Ninth-Inning Comeback

DODGERS 12, ROCKIES 10

It's a rare occasion these days, for me to be able to watch a game live alongside another Son. (I'm working on this issue.)

But watching with SoSG AC today, we were giddy watching the Dodgers squander a 7-1 lead, capped by a five-run Rockies bottom of the eighth that just about nailed the coffin shut for the Dodgers--only to see us miraculously counter with five runs of our own in the top of the ninth, to win the game 12-10. This was truly unbelievable, and we were both going nuts with despair and then elation. And this is why baseball is so great.

Alex Wood sucked again, struggling through five innings before exiting in the sixth with another horrible line (5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB and 5 Ks; his ERA is now 6.00 and he has had only one outing (of four) longer than five innings). So look, I had expected to lose this game, given Wood was starting. Even though Pedro Baez pulled off an impressive escape routine in the sixth. Even though Adam Liberatore had a scoreless seventh. And even though my fears came to fruition in the eighth, when Chris Hatcher proved ridiculously ineffective yet again (four batters, two hits and a walk, 3 ER), Luis Avilan let another two runs in, and Joe Blanton was needed to get the comebacker 1-6-3 DP to end the nine-batter frame.

Down 10-7 going to the ninth, it looked pretty bleak for us to try and take the game and this series. Adrian Gonzalez led off with a single to right; Yasmani Grandal forced Gonzalez at second, but advanced to third on Howie Kendrick's one-out single. Kike Hernandez walked, and Trayce Thompson hit into a FC at second.

With two out and down 10-8, pinch hitter A.J. Ellis singled to center to score Kendrick and make it 10-9 Rockies. And then a wild pitch by Jake McGee scored Thompson, and Chase Utley (2-for-6 with three runs and a RBI) doubled in Charlie Culberson (who had PR for Ellis). Corey Seager then doubled home Utley, to make it 12-10 Dodgers, and we too had notched five runs and nine batters in the next frame.

This is the kind of comeback victory that makes players believers. This is the kind of win that has one think, "wow, this team has some magic here." It's early. But this could be a turning point in this young season.

With the win, the Giants' 5-4 loss to the 6-11 Marlins, and the Snakes' loss to the Pirates, the Dodgers are in first place by 2.5 games with a 12-7 record. What a surprise that one game can make. We'll need it...especially when Wood starts.

graphical thingy courtesy fangraphs

Post-Game 162 Thread: Kershaw Gets 300th K (And 301st); Dodgers Sweep

DODGERS 6, PADRES 3

The Dodgers finish the year 92-70 and champions of the NL West for the third straight year, following today's sweep of the Padres. More importantly, Clayton Kershaw became the first pitcher in 13 years to reach 300 strikeouts. And even more important than that, no one was injured today (though Jimmy Rollins, given the role to manage by Don Mattingly, walked awful slowly out to the mound to relieve Kershaw in the fourth inning. Rollins, wearing Lasorda's #2 jersey, took his own sweet time from the dugout).

Joc Pederson uncorked a two-run HR in the second. Corey Seager had a solo shot in the sixth, and Chris Heisey had a two-run HR in that same frame. Ronald Torreyes singled for his first major-league RBI in the eighth.

Kershaw, with seven Ks, was his old dominant self. Chris Hatcher got the save, as Kenley Jansen was playing the role of Rick Honeycutt (pitching coach) today, alongside Rollins.

The Mets won vs. Washington, snapping a five-game losing streak. We face them Friday at the Ravine.

Post-Game 130 Thread: Dodgers Finally Grab Spotlight Off Broadway

DODGERS 5, GIANTS 4 (14)

The Dodgers won a game. Against the Giants.

Adrian Gonzalez had a walk-off single with the bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the 14th, lacing the first pitch from Yusmiero Petit to left field to score A.J. Ellis. Ellis, Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley had all reached in succession off of Mike Broadway, who ended up with the game's worst line (0.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 Ks). With the bases loaded, even third base coach Ron Roenicke couldn't hold up the Dodgers from scoring--and really, it was about time, after this five-and-a-half hour ulcer-creating tightrope walk.

What was good--actually, what was amazing--was that the Dodgers' bullpen actually did pretty okay. Nine innings of work, post-Brett Anderson's five-inning, 3 ER start, and Pedro Baez, Luis Avilan, Kenley Jansen, Jim Johnson (two innings!), and Chris Hatcher (three innings!) all put in great scoreless efforts. Juan Nicasio blew the save in the eighth inning, allowing the Giants to score off a Marlon Byrd double.

But after that, the scoring completely shut down for both teams, though it seemed like it was the Dodgers who were regularly narrowly escaping jams AND blowing chances to win. Losing would have been dispiriting, particularly to Justin Turner (who doubled in a run in the first inning off of Jake Peavy), Adrian Gonzalez (whose two-run HR tied the game at 3), and Andre Ethier (who put the Dodgers ahead 4-3 until Nicasio's effort).

But six innings of scoreless bullpen work from our boys? Pretty damn impressive, and certainly needed. Dodgers' lead grows to 4.5 games; Giants' losing streak extends to three games; and though we won't have any arms for the rest of this series, Zack Greinke (Tuesday) and Clayton Kershaw (who PH unsuccessfully tonight; Wednesday) might be able to go beyond five innings?! Either way, we'll take it.

Post-Game 124 Thread: Dodgers Win Game Despite Roenicke

DODGERS 5, REDS 1

Surprisingly, the Dodgers finally brought an end to their season-high five-game losing streak, but don't think that new coach Ron Roenicke didn't try his hardest to foil the Dodgers' winning plans. When the Dodgers opened up the game with back-to-back doubles (Yasiel Puig scoring Jimmy Rollins before the first out), Roenicke used his third base forces to make sure the next four batters couldn't advance Puig another 90 feet.

For the rest of the entire game, Roenicke was able to hex spell the Dodgers away from third base, as the only time other Dodger players were allowed to even touch third base were due to home runs (Justin Turner and Jimmy Rollins, each with two-run HRs). Roenicke made sure that, if a Dodger came near third, he had better have a damn good reason.

And rumors have it that it was Roenicke who inspired John Lamb to lead off the fifth with a HBP on Adrian Gonzalez. After that, Roenicke allegedly turned his Dodgers-dooming wrath towards our leaky bullpen--brainwashing manager Don Mattingly into pulling Alex Wood after 5 2/3 innings (a move which immediately backfired when Chris Hatcher allowed a run-scoring double).

Roenicke's last big attempt at sabotaging the game for the Dodgers came in the eighth, when he tried to call Juan Nicasio in for relief work, only to see Juan load the bases with Reds. Luis Avilan entered the game to replace Nicasio and record the third out in the bottom of the eighth, but really: Roenicke was that close to causing yet another loss.

So the Dodgers overcome the Reds, and Roenicke, for the first game in Cincinnati. The red-hot Cubs also beat down the Giants, extending the Dodgers' lead back to 2.5 games. Will Roenicke destroy us Wednesday, with Brett Anderson on the mound? I'm sure he'll try.

Post-Game 46 Thread: Wood Holds Up Pretty Well

BRAVES 3, DODGERS 2

Zack Greinke on the mound should mean an automatic win for the Dodgers. But if the opponent can just hold out beyond Greinke (who had 97 pitches after six innings), then it's up to the bullpen...which didn't work for us this evening. Adam Liberatore allowed both runs, but the runners were put on by Chris Hatcher, who took the loss and dropped to 1-4. For the Braves, Alex Wood came back fro illness to go seven innings of one-run ball.

Alex Guerrero added a HR in the bottom of the ninth, and A.J. Ellis was on first with two out and only a run down--but Alberto "Collapso" Collaspo hit a pop fly to center to end the game.

Alberto Collaspo does not have a label yet on SoSG. I am going to keep it that way.

Post-Game 33 Thread: Score One For The Fish

Technically I think this one is scored for the human, if my recollection of this movie is correct

MARLINS 5, DODGERS 4

Former Dodger Dee Gordon, hitless in his first two games of this first series against his old team, opened up with a 4-for-5 day to lead the Marlins to the win. Good to see Dee doing so well, given he has been banished to Miami.

The Dodgers were coasting to a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, off of home runs by Kike Hernandez and Joc Pederson. However the Marlins scored three in the top of the seventh off of Chris Hatcher to gain the lead. Okay, we can give them one game.

Post-Game 25 Thread: Kershaw Loses Late

BREWERS 4, DODGERS 3

Craig Counsell wasn't a Dodger for very long (50 games in 1999, across a 1624-game career), and I seem to recall him being more of a pain to us than anything else (Counsell actually hit better against NL West rival Colorado, among other teams, than versus the Dodgers). But his managerial debut tonight for Milwaukee worked the magic again, finally cracking Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning (Kershaw: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB and 8 Ks), with Chris Hatcher blowing the save and taking the loss in a three-run eighth. To be fair, two of those three late runs happened with Kershaw pitching. But I'm still mad enough not to post a picture for this PGT.

Post-Game 14 Thread: Panik Anxiety

GIANTS 3, DODGERS 2

Joe Panik didn't do much in tonight's game, having taken a walk for Joaquin Arias in the seventh inning after the Dodgers had tied the game in the beginning of that frame (a two-run Alex Guerrero HR, scoring A.J. Ellis, chasing Madison Bumgarner). But with Chris Hatcher loading two runners on the basepaths in the bottom of the ninth (one on a HBP), and J.P. Howell allowing a one-out single to load the bases, all Panik had to do was hit a sacrifice fly to win the game.

There was controversy, in that the single Brandon Belt hit off of Howell would have scored Gregor Blanco from second, had Giants third base coach Roberto Kelly not physically stopped Blanco (thereby interfering with the runner, causing an automatic out). The homer umpiring crew gave it to the Giants, however, and we lost 3-2 in a walkoff. Surely this can't happen again, right?

The Dodgers' Mighty Pen

Grantland's weekly baseball team "power ranking" equivalent, "The 30", focuses on strikeouts this week. And in the top tier, the Dodgers (the overall #2 team to the Cardinals) receive in-depth review from Jonah Keri, who analyzes the bullpen's improved strikeout rate:

Bullpen Bullets

The Dodgers turn to a high-strikeout bullpen in the hopes of avoiding another October disappointment.

3. Kansas City Royals (34-25, plus-45, LW: 4)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (37-26, plus-60, LW: 2)
1. St. Louis Cardinals (41-21, plus-68, LW: 1)

As I wrote last week, it’s not fair to blame all of the 2014 Dodgers’ playoff failures on Don Mattingly — or Clayton Kershaw, for that matter. By allowing even the best starting pitchers to get the help they need when the game’s on the line, a loaded bullpen can make any manager look brilliant, but last year’s Dodgers didn’t have anything close to a loaded pen. Really, they didn’t have any consistently reliable options beyond closer Kenley Jansen. This year, though, the Dodgers do have that kind of strength and depth in their relief corps, and while they’re one of the elite teams in the majors, that improved pen bodes well for their postseason chances.

So far in 2015, Dodgers relievers have struck out more batters than any other bullpen in the National League — and more than any team in baseball, save for the Astros — flashing a 26.9 percent K rate. That’s up sharply from last year’s relief crew, who fanned 22.3 percent of the batters they faced, good for just 16th in MLB. A bit of that uptick is because of Jansen, who’s been absolutely spectacular since returning from an early-season injury, punching out 20 batters while allowing just four hits and no walks in 11 innings. But most of it is thanks to a group of no-names who’ve come up big in L.A., showcasing both the Dodgers’ scouting and player development chops, in addition to the franchise’s savvy in the trade market.

The best homegrown results come from two Dominican Republic signees. Yimi Garcia was signed back in 2009 and made his 10-inning debut with the Dodgers in 2014. This year, the 24-year-old right-hander has become a key part of the pen, making 29 appearances and striking out 38 batters in 26 innings. While Garcia has given up five homers already, the Dodgers can’t have too many complaints for a pitcher making the league minimum and just getting his feet wet. Then there’s Pedro Baez, who’s currently on the disabled list but has arguably been the club’s best reliever this year aside from Jansen. Signed in 2007, Baez has fanned 22 batters and allowed just three walks and one homer in 15.1 innings this season.

Meanwhile, the bullpen’s offseason imports are a diverse and eclectic group. Let’s take a look at the three who are averaging at least one strikeout per inning:

• Juan Nicasio, a 28-year-old righty, spent his entire pro career with the Rockies (mostly as a starter) before coming to L.A. in November for marginal outfield prospect Noel Cuevas. Nicasio’s command has wavered at times this year, as evidenced by his 13 walks in 26 innings, but he has helped to offset that with 29 strikeouts. A fastball-slider pitcher like Garcia, Nicasio has generated whiffs on 16 percent of the sliders he’s thrown.

• Adam Liberatore, a 28-year-old lefty, was drafted in the 21st round by the Rays back in 2010 when Andrew Friedman was running the show in Tampa Bay. One of Friedman’s first moves as Dodgers president of baseball ops was to grab the southpaw, seemingly as a throw-in on a four-player trade that brought Joel Peralta to Los Angeles last November. Instead, Liberatore, who has notched 20 K’s and allowed just 16 baserunners in 18.2 innings, has been the biggest catch of the four players involved in the deal.

• Chris Hatcher came to the Dodgers via the seven-player deal that shipped Dee Gordon and Dan Haren to Miami in December. The 30-year-old righty with an ugly 6.38 ERA hasn’t been as effective as his fellow bullpen acquisitions, but Hatcher has mostly been victimized by bad batted-ball luck. He’s struck out 19 batters and allowed just one home run in 18.1 innings of work, so expect that ERA to drop substantially as regression starts to work in his favor.

All of these relievers have established limited track records for success, but in what figures to be a fruitful trade market for relief pitchers (Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, lots of setup men, and maybe even Aroldis Chapman), the Dodgers could still look to upgrade. If they do, though, it would be more of a want than a need — especially compared to the barren bullpen they carried last year. Whether they make any changes to the pen, the Dodgers will need stars like Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, and Joc Pederson to come through if they’re to finally get past the Cardinals come the postseason. But to break their 27-year World Series drought, they’ll likely need all of that plus strong support from a bullpen that finally looks like it might be capable of providing it.

Post-Game 61 Thread: A Messy Victory

DODGERS 4, PADRES 3

Clayton Kershaw got plunked in the lower back on a Justin Upton line drive with two out in the first inning. Kershaw continued on to strike out 11 over 6.2 IP and yielding only 1 ER (a unexpected HR from Clint Barmes in the seventh) against 3 BB. But we fought on.

Wil Myers then reached on a stupid fricking infield pop fly, which saw Justin Turner crash into Yimi Garcia (who relieved Kershaw) and the ball drop while Alberto Callaspo looked on like an idiot. (Turner had moved from first to third after Adrian Gonzalez, who had GIDP'd with rancho ardiendo in the top of the seventh, was ejected for (correctly) arguing shitty strike zone calls.) And then Derek Norris hit a HR to put the Padres in front 3-2 and ruin Kershaw's night.

Ugliness abounded, but at least the Dodgers pulled it together for the victory. Howie Kendrick led off the eighth with a double, advancing to third on a Matt Kemp throwing error. Justin Turner singled Kendrick home, and then later that inning, PH Alex Guerrero came through again with a line drive to center, scoring Andre Ethier (who had reached on a single and advanced on an AJ Ellis walk). LA led 4-3; Chris Hatcher and Adam Liberatore held the eighth and Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth for the victory.

Gonzalez and Ellis both had RBI earlier in the game.

Meanwhile, up north, Chase Anderson outdueled Ashley Madison and the Diamondbacks won 1-0 in SF. The Giants were no-hit through six; Bumgarner gave up 9 hits over 8 innings, and the Giants lost their sixth straight home game, to drop 2.5 games back of the Dodgers. It's messy. But I like it.

photo: Getty Images

Post-Game 6 Thread: Taking The More Difficult Path

DODGERS 7, D'BACKS 4

The Dodgers had dropped the first two games of the series at Chase Field, but had cruised to a 7-0 lead in the ninth inning this afternoon, behind the solid arm of Zack Greinke (7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB and 7 Ks over 102 pitches). Pedro Baez pitched a two-strikeout eighth inning. So Don Mattingly chose this time to pretend he was an American League manager!

Enter Paco Rodriguez: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, leaving his ERA at 13.50. Then Chris "Teri" Hatcher came in for 0.1 IP of 3 ER ball, leaving his ERA at 13.50. Finally, Joel Peralta had to "earn" the save with the final out of the inning, a ten-pitch AB resulting in a fly out to center. Couldn't have just gone with Baez for another inning, hey Donnie? Couldn't have chosen the easier path?!

But let's talk about the seven runs we did score, I suppose. Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero each notched their first big league HRs, with three hits (HR, double, single) on each of their lines. Yasiel Puig broke out of his slump (sort of) with his first HR of the season (Puig still went 1-for-5 with 4 LOB).

Jimmy Rollins maintained his team lead with two more errors to give him four on the season, and also had 1 SB but 1 CS and 1 PO for a forgettable date on the basepaths (Rollins went 2-for-4). Andre Ethier had a triple, and Adrian Gonzalez went 2-for-5 to see his batting average drop to .609.

Two series under our belts and we're .500, a full game behind the first-place Rockies. Tomorrow we start a home series against the 3-3 Mariners, with neither Greinke nor Clayton Kershaw scheduled to pitch. Yikes.

Post-Game 2 Thread: Mattingly And Choices

PADRES 7, DODGERS 3

When you make three errors in the game, including two late in the game (Jimmy Rollins' second error of the game in the seventh, allowing the Padres to tie the game; Yasmani Grandal in the ninth, allowing the Padres to take the lead), you're probably going to lose the game anyway. But what's striking about tonight's debacle against the Padres is, as Don Mattingly opts not to ride his starting pitchers until their arms fall off each game, what does that mean for our late-game chances?

Yesterday, Mattingly pulled Clayton Kershaw after six innings and made some decent bullpen choices, allowing Rollins to win the game with his eighth-inning three-run HR. Tonight, Mattingly's bullpen choices were frequent, and unfortunately, usually pretty bad. Pedro Baez relieved Zack Greinke in the seventh, and got two Ks but allowed a single. So Mattingly went with Paco Rodriguez, who promptly gave up a single. So Mattingly went with Yimi Garcia, who got snakebit by Rollins' error to have the Padres tie the game.

Yimi Garcia kept going in the eighth inning and had men at the corners with two outs. Mattingly chose to go with J.P. Howell, who promptly gave up a single and gave up the lead. Another bad decision.

Finally, in the ninth inning, Mattingly went with Chris Hatcher, who gave up three runs; and then Juan Nicasio, who gave up a fourth run. Dodgers go down 7-3 and the game is effectively over.

Six bullpen choices, with each of them giving up at least one hit (Greinke only gave up two hits in his six-inning stretch). Do we want Don Mattingly to be making these types of choices? Or are all of the possible bullpen choices just bad options in the first place? (And who in the bullpen is "milk," anyway?)

Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a HR and a double and 2 RBI. So at least that choice is a good one.

And, the Giants lost (Vogelsong got shelled).

Post-Game 1 Thread: Rollins Trumps Kemp Homecoming

DODGERS 6, PADRES 3

Lots of moments of trepidation out there today, particularly after former Dodger Matt Kemp (who was greeted with a nice ovation from the Los Angeles crowd) doubled home a run in the first inning; new Dodger Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff single and then advanced no further; and the Dodgers looked absolutely listless in their support of Clayton Kershaw (6.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 9 Ks, 4.50 ERA).

Then came the fourth inning, when Adrian Gonzalez homered; Howie Kendrick tripled; and Carl Crawford doubled to make it 2-1 Dodgers. The Dodgers crowd came alive and things looked promising...until Kemp again struck a double to score two in the top of the fifth (3-2, SD). Kemp ended up 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and man it is just bizarre seeing him clad in non-Dodger Blue.

And then it was weird: everything went to the Guggenheim group's off-season narrative. In the top of the sixth, rookie Joc Pederson (1-for-3 with a walk and a K) made a great grab in center field which reminded us what outfield defense is supposed to look like. And right after that, Kemp misplayed a Kendrick double which scored A-Gon and tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the seventh.

The bottom of the eighth was the dagger. Pederson walked, and though A.J. Ellis weakly popped out his sac bunt attempt, PH Andre Ethier reached on a missed catch error by Padres pitcher Shawn Kelley. Rollins then came up and worked a 0-2 count back to full before homering to right on the eighth pitch of the AB. 6-3 Dodgers; Rollins ends up 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, 1 BB and 1 K. Chris Hatcher closed out the ninth (with a leadoff HBP, saved by a UJTD GIDP), and the Dodgers take the Opening Day victory. Happy times, all (except for Juan Uribe, 0-for-4, and Yasiel Puig / Ellis, both 0-for-3)!

photo collage taken by SoSG Alex Cora