Keri Puts Dodgers Second Only To Pesky Nats

Here's Grantland's Jonah Keri, ranking the Dodgers second going into the 2015 season:

2. Los Angeles Dodgers

Starting with the trade that sent Matt Kemp two hours south on I-5, the Dodgers’ offseason moved in the opposite direction of the Padres’. While the Pads loaded up on big hitters with questionable gloves like Kemp, the Dodgers, who also kissed Hanley Ramirez good-bye, happily unloaded such defenseless mashers. The addition of the veteran pair of Jimmy Rollins and Kendrick should fortify the middle of the diamond, while 22-year-old rookie Joc Pederson enters the season as an instant, major defensive upgrade over Kemp and everyone else who tried to play center in Chavez Ravine last year. These small moves are all right out of new president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s playbook of defensive obsession. That all three of the new guys could also provide better-than-average bats and contribute on the basepaths only increases the team’s already outsize potential.

That forgotten team up north ranks 18th.

HanRam to Boston...Where 3B Is Now Occupied By Fat Guy

Dodgers shortstop (and I use that loosely) Hanley Ramirez is off to the Red Sox, for four years / $88M:

The Boston Red Sox agreed with Hanley Ramirez on Monday on a four-year, $88 million deal with a vesting fifth year for an additional $22 million, according to a major league source.

Ramirez, who will turn 31 on Dec. 23, has primarily played shortstop throughout his 10-year career but has also told teams he would be willing to change positions.

Ramirez was originally projected as a fall-back plan for the Red Sox in the event they were unable to sign the switch-hitting Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval reached agreement with the Red Sox on Monday, sources told ESPN, after choosing among offers from Boston, the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. All three offers were believed to be for five years and at least $90 million.

Ramirez rejected the Los Angeles Dodgers' $15.3 million qualifying offer earlier this month to become a free agent. Ramirez won the 2009 batting title and led the NL with a 1.040 OPS in 2013 (among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances).

According to Keith Law, the Dodgers get a draft pick but not the Sox' first-round draft pick (insider only):

The Dodgers get a compensation pick for losing Ramirez; Boston's first-round pick, at No. 7 overall, is protected, so they lose their second-rounder for the signing. Los Angeles is still short a shortstop at this point (although keeping Ramirez wouldn't have necessarily solved that problem). There also isn't much out there for them in free agency or the trade market. Their internal options are glove-only guys in Erisbel Arruebarrena or Miguel Rojas, so they could try a one-year deal with Stephen Drew to see if he has anything left after his self-immolating 2014, with the glovemen as backup options. But that's probably more downside risk than they'd like to take on.

Oh, and the Red Sox also picked up Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval: allegedly for five years / $90M, and possibly not far off from the offer from the team in Birdshit Park; Sandoval must have been tired of the poop. Understandable.

Expect Chippiness

The worst part of the 2013 NLCS was of course watching the St. Louis Cardinals pitch inside to Hanley Ramirez, breaking his rib and rendering him powerless for the series, which the Dodgers lost. Since then, manager Don Mattingly says he isn't thinking about this incident. But we Dodgers fans sure as hell are:

LOS ANGELES -- The Cardinals started last season's National League Championship Series with a roar when Joe Kelly hit Hanley Ramirez with a pitch during the first inning of the Game 1 at Busch Stadium. The pitch cracked Ramirez's ribs, and he batted .133 (2-for-15) in five games.

Ramirez has since been hit again twice by Cards pitchers, coming in the same game in St. Louis on July 20 -- by Carlos Martinez early on and later in the game by closer Trevor Rosenthal. Clayton Kershaw, who is slated to start Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Friday at Dodger Stadium (3:30 p.m. PT, FOX Sports 1) against Adam Wainwright, hit Matt Holliday in the middle of that July game, the most recent time the two teams have met.

Kelly has since been traded to the Red Sox, and Ramirez is somewhat healthy going into the playoffs after a season filled with nagging injuries. If there is any bad blood left over from the dual confrontations, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly wasn't biting on it when questioned on Thursday.

"To be honest with you, it's hard to go into a series thinking about who is going to get hit and who is not going to get hit, or [what if] somebody gets hit," Mattingly said. "Our preparation has been just that, trying to get ready for Wainwright and his pitches and what he does -- make sure our guys are ready to play baseball.

If I'm Hanley, I'm wearing kevlar today. And if I'm Chris Perez or Brandon League, I'm ready to get a good shot back at St. Louis.

Post-Game 161 Thread: Grand Larson-y

DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 5 (12)

In the extra-inning game no one wanted to see, the Dodgers ended up beating the Rockies when Scott Van Slyke stoked a one-out single in the bottom of the twelfth inning, and then advanced to second when Tim Federowicz was HBP, and then stole third (hence the headline), and the scored on a Franklin Morales wild pitch that carried to the backstop. Hoping for the wild pitch to win the game: just the way Donnie likes to draw it up.

Carlos Frias tossed scoreless frames in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth innings for his first major league win. There probably was some other action in this game, including an Adrian Gonzalez HR, but I was busy so I didn't see anything except that fateful bottom of the twelfth. Dan Haren went five innings and allowed two runs and five hits, which is probably good enough for the postseason roster in Mattingly's book.

Dee Gordon had right hip irritation and left the game early, and the ever brittle Hanley Ramirez had a wicked foul ball that hit him on the knee (during his AB), but aside from that I don't think anyone got injured, thankfully.

Dodgers Win, Even If Chemistry Isn't Obviously Evident

Let's see where the Dodgers end up this postseason, but Mark Saxon of ESPN.com notes that the Dodgers don't exactly have full team chemistry (bubble machine antics notwithstanding, I suppose):

The Los Angeles Dodgers earned something of a reputation this season as a talented bunch of players with the salaries and egos to match, a team assembled with the power of the dollar from all corners of the world and plucked from the rosters of other organizations. Throughout the season, at various points, discontent crept into their clubhouse. There were rumblings that infighting was common and unity was always a question mark.

In short, the same storyline that ushered them into the 2013 season -- did they have team chemistry? -- lingered all season. But as usual with teams like this, winning produces chemistry, not the other way around. And if you noticed, the Dodgers always seemed to be having the most fun in the vicinity of the field, when they were bobbing en masse in the dugout celebrating home runs with their bubble machine or, after they clinched their second straight National League West title with a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, with their vigorous celebration in the clubhouse.

They may not have had dinner together often, they may not attend each others' weddings, their kids' baptisms or bar mitzvahs, but they win games together. Which do you think their fans would rather have? Which do you think their owners, who are paying them collectively more than $240 million, would rather have?

"I've been on teams where every single guy gets along great, and when you get on the field, you don't know how to win," Adrian Gonzalez said. "We've got the right group of guys, we've got the right mix and we're professional guys."

Hanley Ramirez stated it more bluntly, more emotionally: "We're one team. We love each other. We win together, we lose together."

There are some nice insights on Matt Kemp's burgeoning leadership, Andre Ethier's quiet (and understandable) sulking, and Hanley Ramirez' boycott given his lack-of-extension situation. It's worth a read.

Let's Soak This Division Title In

Major League Baseball Standings, as of June 8, 2014:

The Giants were 43-21. The Dodgers were in second place, 33-31, 10 games back.

From there, the Dodgers went 58-37, or .610 ball. Along the way, we hadn't had a win steak of more than 6 games all year (though we hadn't lost more than three in a row (while the Giants lost as many as six in a row, twice). Meanwhile, the Giants went 42-52, or .447 ball.

And that's why we won the West.

I'm not sure if this was a monumental collapse by the Giants, or more a strong run by the Dodgers. Or both.

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The Cardinals' loss yesterday guarantees the Dodgers will have home-field advantage for the NLDS, according to the LAT:

The victory, coupled with a loss by the NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals, guaranteed the Dodgers home-field advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs.

"It's the first step," Kershaw said. "We know that."

That means Kershaw's next start will be Oct. 3, when the Dodgers open the NL division series at Dodger Stadium."

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ESPN.com's David Schoenfield notes that the Dodgers' offense is coming alive at the right time. It's a great piece (especially the insight on HanRam's swing) so I will let you revel in most of it:

1. Matt Kemp looks like 2011 Matt Kemp. Last postseason, Kemp was watching from the dugout with crutches. Now, he'll enter October as one of baseball's hottest sluggers, with a .303/.360/.589 line and 16 home runs in the second half. He's sixth in the majors in wOBA since the All-Star break -- only Buster Posey and Victor Martinez are high among guys on playoff teams -- and third in home runs.

2. Hanley Ramirez is swinging the bat well. It's all about health for Ramirez, but he's also worked to lower a leg kick that got too high early in the season. Hitting coach Mark McGwire has worked with him to lower the leg to go back to something more like his approach in 2009, when he won the batting title. Ramirez has hit .357 in September -- granted, with no home runs -- but he's spraying the ball all over the field. Remember, last year's NLCS might have turned out differently if Ramirez hadn't been injured in Game 1 (he didn't play the second game after suffering a hairline fracture in his rib and struggled in the series, hitting .133).

3. Adrian Gonzalez leads the majors in RBIs. OK, RBIs are overrated, but Gonzalez has performed his best with runners in scoring position, hitting .330/.389/.546. Like Kemp, he's also hit better in the second half: .308/.362/.530 compared to .251/.309/.429 in the first half.

4. Yasiel Puig looks to be over his slump. I still think the sudden loss of power was a result of his hip injury, but he hit his 16th home run on Wednesday, lining an 0-2 sinker from Tim Hudson out to right field. After going homerless in June and August and hitting just two in July, he has three in nine games. Puig should also benefit from having gone through last year's postseason, in which he seemed a little too hyped up and emotional, taking every strikeout like it was the end of the world. He hit .227 with 10 K's in the NLCS, but look for him to do a better job of getting on base in front of Gonzalez and Kemp.

5. Carl Crawford is hitting. This might be the biggest surprise, since Crawford hasn't really hit much since leaving Tampa Bay. But he's hitting .324/.367/.458 in the second half and .433 in September and turned Andre Ethier into the forgotten man in the Dodgers outfield. He's even running a little more, with 22 steals, his most since 2010.

6. Better depth than 2013. Between Juan Uribe (.311 overall and .378/.403/.554 in September), Dee Gordon and Justin Turner, the Dodgers have better infield options than in 2013, when Nick Punto and Mark Ellis had to play. Gordon had the hot start and made the All-Star team, but it will be interesting to see how Don Mattingly works Turner into the lineup considering his .333/.397/.482 line and .374 batting average in the second half. Plus, you have Scott Van Slyke to start in left field versus left-handers or coming off the bench as a pinch hitter. And Ethier becomes the most expensive $15 million pinch hitter in the game.

OK, the lineup isn't perfect. A.J. Ellis and Drew Butera haven't provided much offense from the catcher slot. Another small secret weapon: Greinke, Kershaw and Dan Haren are all pretty good hitters for pitchers, so they have a chance for some offense from their pitchers.

There are concerns in the rotation once you get past Kershaw and Greinke, and Kershaw will have to prove he's a big-game pitcher after getting shelled in that season-ending Game 6 loss to the Cardinals last year. Plus, the middle relief is a concern, the defense isn't great and Mattingly's postseason tactics last year were questionable.

But this looks like a lineup that will score some runs in the postseason, and the Dodgers do have the best pitcher in the game. We'll see how that sauce tastes in a few weeks.

I'm guessing the sauce isn't going to be weak sauce, that's for sure.

HanRam, The Soda Can

Found this funny reference about Hanley Ramirez in a Buster Olney "Ten Burning Questions" column from Friday (link insider only):

4. What is Hanley Ramirez?

He’s like a soda can that has been kicked down a road for five months, with dents all over him and all kinds of physical ailments that seem to have hurt his defense, especially. But the Dodgers are still better with him in the lineup, and after missing Wednesday’s game with an elbow strain, he was back on the field Thursday, pitching in a couple of hits and runs.

As someone who knows Ramirez’s situation explained the other day: We are far beyond the time when he can be healthy in the postseason. It’s only a question of how much he can help.

Look, we've got ailments all over this lineup, and it seems like our whole postseason chances are being held together with bailing-wire tendons and duct-taped muscles. Hanley Ramirez is one piece of the puzzle. But I hope we can clinch early enough to get him, and some others, some rest.

Post-Game 156 Thread: Three Is A Magic Number

DODGERS 8, CUBS 5
PADRES 8, GIANTS 2

When this video gets to the second verse ("A man and a woman had a little baby; yes they did, they had three in the family; and that's a magic number"), I feel the good vibrations of the seventies warm me up all over.

Which is probably how Don Mattingly and the Dodgers felt, having survived "Bullpen Day" at Wrigley Field, starting Jamey Wright for two innings, then letting Carlos Frias take a turn, before parading in Chris Perez (who got the win, retiring four batters), Paco Rodriguez, Pedro Baez, and Kenley Jansen. Wright only lasted two innings and gave up three hits and 1 ER. Frias was a bit shakier (3.0 IP, 3 H and 3 ER), but nowhere near his last outing; plus he got out of a fifth-inning jam with the tying run on second by pulling off a big strikeout of Chris Valaika (Frias was actually seen on camera pumping himself up before the fateful pitch). Scattering only five Cubs runs over the course of the day, the Dodgers were able to actually survive throwing a spaghetti-like bullpen arms against the wall, just to see which ones could stick long enough to register 27 outs.

And that of course was due to the offensive heroics of the rest of the lineup, who seemed to take to the challenge by rising up. Yasiel Puig was 2-for-5 with 4 runs scored; Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI; and Matt Kemp was 4-for-5 with a run and 4 RBI, two of which came on a third-inning HR to right field. Hanley Ramirez went 2-for-4, Carl Crawford went 2-for-5, A.J. Ellis got when 1-for-5 to raise his average (don't get me started). In fact, the only 0-fer in the starting lineup was Dee Gordon (0-for-5). All in all, a pretty good day with the bats: 16 hits in total in the victory.

What's more, the Padres took to their camouflage outfits and completed the sweep of the Giants, dropping Ryan Vogelsong and the Giants 8-2. According to MLB.com, "in eight games since their euphoric 9-0 rout of Los Angeles on Sept. 12, the Giants are batting .201 (52-for-259) with 14 runs scored. They've mustered two runs in five of those games and have been shut out twice."

So the Dodgers' magic number for winning the NL West is now three. And serendipitously enough, the Giants' magic number for securing a wild card spot (over Milwaukee; the Pirates are tied with the Giants for the two wild card spots) is also three. So three truly is a magic number.

Hat tip to Dusty for referencing this song (I think!) in the GT. I didn't see it until afterward, but it appears we're on the same wavelength. As Sons should be, I suppose.

Post-Game 153 Thread: Good Dodgers!

Happy-sided Two-Face!

DODGERS 8, CUBS 4

The Dodgers flew to Chicago last night, but they opted not to show up until the seventh inning. Down 4-1 thanks to an uncharacteristically off Zack Greinke (5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB and 5 Ks), the Dodgers decided to break out the whupping sticks and not lose to a sub-.500 team.

Hanley Ramirez started off with a one-out single; Carl Crawford followed with a single; Juan Uribe reached on a force out that scored HanRam. But the floodgates opened when Andre Ethier, PH for A.J. Ellis, hit a double to left-center that scored Crawford (and probably should have scored Uribe, who went to third), to make it 4-3. Justin Turner grounded out to third, scoring Uribe and tying the game. And then Dee Gordon doubled in Ethier (5-4 LA), and Yasiel Puig singled Gordon in. 6-4 Dodgers, thanks to a five-run seventh inning.

The Dodgers added a run in the eighth (Drew Butera with a bases-loaded walk), and in the ninth (Matt Kemp with a sacrifice fly to left field). The Dodgers may have showed up late, but they won the game and picked up a half-game on the idle Giants, to extend the lead to 2.5 games with nine to play (ten for San Francisco). Let's hope the good side of the Dodgers' duplicitous nature continues to turn up.

Post-Game 150 Thread: Dodgers Cruise To Victory Over Rockies

Reference to Cruise #1

DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 3

Roberto Hernandez was ineffective at Coors Field, but it didn't matter as the Dodgers rolled to a huge victory at Coors Field.

The sixth inning began as a 3-3 tie before an absolute eruption by the Dodgers, who cruised to victory as follows:

• Carl Crawford HBP
• Juan Uribe single
• A.J. Ellis single
• Justin Turner 2-RBI double
• Dee Gordon RBI single
• Yasiel Puig walk
• Adrian Gonzalez 2-RBI single
• Matt Kemp K, for out #1
• Hanley Ramirez RBI double
• Carl Crawford sac fly
• Juan Uribe RBI double
• A.J. Ellis ground out

8 runs. 12 batters. Seven batters reached base without the Rockies recording an out.

Now of course, the only thing everyone wanted to talk about was Kemp and Puig appearing to have a disagreement in the visitor's dugout, with Kemp yelling at Puig as Puig walked away. It got to the point that even the LAT's Steve Dilbeck mocked the kerfuffle, and subsequent speculation.

I'm not a lip reader, but if I'm reading correctly, I think Kemp had ordered Puig a pizza, and Yasiel didn't like the mushroom topping, forcing Kemp to get mad that he'd paid the extra 95-cent charge for mushrooms. I get it, man.

11-3 final, and with the Giants' loss the Dodgers stretch their lead to four games.

Post-Game 149 Thread: We Make Party

DODGERS 4, GIANTS 2

My memory is a bit hazy. But I seem to recall inviting a number of friends over to watch the game yesterday and drink some beers and eat some nachos and chicken wings. And Clayton Kershaw was dominant, earning his major-league leading 19th win. And Matt Kemp jacked a two-run HR (his 20th) to put the game out of reach (a 4-1 lead at that point). And Kenley Jansen earned the save. And Juan Uribe and A.J. Ellis both had RBI, the latter coming when Uribe hustled all the way over to third, on his RBI single, given the Giants' two throwing errors trying to nab Hanley Ramirez (unsuccessfully; HanRam scored). I think the NL West lead is three games, with 13 to play, including the next seven against the Rockies and Cubs.

But man, it's all a blur.

What an excellent SoSG Fest 2014! More details later. When we get out of jail.

Post-Game 148 Thread: Sweet Seventeen

DODGERS 17, GIANTS 0

One night after receiving one of the team's most ignominious defeats, the Dodgers came back and bounced back in a huge way--not only shutting out the Giants at home, but almost doubling the number of runs that the Giants had scored on us last night. It was a shellacking of monumental proportions. The Phone Park seagulls started circling at first pitch, given the smell of raw sewage that engulfed the Giants early on.

Hyun-Jin Ryu had a horrible first inning yesterday in which the Giants batted around and scored four runs. The Giants' Tim Hudson eerily received the exact same treatment tonight in his first inning: nine batters, including three doubles (just like last night!), the first of which punctuated the evening when Yasiel Puig legged out a double on a bloop single to Angel Pagan in center field. Look, I know Pagan has been a sparkplug for the Giants--their late-season resurgence can be strongly correlated to his return to their lineup--but today, out in center field, he looked absolutely lost. When A.J. Ellis finished off the first-inning fireworks with a bloop RBI single to center, Pagan's route was absolutely horrific, like he misjudged the ball completely off the bat, and then didn't know what to do. And I thought we had the unorthodox center fielder!

But the Dodgers didn't let up. Zack Greinke came out and allowed a leadoff double to Pagan, and then with one out, Oyster Pubes hit a single to right field. Matt Kemp fielded the ground ball perfectly, blew a bubble with his gum, and then fired home a strike to nail Pagan at the plate by a mile. What's more, Pubes didn't even take second base on the play, and was stranded there when Pablo Sandoval made the third out next. That was the Giants' best chance to get back into this game, because the pummeling went on from there.

Four runs in the second, with eight Dodgers taking swings. A third RBI for Matt Kemp made it 9-0 in the third inning. Juan Uribe homered in the fourth inning to add one run, and then Zack Greinke doubled off the wall in center, coming around to score on a Dee Gordon single, to make it 11-0 in the fourth inning.

And Greinke wasn't done. Not only did Greinke go a very solid 6.0 IP of 4 H, 0 R ball (0 BB, 5 Ks), he also hit a two-run HR in the sixth inning to make it 13-0. And the sixth inning wasn't over easy, either: Carl Crawford hit a bases-loaded shot to short that was initially called an 6-3 out, before the Dodgers challenged and got the call overturned to a RBI single. 14-0. Bruce Bochy brought in his son, Brett, who promptly walked Juan Uribe to make it 15-0.

The one solace Giants fans tried to take came in the top of the seventh, when Yasiel Puig struck out on a foul tip with one out and Dee Gordon on first. Derisive jeers were then summarily shut up when Scott Van Slyke came out and hit a monster shot to left field, to make it 17-0.

So let's total up this carnage, looking at the starting lineup alone:

• Gordon: 2-for-7 with 3 runs and an RBI;
• Puig: 3-for-5 with 3 runs;
• Adrian Gonzalez: 1-for-5 with a run and RBI;
• Kemp: 3-for-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBI;
• Hanley Ramirez: 4-for-5 with a run and 2 RBI;
• Crawford: 2-for-4 with a run and 3 RBI;
• Uribe: 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBI;
• Ellis: 2-for-5 with a run and RBI;
• Greinke: 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.

Let's look at that scoring history again (it's so long (that's what she said), I had to take two separate screenshots):

The Dodgers had two HR and five doubles. We had 10 two-out RBI. We went 11-for-19 with RISP. And it could have been much worse: we left 15 on base. Still, it was historic: the Dodgers' largest margin of victory and most one-sided shutout since moving to LA; the most runs ever scored by an opponent at AT&T Park; the most hits (24) of any team at AT&T Park; the most hits against the Giants since 1932. The 24 hits were one short of the LA Dodgers' franchise record.

Now, just like the Dodgers must have told themselves last night, it's only one game. But wow, what a game it was; a statement game that sent chardonnay-loving fans home early and pulled the lead back to two games in the west, with 14 to play. But even with all these runs notched, tomorrow's rubber match could bring it back to a mere one-game lead.

Perfect time for a SoSG Fest, if you ask me. We'll be blogging live from the event!

Post-Game 147 Thread: Well, That Wasn't Good

GIANTS 9, DODGERS 0

Chris Perez' sighting in the second inning evidenced Don Mattingly knew from the start this game was going to be a loss. Watching Hyun-Jin Ryu have the Giants bat around in the first before being lifted with shoulder irritation; Hanley Ramirez' limited defensive range; Yasiel Puig continuing to make throwing miscues; the Dodgers stranding a leadoff double; Kevin Correia continuing to look horrible--this was a shitshow of ultimate proportions. Well done, Donnie.

Post-Game 146 Thread: Who's Your Crawdaddy

This photo does not scream, "sweet stroke, Carl!". But hey, if it works, it works.

DODGERS 4, PADRES 0

Carl Crawford had a field day in the rubber match of this series, going 4-for-4 with three doubles and 2 RBI, leading the Dodgers to a 4-0 victory. Crawford went 9-for-12 in the series and has lifted his average from .230 to .289 by batting .434 the past month. Those hits and RBI make up for a lot of noodle-armed throws from left field, which makes Crawford a premium over Juan Pierre.

Also contributing RBI were Hanley Ramirez (who was sadly picked off first right thereafter) and Juan Uribe. Yasiel Puig batted leadoff tonight in Don Mattingly's attempt to jumpstart the slumping player; Puig went 0-for-4 with 5 LOB.

Dan Haren also continued his late-season rejuvenation: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, with 1 BB and 5 Ks. J.P. Howell and Kenley Jansen had a scoreless inning each.

With the Dodgers' victory, the magic number shrinks to 15 to win the NL West, as we retain a 2.5 game lead. Off-day tomorrow means we get to watch the Giants (who will likely sweep the Snakes tomorrow, and drop the lead to two games, with 16 to play), before heading into Phone Park for a key weekend series. Remember, Sunday is SoSG Fest 2014! Check the sidebar for details.

photo swiped from mlb.com

Post-Game 144 Thread: Idle Hands Are The Dodgers' Benefit

DODGERS 9, PADRES 4

While the Giants sat around gazing at their NL Wild Card lead, the Dodgers went out and got to work...beating the Padres behind the arm of ace Clayton Kershaw, who won his major-league-leading 18th game. Kershaw's 18-3 record is apparently the best since Orel Hershiser's 19-3 back in 1985, so if he isn't thought of as a legitimate MVP contender, it's a conspiracy. Kershaw even tried to argue with manager Don Mattingly to come out and pitch the the ninth inning, but Mattingly preferred to watch Pedro Baez give up a run (a solo Yasmandi Grandal shot) in the top of the ninth.

The fourth inning was fruitful for the Dodgers, when Yasiel Puig's single and A.J. Ellis' ground out scored two to extend the lead to 4-1. The fifth inning kept the Dodgers rolling when Matt Kemp doubled in Hanley Ramirez, and Carl Crawford hit a three-run HR to open up a 8-1 lead. And that was more than what Kershaw needed, rolling to victory on an efficient 89 pitches (3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks).

A 3.5 game lead this late in the season is great, but we are going to need some margin heading into SF this weekend. Hold on to your hats.

Post-Game 145 Thread: Roberto Hernandez Is Not The Answer

PADRES 6, DODGERS 3

And I don't even know what the question is. But Roberto Hernandez came out tonight and gave up five runs in the first three innings, ending his night early as he handed the ball over to Yimi Garcia (two innings, no runs), Kevin Correia (two innings, no runs), Jamey Wright (okay, there was a run here; but hey, it's Jamey Wright), Brandon League and Chris Perez (split an inning of work with no runs). Take away Hernandez' bed shitting, and we would have won. Yeah, but if Woody had gone to the police, this would never have happened.

Look, I don't know where this PGT is going, as I'm still drunk. But if not for the fact that the end of the four-game win streak also coincided with the Giants' beating the venomless Diamondbacks, I might be okay with this loss. Clearly, Don Mattingly was, as he didn't go to the bullpen until after we were in a 5-0 hole.

We had our opportunities, none more poignant than two on, one out, in the bottom of the ninth (down by three, mind you): Dee Gordon Ks and Hanley Ramirez (who also had two errors in his 0-for-4 evening) flies out to center. 3-for-12 with RISP isn't good, nor is a loss to the sub-.500 Padres. But at least we took the game yesterday, which keeps us 2.5 games up on SF with 17 to play. One more with the Padres tomorrow...and then, it's showdown in SF.

Boy, I'd feel better about going into Phone Park with more than a three-game lead.

Oh, and Yasiel Puig got a hit, a leadoff infield single in the seventh. Whoop de frickin' doo.

Post-Game 142 Thread: Dee Gordon With A Spark

DODGERS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2

Sure, the Giants have taken two from the Tigers while we are beating up on the lowly Diamondbacks. That said, last night's 5-2 victory was nonetheless dramatic, keeping the Dodgers two games up in the NL West (with 20 to play) off the bat of Dee Gordon and his eighth-inning shot up the middle, which scored PR Roger Bernandina (PR for Juan Uribe, in a fateful move since the play prior, Bernandina avoided the force at second on a potential double play). Hanley Ramirez followed with a two-run double that gave some breathing room for Kenley Jansen, who earned his 41st save.

Hyun-Jin Ryu went a strong six innings of two-run ball, and Adrian Gonzalez notched his 20th HR of the year (which leads the Dodgers), scoring himself and Gordon.

Dee Gordon has been shaky of late, with his average dipping to .284 prior to this series; this was the lowest point for Gordon since June 24. And sure, he leads the league in triples (12) and stolen bases (58), but his recent regression into a penchant for bunting (a problem that plagued Gordon in his early years with the Dodgers) seemed to indicate that he was getting desperate rather than relying on the skills and hard work that helped him become a steadying force for the Dodgers this year. If Gordon is back on the right path--and a 3-for-4 performance tonight shows signs of promise!--that can only augur good things for the Dodgers in the stretch run.

Thanks for being the sparkplug tonight, Dee. Stay on target!

Post-Game 138 Thread: For Dodgers, It's Not -Ez (And Joc Pederson Is Not Yet Superman)

NATIONALS 6, DODGERS 4

Roberto Hernandez' kryptonite was the longball: four HR off of three Nationals (former Dodger Jayson Werth, Asdrubal Cabrera, and two from Denard Span). After he left following 4.1 IP, (5 ER, 1 BB and 4 Ks), the only other run scored was off Brandon League in the seventh. But the six runs held up, as the Dodgers couldn't make extended rallies happen in either the seventh inning (with one run in and two on, A.J. Ellis lined out and PH Justin Turner struck out) or the ninth inning (with one run in and two on, PH Joc Pederson struck out). And so we drop the first game of the series to the Nationals, which we hoped would be -EZ. Oh, well.

Matt Kemp went 2-for-4 with two runs and 2 RBI; Juan Uribe had the same line save the two runs scored. Aside from that, the Dodgers' offense still looks sleepy: Dee Gordon 0-fered again, as did Hanley Ramirez in the two-hole.

Not only that, but the Giants actually won a resumed game for a change, beating the Rockies in Colorado. On the positive side, however, the Giants were up 7-2 in the real game in Colorado, only to watch the Rockies take a 9-7 lead into the ninth inning. The Giants countered with two runs to tie it in the top of the ninth. And then Sergio Romo came in for the tenth and gave up the game-winning run. Rockies 10, Giants 9. So the lead is now two games. But it could have been worse.

Post-Game 135/136 Thread: Serious Friars

That's a serious fryer.
PADRES 3, DODGERS 2 (12)
PADRES 2, DODGERS 1 (10)

We may have entered Petco Park like a lion (having beaten the Snakes twice in Arizona), but we're looking like a bag of dog food after two Padres extra-inning, walk-off victories (as opposed to those home extra-inning, non-walk-off victories, I suppose). Tonight's disaster felt a little bit more painful than last night's, as Alexi Amarista's one-out single off of Jamey Wright in the tenth not only wasted a great effort from Zack Greinke (8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER 2 BB and 8 Ks), but it also came after the Dodgers wasted scoring opportunities in the eighth (first and third, two out; Carl Crawford lines to second), the ninth (one-out man on first, and Andre Ethier forces Drew Butera, and Dee Gordon (now 0-for-11 in the series) lined to left), and the tenth (two-out Matt Kemp double, but Yasiel Puig strands him). Meanwhile, on defense, we were getting very lucky: Butera and Hanley Ramirez pulled out a sweet pickoff play at second in the eighth; and in the ninth, J.P. Howell escaped a jam by spearing a comebacker and doubling off the runner at second.

And yet, we can't beat the damn Padres. Not Saturday, nor on Friday, when Kevin Correia shit the bed in the twelfth inning by allowing a leadoff single and two one-out walks; he got a gift force at home but then gave up the walkoff single to right. The Dodgers are a combined 1-for-15 with RISP in the two games, and the Giants' five-game win streak has them only 2.5 GB. It's sphincter-tightening time, boys and girls--time to wake this lineup up. Don't make me pour a vat of boiling hot oil on you.

Post-Game 117 Thread: Dodgers Can't Handle Brewers' Hops

BREWERS 9, DODGERS 3

Two errors from Justin Turner doomed the Dodgers tonight, but that wasn't the only issue. Brandon League gave up three runs--none earned--over 0.2 IP. The Dodgers' bullpen crumbled late, including Carlos Frias allowing a three-run HR to Richie Weeks in the eighth inning. And with 0-fer performances from Yasiel Puig (0-for-4), Juan Uribe (0-for-3), and Drew Butera (0-for-4), there wasn't much about which to talk besides Adrian Gonzalez' solo HR in the sixth, and Andre Ethier's seventh-inning infield single which gave the Dodgers a fleeting 3-2 lead.

But back to Turner. His PH AB in the seventh inning allowed the Dodgers a leadoff single which led to a two-run inning. But his two errors (bobble and throw), juxtaposed with a side injury to Hanley Ramirez and an "uneventful" showing from Miguel Rojas, have exposed what Doug Padilla of ESPN is calling a sudden shortstop issue.

Again, like I said yesterday, let's not get carried away. But the Dodgers seem to be plugging holes (like the starting rotation, buoyed by Roberto Hernandez' decent performance today) just as fast as others are appearing. At least the Giants lost again, so we stay 3.5 games ahead in the West.