We're Back! (Kinda!)

What'd we miss?
Hey! We're alive! Mostly. Sincere apologies for the extended hiatus. The Dodgers losing in the postseason (again) hit us extra hard, and we kind of went into hiding. (I haven't even been tweeting all that much, so you know it's bad.)

So, here we are again. This is mostly just to get a new discussion thread going. No real news to share. Have the Dodgers even made any deals? I think there was a small trade or something. I honestly am not remembering at the moment. Hang on, let me Google...

*hold music*

"11/11/16 Los Angeles Dodgers traded LF Howie Kendrick to Philadelphia Phillies for 1B Darin Ruf and 2B Darnell Sweeney."

WARM STOVE!

Also, Yoenis Cespedes re-signed with the Mets today, so you can take that fantasy scenario off the table, assuming any of you believed getting him was realistic and/or necessary. Still no word on any attempts by the Dodgers to re-sign Turner or Jansen. My gut feeling is Turner comes back, and Jansen takes a big payday elsewhere. (PLEASE NOT GIANTS PLEASE NOT GIANTS)

Finally, we'd be remiss in not mentioning today is Vin Scully's 89th birthday. Happy Birthday, Vinnie! We miss you and we need you now more than ever.


Vin Scully receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov 22. Sadly, Chewbacca was overlooked yet again. (Photo: SI)

Post-Game 71 Thread: Walk Off Walk

Sorry, Scooter.

DODGERS 2, BREWERS 1

The Dodgers' offense, exhausted from yesterday's output, went back to sleep in today's day-game hangover. But luckily, Kiké Hernandez unloaded a solo HR in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at one. In the bottom of the ninth, one-out singles from Adrian Gonzalez and Trayce Thompson put two on; Joc Pederson Kd, but Howie Kendrick and Yasmani Grandal both walked to win the game. Tyler Thornburg had a horrible ninth inning for the Brewers, who dropped three of four to the Dodgers in this series.

Meanwhile, it was Kenta Maeda who kept us in this game: 6.1 IP, 6 H and 1 ER against 3 BB and 8 Ks. He did give up the first-inning HR to Scooter Gennett, and it is always embarrassing to be beaten by a muppet. However Maeda persisted, and kept the Dodgers in this game with this efforts.

A walk-off walk over a sub-.500 team isn't necessarily cause for celebration. But for those who braved the oppressive afternoon 99-degree heat today, they came away with a hard-fought victory...and hopefully unsoiled undies, as well.

Now, is there another game this evening to watch?

Post-Game 70 Thread: Dodgers Offense Recovers After Dropping Mike

DODGERS 10, BREWERS 6

Mike Bolsinger was awful today, lasting only 2.2 innings while giving up nine hits and 5 ER (including a run in each of the three frames in which he participated). But lucky for Mike, his buddy Chase Anderson was worse, lasting only 2.1 innings and yielding seven earned runs, including a three-run HR by the strangely narcissistic Justin Turner (his ninth) in the third inning, to tie the game at 5.

The Dodgers went on to plate three more runs that inning and take an 8-5 lead, which they extended in the sixth on a Joc Pederson HR and an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single (A-Gon went 3-for-5 with an RBI).

Ten runs scored? Not sure what team this is, but if we can finally get Turner, Gonzalez, and Kendrick (who also homered) out of their slumps, and Pederson and Trayce Thompson can mature a bit, we might have something here. Though if we keep starting Bolsinger, we'll have to also keep being quick at dropping the Mike.

And, since it's an oldie but goodie:

Post-Game 59 Thread: Chatwood Shuts Us Down

ROCKIES 6, DODGERS 1

There has been only one no-hitter thrown by a Colorado Rockies pitcher. Save a Howie Kendrick single in the second inning, Rockies pitcher Tyler Chatwood was close to matching this milestone, one-hitting the Dodgers through eight frames (1 ER, 4 BB and 5 Ks). Chatwood was however run over by an invading (Gonzalez) Germen, who stormed onto the mound in the ninth inning to finish the Dodgers (and the game) in short order.

Mike Bolsinger lasted only 5.1 innings, giving up 6 ER and undone by a Gerardo Parra solo shot and a three-run Trevor Story HR in the sixth inning.

This offense is horrible.

Post-Games 56-58 Thread: Braves Swept

This is an odd photo of Dodger Stadium.

Friday: DODGERS 4, BRAVES 2
Saturday: DODGERS 4, BRAVES 0
Sunday: DODGERS 12, BRAVES 6

Three times this homestand, SoSG AC did the Game Threads. And three times this homestand, the Dodgers came through with big victories. We're going to make AC do all the Game Threads from here on out. (Or, we will need to make sure we play the Braves from here on out.)

Indeed, the Braves are the NL's worst team, with a record that is 4.5 games behind the Reds and 6.5 games behind the Padres. At 16-40, there's not a lot of hope, which is why the Braves left poor Matt Wisler (2-6, 3.98 this year, but 10-14, 4.42 lifetime) out there on the mound after Wisler had given up seven runs in the first two frames. Wisler lasted the fourth and gave up an eighth run, and then John "Not Ron" Gant gave up another earned run in the fifth, before the Dodgers finally went scoreless in the sixth.

Aggravated at the scoreless frame in the sixth, Chase Utley doubled in Yasmani Grandal, and Corey Seager hit a two-run HR, to add three more runs to the totals. Seager went 3-for-5 with two more HR (building upon his 3 HR game Friday). Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Enrique Hernandez each had 1 RBI; Grandal had three RBI with a three-run HR in the third.

Scott Kazmir only went five innings and gave up 7 H and 3 ER, but had 5 Ks. Chris Hatcher still looked lame in the eighth, giving up 3 H and 2 ER. But with 12 runs, even these mediocre pitching outings could get by today (whereas Kenta Maeda and Clayton Kershaw led us to victories in the first two weekend matches).

And now we have the unpalatable aspect of rooting on the Cardinals over the Giants. SF just took a 2-1 lead in the fourth. Hoping for an earthquake to swallow both teams up at once.

Post-Game 53 Thread: Kazmir Beats Arrieta, As Expected

Well, that was surprising!

DODGERS 5, CUBS 0

The Dodgers won a game, on national television no less, only by beating the ace of baseball's hottest team. Jake Arrieta hadn't lost a start since July 2015 (a string of 23 starts in which the Cubs had won; Arrieta had won 21 of those starts).

But the Dodgers kept pace with Chicago, scoreless through seven frames, thanks to Scott Kazmir pitching six frames of one-hit ball. When Clayton Richard relieved Arrieta for the top of the eighth, the Dodgers got on the board thanks to Chase Utley and Corey Seager leadoff singles, an Adrian Gonzalez RBI single, and then a Howie Kendrick sacrifice fly, to make it 2-0 LA.

Corey Seager then unloaded a three-run HR in the ninth off of Trevor Cahill to put the game well out of reach. Joe Blanton had two innings of scoreless relief, followed by Adam Liberatore in the ninth.

Series is tied 1-1 with two more to play at Wrigley.

Post-Game 47 Thread: Dodgers On Verge Of Unlikely Sweep (Of Last Place Team)

Don't break open the bag just yet!

DODGERS 8, REDS 2

The Dodgers are on the verge of sweeping their first series since the season opener in San Diego, from April 4-6. Mike Bolsinger led the way from the mound, pitching 5.2 innings of 3 H, 2 ER ball, and the bullpen didn't give up a hit the rest of the way.

On the offensive side of the ledger, we were buoyed by opportunistic base stealing from Joc Pederson (stole third in the fourth inning after doubling in a run, and scored on the errant throw that sailed to left field) and Yasiel Puig (who was off and running for third base when Howie Kendrick PH in the sixth; Kendrick hit a ball to Reds 1B Joey Votto who bobbled the ball, allowing Puig to just beat the tag at home). Justin Turner went 3-for-5 with three RBI, and when Adrian Gonzalez finally got his first hit in the eighth inning (an RBI single), the score was 8-2 and effectively out of reach.

Tomorrow night we can go for the sweep! Except Scott Kazmir is pitching. But anything is possible.

Post-Game 46 Thread: Dodgers Beat Sorry 15-30 Team Without Having 1 RBI

To be fair, this headline was from last year

DODGERS 1, REDS 0

Seriously? 1-for-7 with RISP, and the only way we can score a run is a GIDP (one of our four GIDPs this evening)? Howie Kendrick got the GW GIDP. And aside from Clayton Kershaw's CG SHO (which we needed for the win; however Kershaw only notched 7 Ks, thereby breaking his streak of six straight games with 10+ Ks), there wasn't much else for which to cheer this game.

Pathetic.

Post-Game 45 Thread: Dodgers Sack Up And Win Game; SoSG Ends GT Boycott

Alex Wood shows what 16 innings does to a man.

DODGERS 9, PADRES 5 (17)

After rolling over and laying dead for four straight games (both games at Angel Stadium; then the first two games of this San Diego series, both of which were walkoff losses), the Dodgers went out and actually won a major league baseball game! Never mind it's against the 19-26 Padres: it's a win.

Yasiel Puig was the catalyst after a two-run RBI single in the 17th, followed by a stolen base and then advancement to third on a wild pitch (that scored Joc Pederson, to make it 8-5 LA). Puig scored on a Carl Crawford force out to make it 9-5 LA, which ended up holding up to give Ross Stripling his second win of the year (3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 K).

Howie Kendrick went 4-for-8 with a HR and double; Chase Utley went 3-for-9; Joc Pederson went 2-for-7 and Puig had a 3-for-7 outing. A.J. Ellis went 0-for-5 with three walks.

We got a win! So yeah, we'll come back to writing some Game Threads again. Thanks for your patience.

Post-Game 36 Thread: Buenos, Diaz!

Diaz boots #3

DODGERS 8, CARDINALS 4

A sloppy game on all fronts, but most notably for Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz, who had three fielding errors in tonight's game, all three of which led to Dodgers runs. Sure, Diaz had a HR and double as well, but he still gave away more runs than he notched, and we sure appreciated it. The Cards had four errors on the evening, though Matt "Nutshot" Holliday didn't cause any of them.

Yasiel Puig had a first-pitch HR in the sixth inning, the last scoring shot of the game. That was Puig's fourth of the year and 50th in his career; 19 have come on the first pitch in the AB. Puig went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and 2 RBI.

Howie Kendrick batted leadoff and went 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. He was smoking the ball this evening, which lookos promising against his .200 BA this year.

Ross Stripling got the win, the first in his career, with a mediocre line (5.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB and 2 Ks). It was just enough, however, thanks to good performances in the bullpen from Adam Liberatore, Louis Coleman, Pedro Baez, and Kenley Jansen (Joe Blanton, not so much). Nice to see Dave Roberts making some intelligent bullpen decisions this evening. Maybe there's hope!

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 9 Thread: Dodgers 3-D Helmets End Losing Streak

DODGERS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1

Alex Wood led the Dodgers' 3-D batting helmets to their first career victory, earning a rare win of his own and lowering his ERA to 4.50 (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB and 3 Ks). Rubby De La Rosa lowered his ERA as well by over 33%, which was amazing given our pre-game predictions. But hey, we'll take it (so will Adrian Gonzalez, who had a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth).

De La Rosa wasn't helped by his infield, who let the Dodgers take the lead when Chase Utley hit a ball to Nick Ahmed at shortstop; Ahmed threw the ball into right field, allowing Howie Kendrick to score in the bottom of the fifth. The very next play, Corey Seager hit a double-play ball to second, but Paul Goldschmidt bobbled the throw to first, allowing Seager to reach and Joc Pederson to score.

Kenley Jansen needed to notch a five-out save when Wood, and then Pedro Baez, tired in the eighth inning. Jansen needed five outs because, unlike our matte-finish batting helmets, we don't have a lot of depth there.

Yasiel Puig went 2-for-4 and is now batting .394, a notch ahead of Gonzalez' .389.

Yasmani Grandal went 0-for-3 in his first start of the season.

Post-Game 149 Thread: Stuck On Seven

DIAMONDBACKS 8, DODGERS 4

All 7, and we'll watch them fall? Certainly not if the Dodgers' offense keeps up its listless ways. And, like a bad earworm, we can't get rid of 7 (as it stands in the way of love!).

The St. Louis Cheaters have already clinched, but the Dodgers aren't knocking the Giants out of it, maintaining their magic number at a healthy seven games with 13 to play. I'm not comfortable, certainly not with Chase Utley having to play third base to fill in for an injured Justin Turner (Utley was 0-for-3); Adrian Gonzalez experiencing stiffness in his back (2-for-4 with a HR), Howie Kendrick just getting back (1-for-5, with 5 LOB), and Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal both looking lost again.

Brett Anderson lasted only 4.2 IP, giving up 10 H and 5 ER with only 1 K (and 1 BB). Juan Nicasio remains useless with 0.1 IP and 2 ER yielded. And if Jim Johnson could get a 1-2-3 inning one of these days, it would be a welcome surprise.

But it comes back to the offense--come on guys, it's the Snakes. What are you waiting for?

Puig Gone Until Playoffs; Kendrick Back Much Sooner

Mark Saxon of ESPN.com says Yasiel Puig's hamstring will keep him out until the postseason. The good news is, offensive firestarter Howie Kendrick might be back sooner:

The first time Yasiel Puig strained a hamstring, he missed 38 games. When he suffered essentially the same injury to the other hamstring, his right, a few months later on Aug. 27, the Los Angeles Dodgers had just 36 games left in their schedule.

The math is fairly straightforward, and on Friday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly admitted the team is uncertain whether Puig would return by the end of the regular season.

Puig traveled to Arizona on Friday to begin the lengthy process of rehabilitating his hamstring. [...]

The news is better on second baseman Howie Kendrick, who also is out with a strained hamstring. Kendrick has been making progress and is likely to play in minor league games in a matter of days. He could rejoin the Dodgers within a week.

Game 112 Thread: Aug. 10 vs. Nats, 7p

Brett Anderson (6-6, 3.06) vs. Gio Gonzalez (8-4, 3.75)

Howie to the DL, speedster Peraza in. Let's hand the Nats a curly L!

Post-Game 105 Thread: Just Another Ethier Walk-Off

DODGERS 5, ANGELS 3 (10)

Andre Ethier has been known for his walkoff hits. But it has seemed like a while since he's had some walkoff heroics (though I have no idea; I'm sure there is some way to do this search on baseball reference, but I'm not smart enough to know how to do this).

Sunday afternoon, Ethier was the man. Sure, Mat Latos' debut wasn't too shoddy: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 1 K; Howie Kendrick had another HR (second this series against his former team), and Juan Nicasio had a rare hold. And Jim Johnson's debut with the Dodgers was not so good: an eighth-inning solo HR by Kole Calhoun that tied the game at two.

But it was Ethier who put the Dodgers up 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, a lead the Dodgers could not hold--but no matter, as Ethier got another HR in the tenth, with Adrian Gonzalez aboard, to win the game 5-3 and complete the sweep against the Angels. With the Giants' loss, the Dodgers now have a 2.5 game lead in the West, and a rare day off while the Giants go to toothless Atlanta (47-58) for a three game series.

Post-Game 104 Thread: Hipster Kershaw Downs Angels

DODGERS 3, ANGELS 1

Clayton Kershaw overcame the hip issue that had scratched him from two starts, and sat many an Angel down (7 Ks; retired his last 15 batters) en route to victory today. Kid K's scoreless streak is now at 38 innings; the Angels got a run in the ninth off of Kenley Jansen, whose shakiness is starting to get a little concerning. Albert Pujols snuck in a pop fly right in front of Scott Van Slyke to score David Murphy for the Angels' only run; Jansen did have two Ks, including Mike Trout, in the final frame.

The Dodgers' offensive outburst came in the sixth inning, with a Van Slyke sacrifice fly to left (scoring Howie Kendrick, and a Yasmani Grandal HR scoring Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers had other chances, ending the game 0-for-6 with RISP. But three runs was enough to make Kershaw's effort stand up.

Scoreboard watching: The Giants are facing Cole Hamels in his debut with Texas, and are down 2-0 in the second (Giants have Chris "Charlton" Heston on the mound: 11-5 / 3.14). As of this posting, the Dodgers have a two-game lead in the West, with only 58 left to play.

Post-Game 98 Thread: Easy As 1-2-3

DODGERS 7, METS 2

I was worried about Dodgers starter Ian Thomas tonight, but I should have been more worried about Mets starter Jon Niese. Opting to start rather than be there for his child's birth, he watched the birth (in Ohio) on facetime from the game in New York. But to say Niese was distracted was probably an understatement: the Dodgers put up six runs in three innings on the poor guy, with 1 in the first, 2 in the second, and 3 in the third.

Justin Turner doubled in Howie Kendrick in the first.

In the second, Ian Thomas, who had five innings of one-run ball, GIDPd in the second but scored Kike Hernandez from third, and then Joc Pederson doubled in Jimmy Rollins.

In the third, Turner had a solo HR, and Yasiel Puig homered to also score Scott Van Slyke.

Rollins also added a solo shot in the eighth off of fabled Mets pitcher Hansel Robles.

Of course, the well-rested Giants beat up on the cellar-dwelling A's, so the lead is still three games.

Post-Game 60 Thread: Snakes Dispatched

DODGERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 6

This one was the hardest of the three victories, but the Dodgers still notched a win again off of Howie Kendrick, who had a walkoff single to right to score Yasiel Puig. Puig was the big bat earlier in the game, with a three-run shot in the second, his third HR of the season. (Yasmani Grandal also added a solo HR.)

When the Diamondbacks scored a run in both the seventh and ninth innings, it looked shaky there. But leave it to Kendrick, who has been nails for us all year, to secure the sweep in dramatic fashion.

Kenley Jansen blew the save but gets the win. Funny how that works.

Post-Game 59 Thread: Comeback Kid, Howie Kendrick

DODGERS 3, D'BACKS 1

Howie Kendrick turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory, first by hitting a home run in the sixth to tie the game, and then singling in two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game. Kendrick went 2-for-4 in the cleanup spot, and his energy in this comeback victory was palpable. We go for the sweep tomorrow; I'm betting we get it.

photo: Rob Tringali / Getty Images North America