NLDS Game 4 Thread: Oct 15 @ Padres, 6.37p

Anderson vs. Musgrove.

A 22-game lead in the regular season doesn't matter for shit, now that we've dropped two straight in a best-of-five series, and are facing an elimination game way earlier than we had expected in this postseason. David is actually going to slay Goliath. The Dodgers hadn't really been challenged all year during the regular season, so let's see how this team fares when the stakes are actually meaningful and our backs are against the wall.

That said, I'm not expecting much. Our bats are now 0-for-17 in the last two games, and we have not scored a run against this Padres bullpen in the entire series. It's easy to point the finger at Will Smith, 0-for-4 last night and choker in multiple run-scoring opportunities this whole series. But the fact of the matter is that Chris Taylor (0-for-4 with 2 Ks) isn't much of a replacement for the listless Cody Bellinger; Mookie Betts (1-for-3 last night) is batting .182 in leadoff; Justin Turner is batting .100 this series; and Trayce Thompson (1-for 3, batting .111) is also punchless.

Dodgers pitchers are getting maligned here, especialy with Tony Gonsolin's four-out starting performance in Game 3. But six arms only let two runs cross the plate last night in Game 3. This is about our lack of offensive performance when the presure is on--and we can't score more than one run all game.

This is bad. I'm still drunk while writing this post. I'll probably stay this way through Game 4.

Games 157-162 Thread: Sept 30-Oct 5 vs. Rockies

Fri 30 7p: Kershaw vs. Kuhl
Sat 1 6p: Grove vs. Freeland
Sun 2 1p: Anderson vs. Marquez
Mon 3 7p: Gonsolin vs. TBD
Tue 4 7p: Urias vs. TBD
Wed 5 1.20p: Kershaw vs. TBD

Baseball is all about tradition, and now it's time for the traditional end-of-season six-game series. The Dodgers' magic number for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the World Series, is down to 1 (with six games to play), so my guess is that the rotation doesn't exactly play out as planned. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tony Gonsolin does on Monday in his return from the IL.

This series will also be the last audition for Chris Taylor, Trayce Thompson, Cody Bellinger, and Joey Gallo; it's likely that only two of those four will make the postseason roster (only Mookie Betts is a solid outfield lock), with the other two being cut (hopefully not like the movie poster up there). But knowing the Dodgers, there will be more injuries between the end of September to the final postseason game--so we've gotta take a close look at everyone this series. Buckle up, Dodger fans!

Games 154-156 Thread: Sept 27-29 @ Padres

The Padres were hunting for a ring. Tatis was focused on ringworm.

Tue 27: Anderson vs. Snell
Wed 28: Urias vs. Musgrove
Thu 29: TBD vs TBD

The Padres may not be in the divisional race anymore (the 2022 NL West Champion Dodgers are 21 games ahead of the Padres), but they're still fighting for their second wild-card position, only 1.5 games ahead of the Phillies (who have the third WC spot) and 3 games ahead of the Brewers. But you wouldn't know that from watching the play of heralded trade-deadline pickup Juan Soto, whose BA hasn't suffered much since being acquired from the Nationals (.242 vs .246), but whose OPS+ has dropped from 158 (his career average) to 136 with San Diego.

Manny Machado is still mashing--his BA and OPS have both increased since Soto has joined the San Diego lineup. And then there's Fernando Tatis Jr., who is suspended.

The Dodgers have nine games left to tinker with pitching options. Recent momentum from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger at the plate is encouraging. But it's the arms which are going to be the question mark going into the 2022 postseason.

Games 151-153 Thread: Sep 23-25 vs. Cardinals

Fri 23 7p: Heaney vs. Quintana
Sat 24 6p: Kershaw vs. Montgomery
Sun 25 1p: Anderson vs. Wainwright

This series marks the return of all-time Dodger great Albert Pujols, who, after his legendary stint with the Dodgers, opted to play out one final year with the St. Louis Cardinals. Pujols is on 698 home runs (fourth all-time), and there is a chance he can get to 700 while playing at Chavez Ravine--which would be entirely fitting for the future Hall of Famer. (It is widely rumored that Pujols, always generous, may opt to give St. Louis a little bit of love on his HOF plaque, given that the Dodgers already have so much HOF representation.)

St Louis leads the NL Central by 7.5 games--but as the NL division leader with the weakest record, the Cardinals will likely have to play in the Wild Card Round before the NLDS. Should they advance, there's a chance these two teams could meet in the NLCS. Better not show the entire hand this series, right?

Welcome back to Dodger Stadium, Tio Albert!

Games 140-142 Thread: Sep 12-14 @ D'backs

Mon 12: Anderson vs. Nelson
Tue 13: Kershaw vs. Kelly
Wed 14: TBD vs. TBD
all games at 6.40p

After winning two of three against the Padres this past weekend, the Dodgers have a 20-game lead and have officially clinched a playoff berth. But now, it takes two: Two more wins (or Padres losses), and the NL West Divisional crown is in order, for the ninth time in ten years. The Dodgers' +310 run differential is the most in the majors by over 100 runs. And in the Sunday Padres game, even Chris Taylor had a home run (though Justin Turner's grand slam was the dagger)--and even more amazing, Cody Bellinger had a base hit (snapping a 0-for-24 streak).

Bellinger is batting .200. Muncy is batting .197. Can both of them get over Mendoza by the end of the year?

Games 134-136 Thread: Sep 5 - 7 vs. Giants

Mon Sep 5 7p: Heaney vs. Webb
Tue Sep 6 7p: Anderson vs. TBD
Wed Sep 7 1p: Kershaw vs. Cobb

This Game Thread is late.

But the Giants are still lame.

photo from San Jose Mercury News; Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group, May 23, 2022

Games 128-130 Thread: Aug 30 - Sep 1 @ Mets

Tue 30 4p: Heaney vs. Walker
Wed 31 4p: Anderson vs. deGrom
Thu 1 1p: Kershaw vs. Bassitt

lolMets no longer? The Mets and Dodgers split four in Los Angeles back in early June, and that was before the Mets got Jacob deGrom back (we'll see him on Wednesday). But it's a different scene now in New York. While the YankMes across town are suffering from tattoo-induced leg infections, the Mets are off to the second-best record in the majors (tied with Houston), behind only the Dodgers' blistering 89-38 record. And we're seeing three All-Stars in this series (and that excludes Max Scherzer).

On top of that, the Mets are hungry, trying to stave off a Braves team that is nipping at their heels (three games back of the division lead). The Dodgers played extra innings Monday in Miami and are showing up to Queens late, not to mention we just lost Tony Gonsolin to the IL. I reckon this series doesn't bode well for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers' magic number, entering this series, is 15.

Games 124-127: Aug 26-29 @ Marlins

Fri 26 3.30p: Anderson vs. TBD
Sat 27 3p: May vs. Alcantara
Sun 28 9a: Urias vs. Cabrera
Mon 29 3.30p: Gonsolin vs. Lopez

Four games against the Fish. Sure, it would be exciting to look ahead to that Saturday game against Sandy Alcantara again; or to think about how we decrease our magic number from 19 (thanks to a totally insane 19.5-game lead over the Juan-Soto-fortified, Fernando-Tatis-"enhanced" Padres).

But instead, shouldn't we be Investigating the forces that get fish to our dinner tables? Because, according to this Four Fish book, we have a damaged relationship with the ocean and its inhabitants. Just three decades ago, nearly everything we ate from the sea was wild. Today, rampant overfishing and an unprecedented biotech revolution have brought us to a point where wild and farmed fish occupy equal parts of a complex marketplace. Four Fish offers a way for us to move toward a future in which healthy and sustainable seafood is the rule rather than the exception.

Nah, I'd rather just watch these games against the Marlins.

And eat some more sushi.

Games 111-113 Thread: Aug 12-14 @ Royals

Fri 12: Gonsolin vs. Lynch
Sat 13: Heaney vs. Keller
Sun 14: Anderson vs. Singer

I know, one of Lorde's other songs might have been more approrpriate for this opponent? But when the Dodgers have won 10 in a row and even .165 BA Joey Gallo is participating (pinch-hit 3-run HR to help us sweep the Twins), there's gotta be something more potent ion there...like Solar Power, perhaps?

Dodgers take the field in KC with a 16-game lead over the Padres and the best record in the majors. Keep lighting it up, guys!

Games 98-101 Thread: Jul 28-31 @ Rockies

Thu 28 5.40p: Anderson vs. Ureña
Fri 29 5.40p: Urias vs. Kuhl
Sat 30 5.10p: Kershaw vs. Freeland
Sun 31 12.10p: Gonsolin vs. Marquez

The Dodgers are only 5-4 against the lowly Rockies this year, having lost two of three series against the worst team in the NL West. Coming off a series loss to the even-worse Washington Nationals, the Dodgers don't have momentum against losing teams--so it stands to reason that this four-game series won't go well, either. Don't stoop to their level, Dodgers! (But don't walk away, either.)

Games 86-90 Thread: July 12-14 @ Cardinals; July 15-16 @ Angels

This picture is not an endorsement for this product. I just needed a unifying theme.

@STL Tues 12 4.45p: White vs. Liberatore
@STL Wed 13 4.45p: Gonsolin vs. Wainwright
@STL Thu 14 4.15p: Anderson vs. Hudson
@LAA Fri 15 6.30p: TBD vs. TBD
@LAA Sat 16 7p: TBD vs. TBD

I'm having to squish two series threads into one Game Thread due to travel. But I confess that I'm pretty damn giddy after a 10-1 homestand, punctuated by a crazy come-from-behind victory on Sunday afternoon in which Julio Urias shit a turd (down 5-0 with one out in the top of the first), only to see the Dodgers rally back to an 11-9 victory to sweep the hapless Cubs.

If we can play like this even with Max Muncy batting .162 and Cody Bellinger batting .211--wow, we've got a shot here.

And now the Dodgers have four All-Stars preparing for next Tuesday's All-Star Game: starters Mookie Betts and Trea Turner, and pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin. So let's enjoy these five last games before the break and everybody be cool, okay? Time for a tarot reading.

Games 82-85 Thread: July 7-10 vs. Cubs

Thu 7: Gonsolin vs. Leiter Jr.
Fri 8: Anderson vs. Thompson
Sat 9: Kershaw vs. TBD
Sun 10: Urias vs. TBD
All games at 7p except Sunday 1p

The Dodgers are still injured all over the lineup, with Walker Buehler, Daniel Hudson, and Chris Taylor all out (and Hudson definitely not coming back this season). Max Muncy is still batting .167 (though he had a nice defensive play in yesterday's 2-1 victory); Cody Bellinger is barely over Mendoza (.213), and we stil don't have a cleanup hitter (Slappy usually inhabits the four-hole, and his OPS at .799 is worse than our top three hitters).

And yet, we're off to a 5-1 start in this homestand, we're ekeing decent starts out of players like Mitch White (5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB and 6 Ks yesterday), and we have the best record in the National League and a six-game lead over the Padres.

It doesn't seem like the Dodgers are clicking yet. But that may be because we all know the bar is so high.

So into town roll the Cubbies, who sport a record even worse than the NL West cellar dweller Rockies (whom we just swept). Wednesday's victory only came through manufacturing a late run in the ninth (the team was 0-for-7 with RISP yesterday). Will the Dodgers limp to victory this series, or utilize the opportunity to really start firing on more cylinders?

Games 72-74 Thread: June 27-29 @ Rockies

Mon 27: Tyler Anderson vs. Kuhl
Tue 28: Clayton Kershaw vs. Freeland
Wed 29: Julio Urias vs Márquez
All games 5.40p

After beating the Braves in a hard-fought rubber match on Sunday, notching the series victory (not to mention the Dodgers' first extra-inning win all year!), the Dodgers depart Atlant having left behind a lot of tears.

Freddie Freeman left some tears on the field, as well as at Friday's pre-game press conference. Daniel Hudson unfortunately left a tear on the field as well, tearing his left ACL late in Saturday's game. So I sincerely hope that our next stop on this road trip, to Colorado, is tear-free.

The Dodgers are now 5-1 on this roadtrip, which is a nice turnaround from a pretty bad June (12-10). Let's keep it rolling, Dodgers!

Games 66-68 Thread: June 21-23 @ Reds

Tue 6.21 3.40p: Gonsolin vs. Mahle
Wed 6.22 3.40p: Anderson vs. Castillo
Thu 6.23 9.30a: Kershaw vs. Greene

A little premature to call the season (especially pre-All Star Break, and with the Dodgers in first place by a half-game). But on the other hand, dropping the last series to the Guardians evidenced how poor this team really is: a combined 5-for-34 with RISP. What's worse, everyone treats their at bats with a runner on base like they're playing beer-league softball: wild hacks out of the zone leading to strikeouts; impatient swings early in the count; lack of positional hitting to advance the runner (I'm looking at you, Will Smith).

It's absolutely awful to watch. Not that I did, after watching us drop our fifth extra-inning game on Friday night (Dodgers are 0-5 in extras). The Dodgers' hitting coaches, Brnt Brown and Robert Van Scoyoc, are simply not doing their job. The Dodgers need to learn how to knock some runs in rather than just swing for the fences (we had 29 strikeouts in the three games, including 13 on Sunday).

And with Mookie out with a cracked rib, I think this season may be over before we even get to the break. 25 more games to go until the break, including this nine-game road trip (Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Colorado). This road trip will tell all.

Games 61-62 Thread: June 14-15 vs. Angels

Tue 6.14: Gonsolin vs. Syndergaard
Wed 6.15: Anderson vs. Detmers
both games 7p first pitch

Swept by the Giants. Chris Taylor bloodied at the left field wall. Mookie Betts, 1-for-his-last-22 and 2-for-his-last-31. Walker Buehler, out for eight weeks with elbow issues. Only one winning series in the last four series played (four wins in the last 13 games).

Oh yeah, and now we are TIED for the divisional lead with the Padres, who beat the Cubs Monday.

This Dodgers team is going nowhere, fast. Gone are the hopes for a major-league record win number. This team is either too old to handle the aggressive schedule, or lacking a sense of urgency to compete offensively, or just absolutely lost. Two games against the Angels aren't going to help much.

Sadness. Indeed.

Games 55-57 Thread: June 7-9 @ White Sox

Tue 6.7 5p: Mitch White vs. Kopech
Wed 6.8 5p: Tony Gonsolin vs. Cueto
Thu 6.9 11a: Tyler Anderson vs. Cease

We may as well continue through the Pixar Inside Out characters, now that we limped to a putrid 2-5 homestand by dropping all three games to the Pirates, before stumbling to a split against the Mets. Oh sure, we took the first two games against a weakened NYM lineup. But in both Saturday and Sunday's game, the Dodgers gave up leads (4-1 and 2-1) in order to choke away a sweep and settle for a split.

I was there Saturday night to see Walker Buehler implode to his shortest start of his career (2.1 IP, 5 ER, 2 HR). The LAT's Dylan Hernandez blames Julio Urias' short start for Sunday's loss, but in actuality the overworked bullpen is also the by-product of a shortened spring training plus the way Andrew Friedman has constructed the lineup, as well as how Dave Roberts chooses to execute the moves. And so, Brusdar Graterol gave up a three-run HR on Saturday, and then was responsible for a blown save and three more earned runs in Sunday's loss.

And let's not forget the offending offense. Will "Slappy" Smith may have had a home run late yesterday, but his game-ended K with a runner in scoring position was almost fated; he shoudln't be batting cleanup with his woeful .227 average. Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger are both batting below .240 as well, and they combined to go 1-for-8 yesterday with two Ks. And Gavin Lux was 0-for-4 in the nine-hole.

The Mets were our first big test this year. We got a C grade, maybe a C+; and this is when they don't even have Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom in their lineup. It was a pretty disgusting homestand. Will a day off, and some road games, snap this team out of it?

Games 51-54 Thread: June 2-5 vs. Mets

Thu Jun 2: Gonsolin vs. T Walker
Fri Jun 3: Anderson vs. Bassitt
Sat Jun 4: Buehler vs. Peterson
Sun Jun 5: Urias vs. TBD
All games 7p except Sunday 6/5 @ 1p

After the bedshitting that was getting swept at home by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates (winners of five out of six games this year), the Dodgers should be thoroughly embarrassed. Especially the offense, whose situational hitting absolutely stunk (a combined 6-for-28 with RISP); the baserunning, with runners getting thrown out trying to pop-up slide (Gavin Lux), or stretching for an extra base in vain (Chris Taylor), or getting picked off (so many people I can't list them all), or not tagging up properly and getting thrown out at home (again, Gavin Lux). We were awful for that series.

And our reward is now hosting the best team in the National League, the Mets, who are getting it done despite injuries to their top starters Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. They've got players stepping up in the moment, not cowering under the bed.

And meanwhile, we just sucked. Swinging at first pitches when Pirate pitchers were wavering. Blowing saves that negated comebacks. Spotting the Pirates four runs before the seats were even warm.

Oh, I'm pissed off. This Pirates series was f'ing embarrassing.

Get your shit together, Dodgers!

Games 44-47 Thread: May 26-29 @ D’backs

Thu 5.26 6.40p: White vs. Castellanos
Fri 5.27 6.40p: Gonsolin vs. Bumgarner
Sat 5.28 4.15p: TBD vs. M Kelly
Sun 5.29 1.10p: T Anderson vs. TBD

This series, the last leg of a ten-game road trip, starts with Mitch White. White's last start was not so great (2.1 IP, 3 ER), and this very short outing vs. Philadelphia burdened the relief corps. Can White, in the opener, not cast a long shadow over the rest of the series?

Hoping we can rebound after dropping yet another final game in a series, preventing a sweep (Dodgers are 4-2 on this road trip).

And in other news: Sax placed two bets on the Dodgers last week, winning on both the Monday and Tuesday games. I didn't place a bet on Wednesday. And we lost. (SoSG Dusty blames me for the loss.)

Games 41-43 Thread: May 23-25 @ Nationals

Let's do this.

Mon 5.23 4p: Tyler Anderson vs. Avon
Tue 5.24 4p: Buehler vs. Gray
Wed 5.25 1p: Urias vs. Fedde

After Max Muncy's horrible showing in Sunday's game vs. the Phillies, I felt the need for the Dodgers--and myself--to put my money where my mouth is. So let's go.

Games 34-37 Thread: May 16-18 vs. D'backs

Victory Brewing Company...from Pennsylvania of course

Mon 5.16 7p: Gonsolin vs. Bumgarner
Tue 5.17 12p: TBD vs. M Kelly
Tue 5.17 7p: T Anderson vs. TBD
Wed 5.18 7p: Buehler vs. Davies

The walk-off victory on Sunday afternoon was great, especially given the rally came with two out off the bats of the struggling Cody Bellinger and Gavin Lux. But that doesn't change the fact that the Dodgers lost 5 of 7 against Pennsylvania teams in their last two series, including almost getting swept by the Phillies at home for the first time since 1985.

We were fortunate to prevail on Sunday. We don't really have much of a rotation at this point though, and our bullpen was horrible for three of the four games against Philadelphia. So let's see if we have anything left in the tank for Arizona, since we know how this went last time (hint: it wasn't good).