Yamamoto vs. Nelson.
Surely this freefall has to stop soon, right?
Random rantings and ravings about the Los Angeles Dodgers, written by a small consortium of rabid Dodger fans. With occasional comments on baseball, entertainment, pop culture, and life in general.
Landon Knack (2-1, 5.89) vs. Brandon Pfaadt (6-3, 3.73).
Not feeling it, after that sweep by the lowly Angels this weekend. What a train wreck.
Tony Gonsolin (2-0, 2.81) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 3.72).
With today's news that Chris Taylor has been designated for assignment, joining Austin Barnes as long-time Dodgers who have been cut from the roster, will the Dodgers finally have a back-end of the lineup that can bat over .200?
Given we've lost both games to the Angels this series, that would be very welcome.
Clayton Kershaw vs. Tyler Anderson.
Welcome back, Clayton!
Dustin May (1-3, 4.08) vs. Jack Kochanowicz (2-5, 5.23)
Dustin May takes the mound for the Dodgers, one night after pounding the Sacramento Athletics, 19-2. But tonight, the big news is that the prodigal son SoSG Sax returns to Dodger Stadium for the first time this month (and only the second time this year!). Let me know if you'll be there as well!
Matt Sauer (1-0, 1.54) vs. Osvaldo Bido (2-3, 4.75).
Dalton Rushing debuts tonight for the Dodgers.
That is all.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-3, 1.80) vs. Gunnar Hoglund (1-0, 2.38).
With the Dodgers' pitching squad now barren (Roki Sasaki to the IL Tuesday), all that's left from the Dodgers' Opening Day starting rotation seems to be Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
What the hell is going on here?
Landon Knack (2-0, 4.61) vs. TBD Jeffrey Springs (4-3, 4.81).
The Dodgers return home after their 6-4 roadtrip, the longest roadtrip of the year. Given the team is only 12-11 on the road, I suppose that's a minor victory?
But now that we're facing Sacramento (21-20) for the first time ever, let's make damn sure that it's a win tonight.
Angels @ Padres, 6.40p. Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 3.83) vs. Michael King (4-1, 2.22). Not a lot of hope that the Angels can pull off this game, let alone this series--but who knows. Dodgers sit a game ahead of the Padres at start of play today.
Diamondbacks @ Giants, 6.45p.. Merrill Kelly (3-2, 4.09) vs. Justin Verlander (0-2, 4.50). Verlander has 262 career wins and at his 2025 pace, he...will not ever reach 300 wins. Giants are three games behind the Dodgers, in third place in the NL West, at start of play.
Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 4.09) vs. Zac Gallen (3-4, 4.37).
Finally, the last game of a ten-game road trip. The Dodgers are a perfectly mediocre 11-11 on the road this year, which is why we're in a tie for first place going into play today (with the Padres). Hopefully we can go relax in a pool for tomorrow's off-day.
Dustin May vs. Corbin Burnes.
Burnes was one of the highly coveted free-agent pitchers this offseason, and he spurned the Giants, Orioles, and others by choosing to go to Arizona, where he already had a family home. After signing a six-year, $210Mdeal with the Snakes, Burnes is off to a solid beginning to the 2025 season (28 Ks), but had his last start skipped with a cortisone injection to his right shoulder. We'll see if the Dodgers can take advantage.
I mean, look at that bat flip. That's all I have to say about that amazing comeback victory.
Oh, and maybe the fact that Michael Conforto wasn't in yesterday's starting lineup (he did score a run in the ninth, reaching through a HBP. But he lined out PH for Chris Taylor in the eighth as well, dropping his BA to .134). Hmmmmmmmmm....
Here's another great view, from the field perspective:
Roki Sasaki (1-1, 3.86) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 5.92)
The Dodgers are only 4-3 on this road trip, with three games left to play against the Diamondbacks. We had a shot at a rally last night in the eighth inning, down 5-2 and poised for more, until Michael Conforto grounded into a double play with men at the corners and one out.
I konw that Conforto doesn't feel any better about this than I do, but going 0-for-3 with that key GIDP, he is now batting .135 with a .503 OPS (47 OPS+, which means he's 53% worse than an average player). We have to stop the madness of trotting Conforto out in this lineup. We can't carry Conforto and then also hope to have Max Muncy, James Outman, and possibly Kike Hernandez surrounding him with further sub-mediocrity.
photo: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-2, 0.90) vs. Brandon Pfaadt (5-2, 3.79).
Yoshi has been awesome so far this year, named National League pitcher of the month for March / April 2025..
As for the Diamondbacks' starter? Well, he's Pfaadt, he's Pfaadt. You know it. You know.
TBD Landon Knack (1-0. 7.27) vs. Valente Bellozo (0-2, 4.97)
The Marlins might be a bunch of clown(fish), but I suppose it was inevitable that they win at least one game this series. Hopefully that's all they get. But with Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman both on the IL, can we count on Max Muncy (0-for-2 yesterday, .176 BA on the year) or Michael Conforto (0-for-3 yesterday, .142 BA on the year) to pick up the slack?
I'm not taking that bait.
Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 4.50) vs. Cal Quantrill (2-3, 8.10).
Great to have Tony Gonsolin back to help support the beleaguered starting rotation! We're 4-0 against the Marlins this year, so let's keep this feasting on fish thing going!
Ben Casparius (3-0, 2.91) vs. Sandy Alcantara (2-3, 8.31).
Sany Alcantara won the Cy Young Award in 2022 and has been a solid pitcher...until this year, where something is definitely off. The Dodgers knocked him around last week (7 ER, 2.2 IP) to boost his ERA to 8.31. In that April 29 game, Jack Dreyer started for the Dodgers, and Matt Sauer got the victory after pitching five innings of one-run ball. Let's see if Ben Casparius can hold his own as well!
Dustin May vs. Bryce Elder.
Amazingly, the Dodgers are on the verge of sweeping the Atlanta Braves in this series, beating back both a hungry Braves team forecasted to win the NL East in 2025, not to mention Mother Nature, who threw in a brutal rain delay on Friday (stopping the game after eight full frames before allowing the Dodgers to play the ninth and earn the 2-1 victory), followed by a 3+ hour rain delay on Saturday.
The Dodgers' 10-3 romp yesterday, punctuated by a three-run Freddie Freeman HR to center, was awesome. And that sets up today's game, where Dustin "Code Red" May has a chance to have the Dodgers start their 10-day, 10-game road trip with a 3-0 record. Let's go, Dustin!
Sorry these have been so lame. I have had a lot on!
3/27 vs. AZ (W, 6-4): AC
4/11 vs. TEX (W, 8-7): Sax
5/11 vs. SF (L, 3-9): Sax
5/25 vs. COL (W, 5-3): Sax
6/11 @ PIT (W, 8-6): Sax
6/15 vs. TB (W, 4-3): Nomo
7/4 vs. SD (W, 3-0): Orel, Sax
