Game 141, 2014

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

18 of the Dodgers’ final 22 games are against division opponents. 19 of the Giants’ final 22 games are against division opponents. The NL West championship is going to be decided this month, although perhaps not in games the two teams play against one another. Their last meeting is a three-game series ending on the 24th of September in Los Angeles. After that the Dodgers close out the season with three games at home against the Rockies, while the Giants go home to play the Padres for four games.

It starts tonight as Dan Haren (11-10, 4.27 ERA) tries to keep up his current two-game streak of quality starts. He’s given up just one earned run in his last 13 innings. The D-Backs will counter with a left-hander named Vidal Nuno, who’s pitched in horrid luck all year. He’s 2-9 with a 4.46 ERA, but some of that was in 78 innings with the Yankees. He’s 0-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 61.1 innings since coming over to the Diamondbacks. They’re 1-9 in his starts for them.

Lineup:

Van Slyke could be forgiven if he’s distracted or sleepy. His wife Audrey gave birth to their second son, Eli, early Thursday morning.

37 thoughts on “Game 141, 2014

  1. Just heard the Giants now lead 8-2.
    I don’t know about you guys, but I think I would be more confident about my team if I was a Giants fan at this moment than I am about the Dodgers. SF is peaking at the right time — just look at their comeback Tuesday night. Meanwhile, as Vin pointed out in the Wednesday debacle, the Dodgers are not playing like a 1st place team.
    At least this isn’t like football, where finishing 1st hurts you with next year’s schedule.
    All that said, Go, Blue!

      • True. But the way they’ve been performing — not their potential, but what they’ve been doing — do you think they can win three consecutive postseason series vs. winning teams?
        I’m not saying give up or I ‘d rather be in 2nd . . . but how confident do you feel about this team, right now?

        • Not their most inspiring stretch of baseball, but the Dodgers early August performance which they started also only 2 up has allowed them to weather the Massacre in Milwakee and the subsequent muddling second half of August and still retain the lead. While dramatic in their wins, overall for the past month the giants have not performed better than the Dodgers in that period. Me thinks that their fans have lower expectations so they are probably excited about how their team has been playing.

        • The Dodger record in games started by Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu, our rotation if we make it to the playoffs, is 48-23.

          • They have definitely earned my confidence . . . but I honestly can’t say the same about the offense, nor the bullpen.
            Still, we’ve seen turnarounds — both good and bad — and we know the potential of this team.

          • Not the cakewalk we might have expected and wanted, but I would like out chances in the playoffs if we make it there.

          • Will be facing overall better opposition, though I still think Dodgers have best top three in the game.

          • I agree. They have not been the problem this year.
            They still need run support.
            And bullpen support.

    • They have, like, 11 more comeback wins than win do, so there is more drama attached to their victories, that’s for sure.

    • Selig, though, does not deserve to be in the same photograph, nor even mentioned in the same story.

  2. Glad to see it is a day off for Dee, and that both Turner and Uribe are in the lineup, but I don’t like the fact that the ice-cold Hanley is batting second. And, of course, our catcher tonight is hitting below .200 because all three of our catchers are hitting below .200.

    • There was at least one day when Ellis was batting 7th, with Rojas at SS as 8th . . . that wasn’t a lineup to induce confidence in fans nor concern from opponents. (Tho, to be honest, I don’t remember the outcome.)

    • Hard to imagine not playing Hanley when he is available, despite recent woes (a babip of .000 over the past five games).