Monthly Archives: April 2015

Apr 18

Game 11, 2015

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Rockies at Dodgers, 6:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Fun facts: Zack Greinke is 19-1 against the NL West since joining the Dodgers. He starts today against the Rockies’ Jordan Lyles. Lyles hopes Puig’s hamstring is still tight: he’s 3-5 career against Lyles with a home run and three RBI.

Another fun fact: A-Gon has been on base at least twice in each of the Dodgers’ first ten games. That ties him with Jackie Robinson for the second-longest streak of its kind in franchise history. Zack Wheat has the record at 13 games way back in 1923.

Lyles is 1-0 in his two starts this season, going 12 innings while giving up 4 walks and striking out 5. He’s got an ERA of 2.25. Greinke is also 1-0 in his two starts, going 13 innings while walking one and striking out 11. His ERA is a microscopic 0.69.

Here’s André’s throw from right field last night which got Rosario at the plate:

Lineup when available.

Puig’s back in right field. Ethier shifts to left.

Apr 17

Game Ten, 2015

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Rockies at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw has given up nine hits in 12 1/3 innings and a .320 batting average in two starts this season. Kershaw is 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA in 26 starts against the Rockies.

This would seem to be the place for a song:

The Rockies send Kyle Kendrick out to face Kershaw. Kendrick has had two wildly different outings this year. In the first he went seven innings, scattered seven hits, walked none, struck out six and gave up no runs to get the win. In his second start he went six innings, walked five, gave up eight hits and eight runs to take the loss.

In personnel news, the Dodgers optioned RHP Carlos Frias to Oklahoma City. They also claimed RHP Daniel Corcino from Cincinnati and designated LHP Ryan Dennick for assignment.

Lineup when available.

Apr 16

More comments this year than ever before

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Don’t look now, but each of the first nine game threads of 2015 has more than 100 comments. Last year we didn’t break 100 comments until Game 91. We didn’t do it again till Game 112, not again till Game 140, not again till Game 147, lastly in the regular season in Game 157, and only once in the playoffs in the Ryu game, NLDS Game 3.

I’m glad to see it. It’s a lot more fun to write up a blog post if you can be confident there will be a whole bunch of responses to it.

Thanks, ladies and germs.

Apr 15

Game Nine, 2015

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Mariners at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, ESPN2

On Jackie Robinson Day, the Mariners start Taijuan Walker, who last week had a first start of the season he’d rather forget: he gave up 9 hits and 9 runs in 3 1/3 innings in a 12-0 loss to the A’s on Friday. He’s 3-4 with a 4.15 ERA in 12 appearances (nine starts) over the past three years for the Ms.

The Dodgers counter with Brett Anderson, who gave up five hits and three runs but got no decision in a game the Dodgers lost to the Diamondbacks 4-3. Lifetime against Seattle Anderson is 7-4 with a 1.81 ERA in 15 games, all but one a start.

Lineup:


I’m not sure who that Van Skyle guy is playing left field. Puig is out, presumably to rest his hamstring again. Tomorrow’s an off-day, so he’ll have had three days to let it recover before the Rockies arrive.

In other personnel news, the Dodgers claimed left-handed pitcher Ryan Dennick from the Reds and designated left-handed pitcher David Huff for assignment.

Apr 14

Game Eight, 2015

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Mariners at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

David Huff is a 30-year-old veteran with a lifetime 25-28 record and a career ERA of 5.02 in the major leagues. He’s been called up from Oklahoma City and is filling the fifth starter role for the Dodgers this evening. I imagine his 2-0 record with a 1.32 ERA over 13 1/3 innings during spring training had a lot to do with his call-up for this start. Darwin Barney was sent down to OKC to make room for Huff.

He’ll be opposed by RHP Hisashi Iwakuma, whose first start didn’t go well. He’s 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA. He’s a good pitcher, though, as witnessed by his 38-21 record with an ERA of 3.11 in his four years in Seattle. That’s after eleven years in the Japanese league where he compiled a 107-69 record and had an ERA of 3.25.

Lineup:

Puig gets the night off. I wonder if this is just to keep Andre fresh.

Apr 13

Game Seven, 2015

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Mariners at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

The Mariners trot out James Paxton to face the Dodgers’ Brandon McCarthy.

The left-handed Paxton (0-1) started 2014 with the Mariners in April and then went down to Tacoma in AAA. He came back up to Seattle in August and stuck. He had a 6-4 record with a 3.04 ERA and a WHIP of 1.20 over the final two months of last year. He’s made one start this year, pitching six innings of four-hit ball, giving up two runs and losing.

McCarthy (1-0) hopes to go longer than the five innings he got in his first start. He gave up nine hits, four earned runs, struck out nine and won the game. In his career he’s 2-6 with a 3.88 ERA against Seattle, not that that means much.

Lineup when available.

In other news, the Dodgers released RHP Ryan Webb today.

Apr 12

Game Six, 2015

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Zack Greinke went six innings and gave up two hits and one run in his first time out this season, getting a no-decision for his trouble. He’ll try to get a win tomorrow, one the Dodgers could use. They didn’t expect Clayton Kershaw to be 0-1 with a 5.84 ERA after two starts. His opponent will be Josh Collmenter, who had a rough outing in his first start of the year, going only 4 2/3 innings against the Giants and giving up 10 hits and four runs while taking the loss.

The Dodgers’ infield lineup is going to be interesting for this game. Justin Turner’s finger was spiked but required no stitches; he’s day-to-day. Juan Uribe’s hamstring tightened on him and he’s also day-to-day. I imagine Alex Guerrero will start at third base.

Lineup:

Apr 11

Game Five, 2015

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Clayton Kershaw goes for his first win of the season against rookie Archie Bradley. Bradley is regarded by MLB.com as the D-Backs top prospect. In spring training he was 3-2 with a 1.61 ERA, 14 Ks and a 2.00 WHIP over 22 innings.

It seems like a mismatch, but as Joe Garagiola once said, “baseball is a funny game.”

Lineup when available.

And now it is:

Puig is off to a slow start at 2 for 17, so that may explain why he’s sitting this evening.

Apr 10

Game Four, 2015 – On the road, sorta

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It’s the Dodgers @ Diamondbacks today (6:30PM PT, TV: SPNLA) in the first of a three-day road trip. What were the schedulers thinking? The Dodgers play three games in Phoenix and then travel right back to LA to play the Mariners starting Monday.

The Dodgers send lefthanded Brett Anderson to the hill for his debut in their uniform. It will be his first regular-season game since last August 5 for the Rockies. That night he threw three innings, came out of the game and underwent back surgery a week later. He’s obviously an unknown quantity and will be for at least his first four or five starts. Anderson’s career WHIP is 1.285.

His opponent will be the right-handed Chase Anderson, who is coming off his first season in the big leagues, one in which he was 9-7 with a 4.01 ERA over 114 innings and a WHIP of 1.37.

Anybody betting A-Gon keeps his HR streak alive?

Lineup: