Game 32, 2015

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

Old friend Dan Haren goes for the Fish against Dodger farmhand Mike Bolsinger. Haren has become the most dependable starter the Marlins have, going 4-1 this season and winning his last three outings. His ERA is a sparkling 2.68.

Bolsinger is up from Oklahoma City for his second start with the big club. He did well in his first one back on April 23, going 5 2/3 innings while giving up 1 run and striking out 5 while walking 2. That was the second game in a row that the Giants beat the Dodgers on a walkoff hit. It was the game that Kendrick saved in the eighth inning with a horizontal dive to catch a ball headed for center field.

Lineup:


Poor Scott Van Slyke. Throw a guy out at the plate, hit a walkoff home run two innings later, and get dropped to the 8th spot in the batting order the next day.

101 thoughts on “Game 32, 2015

  1. From Jon W. at Dodger Insider:

    The Dodgers are 15-2 at home — the best home start in franchise
    history — and have already clinched their 10th consecutive home series
    victory, a Los Angeles record.

    “Everyone wants to go out there and play well and contribute, and no
    one’s trying too hard to do too much,” Ethier said. “Someone steps up
    every night, and that’s just a key thing. … No matter what, whether you
    succeed or you don’t succeed, everyone’s going to pull for each other.”

    I’m thinking maybe this is what was missing last year – this sense of a team where everyone is on the same team, every game. Good description of the kind of fan I try to be, too — the ‘no matter what’ kind of fan. (Hardest for me was the last couple of McCourt years, especially after the Bryan Stowe Opening Day where-was-the-security-Frank? horror-fest.)

    Go Dodgers. Every player is contributing, and not just a little. I wouldn’t want to pitch against this line-up, that’s for sure. Now I’m rooting for Kershaw to find his footing. I swear, I think he’s stymied by the 100 number, but whatever the cause, and no matter how long it takes, I’ll be pulling for him!

    “Now,” as Vinnie would say, “let’s get back to this one.” (My work, that is.)

    • Well-said, RBI — by Jon and you.
      I’m with you re Kersh. I was thinking how his situation is the only real blemish on this season so far.

    • For me, the only thing “missing” last year were the 4 runs in total by which we lost three games in the Division Series.

      • Even with our winning record, I never felt that we were playing with the kind of up-and-down strengths I’m seeing this year. If the top of the lineup didn’t get on, there was a sense of ‘that’s it until we get back to them,’ unlike the team we have now. Even with the stronger pitching. And if we were down late in the game, forget it. They were 2 in 54 if they trailed after the sixth. This current team reminds me more of the early days of Kemp, Ethier, Loney, Martin, etc. -that season when they never seemed to give up. Can’t remember which year, but I remember the thrill. Don’t get me wrong, last year was great. But so is this year, so far. Far better than I was expecting.

        • To me, you are mixing issues of talent and perceptions about a “sense” of team (both your and theirs). it wasn’t just a “winning” record, it was a division title with the second best record in the NL.

  2. DM the comedian on Stanton’s blast:

    “”It was a pretty good one. It reminded me of ‘Bull Durham.’ I watched that scene the other night,” Mattingly said. “That ball should have had a stewardess on it.”

  3. I miss the more colorful baseball writers of my youth. Here is how I think one of them would have reported Stanton’s colossal home run:
    Van Slyke said he turned at the crack of the bat but heard the ball scream over his head like a Roman Candle and knew it was gone. The only reason he looked up was because he was afraid the ball would hit a spectator in the stands and kill him, but the ball went over the stands, over Tommy LaSorda’s Trattoria, and fell to earth somewhere near the Police Academy. It was flattened out like a biscuit and the cover was singed… (Allegedly reporters drank a lot in those days…) All fun aside, it was an achievement to note and remember, there will be more from this young man.

        • The truth is that this ball was gone when Bolsinger nodded his head to Yasmani’s fingers.

    • You’re a little young for Grantland Rice, but he did have some writerly descendants. I don’t think anything will ever match this lead:

      Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again.
      In dramatic lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and
      Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Stuhldreher,
      Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend
      cyclone before which another fighting Army football team was swept over
      the precipice at the Polo Grounds yesterday afternoon as 55,000
      spectators peered down on the bewildering panorama spread on the green
      plain below.

  4. Dodger club record for most hits in a game is 28, set by the Brooklyn Dodgers. In L.A., it is 24.
    Dodgers now have the best run differential in MLB at plus 63.
    And that’s a wrap.

  5. This would be the perfect type of game to bring Kenley Jansen in for the first time this year. I guess we will just have to see what happens this weekend.

    • These are the 2015 Dodgers. Coming into the game, the Dodgers were by far the best hitting team in the NL with a team OPS+ of 129. The nearest team, St. Louis, was at 103.

        • More than that, without Hanley and somewhat without Puig, not to speak of Uribear and CC. Now, outside the Rox, they were the best hitting team in the NL last year. The reload has worked so far, with torrid starts by Agon and Dre, and the contributions of the new guys Grandal, Joc, Howie and Alex. Turner and SVS have just kept doing what they were doing last year. I assume that they will come back down to earth at some point. Right now they are scoring at 5.3 runs per game, 0.5 runs more than the second best Snakes.

  6. I am returning to this site after being gone about an hour. How disappointing! No more homers! What’s wrong with this club anyway?

  7. The last two innings the Dodgers have turned this into a little league game – never mind three outs; everyone in the lineup bats and you see how many runs you can get.

  8. It’s almost too much to take in with all this hitting. I’m going to really miss it if/when it slows down this year.

  9. I love that the Dodgers 3-8 hitters are batting between .297 – .367.

  10. Kendrick with the nice defensive play there to get the double play.

  11. Addendum: Ethier’s homer was the Dodgers’ 51st this season. (I have no objection to continuing to update this throughout the game.)

  12. Ethier was hitting the ball hard last night and early this evening – but foul. Glad for him to be able to straighten it out.

  13. Kendrick’s homer was the Dodgers’ 50th this season. This is their 32nd game.
    Dodger total homers in recent seasons:
    2014–134
    2013–138
    2012–116
    2011–117
    2010–120
    Club record for homers is 211 in 2000.

  14. Rollins’ career batting average at Dodger Stadium is .219 before tonight.

  15. For what it’s worth, Hendley, my wife says she’s never seen Hechavarría with the initial “H” in Argentina.

  16. Dan Haren is absolutely the bizzaro Kershaw so far this year. An unbelievably low batting average against with the bases loaded and a crazy low babip in general.

    • Batters sem like they can’t square up or something. Wish I could see him pitching this.

  17. Wow. Just, wow. Glad this happened in the early innings. Hopefully it will light a fire as we continue the game.

    • Yeah – for some reason it makes me more confident that the Dodgers will score and win this game. It shouldn’t but it does.

  18. Joc starting the comeback! (and with a single . . . AGAIN . . . there’s hope for the kid!)

  19. Inconsistent strike zone, according to game day. At least three balls looked like strikes. Not even close. Anyone have eyes?

  20. Don’t have to be embarrassed about giving up a home run to Stanton…

      • Au contraire.
        Dylan Hernandez

        ✔@dylanohernandez

        MRI showed Puig had “a little bit of a setback,” Mattingly said.

        4:25 PM – 12 May 2015

        Ironic that those with heavy well developed muscles are slower to heal from sprains, strains, and tears, than those of us whose “muscles” are like strands of linguini…

  21. Poor Scott Van Slyke. Throw a guy out at the plate, hit a walkoff home run two innings later, and get dropped to the 8th spot in the batting order the next day.

    He’s just grateful to get off the bench…

    • He was also in the eighth spot yesterday, but I agree that moving Rollins to that spot would be the best alternative for the moment.

    • Let’s also give credit to Grandal for a brilliant tag to get Yelich at the plate, and for drawing a walk to start the winning rally.