Rockies at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA
Just as last night, two lefties take the mound against one another this evening in the rubber match of the series. Alex Wood (10-10, 3.81 ERA) goes for the Dodgers, trying to recover from his worst outing since he joined the team in July. In that one he went only 1 2/3 innings and gave up home runs to two Diamondbacks. His Rockies’ opponent will be Jorge De La Rosa (9-6, 4.28 ERA). Somehow he’s pitched enough against the Dodgers to achieve a 7-10 lifetime record against them.
Lineup when available.
Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup:
Barnes 2B
Utley 1B
Ruggiano LF
Seager SS
Ellis C
Guerrero 3B
Heisey RF
Pederson CF
Wood P #whiff
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 16, 2015
No, no, that’s not fair. Most of those guys can hit perfectly well.
NPUT
A feature on Grandal: https://twitter.com/elnuevoherald/status/644643276142698496
Bye bye, Latos.
Jay Jaffe of SI on the Rollins/Seager decision.
I guess Wood cut Bolsinger out of a playoff berth…
Wood always was the choice. You don’t need a fifth starter in the playoffs.
Bolsinger might still make it as a long guy, though.
No, the authority has spoken.
Before we decide, it might be nice for him to actually do that in some game. Apart from Moe Drabowsky are long men ever used in the playoffs?
The 1960 WS had the Yankees blow out the Pirates in the three wins they got, 16-3, 10-0 and 12-0. There must have been some long guys used in there somewhere.
I was just trying to tease you.
Wood wasn’t really overpowering anybody, but Rox batters made very little hard contact.
Man, I come back into the kitchen with the dinner plates and switch channels to SPNLA only to find the post-game show on already. Wow. Way to go, Wood.
5 1/2 hours last night, little over 2 hours tonight. Wood goes 1 2/3 last time, goes 8 with 70+ pitches this time.
To quote Joe Garagiola, baseball is a funny game.
go ahead run at the plate for the Reds
not anymore 🙁
In any event, the Gnats have become irrelevant.
anyone else notice that at the end of the recap, Wood seemed reluctant to shake Mattingly’s hand
http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350916119
Because he didn’t want to be taken out of the game and the shake seals the deal.
17 wins out of the last 22, that’s pretty impressive
I know Kershaw and Grienke must have pitched more dominant games this season, but this is one of the most efficient and seemingly effortless games I have seen pitched in quite a while. Throw the ball, hit your spots, get the ball back from the catcher, and then quickly start that process over again. Great job by Wood!
So, that lineup didn’t work out so badly after all. Several regulars will have two full days’ rest.
Game done in about 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Woo-HOO!!! Nighty-night.
Night RBI.
We win! Magic number 10.
There goes the one hitter.
Another reason I can’t figure out managing. I would have given Jansen another’s day rest – 2 with the day off – in front of 17 in a row. And let Wood pitch the ninth.
I don’t get it. Wood was dealing.
I imagine trying to get him a nice tune up for the Pirate series. (after the relative struggle last time out, way back on the 13th)
That’s a helpful way to frame it.
I think there’s fine line between under-using and over-using him.
He was very good tonight but nothing that Wood hadn’t been doing very effectively for the previous 8 innings. Anyway a win is a win, so it all worked out.
Sure, but it would have been five days before the next potential opportunity on Friday, when 2-3 days has been the norm.
He over-used him Sunday and Monday.
It’s a juggling act. He is normally used every other day, which some times stretches to 3. Recently, anything above 3 has seen him be less effective in his next outing. The other issue is that once he is in, even if he is less than effective, taking out him (and any closer) is almost never done (by any manager).
It’s the Rox, but it still shouldn’t look so easy.
I mean wow right! Wish this were game 4 of the World Series.
Wood can’t cash in the runner from third with 2 outs. I guess he is no Seager with the bat. Ah well, send him back to the mound!
Wood on pace for a Maddux – which if i recall is a complete game shutout with under 100 pitches thrown.
This game is moving along very nicely.
low pitch counts for both I see
Playing like its get away day!
makes up for last night/morning
Almost!
I wonder how much MVP love Arenado will get.
It’s all Harper.
Agreed – but will Arenado finish top 5? Top 3 even?
Yes! Seager strikes again, by hitting.
Two outs but Seager is up.
And he gets the RBI!
Lead off double. It would be big to cash it in and score a second run.
Ruggiano a little impatient, there.
Wood pitching very effectively and efficiently. But that last strike to Blackmon was low. Not as low as the strike called against Torreyes last night, but almost.
So far, Wood’s best outing as a Dodger.
I’ll say!
I am back East, and already almost too sleepy to post. The late night and very early morning hammered me. That said, A.J. !
It’s tough out here!
Wood looking very good so far.
Imagine what team they will put out on the park once we have clinched the division
Good point.
According to Eric Stephen, Barnes “is the first Dodger to start at second base and catcher in the same season since Derrel Thomas in 1980.”
I do not remember seeing or hearing about Derrel Thomas at catcher.
Emergency catcher once or twice only, I think.
2 Seasons at C. 6 games, 33.0 innings, 5 with the Dodgers in 1980, 1 with the Phillies in 1985.
Barnes: Biggio in waiting?
Averaging 5-1/2 innings suggests he did start some of those games, or else they went extra innings.
I could live with the next Biggio, but that’s setting the bar really high.
In the five games and 31 innings Thomas caught for the Dodgers in 1980, he committed no errors, but he did have three passed balls. Yeager had 4 that season, Ferguson 3, Scioscia 2. Thomas threw out one of eight runners who tried to steal. In three of the games he went the distance behind the plate. In 1985, as a Phil, he caught two innings. That was his last season in the majors.
And he started three of the six.
Now here’s a iineup for ya: https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/644272923751002112
Wow!!! A lot of runs there… Mattingly is an idiot on this righty/lefty hitting. Not to mention some other things… I think he goes overboard on resting players, too. Thursday is an off day, a tired Agon, Grandal, and Turner are still better than some of those choices on their best day. Besides, he can’t resist substituting the very players he’s resting into the game somewhere tonight. I note something in that article you linked to earlier today about managers losing games by playing wrong players.
You’re not supposed to use your entire roster, then?
You’re supposed to win. Only Little League insists all players play.
So, over 162 games you only need eight position players?
That’s not what I said. Twisting my words doesn’t work. Play honestly or I won’t play at all.
It’s the only logical interpretation of what you wrote.
It’s a long season.
I don’t begrudge Donnie not using his gems after last night’s 16 innings, at least to start off. As you say we will probably see most of them sooner or later in tonight’s game, as well as Ethier, CC, SVS and Schebler.