Dodgers at Cardinals, 4:15PM PT, TV: Fox
The Dodgers hope Carlos Frias does better today than he did in his last appearance when he gave up 10 runs to the Padres in just four innings. He’s 3-2 with a 5.34 ERA after that game, which pushed his ERA up from a very good 2.55. He’ll face Michael Wacha, who has emerged as St. Louis’s new ace in Adam Wainwright’s absence. Wacha is 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA.
Lineup:
Today's #Dodgers lineup vs. Cardinals:
Pederson CF
Turner 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Kendrick 2B
Ethier RF
Grandal C
Van Slyke LF
Rollins SS
Frias P
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 30, 2015
Note that Grandal has returned from OKC (Heisey was sent back) and Van Slyke’s back has seemingly healed enough for him to play. Also note that Rollins has been dropped to 8th in the order and Turner is now hitting second.
NPUT
Package will be distraught to see that Grandal is starting for the second consecutive day.
Pitch seven innings of ball and give up no earned runs and what happens to your ERA? It falls from 5.34 to 4.29. Good for young Carlos.
And Wacha, previously tied with Zach for NL lead, goes from 1.48 to 2.27.
Here’s hoping that we hold serve tomorrow and finish the month in first place. I believe the Dodger – Card game is free for me on gameday tv tomorrow, so I look forward to watching Anderson gutting out a win – hopefully.
Getting another win against a “quality” team is crucial. Before tonight, they were 2-8 (I believe) vs. teams above .500.
That seems to indicate the overall good record is more areflection on the schedule than the quality of the team.
New Old Friend Uribe just hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who lead the Giants, 8-0, in the 9th.
Glad for him, and us.
So if the Giants lose to the Braves, do we go crazy with the excitement of being in first place like some San Fran fans may have done last night?
My guess is no.
No, but I like the idea.
No, but it does mean order has been restored in the universe.
That was a sweet win, solid and mostly well played (except for the 2 errors). I like beating the Cards in St. Louis.
Especially satisfying that it was Wacha. Their best, vs. our worst (as of the last game.) Baseball is so strange.
And no hits till the sixth to boot.
Hopefully that game was an anomaly, where he was kept out there despite having a bad game in order to save the pen. Not counting that game, he has an ERA of 2.55 over 24 innings, not including tonight.
Still a lot to prove for both Ballslinger and Frías, but both appear to have shown potential.
It reminds me of the LCS game we attended two years ago — LA down 0-2, Ryu going against Wainwright . . . and the Dodgers won.
Woo-HOO!!!
We win!
Get the K!
Okey, Libertore. One more.
Make it one more!
Okay, Libertore. Two more…
I was exercising, listening to the game on the radio. Hearing the Grandal HR called was like the oppo-Steiner experience.
He was sooo understated when he called it. Like he was bored or distracted or something.
Maybe he’d given up hope.
Ha ha. Or didn’t want to wake the Card fans from their slumber…
He probably thought it was fouled straight back. He’s done that before.
Hey, all. Better game tonight, eh?
Absolutely. In almost every possible way.
Lock it down Liberatore.
Okay,, Yimi, bear down.
Maybe, just maybe, this Callaspo guy can be of help.
SVS back acting up?
Not a bad idea to pull him, on a rainy night in St. Louis.
“Coaching visit to mound” is one of the better things to see on Gameday when the Dodgers bat.
Especially in StL.
Callaspo joins in the fun!
Deepest Carlos has gone before is 97 pitches over six innings. Hook being prepared.
Oh man – that could have been another run or two right there. AGon lost a double with that catch.
Frias may have thought the no hitter was still in play.
Beautiful bunt.
And now another hit. It’s like we are a good hitting team now or something.
Oh so sweet. I didn’t even get a chance to say I was hoping for a double play before it happened. Except in my head it was in French – double jeu.
A.J., of course, would have hit a slam in that situation.
You have a delicate touch…
I was just thinking of the Dodger-Cards game from several summers ago. SVS hit a 3 run home run and the Dodgers stunned the Cards 5-4. Jansen threw heat and closed out the bottom of the ninth.
A bridge too far?
Cornelius Ryan. In the movie, who said those words?
No takers? It was a ranking British General, called Boy Browning because he was married to the poetess, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Just re-read William Goldman’s great book “Adventures in the Screen Trade.” He adapted the screenplay of”Bridge” and the creators were stunned that American critics didn’t like the movie because too many of the incidents were unbelievable . . . yet they were all based on history.
Great cast for that movie.
Three great books by Ryan, really.
Dang, we are only in the sixth inning. Hatcher time?
Wacha’s game score went from 65 to 51 on that one pitch.
Saw Wacha’s ERA go up on that one.
Para-medics headed to Package’s house…
BAM! Oh yeah! Welcome back Grandal!!!
In play runs!
Can the Dodgers get the trifecta: a hit, a run and a second run for the lead?
A run!
A run, lord a run!
AGon with the HBP. Just missed hitting a run-scoring double earlier.
Wow! Quite a battle as seen through Gameday. Agon didn’t want the walk.
Wacha general goes around 100 pitches, so entering that area.
A hit. A veritable hit!
Said Holmes to Watson.
Frias pitching a darned good game himself.
Wacha seems a bit wild. 43 strikes to 32 balls before Scott.
Ha!
In this AB, Grandal does what A.J. used to be able to do.
It’s amusing to watch a pitcher’s ERA drop AB by AB on Gameday. Frias is now under 5.
Gives you something to do, if all you have is Gameday. I tend to spend my time focusing on pitch counts for whatever reason.
I follow both of those things as well!
I doubt Fox is going to come to this game after the Rangers get finished whitewashing the Sox, darn it.
Nope, Fox doesn’t want anybody to have too much baseball. It’s blacked out on MLBTV.
Guys! Two errors in two innings, one of which cost poor Frias a run? Boo!
When talking about poor playing conditions, even Steiner’s not always wrong.
Pfft. I completely forgot about the rain. Okay, I forgive Van Slyke and Kendrick.
No eyes, was Jay stupid or aggressive (are the Cards ever stupid?)
It sounds as if Jay was stupid, but according to Steiner (apply grain of salt).
And down a run in the first.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, we wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Worst of both worlds: blacked out and Steinered.
Game on?
Gameday seems to indicate so.
That’s what I’m seeing too.
This rain delay is allowing me to listen to the Blackhawk – Duck ice hockey game. My 9 year old son is pretty crazy about the Hawks – 3 Winnipeg born players on the team, including Toews.
Whatever chance Frias had of righting the boat washed away in the 2 hour delay. Best for us if they call the game now and re-schedule.
Frias could replicate his May 19 game (six innings 1 run), but unless the bats wake up we still lose like we did that one (2-0 to the giants).
Your crystal ball is out of the hock shop, I see.
Kill me now!
Random things from Jon W.–
Carlos Frias’ game score of -4 last time out was the worst in Los Angeles Dodger history and the worst in the franchise since Johnny Babich’s record -21, when he gave up 13 runs on 16 hits and two walks with one strikeout 80 years ago, June 23, 1935.
In his 61-inning MLB career, Frias has allowed 39 runs — 18 of those runs in the 4 2/3 combined innings of his starts Sunday against San Diego and September 17 in Colorado. In his remaining 56 1/3 innings, Frias has allowed only 21 runs.
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Tho he’s most often been good to decent, when he implodes it’s spectacular. If he keeps up the Jekyll /Hyde act, management is likely to weigh the implosions more heavily than the successes and turn elsewhere.
Let’s hope for good Frias tonight, and a much-needed road W.
Both Ballslinger and Frías have plenty to prove, but the former’s been more consistent to this point.
From the fresh roadkill dept.–Friday the Dodgers were shut out for the 4th time in their last 4 road games. Last road run 8th inning May 10 at Coors, 37 consecutive scoreless road innings ago..
Dodgers have scored 3 runs or fewer 10 of their last 12 overall, a stretch that has yielded a 5-7 record. Friday they went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left 6 on base
No Dodger outfielder had a hit Friday.
The only explanation possible is that the second Dodger team plane–the one with the outfielders’ bats on it–didn’t arrive by game time Friday. Surely it has by now, and they will make good use of its contents today and Sunday.
Worse, they were on a Greyhound bus, not air at all.
Is everybody happy?
It’s sure trying something new — and new is needed for this offense!
Never any guarantees in baseball, but the lineup looks substantially stronger than yesterday’s.