Category Archives: Game Threads

For discussion of today’s game

Jun 16

Game 68, 2016

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Brewers at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSWI

The Brewers open up a four-game series with the Dodgers tonight, sending righthander Junior Guerra (3-1, 3.31 ERA) out to face the Dodgers’ Scott Kazmir (5-3, 4.52 ERA). Kazmir walked five in his last start against the Giants and left after just five innings, but he’s won his last three decisions. Fun fact: when he throws his first pitch tonight Kazmir will become one of the small number of pitchers who have faced all thirty MLB teams over their careers. In other milestone news, Jansen’s save last night was his 161st as a Dodger. That ties Eric Gagne for most ever by a Dodger reliever.

The Brewers’ Braun (OF) and Lucroy (C) have both been mentioned in trade rumors. I can’t see the Dodgers wanting Braun, but they might want a catcher who’s less vulnerable to injury than Grandal has shown himself to be over his 160 games in a Dodgers uniform.

Lineup:

This is Venable’s first start in Dodger blue.

Jun 15

Game 67, 2016

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 12:40PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

Clayton Kershaw brings his gaudy 9-1, 1.52 ERA record to Chase Field, which has not been his favorite road stadium. He’s made 11 starts there and gone 4-7 with a 3.90 ERA. The only stadium where he’s done less well is Coors Field in Denver. His opponent will be lefty Patrick Corbin, who’s 3-5 with an ERA of 4.81. He’s done pretty well against the Dodgers: the Dodgers have gotten two or fewer runs against him in three of his four home starts against them, and overall he’s 3-4 with a 3.78 ERA in 10 career starts against the team.

Lineup:

Jun 14

Game 66, 2016

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

The Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda (5-4, 2.70 ERA) goes against the D-Backs’ Archie Bradley (2-2, 5.22 ERA) in a battle of righthanders. Maeda has won two of his last three starts and made two quality starts in a row. Bradley has lost two straight but has a 3.79 ERA since his callup from Reno May 29.

Goldschmidt continues to be a terror against the Dodgers: he’s now hit 23 home runs against them in his career. That’s bad enough, but he’s only 28 and in just his sixth year in the big leagues. He may hit a lot more against them before he’s through.

In personnel news:


I have no idea why they think they have a need for a sixth outfielder, particularly a 32-year-old one with a .251 career batting average and a lifetime OPS of .722.

Lineup:

Jun 13

Game 65, 2016

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A, MLB.tv

Zack Greinke (8-3, 3.84 ERA) faces his former team for the first time, but he faced them before he ever became a Dodger too. He was 2-0 with a 2.52 ERA against them before 2012. Greinke has won five straight starts. He’ll be opposed by Mike Bolsinger (1-3, 5.75 ERA), who has yet to go past the sixth inning in any of his four starts.

Lineup:

Jun 12

Game 64, 2016

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Dodgers at Giants, 5:30PM PT, TV: ESPN

19-year-old lefty Julio Urias makes his fourth start for the Dodgers. So far he’s shown signs of improvement each time out, but it’s not reflected in his W-L record (0-1) or in his ERA (6.94). One thing for sure, he’s getting starts in big markets: his third road start will be in San Francisco, and the previous two were in NYC and Chicago.

Urias’ opponent will be veteran righty Jake Peavy. He had a horrible April with an 8.61 ERA and improved to a 4.73 ERA in May, dropping his overall ERA to 6.41 to go with a 2-6 W-L record.

Lineup when available.

Jun 11

Game 63, 2016

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Dodgers at Giants, 4:15PM PT, TV: Fox

The Dodgers send Scott Kazmir (5-3, 4.46 ERA) to do battle with Jeff Samardzija (7-4, 3.33 ERA). Kazmir has made two starts against the Giants this season and they haven’t been good: he’s given up 10 runs in eight innings in the two games. In Samardzija’s last start he went five innings against the Cardinals and gave up six runs on nine hits, four of them HRs.

Puig goes to Lake Elsinore Rancho Cucamonga to begin rehab on Monday. The Dodgers want him to shorten his swing a bit while there, hoping to reduce his rotation and “eliminate some of the strain he exerts.”

Lineup when available.


I just noticed that in this lineup all members of the infield hit first. Then Roberts goes off script and has C Yasmani hitting between CF Joc and LF Howie. Come on, Doc, symmetry is important!

Jun 10

Game 62, 2016

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Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN (out-of-market only), NBC Bay Area

Two heavyweight pitchers go at one another tonight, each with only one loss this season, one with eight wins and one with nine. The eight-game winner is the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, who also sports an ERA of 1.46. He’s got a career record against the Giants of 17-7 with a 1.60 ERA, and if that’s not enough, in the Giants’ home park he’s 9-3 with a 1.23 ERA. Facing him will be new-to-the-Giants Johnny Cueto, who’s 2-0 with a 4.40 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers this season but has a losing record overall (4-5) against Los Angeles.

This is the last series the two teams play against one another until August, but from that point forward nine of their last 38 games will be head-to-head.

The Dodgers’ draft picks are enumerated and expounded upon here. Their first pick was a left-handed hitting high-school shortstop named Gavin Lux.

Lineup:

Jun 08

Game 61, 2016

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

The rubber match of the three-game series features Kenta Maeda (5-3, 2.84 ERA) for the Dodgers and Chris Rusin (1-4, 4.62 ERA) for the Rockies. Maeda has allowed but one run in his last 11 1/3 innings over two starts, and in Rusin’s last start he went seven innings and gave up three runs.

Remember the kerfuffle at the Mets’ stadium when the Dodgers wanted to mark the outfield in order to position their players out there, and the Mets said “Holy Tris Speaker, NO!” Here’s a discussion and an exhortation for MLB to recognize that this is the 21st century and technology is here to stay.

Lineup when available.


Now this is a weird lineup. Seager out, Utley out, Pederson out. I’m all for giving guys days off, but three including two of your bigger producers in the same game?

Jun 07

Game 60, 2016

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

The Dodgers’ 19-year-old prospect Julio Urias (0-1, 9.39 ERA) makes his third start for them against the Rockies’ Eddie Butler (2-3, 5.65 ERA). Butler pitched poorly his last time out, giving up 11 hits in four innings, but that was his first bad outing of the year despite his W-L record. Urias has given up 8 runs in the 7 2/3 innings he’s thrown in the big leagues, but the Dodgers seem to have seen more favorable than unfavorable things about him. I’d point out that even the sainted Koufax went 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA in the 12 games in which he appeared when he was 19.

Lineup:

Jun 06

Game 59, 2016

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

Two righthanders go at one another tonight: Tyler Chatwood (6-4, 2.99 ERA) for the Rockies and Mike Bolsinger (1-2, 4.20 ERA) for the Dodgers. Chatwood gave up 5 runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Reds in his last start, but he’s been solid in his previous appearances. Bolsinger’s season didn’t really start until May; he suffered an injury to his oblique muscle in late March just as he’d earned the fifth spot in the Dodgers’ rotation. His first outing of the year wasn’t real good but he’s pitched better and better with each subsequent start.

Lineup when available.

Hmm. No Joc in the lineup. Probably just a day off, but one wonders.