Sep 14

Game 145, 2016

Dodgers at Yankees, 1:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, YES

Clayton Kershaw (11-3, 1.89 ERA) makes his second start since coming off the DL. He’ll face Michael Pineda (6-11, 5.07 ERA). Pineda has given up 14 runs in his last four starts. This will be Kershaw’s first start in Yankee Stadium; he’s got a 1.20 ERA against them in two previous appearances.

Lineup:

Welcome back, Andre!

Sep 12

Game 143, 2016

Dodgers at Yankees, 4:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, YES

RHP Jose De Leon (1-0, 4.50 ERA) makes his second big league start for the Dodgers, and RHP Brian Mitchell (1-0, 0.00 ERA) goes for the Yankees. De Leon is rated the #2 prospect in the Dodgers’ organization, while Mitchell is highly regarded by the Yankees. De Leon went six innings against the Padres on September 4, giving up four runs, three earned. Mitchell spent five months recovering from a left big toe which needed surgery for a broken bone, so his first start of the year was September 7 against the Blue Jays. He went five scoreless innings in that game.

Turner or Ethier may DH for the Dodgers in this game.

Here’s a good story by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register talking to Joc Pederson about his improvement in hitting and reduction in strikeouts this season.

Lineup when available.

Kendrick at 1B? Hmm.

Sep 10

Game 141, 2016

Dodgers at Marlins, 4:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-F

Lefty Rich Hill (11-3, 1.94 ERA) makes his third start for the Dodgers. In his first two he’s thrown 12 scoreless innings. He’ll face RHP Tom Koehler (9-10, 3.87 ERA), who hasn’t won since August 9 but whose last outing was six shutout innings against Cleveland on September 4.

Personnel move:

“Manager Dave Roberts said Ethier will get an occasional start, but with the club’s outfield depth, Ethier will mostly be used coming off the bench as a late-innings pinch-hitter.”

Lineup:

Hmm. Utley gets the day off and Kendrick is back at 2B for the first time in a while. His LF slot will be taken by Puig.

Jul 16

Game 93, 2016

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 2.70 ERA) makes his third start of the season. He’s gone five innings in each of his first two since recovering and rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery. His opponent is Archie Bradley (3-5, 4.64 ERA), who lost to the Dodgers in his only start against them this season on June 14 in Phoenix, pitching four scoreless innings then giving up five runs in the next 1 2/3 innings.

Fun fact: Since the start of 2013, the Dodgers own the best record in baseball after the All-Star break at 126-79 entering Friday. Next was Kansas City at 127-87.

Trayce Thompson goes to the 15-day DL with lower back irritation, Zach Walters comes up. Ethier’s leg isn’t healed, but he’s going to up his workout level anyway. From Dave Roberts, this statement sounds ominous:

“Because it’s not healed completely, we really don’t have a timetable. It’ll be healed at some point, but this season to hope and expect it to be pain-free is something that’s maybe too optimistic. Andre wants to be back and he’ll do whatever he can to be back.”

Lineup:

Late addition: Tim Kurkjian screws up on SportsCenter, picks Orel Hershiser as his player to watch in the second half of the season.

Jul 06

Game 87, 2016

Orioles at Dodgers, 12:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MASN

Kevin Gausman (1-6, 3.97 ERA) goes out for the Birds and Bud Norris (4-7, 3.89 ERA) makes his second start for the Dodgers.

Ethier might be back for the first game in August, Roberts says. Kershaw and Anderson are all on a fast track to recovery now.

Lineup:

Mar 22

Tibias, forearms, obliques, oh my!

Andre Ethier broke his lower leg (the tibia, for the purists) when he fouled a ball off it last Friday. He’ll be out 10-14 weeks. This means in all likelihood that Carl Crawford will be the Dodgers’ starting left-fielder for the first three months of the season.

That stinks.

So do all these injuries:

pitcher Frankie Montas had a rib removed and was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Brett Anderson suffered a bulging disk and had surgery. Hyun-Jin Ryu’s recovery from shoulder surgery has been slow and he won’t pitch in a spring game. Pitcher Josh Ravin broke his non-throwing left arm in an auto accident. Brandon McCarthy is still recovering from Tommy John surgery. Brandon Beachy (elbow) and Mike Bolsinger (oblique) have had their fifth-starter candidacies derailed by injuries.

Seager sprained his knee almost two weeks ago, but is expected back by Opening Day. Starter Alex Wood missed a start with forearm soreness. Julio Urias was slowed with slight groin tightness. Caleb Dirks never pitched because of a back injury.

Yasmani Grandal missed several games with strained forearms and came out of Monday’s game after aggravating the right one. Alex Guerrero missed a week with a twisted knee. Adrian Gonzalez missed a couple games with a bulging disk in his neck. Howie Kendrick missed a handful of games with a tight groin muscle. Justin Turner has been eased back slowly after offseason microfracture knee surgery. Crawford missed a game last week because of a sore back.

Other than that, Dodgers’ fans, it’s been a great spring training.

Sep 22

Game 150, 2015

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A, MLBN

Alex Wood (11-10,3.63 ERA) goes for the Dodgers against Robbie Ray (4-12, 3.72 ERA) of the D-Backs. Wood’s last start was an eight-inning one-hitter against the Rockies. Ray’s last win was against the Dodgers on September 11, Wood’s worst outing of the year as a Dodger. That was the game in which he gave up eight runs in only 1 2/3 innings.

Goldsmith likes Wood’s pitching: He’s 4-for-7 lifetime off him with two home runs, including one in that Sept. 11 game.

Lineup:

Utley and Pederson sit to start, as does Ethier since Ray is left-handed.

Jul 25

Game 99, 2015

Dodgers at Mets, 4:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Righty Zach Lee, Los Angeles’ first-round pick in the 2010 Draft out of McKinney High School in Texas, will start for the Dodgers in his major league debut. He’s 7-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts this season for Triple-A Oklahoma City. Matt Harvey (8-7, 3.19 ERA) will start for the Mets. He’s walked at least four batters in each of his past three starts, two of them losses.

Scott Van Slyke made a heckuva play in the ninth inning of last night’s game:

Lineup when available.

A-Gon sits, Crawford gets his first start since his return from an extended stay on the DL this season, and Puig gets the day off. Puig’s about seven years younger than Ethier, so you’d think Andre would get the day off instead, but no. Mattingly works in mysterious ways.

Whoops. Updated lineup:

A-Gon says his neck is well enough to allow him to play, I guess, so Turner shifts to third base and Callaspo sits.

Jul 12

Game 90, 2015

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

The biggest surprise about Brett Anderson for the Dodgers this season might be that he’s remained healthy throughout. He’s 3-3 with a 3.12 ERA, coming off a loss which snapped a three-start winning streak. The biggest surprise about Kyle Lohse for the Brewers might be how poorly he’s pitched. He’s 5-10 with a 6.29 ERA, his highest since 2010 when he underwent forearm surgery in June and couldn’t come back till mid-August.

Lineup:

Ethier may still have hamstring tightness, which kept him out of Friday’s lineup. Maybe the shakeup of the order has some logic to Mattingly, but it has none to me.

Jul 10

Game 88, 2015

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

Mike Bolsinger had success early in the season for the Dodgers, but his last five starts have been less than scintillating. He’s gone no further than 5 1/3 innings in any of them and is 0-2 during that stretch. Overall he’s 4-3 with a 3.09 ERA. The Brewers send out Jimmy Nelson, who’s 6-8 with a 4.50 ERA but has also had trouble getting deep into games recently: he hasn’t gotten past the sixth inning in five of his last seven starts.

Lineup:

Hmm. Nelson’s righthanded, so I can only assume Ethier is tired. Or perhaps Guerrero’s numbers are better than his against Nelson?

Kershaw came in third in the ASG Final Vote count, so he’s going to sit in LA or go home to Texas for a few days, I imagine.