Aug 27

Game 134, 2014

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40PM PT, TV: SPNLA

Clayton Kershaw looks to get his 16th win and avenge the drubbing he got the last time he pitched at Chase Field, when he gave up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. He’ll pitch against Wade Miley, who’s 7-9 with a 4.29 ERA but has a 1.83 ERA in his last three starts.

The D-Backs team Kershaw will face tonight is vastly different from the one that beat him on May 17. Five guys contributed 15 hits, 13 RBI, and 7 extra-base-hits in that game. Four of the five are currently on the D-Backs’ DL, and the fifth has been traded to the Yankees.

Lineup:

Hmm. Van Slyke replaces Crawford in left and Turner replaces Gonzalez at first. I suppose this is just a way of giving those two guys two consecutive days off, with tomorrow being a travel day to San Diego. That seventy-minute flight is tiring, man.

Aug 20

Game 128, 2014

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, ESPN, FSSD

ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball late game features Roberto Hernandez making his third start for the Dodgers and looking for his second win for the team. He’ll face Eric Stults, who is 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA in three starts this month.

The Padres have averaged the most runs per game (4.57) in the National League since the All-Star break.

Gordon gets a night off tonight. Darwin Barney will start at 2nd base for him. Crawford had a huge night last night, so he gets tonight off as well (?). Van Slyke will take his place in LF.

Update: The Giants won their protest that last night’s game shouldn’t have been declared a complete game loss for them because the Cubs’ ground crew didn’t get the tarp on properly and thus rendered the field unplayable when the umps tried to restart the game. They claimed that not enough was done to dry the infield. It will be resumed in the fifth inning at 2:05PM PT Thursday before the regularly-scheduled game begins at 5:05PM PT.

Jul 13

Game 97, 2014

Padres at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Hyun-Jin Ryu had a horrid start his last time out. Staked to a five-run lead against Justin Verlander and the Tigers, he promptly gave up that lead and two more runs besides in 2 1/3 innings. That performance was a shock, because he’s been so good this season. He’s lasted at least six innings in 13 of his 17 starts this year, going 9-5 with a 3.65 ERA.

He’ll face Tyson Ross, who’s 7-9 with a 2.93 ERA on the season. He’s gotten no help from his teammates — in four of his five June starts, Ross received just one run of support while he was on the mound and he took the loss in each. Ross is San Diego’s only All-Star Game representative, by the way.

Carl Crawford has been working out in center field, while Justin Turner starts a rehab assignment at Rancho Cucamonga today.

Jul 10

Game 94, 2014

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Clayton Kershaw brings his 36-scoreless-inning streak to the game against rookie Odrisamer Despaigne, who’s 2-0 with an impressive 0.92 ERA and this feat: he’s the first pitcher in club history to throw at least six innings and allow no more than one run in each of his first three career starts.

Carl Crawford has been activated from the DL and Clint Robinson has been sent to Albuquerque to make room for him.

Jul 06

Game 91, 2014

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

Josh Beckett v. Yohan Flande. We all know about the season Josh Beckett is having (5-5, 2.37 ERA, and it should have several more wins than that). Mr. Flande is a rookie whose appearance today will be his third in the major leagues. He’s 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA.

Carl Crawford is beginning a rehab assignment in Albuquerque this weekend.

May 28

Game 54, 2014

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

The Reds have had to face two excellent pitchers already in Ryu and Greinke, and tonight they get Kershaw. All he’s done is go 3-1 on the season with a 3.49 ERA and 2-1 lifetime with a 2.78 ERA against the Reds. In those games the Reds are hitting .214. The Reds send Homer Bailey out against the Dodgers. He’s 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA in eight career starts against them and 4-3 with a 5.34 ERA overall on the season.

Matt Kemp is playing left field because Crawford has been placed on the 15-day DL. The Dodgers have purchased Jamie Romak’s contract from the Isotopes. Romak has been playing mostly 1st and 3rd in Albuquerque with 8 games in the outfield. He’s a 28-year-old from Canada. This is his twelfth year of pro ball and his first callup to the major leagues.

According to Jay Jaffe at Sports Illustrated, Yasiel Puig is a “disappointing” fifth in the first release of All-Star ballots for the outfield, behind Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies, Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates, Ryan Braun of the Brewers and Gioancarlo Stanton of the Marlins. Pack the ballot box, people!

May 09

Game 37, 2014

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

Madison Bumgarner for the Giants, Paul Maholm for the Dodgers. Seems like a mismatch, particularly when you read this data about the Dodgers’ outfielders past performances against the Giants’ pitcher: “Carl Crawford is 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Andre Ethier is 3-for-24 with nine strikeouts. Matt Kemp is 4-for-24 with seven strikeouts. Yasiel Puig is 4-for-15 with five strikeouts, while Scott Van Slyke is 2-for-5 with three walks.”

Bumgarner is 3-3 with a 3.18 ERA on the season; Maholm is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA. Each pitcher did have a quality start in his last appearance.

Lineup when available.

May 07

Game 35, 2014

Dodgers at Nationals, 10:05AM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

Dan Haren’s off to a great beginning with the Dodgers. He’s 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six starts. He’ll face Stephen Strasburg, who’s 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA so far this season.

Is Carl Crawford finally coming out of his season-long slump? He’s had two multi-hit games and has a four-game hitting streak going into today’s game.

May 03

Game 31, 2014

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

Paul Maholm (1-2, 4.74 ERA) goes for the Dodgers against the Marlins’ Jacob Turner (0-0, 7.50 ERA). Maholm pitched well last time out against the Rockies and is 6-6 with a 4.02 ERA against the Marlins in his career. This is Turner’s second start in MLB.

In other news, A.J. Ellis can’t run without pain yet, so his return is still a few weeks away. That partly explains why the Dodgers sent FedEx down to Albuquerque and brought Olivo up. They could have carried Fedorowicz and his .108 BA for another week, but since Ellis is going to be out longer than that they decided to bring up Olivo, who’d been tearing the cover off the ball with the Isotopes (OBP .438, SLG .661, OPS 1.099).

We won’t see old friend Rafael Furcal this trip. He’s back on rehab assignment with Double-A Jacksonville, and he was in the lineup there on Friday night. The hamstring which put him on the DL at the start of the season is fine, but he strained a groin muscle last weekend while rehabbing.

Lineup when available.

Crawford is in a 4-45 slump since Tax Day, which may explain why he’s not in left field against the right-handed Turner.

Apr 25

Game 24, 2014

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

The Rockies send out right-handed Jordan Lyles (3-0, 3.04 ERA) to start against the Dodgers’ right-hander Josh Beckett (0-0, 2.57). Lyles has only started once at Dodger Stadium, in 2011. He was shelled, giving up seven runs on seven hits including three home runs in 5 1/3 innings.

The Dodgers are 5-7 at home overall and 3-4 on this home stand. The Phillies came in under .500 at 8 – 10 and left even at 11 -11. The Rockies come in at 12 – 11 and one game behind the Dodgers. The Dodgers need to win two of three just to break even on this home stand.

Lineup when available.


Notice that Crawford is hitting sixth. Here’s Mattingly’s reasoning.