Jun 18

Game 70, 2017

Dodgers at Reds, 10:10 AM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O

The Dodgers hope to sweep the series with this game, and they’ll send RHP Kenta Maeda (4-3, 4.95 ERA) out to try to win it. He’ll face old acquaintance Bronson Arroyo (3-5, 7.01 ERA).

Maeda has struggled this season, with only two quality starts in the ten games he’s started, but his last outing was a four-inning save against the Reds on June 9. If he pitches to that level again he may rejoin the Dodgers’ starting rotation.

Arroyo never threw a pitch for the Dodgers, but he came over from the Braves in the July 2015 trade in which they acquired Alex Wood, Mat Latos, Luis Avilan, Jose Peraza and Jim Johnson. He was injured at the time and the Braves were dumping his salary. He was granted free agency in November of that year and landed with the Reds. He may not last very long if his performance doesn’t improve, because Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan can come off the DL by the end of June.

Notes:

Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger has been clobbering the ball in June. On Tuesday, he became the fastest player to record at least four multihomer games. According to Statcast, as of Saturday, Bellinger is fifth in MLB in barrel rate (23.5 percent) and currently leads left-handed batters in hard contact rate against left-handed pitchers this season. His teammate Corey Seager ranks second in hard contact rate. Bellinger hit his 19th homer on Saturday.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 After accepting GM Larry MacPhail’s offer to coach first base, Babe Ruth wears a Dodger uniform for the first time as a coach and takes batting practice with the team. The ‘Bambino’ will quit at the end of the season, ending his ties with major league baseball.
  • 1940 Dodger Ducky Medwick, acquired in a trade less than a week ago, is beaned by former Cardinal teammate Bob Bowman and needs to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Brooklyn president Lee MacPhail accuses the St. Louis pitcher of deliberately hitting Medwick in the head because the two had quarreled in a hotel elevator prior to the game.
  • 1996 Brant Brown hits the first three home runs of his career on the same day. The 25 year-old rookie goes deep as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning off Chan Ho Park in a 9-6 loss to the Dodgers in the opener of a Wrigley Field twin bill, but his two additional round-trippers contribute to Chicago’s 7-4 victory in the nightcap.
  • 2014 With the only batter reaching base as a result of a throwing error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the seventh inning, Clayton Kershaw no-hits the Rockies at Dodger Stadium, striking out a career-high 15 batters. The left-hander’s teammate Josh Beckett also threw a no-hitter 24 days ago, making it the shortest span between no-hitters by a team since the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer accomplished it in consecutive starts, four days apart, in 1938.

Vinnie calls Kershaw’s no-hitter:

Lineup when available.

Sep 09

Game 139, 2015

Dodgers at Angels, 7:00PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSW, ESPN

The Dodgers are on national TV again, so of course they send out their worst starting pitcher. Gotta make a good impression, right? Mat Latos, who is 4-9 with a 4.92 ERA overall but 0-2 with a 6.56 ERA since coming over to the Dodgers in July, will try to right his personal ship. He hasn’t gotten past the 4th inning since his only previous outing against the Angels back on August 2 when he went six innings, gave up four hits and one run but got no decision.

Latos’s counterpart will be Garrett Richards, who is 13-10 with a 3.77 ERA and quality starts in five of his last six starts. You can’t call him a Dodger-killer yet, but he does have a 1.59 ERA in 22 2/3 career innings against them. The last time Richards faced the Dodgers, on Aug. 4, 2014, he pitched a shutout.

Lineup when available.

It’s Wieland rather than Latos because Latos reported neck stiffness. Wieland’s a 25-year-old righthander with 43 2/3 innings of big league experience. He first came up with San Diego in 2012. He’s been in 10 major league games, all as a starter. He’s 1-5 with a 5.98 ERA over that time.

Sep 03

Game 133, 2015

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

The Dodgers send out Mat Latos, who’s 4-9 with a 4.76 ERA overall and 0-2 with a 6.05 ERA since coming over to the Dodgers. Worse, he hasn’t made it past the fifth inning in any of his last three starts. I think it’s fair to say he has not performed to their expectations. He’ll be opposed by Colin Rea of the Padres, who’s 2-2 with a 5.95 ERA in his rookie season.

The Dodgers have an 8-4 lead in the season series and the Padres lost three players to injury during Tuesday’s game: starting first baseman Yonder Alonso (back tightness), catcher Derek Norris (hyperextension of left shoulder and elbow) and reliever Shawn Kelley (right forearm tightness).

Lineup when available.

Check out the Dodgers’ repostings of tweets sent out by Brandon McCarthy, Kiké Hernandez and Brett Anderson, all reflecting on Kershaw’s performance last night.

Aug 29

Game 128, 2015

Cubs at Dodgers, 6:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

The Dodgers’ Mat Latos has a career 7-3 record against the Cubbies with a 2.76 ERA. He might want to face them all the time, as his record this season is not so shiny: 4-9 with a 4.81 ERA. He’ll face Jon Lester, who’s not having his greatest season either: 8-9, 3.44 ERA. Latos hasn’t pitched since August 13 due to off-days, so he’s had lots of rest. Lester nearly got a shutout in his last outing; he went 8 1/3 innings, then gave up a run and came out. This is his first road start since July 18.

Lineup when available.

Scoreboard watchers: Cardinals at Giants

Aug 19

Game 120, 2015

Jerry Hairston, after last night’s bullpen failure: “That’s the 25th time in his career the bullpen has blown a game Kershaw was in line to win.”

Dodgers at Athletics, 12:35PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSNCA

Ordinarily this would be Mat Latos’ turn in the Dodgers’ rotation, but he’s temporarily moving to the bullpen “to get the most starts possible out of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.” In other words, the Dodgers are going to a four-man rotation for a few weeks. They can do this because of days off this week and next.

That means Alex Wood will pitch for the Dodgers today. He’s 8-7 with a 3.74 ERA and got his first win as a Dodger his last time out. He went 6 1/3 innings against the Reds on August 14, giving up five hits and three earned runs while walking three and striking out three.

His opponent will be Jesse Chavez, who’s tied for most losses in the AL with twelve. He’s 4-5 with a 2.92 ERA at home, though, and that’s where the game will be played.

Lineup when available.

Aug 13

Game 115, 2015

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

Cincinnati has had a disappointing season as shown by their trades of Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, but they can still be dangerous. They send rookie righthander Keyvius Sampson (1-1, 3.00 ERA) to the mound for his third big league start. He’ll face the Dodgers’ Mat Latos (4-8, 4.67 ERA), who’s making his third start for the Dodgers since arriving in trade from the Marlins. Latos has had one good outing against the Angels and one bad outing against the Pirates.

Lineup when available.

Aug 02

Game 105, 2015

Angels at Dodgers, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSW

The Angels send Cory Rasmus (0-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 inning this season) to the hill against the Dodgers’ newly-acquired Matt Latos (4-7, 4.48 ERA). Latos has a 3-3 record with a 2.96 ERA in his last seven starts after coming off the DL where he’d been recovering from an inflamed knee. In fact, as Eric Stephen says at True Blue LA, Latos has had two different seasons in four months this year.

If Rasmus’s name seems familiar, it’s because he’s the younger brother of Colby Rasmus, who’s an outfielder for the Astros now but had previous stints with the Cardinals and Blue Jays.

Lineup when available.

Jul 29

Game 102, 2015

Athletics at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSNCA

The Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw to the mound tonight nursing a 29-inning scoreless streak and admiring a July in which he won three of his first four starts with an ERA of 0.27. His opponent will be Jesse Chavez, who is 5-10 but has a 3.45 ERA. His last start was pretty bad, though: he gave up four runs in three-plus innings against the Giants.

There’s late word that the Dodgers-Marlins trade of Matt Latos and Michael Morse to the Dodgers for prospects may be falling apart over medical issues. Stay tuned.

Lineup when available.


You’ll note that Kershaw isn’t starting any more and Bolsinger is. Kershaw apparently has a sore muscle in his hip or glute.