Game 49, 2014

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

Kershaw got shelled in his last outing, but this is about as misleading a sentence as I’ve seen in a non-political story: “After a brilliant start in which he tossed seven shutout frames against the Nationals on May 6, Kershaw has given up 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings since.”

Right. 7 runs in 1 2/3 innings in his last start against the D-Backs. 3 runs in 7 innings against the Giants in the no-decision start before that with 9 strikeouts and no walks. Overall he’s 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA.

Of greater concern, he was hit on the right shin with a line drive during BP Wednesday and it had to be bandaged. Whenever a pitcher gets hit on a foot or leg I always get an instant memory of Dizzy Dean changing his delivery after being hit on the foot by Earl Averill in the 1937 All-Star Game and never being the same pitcher again.

His opponent will be Roberto Hernandez, who is 0-1 in his only career start against the Dodgers, last August when he was with the Rays. He’s 2-1 with a 3.98 ERA so far this season.

The Dodgers have improved their offense over the past 15 games, hitting .272 over that stretch. Over the past five games, Adrian Gonzalez is 9-for-19 with three home runs and six RBIs. Additionally, Matt Kemp is hitting .344 (22-for-64) since May 3. Over his career he’s hit .390 (23-for-59) in 15 games at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

36 thoughts on “Game 49, 2014”

  2. Good win. I turned the game on with bases loaded, no outs and blamed poor Howell for the mess, until I saw it was League who done it! I was sure disaster loomed… Go Dodgers!

    • Crawford deserves credit for making game-saving catch of Brown’s liner, which could have been an inside-the-park slam.

  6. Although I don’t know how good a bunter Gonzalez is, we sure don’t seem to try the squeeze bunt very often.

  17. Don’t like the idea of Clayton sitting too long. Doesn’t look good rainwise.

    • According to weather.com, it could rain for 90 minutes or so, but then clear up.

      • Actually, weather.com has a 55 percent chance of rain at 7:30 p.m. our time and a 0 percent at 7:45 p.m. If it rains for any length of time, I don’t think we’ll see Kershaw on the mound again tonight. I am not watching. What are the announcers saying?

  20. When Arruebarrena first defected in 2013, it was written about in USA Today:

    Arruebarruena, who batted .375 in six WBC games, is known as an
    outstanding fielding shortstop in the mold of Jose Iglesias. He enjoyed
    the best offensive season of his six years with Cienfuegos of the Cuban
    league in 2011-12, when he batted .320 with an .887 on-base plus
    slugging percentage.

    However, noted Cuban baseball expert and
    author Peter Bjarkman points out that while Arruebarruena has displayed
    great defensive skills, especially range and the ability to throw from
    different angles, “he tries to make too many impossible plays and is
    dubbed Errorbarruena in Cuba as a result.”

    The story goes on to question his offensive capabilities, and his Double A stats this year show those questions were valid.

    • “Errorbarruena” – just what we need! I’ll be watching with bated breath… I have to say, we continue to have a really entertaining team. Thanks for the information.