Jul 19

Game 93, 2015

Dodgers at Nationals, 10:35AM PT, TV: SPNLA, TBS, MASN

Two of the best pitchers in the game this season have at it: Zack Greinke (8-2 with a microscopic 1.39 ERA) for the Dodgers versus Max Scherzer (10-7 with a 2.11 ERA) for the Nats. Greinke has a 35 2/3-inning scoreless streak (the HR in the All Star Game doesn’t count). Scherzer has a different kind of streak: he hasn’t walked a batter since June 14.

Some interesting things about these teams:

Over the past two seasons, the Dodgers and Nationals have been two of baseball’s best teams after the All-Star break. In 2013 and ’14, the Dodgers were a league-best 85-48 (.639) from the Midsummer Classic forward. The Nationals were 83-53 (.610), third-best.

Another thing we Dodger fans might not have realized: since Adrian Gonzalez came to the Dodgers in mid-2012 no one in the NL has knocked in more runners than he has. How many? 296.

Lineup when available.

Jul 18

Game 92, 2015

Well, let’s call this the rest of Game 91 as well as Game 92. The Dodgers are still at the Nats at 1:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS1 and MASN. But Friday night’s game, suspended due to electrical power failure (not home run power failure, since it featured four-baggers from Adrian Gonzalez of the Dodgers and Yunel Escobar of the Nats), will be resumed at 11:05AM PT. It’s anybody’s guess who’ll be pitching for either team.

In the regularly scheduled game the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw makes his first start of the second half, hoping to improve on his 6-6 record and 2.85 ERA. His opponent will be Doug Fister, who’s 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA and a long layoff: he hasn’t pitched since July 6. He spent the latter part of May and the first half of June on the DL with a tight forearm.

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Jul 17

Game 91, 2015

Dodgers at Nationals, 4:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

Mike Bolsinger (4-3, 3.08 ERA) goes for the Dodgers against Jordan Zimmermann (8-5, 3.22 ERA) of the Nats. Bolsinger pitched his first quality start in a month in his last outing before the break, while Zimmermann struggled for five innings against the Orioles but got the win anyway.

The Nats are 48-39 and lead the NL East by 2 games over the Mets. The Dodgers are 51-39 and lead the NL West by 4 1/2 games over the Giants.

Lineup when available.

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 11

Game 89, 2015

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

Taking the place of Carlos Frias, who’s been on the DL since July 1 with lower back tightness, is the Dodgers’ latest reclamation project Brandon Beachy. He’ll be making his first major league start in nearly two years. He last pitched for the Atlanta Braves in August 2013, then had Tommy John surgery (for the second time!) in March of 2014 and has been rehabbing ever since. In four years with the Braves he was 14-11 with a 3.23 ERA. None of those numbers mean a thing now.

Sports Illustrated’s current issue (July 6, 2015) has an illuminating article which cites a study showing that only 67% of pitchers who undergo Tommy John surgery fully recover. And a different statistician cites his numbers to indicate that one of every two pitchers who undergo the surgery throws fewer than 100 innings in the rest of his career.

For Beachy’s sake let’s hope he fits in the “more than 100 innings” category.

His opponent will be rookie right-hander Taylor Jungmann, who’s 3-1 with a 2.43 ERA in six big league starts.

Lineup when available.

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.

Jul 09

Game 87, 2015

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

Zack Greinke brings his 27 2/3 scoreless-inning streak to the game against Severino Gonzalez. Greinke is 7-2 with a 1.48 ERA and headed for the All Star Game. Rookie right-hander Gonzalez rejoins the Phillies’ rotation for Thursday night’s series finale against the Dodgers. He is 3-2 with an 8.28 ERA in six starts and has been unable to pitch more than 5 1/3 innings in any of them, but the Phillies would rather give him another look than right-hander Kevin Correia, whom they designated for assignment Tuesday.

Lineup when available.

Turner gets a night off, Puig drops down to sixth.

Jul 08

Game 86, 2015

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

Clayton Kershaw tries to even his record at 6-6. He’s pitched much better than that record indicates, including a 2.67 ERA in his last four starts with 35 Ks in 27 innings, games in which he got three losses for his trouble.

He’ll face rookie lefty Adam Morgan, who will be making his third big league start. He went 5 2/3 innings in his first game and got the win, and then went 7 innings in his second and got a loss. He’s 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA.

Lineup when available.

Pederson has been dropped down in the order, probably due to his recent slump.

Jul 07

Game 85, 2015

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

Chad Billingsley continues his comeback after nearly two years spent recovering from elbow surgeries. He’s pitched in four games so far this season for the Phillies, compiling an 0-2 record with a 7.71 ERA over 21 innings. He’ll face Brett Anderson, who’s on a bit of a roll. He’s given up only one run in each of his last three starts and won all of them. At 5-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 16 starts and 96 innings, this has been the most work Anderson’s been able to do in a season since 2010.

Lineup when available.

Jul 06

Game 84, 2015

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

17 of the next 20 games the Dodgers play are against the NL East. At the moment, only the Nationals and the Mets are above .500 in that division, and the Phillies are at the bottom with a 28-56 record.

The Phillies send out Sean O’Sullivan, who’s 1-6 with a 5.76 ERA. The Dodgers haven’t declared their starter as of 1:00PM PT; watch Twitter for news.

Update: It’ll be Eric Surkamp for the Dodgers. He’s got a career 4-3 record with a 6.20 ERA in the majors. His last big league appearance was with the White Sox in 2014. The Dodgers got him from the White Sox in May, and he’s had a 4-2 record with a 4.50 ERA in six starts for AAA Oklahoma City since then.

Lineup when available.
Pfft. Not Surkamp after all. I was lied to.

Tonight’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Phillies:
Pederson CF
Kendrick 2B
Turner 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Grandal C
Puig RF
Ethier LF
Garcia P
Rollins SS