Game 141, 2017

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Rockies at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, ATT SportsNet-RM

The Rockies send RHP German Marquez (10-6, 4.26 ERA) out to face the Dodgers’ RHP Yu Darvish (8-11, 4.09 ERA) in game two of the series.

Marquez is a 22-year-old rookie who’s been getting hit early in counts in his last few starts as the league has begun to figure his patterns out. He gave up three runs in the sixth in his start Sunday against the D-Backs when they did just that. Darvish’s first two starts for the Dodgers were very good, but his last four have been pretty bad (6.16 ERA).

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 The Dodgers clinch their eighth National League pennant with a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Brooklyn’s 17-game lead makes it the earliest date that a team has captured a flag in baseball history.
  • 1957 Before their departure to play on the West Coast for next season, the Dodgers and Giants face one another for the final time in New York. The Jints beat the Bums at the Polo Grounds, 3-2, to finish the intense 68 year-old storied rivalry with a 656-606 advantage over Brooklyn in the battle between the boroughs.
  • 1967 The Mets, at the urging of their fans, honor former Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired last season when arthritis ended his career prematurely at the age of 30. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, who threw a no-hitter against New York in 1962, started twenty games against the Amazins, compiling a 17-2 record that included 14 complete games and 5 shutouts.
  • 2007 Alex Rodriguez, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs, joins Babe Ruth (1920-54, 1921-59, 1927-60, 1928-54), Roger Maris (1961-61), and Mickey Mantle (1956-52, 1961-54) to become only the fourth player in Yankee history to hit 50 or more homers in a single season. The Yankee infielder’s second homer breaks the major league mark of 49 homers hit by a third baseman, shared with Mike Schmidt (Phillies-1980) and Adrian Beltre (Dodgers-2004).

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112 thoughts on “Game 141, 2017”

    • Looks better than it has in a long time — especially the top 5.
      I agree that Barnes should be playing — for play in the field and batting.

  5. For some unknown reason, the FO seems to love Granderson. I just cannot see it. For all the knocks on others in the lineup when things were good, there was a certain chemistry that worked well, and they won. Or maybe the chemistry was because they won.

    Whatever it is, I never have understood the need of teams that are having wonderful seasons buying at the trade deadlines and changing the mix of a successful team. I would put Puig back in the 8 hole, trot Pederson out to CF, and put Taylor back in LF. And just leave it alone. I feel bad for the old guard…Ethier and Gonzo, but its a new day and the youngsters have been doing it all season, why change now?

    This audition thing, don’t understand that. You go with what brung you. You think Ethier needs to be on the bench during the post season? Great. But that will not be the deciding factor on how far we do or don’t go.

    • I have been thinking the same thing. I have rose colored glasses on when it comes to Joc but still, I think he looks great at the plate. He continues to have bad luck, at least compared to others, regarding balls that get caught.

      Thursday he had a blooper to left that Parra made a diving catch and a line drive to left that Parra made another great catch on. Last night he hit a line drive that the second baseman who was playing in short right field was able to jump up and catch.

      Meanwhile, Barnes gets a base hit with a swinging bunt.

      I still prefer Barnes at catcher over Grandal and prefer a platoon at second between Utley and Forsythe. Yes, put Taylor back into left and keep Joc in CF without a platoohn. Kike’ should give players a rest, pinch hit for the pitcher, and be the emergency whatever.

      Gonzales needs to go back on the DL. It would be great if he could pinch hit but who knows when his back is loose enough from game to game. That makes Granderson a pinch hitter, again for the pitcher.

      Next year, Taylor is the second baseman unless the Dodgers trade for Machado, then he can be our second baseman.

  6. They’ve now reached the point where no lead (haven’t been very many of those lately anyway!) is safe, from SP or, previously, bullpen.
    Or SP pitches shutout and is playing for a tie.
    Might as well just tune in Game Time + 3 hours . . . much less frustrating seeing end result vs. living through it.
    (I probably won’t follow my own advice.)

  9. I wonder if the Dodgers have ever previously lost eight games in seven days without recording a victory. There would have to be at lest one doubleheader in that mix.

  11. Roberts should not start Granderson (despite his one hit and one walk tonight), Grandal, Forsythe or Hernandez tomorrow, regardless of who the opposing starter is. But as Colorado’s Bettis is a righty, we will doubtlessly see the 7-for-66 as a Dodger Granderson in the lineup. Our front office can’t be pleased with things; do you think the two top honchos there ever sit down with Roberts and review things and make some suggestions?

  13. Four runs and three hits in the first inning, no runs and four hits the rest of the way, one-for-eight with RISP. As the 19th century American poet John Greenleaf Whittier wrote: “Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’ ” And that could apply to 13 of our last 14 games.

  14. We wanted Darvish to be cut out of the same cloth as Kershaw. Unfortunately he emulated yesterday’s game.

  18. Remarkable relief pitching by Watson, Baez, Cingrani, Stripling and Fields: 4 2/3 shutout innings, one hit, eight strikeouts, two walks. But it will be all be in vain? Sure hope not.

    • I would suggest a bullpen game, but that would be one where the bats are TOTALLY silent. They can’t get the facets in sync or one to compensate for the other, save Kersh’s game a week ago.
      Was that only a week ago???!!!

  19. If I was as optimistic as Dave, I would say the Dodgers were waiting for the bottom of the 9th to win with a dramatic walk-off.

  21. Barnes should be the first-string catcher. He is hitting about 90 points higher than Grandal against righties and about 10 points higher than Grandal gainst lefties. Grandal has considerably more power, but Grandal leads MLB in passed balls with 15. Grandal is slightly better in throwing out attempted base stealers. Barnes has better speed. Barnes is batting about 100 points higher in “late and close” situations, aka in the clutch.

  24. This is the wrong spot for Grandal. Not a clutch hitter. (I’d be happy to eat my words, however.)

      • Grandal is simply woeful in “late and close situations.” This is when your team is tied, leads by one, or has the tying run at least in the on-deck circle. Grandal is now 11-for-71 in that area this year for a batting average of .155. If Roberts studied the probabilities of certain questionable players, such as Grandal, Granderson, Forsythe and Hernandez, instead of being oblivious to past history or playing a hunch, he’d have a better handle on things and we’d all be suffering less. He was fine for the first few months of the season when everything turned to gold. But in a period of trauma, he just isn’t doing it.

  30. If we don’t score again tonight, it will mark the fifth straight game in which we scored in only one inning or didn’t score at all, all on this homestand. And, of course, it will mark our eighth straight loss.

  32. Good news: Dodgers plated 4.
    Bad news: They’ve left a lot more.
    I don’t think they’re going to break this sluuuuuump with a game leaving us totally happy, other than the score. I think it’s going to be scrapping and clawing — ugly. (In other words, just about every game they’ve played the last two weeks.)

  33. Just came home from work. Earlier I had seen it was 4-1 and rejoiced. But now I start watching and see it is 5-4. Yikes.

  34. Hernandez was on second with no outs, we are down by a run, so why wasn’t Granderson, barely hitting above .100 as a Dodger, bunting? It’s stuff like this that drives me up a wall about Roberts. Watching his managerial moves over the last two weeks is like watching Groundhog Day.

    • Granderson had three good ABs before this. Maybe he can’t bunt, but I might have hit for him v. a lefty.

      • Those were probably three of the four or five good ABs Granderson has had in the last week. Pinch-hitting for him would have been a good idea.

        • Normally, I think Doc wants to build confidence.
          But these aren’t normal times. These are times that need a victory.

  37. San Diego leads Arizona, but only 10-6, in the bottom of the 7th. Arizona had earlier cut an 8-0 deficit to 8-6.

  39. Has anyone seen anything from FO on why they went for Darvish? He had a great initial start for LA, but it seems he wasn’t much better than this at TX.

    • He has an impressive track record, going back years, and he was very good prior to the trade. I thought he was a worthwhile acquisition, but he’s been mostly awful to mediocre.

    • Wasn’t his surgery what caused his mechanics problems? Hopefully, once he gets his mechanics right, he will be that second ace the Dodgers want from the right side.

  40. Came out of a conference, called up At Bat and looked at Dodgers’ score first — great, 4 runs!
    Then I saw CO . . . and they had just posted the 4.
    COME ON!

  44. Disappointment of the day: Phlablo Sandoval broke his ofer and is now back above the Mendoza line at .201.

  52. Well, that’s a good riposte to the Rockies’ HR. But Darvish ought to spend some time in the batting cage. That first pitch was one even I could have hit out of the infield.

  54. Given Joc’s demotion, batting him sixth for the last two games says a lot about where Doc is at with the 7th and 8th hitters.

  56. Link, I admire your professionalism in preparing this post each day.
    I would be tempted to say “Here’s who’s going, can they win today?”