Jul 01

Game 86, 2014

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

Josh Beckett, who’s 5-4 with a 2.11 ERA, pitches for the Dodgers and Justin Masterson, who’s 4-5 with a 5.03 ERA, pitches for the Tribe.

“The Indians have been shut out for 21 consecutive innings, during which the offense has gone a combined 3-for-63.” You could look at that one of two ways: either the futility will last forever or the team is overdue to break out.

Ramirez is still sore but the team is hoping he can avoid going on the DL.

Jun 30

Game 85, 2014

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

The Dodgers put their trust in Dan Haren, 7-4 with a 3.83 ERA. He’s given up 14 home runs in his last nine starts, which isn’t good. The Indians counter with Corey Kluber, a right-hander who is 7-5 with a 3.09 ERA.

“Monday’s series opener marks just the seventh time the Tribe has played the Dodgers. Cleveland is 2-4 in the overall series but went 2-1 in Dodger Stadium in 2008.” Well, I don’t want to remember that 1920 World Series either.

The Dodgers put Justin Turner on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury and called up Carlos Triunfel from Albuquerque. This is Triunfel’s second trip to the big club this season; he was 2-for-7 in seven games with the Dodgers earlier in June. He was hitting .210 for the Isotopes.

Lineup when available.

Jun 21

Game 76, 2014

Dodgers at Padres, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLB free game

Josh Beckett deserves better than his 4-4 won-loss record. He’s got a 2.49 ERA and his last loss was his defense’s fault. He pitches for the Dodgers at Petco Park tonight. The Padres counter with Tyson Ross, who’s 6-6 with a 3.27 ERA. His last outing wasn’t good; he walked seven in 5 2/3 innings and lost.

Lineup when available. Puig is day-to-day with a sore hip, apparently a recurrence of the flexor problem he had last week. Uribe is scheduled to play infield at Rancho Cucamonga tonight.

Jun 17

Game 73, 2014

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

It’s the Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (1-4, 4.53 ERA) against the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke (8-3, 2.65 ERA). They faced one another on June 7 and neither got the decision, as the game went into extra innings and Brandon Barnes hit a walk-off triple in the 10th.

Chad Billingsley is going to have a second surgery, this one to repair his flexor tendon. “The flexor tendon runs alongside the ulnar collateral ligament that tore and was transplanted last year in a Tommy John procedure. If the flexor tendon tears further after an injection and rehab, it could compromise the repaired ligament,” so he decided on surgery rather than stem-cell injection and therapy. He should be ready for spring training next season.

Jun 14

Game 70, 2014

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN, SNLA Spanish

Dan Haren takes his record of 6-4 with a 3.49 ERA to the hill for the Dodgers. He’ll be facing Josh Collmenter, who is 4-3 with a 3.65 ERA.

If they had Uribear back this would almost be the season’s starting lineup. Juan is running curves (?) on the field and may be ready for a rehab assignment soon.

In other injury news, Chad Billingsley tore his flexor tendon on his way toward rehab outings in Albuquerque and will talk to reporters about his options today.

May 29

Game 55, 2014

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

The Pirates send out Gerrit Cole and his 4-3, 3.76 ERA record against the Dodgers’ Dan Haren and his 5-3, 3.16 ERA. Haren has been better at home than on the road, with a 2.39 ERA in four starts. The Pirates have won four of Cole’s last five starts.


In terrible news for Chris Withrow and bad news for the Dodgers, Withrow has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow and will likely need Tommy John surgery, which would incapacitate him for a year.

In case you’re wondering about the seemingly growing number of pitchers needing the surgery this year, Dr. James Andrews has just released a paper which says your perception is correct. There have been more this season than in the past.

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 26

Game 52, 2014

After yesterday’s excitement, the season goes on at a slightly lower level.

Reds at Dodgers, 5:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

The Reds send Johnny Cueto to the hill. He’s 4-3 with a 1.86 ERA this season, coming off a bad outing in which he gave up six runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Nationals. The Dodgers counter with lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who’s 4-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In his last start he went six innings and gave up two runs to the Mets, winning 4-3.

In an attempt to get Matt Kemp’s bat into the lineup without harming the defense, Mattingly is going to start him in left field for a while. In eight-plus years in the major leagues he’s averaged four errors per season, and he’s already got that many in just 39 games this year. And that doesn’t count the balls he’s not gotten to or taken bad routes on.

“Here’s where we’re going with Matt,” Mattingly said on Sunday morning after he put Andre Ethier in center for a third consecutive game. “We’re going to start working Matt a little bit in left field. We’re going to continue to work him in center. We’re just feeling like we’re giving him time to really get healthy. Not that’s he’s not healthy, but give him a chance to get all the way back.”

Kemp, who missed only 11 games from 2008-11, missed 145 games from 2012-13 due to injuries. He is currently hitting .264 with 13 doubles, five home runs and 13 RBIs in 42 games this season.

Lineup when available.

Breaking news:



May 21

Game 47, 2014

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

Hyun-Jin Ryu comes off the DL to start this game. It will be his first start since April 27, when his left shoulder showed inflammation. He’s 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA, but that record isn’t the important thing about this start; rather, it’s how well his shoulder reacts to pitching. He threw a 75-pitch simulated game last Friday.

His opponent will be Jacob deGrom, a right-hander who is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA. This will be his second major league appearance. He did pretty well in his first one last week, when he held the Yankees to one run on four hits in seven innings. He also struck out six and walked two.

In minor league news, the most complete story of what happened between Miguel Olivo and Alexander Guerrero in the Isotopes’ dugout last night seems to be from Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

Olivo became steamed after his team allowed a stolen base in the seventh inning, according to Boras. Olivo blamed Guerrero for failing to tag the baserunner in time, the agent said. A video posted on the Albuquerque Isotopes’ website showed Olivo attempting to charge Guerrero during a pitching change later in the inning. The players exchanged words as they walked off the field at the end of the inning.

“Guerrero was in the far end of the dugout,” Boras said. “He went to the front to get his bat and helmet to hit. As he walked across, Olivo decked him.”

Guerrero and Olivo had to be separated by teammates, according to Boras. When players pulled off Olivo, he had a piece of Guerrero’s ear in his mouth, Boras said.

Seeing superagent Scott Boras’s name in a news article as a witness rather than as a protagonist seems odd, but there you go.

Lineup when available.

Update: Juan Uribe goes on the fifteen-day DL and the Dodgers call up Erisbel Arruebarrena to replace him.

May 18

Game 45, 2014

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 1:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLB.TV free game

The Dodgers’ Dan Haren, off to his best start in years, is 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA. Josh Collmenter is 1-2 with a 3.89 ERA. As a starter he’s 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA since moving from the bullpen to the rotation.

In other news, Hyun-Jin Ryu is scheduled to come off the DL this week and could start against the Mets in NYC next Wednesday.