Apr 29

Game 21, 2015

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

It will be Zack Greinke v. Ryan Vogelsong in the rubber match of the series. Greinke didn’t pitch in last week’s series against the Giants, while Vogelsong gave up two runs in six innings in the Giants’ 10-inning 3-2 victory. That was the game Kendrick saved with his headlong dive behind second base in the ninth inning only to watch Maxwell single past third base to drive in the winning run in the tenth.

Greinke has been the best pitcher the Dodgers have so far this season, going 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in four starts, all of them quality ones. Vogelsong is 0-1 in four starts with a 7.71 ERA, and righthanded hitters have been particularly troublesome for him, hitting .298 so far this year.

Puig and Crawford are on the DL, but Van Slyke, who’ll probably replace one of them, has a seven-game hitting streak of his own. If Guerrero replaces the other all he’s done is hit five home runs in limited duty.

Lineup when available.

My goodness, what have we here? Joc leading off, Rollins in the two-hole, Uribe in the eight-hole, and something which will cause lots of talk, no Guerrero in the starting lineup.

Apr 23

Game 15, 2015

Dodgers at Giants, 12:45PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN, CSN-BA

The Dodgers try to salvage one game of the three-game series behind the pitching of Mike Bolsinger, who’s fresh off being named the PCL Pitcher of the Week. In two starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, the right-hander struck out 17 batters while allowing three hits and three walks over 11 innings. He also has a 0.00 ERA.

Ryan Vogelsong will go for the Giants. He’s been a starter for the previous four years he’s been with the team, but this year he’s made three appearances and two have been in relief. He’s 0-1 with a 10.45 ERA over 10.1 innings, giving up 20 hits and 9 walks while striking out 10.

Lineup when available.

Oct 25

World Series Day Four, 2014

Royals at Giants, 2:00PM HST/5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

The Giants ask veteran Ryan Vogelsong to put a stop to the Royals’ advance, while the Royals send Jason Vargas out to give them enough innings to get to their so-far lights-out bullpen. Vogelsong had a poor outing against the Cardinals in Game Four of the NLCS, lasting only three innings while giving up four runs on seven hits in a game the Giants eventually won. But he’s been a postseason horse for them in the past, making five postseason starts in which he compiled a 3-0 record, a 1.19 ERA and a .168 batting average against. The lefty Vargas has pitched 11 1/3 innings of nearly flawless baseball in the postseason, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks against the Angels and Orioles while holding them to a .135 batting average.

A bit of history: “Holland has now recorded seven saves this postseason, tying the record for a single postseason. He joins five others — John Wetteland (1996 Yankees), Robb Nen (2002 Giants), Troy Percival (’02 Angels), Brad Lidge (’08 Phillies) and Koji Uehara (’13 Red Sox).” Some pretty good names there.

Oct 15

ALCS & NLCS Day Four, 2014

Orioles at Royals, 10:00AM HST/1:00PM PT, TV: TBS

Startlingly, the Royals are up three games to none in the ALCS. Today they send out lefty Jason Vargas to try to win the series. He last pitched in Game One of the ALDS against the Angels, giving up two home runs over six innings. He’s 2-3 with a 1.94 ERA in eight career starts vs. the Orioles. Vargas will face a very well-rested Miguel Gonzalez, who hasn’t pitched since September 28.

Cardinals at Giants, 2:00PM HST/5:00PM PT, TV: FS1

The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the series on a Randy Choate throwing error in the 10th inning of Tuesday’s game. They’ll put Ryan Vogelsong on the hill Wednesday night against Shelby Miller of the Cards. Vogelsong went 5 2/3 innings against the Nationals in his NLDS appearance October 7, giving up two hits and one run. Miller gave up five hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings the same day in his NLDS outing against the Dodgers.

Oct 07

NLDS Day Four, 2014

Dodgers at Cardinals, 2:00PM PT, TV: Fox Sports 1

This is it for the Dodgers. They must win today. If not, they’ll go home, lick their wounds and hunt for reliable middle relief in the offseason. Recognizing that, they’re sending Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher in either league, out to do battle with Shelby Miller (10-9, 3.74 ERA), who’ll be making his first appearance of the postseason. Kershaw has to get past his uncharacteristic failure in Game One. Assuming he does, he still has to rely on the Dodgers’ offense, which has been anything but scintillating. In Game Three they were a dreadful 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. They desperately need Gonzales (.167 for the series), Gordon (.154), Uribe (.077) and Puig (.250) to get untracked, and they need them today.

Nationals at Giants, 6:00PM PT, TV: Fox Sports 1

The Nationals must also win today or take the winter off early. In hopes of doing so they hand the ball to Gio Gonzales, who got on a roll in September, going 4-1 with a 2.36 ERA and righting what had been a forgettable season. His opponent will be Ryan Vogelsong, who did just the opposite in the last month, going 0-4 with a 5.53 ERA.

The Nationals too have a hitting problem. Third-baseman Anthony Rendon is 7-for-15 (.467) this postseason. The rest of the Nats’ starting position players have combined to go 13-for-96 (.135).

Jul 26

Game 105, 2014

Dodgers at Giants, 6:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN, CSN-BA

Kershaw vs. Vogelsong. Kershaw (11-2 with a 1.92 ERA) was handed his first loss of the season by the Giants back in May in a seven-inning, three-run performance. Overall, though, he’s 11-5 with a 1.48 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) against his San Francisco rivals in his career. Vogelsong, (5-7 with a 3.99 ERA), is 0-0 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers this year.

Overnight the Giants added Jake Peavy to their rotation, trading left-hander Edwin Escobar and right-hander Heath Hembree to the Red Sox to get him. They’ll also get cash to pay at least some of his salary. One might look at his record (Peavy, 33, is 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA and has allowed an American League-high 20 home runs) and say “Huh?” Well, Peavy and Giants’ manager Bochy were together with the Padres for Peavy’s first five years in the bigs. Also, he’s got a 8-5 record with a 3.90 ERA in 14 career starts at San Francisco’s AT&T Park.

Lineup when available.

Jul 25

Game 104, 2014

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA

The end of July is probably a little early to be declaring a series crucial, but this one feels important because the Giants and Dodgers have been trading first place between them for the past three weeks or so, with the largest margin no greater than the two games it was before the Giants lost to the Phillies yesterday. In light of that, the Dodgers set their rotation early; it will be their top three starters Greinke, Kershaw and Ryu to face the back end of the Giants’ rotation: Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong and Yusmeiro Petit.

Notes: Puig may start tonight. He took extra BP Wednesday. Ramirez is probably not going to start until later in the series, if at all. The Giants have won 7 of the 10 games the two ancient rivals have played so far this season. The Sunday game will be televised on ESPN at 8:07PM ET.

Lineup when available.

Pffft. Ramirez is starting and hitting cleanup, despite what I said above. I based that on his not taking any batting practice, unlike Puig. Thanks, Don!

Apr 16

Game 15, 2014

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PST on SPNLA and NBC Bay Area.

Maholm (0 -1 , 8.10 ERA) v. Vogelsong (0 – 0, 8.00 ERA). Vogelsong has allowed eight earned runs on 14 hits and three walks in nine innings pitched so far this season. Maholm allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in his only start so far.

If you remember yesterday’s starters, each had an ERA above 9.00. Tonight we have starters who each have an ERA below that, all the way down to 8.00. Progress!

Update: Clayton Kershaw’s frustrated by not being able to pitch and contribute $100 for each opposing batter he strikes out, he says, so he’s transferring his donation to his fellow pitchers’ strikeouts. If my addition is correct, that’s 139 strikeouts by the entire staff for $13,900.

Lineup when available.