An ESPN game. Buehler vs Charlie Morton: With both Arizona and the Padres winning their games, this became a really important game for the Dodgers. And this game became a pitcher’s duel. Charle Morton carved through the Dodger lineup for the first 4 innings allowing just a double by Edman, and a walk to Freddie Freeman.
Buehler managed to get through 2 scoreless innings. In the third, Walker ran into some trouble. He struck out Merrifield, then Harris walked. With Soler at bat, Austin Barnes was charged with catcher’s interference. Ozuna and Olson walked driving in the first run. d’Arnaud hit a chopper over the mound that Lux did not charge, and it was an infield single driving in the second run. Arcia grounded back to Buehler, who threw home for the second out. Kelenic then hit a deep fly to right that Betts caught at the wall.
The Dodgers got on the board in the top of the 5th. Muncy singled, and Lux walked. Smith PH for Barnes and flied out to right with Muncy moving to third. Kiermaier struck out. With 2 down, Ohtani doubled down the right field line scoring Muncy. Betts then flied out to Kelenic.
Buehler settled down and, in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings he threw just 9 pitches in each inning. Morton left after the 6th and LHP Dylan Lee took over for the Braves. Muncy flew out and Kike, pinch hitting for Lux, struck out. Smith walked and Pages PH for Kiermaier. Pages singled to center with Smith going to second. Ohtani then doubled down the right field line scoring Smith. Atlanta brought in Jimenez. Betts flied out again to end the inning.
Blake Treinen took over in the bottom of the 7th. Hernandez took over at 2nd and Pages took over in center. Treinen got three grounders for a quick 1-2-3 inning. Freeman flew out to deep right. He is now 1 for his last 20. Hernandez walked and Edman flew out to Harris. Muncy then struck out to end the 8th inning.
With the middle of the Brave order coming up in the bottom of the 8th, Kopech came in to pitch. Kopech walked Ozuna to start the inning. White came in to run for Ozuna. Olson doubled to right, White to third. d’Arnaud hit a shallow fly to Teo for the first out. Arcia then struck out. Kelenic struck out to end the inning.
Iglesias came in to pitch the 9th for the Braves. He would be facing Hernandez, Smith and Pages. He got Kike on three pitches. Will Smith tripled off of the top of the RF wall. Pages grounded out to the pitcher, and they walked Ohtani intentionally. Betts singled driving in Smith. Freeman hit a ground ball to left scoring Ohtani, and Betts scored on the error by Kelenic. Freeman went to second on the error. Teo then homered to left center, a 2-run homer to put LA up 7-2. Brebbia replaced Iglesias. Iglesias, who had not given up an earned run in quite a while, saw his ERA jump 50 points.
Tommy Edman then hit his 5th homer to right field on the first pitch from Brebbia. Muncy then homered to left for three in a row. Kike struck out to end the inning. Dodgers up 9-2. For the game, LA is 5-13 with RISP. They struck out 10 times, but also had 11 hits. All 9 of the Dodgers runs were scored with 2 outs.
Bazooka came in to pitch the 9th inning. He would be facing 8-9-1 in the batting order. Urshela struck out. Merrifield grounded out to Muncy. Harris lined out to Edman to end the game, and the Dodgers got a much-needed win. The win allowed the Dodgers to gain a game on Milwaukee for the second-best record in the NL. They have 88 wins and the Brewers 86. Their lead over the Padres remains at 3.5 and 5 over Arizona. They are 2 games behind Philadelphia for the best record in the NL.
Recap and Summary:
Walker Buehler did exactly what the Dodgers needed him to do, give them at least 6 innings by a starting pitcher. His first three innings were not pretty, but his last three were vintage Buehler. 9 pitches in each of those last innings. Treinen did a great job with three groundouts in the 7th, and Ohtani’s two doubles got the game even. Of course, everyone’s blood pressure went up when Kopech walked the first batter in the 8th, and then gave up a double, putting runners on second and third with no outs. But he got d’Arnaud to hit a short fly to left, and then he struck out the next two hitters keeping the Braves off of the board.
The 9th inning showed how dangerous the Dodger lineup can be even against a shutdown closer. The key moment was the Braves decision to walk Ohtani intentionally putting runners on first and third. Betts came through with his single. Freeman, 1 for his last 21, then singled to drive in 2.
It was the kind of win that can inject a lot of energy into your team. They face Freid tomorrow with Yamamoto pitching. Should be a really good game.
Minor League Scores
Tulsa played their final game of the season. They lost to Wichita 4-2 and finished with a 63-74 record, good for 4th in the Nothern Division. Ortiz-Mayr took the loss, finishing with a 7-8 record and a 4.71 ERA. Brendon Davis was 2-3 with his 9th homer. Lockwood-Powell also had 2 hits.
OKC beat Tacoma 6-4 behind a 3-4, 2 homer, 5 RBI game from James Outman who was batting leadoff this game. The homers brought his total to 15 with OKC this year, and 19 on the year counting his homers with the Dodgers. Hoese also had 2 hits. Cartaya was 1-3 with 2 runs scored.
Gonsolin started and went 2.2 innings allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, 2 runs and he struck out 3. Kelly went a clean inning and struck out 2. He also got the win. Henriquez struck out the only batter he faced. Casparius went 3 innings. He allowed 4 hits, walked 3, gave up 2 runs and struck out 4. Dreyer went 1 inning allowing only a walk. Connor Brogdon pitched a clean 9th for the save. He struck out one.
Around the League
Three former Dodger relievers were cut loose by their teams today. Victor Gonzalez was released by the Yankees. Dylan Floro was DFAd by Arizona, and Nick Robertson was DFAd by the Angels. Paul Sewald was placed on the 15-day IL by the D-Backs.
Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear
Austin Barnes left the game with a contusion to his big toe.
Buehler gives us some October hope. I don’t know if we win that game without the three Kopeck K’s. Clutch!
He struck out two, the last two hitters he faced. d’Arnaud hit a short fly to left for the first out.
Undefeated since joining the Dodgers!
How serious is Barnes injury? And does that dictate if Feduccia comes up, or Dalton Rushing?
On the home page they say they are very concerned with Barnes. If he goes to the IL I want them to bring up Rushing and not Fiduccia. Give the kid a look. .
Badly needed win today with the Padres on yet another winning streak. Buehler looked very good his last 3 innings. Hopefully he can keep it up and improve even more.
Starting pitching will decided how far the Dodgers can go this season.
In this regard a huge game for Yamamoto today.Can he built on his last outing? Fingers crossed!
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feduccia is already on his way to join the team per MLBTR.
What’s with all these toe injuries this year?
A lot of batters and catchers have been hit in the foot and toes by pitches this season. This is the second time Barnes has taken one off of his toe. Kershaw’s bone spur on his toe has been there for years.
Nice recap Bear.
Very good game until the 9th and then we fatten the averages.
Go figure in a very important series, each team wins a game with a blow out.
Hats off to Walker. He’s getting better and adjusting to how he can be successful. His last few outings have been a major improvement. Think where he started his comeback. He was out-running his arm and high and wild. His alignment and balance were totally off. He was falling off glove side and his fastball was everywhere.
Then there was improvement.
His next starts were better with balance and alignment toward the target, but he still struggled with thigh high pitches, especially the fastball, that go hit.
Last night, he made far fewer mistakes thigh high fastballs and pitched backwards successfully. He got ahead and his breaking ball locations, were great. Both slider and curve were great.
He didn’t just throw, He pitched. Great to see.
I loved what I’m seeing and hats off to the guy for pushing through his troubles and building some confidence.
Now we need Miller to show similar improvement. Find some pitch he can land consistently so hitters can’t sit on that change-up.. It would sure be nice to see both Walker and Bobby competitive again. It could make our postseason.
It’s really our only hope.
Something smells of fish with Kershaw’s mystery toe. Is there a Kirk Gibson type appearance planned for the playoffs? The guy is buffed, running around, throwing flat ground and cheerling on his mates. But his toe hurts.
According to Doc there is no treatment for his condition; just time. So maybe in three weeks he wakes up and his toe doesn’t hurt? So his condition is listed as “Toeday or maybe toemorrow?”
The entire broadcast team turned their broadcast into an “Ohtani Love Fest”the love fest. The Ohtani Show on Sunday Night Baseball..
Kopeck……that was great TV.
Tommy Edman is quickly becoming a favorite. He’s “a baseball player”.
So how come Will Smiths fly to right hits the top of a brick wall and bounces BACK into the park? There’s a par 5 on my course with a pond and brick wall in front of the green, Every single time I hit a big drive and went for the green in 2, my shot hit the same type brick wall in front of the green and bounced BACK into the lake. Doesn’t my shot and Will’s shot defy physics?
I was with you until that last paragraph Phil.
That is an interesting design in right field, a short porch, 325 down the line, and a 16’ wall from line to right center. The lower part of the wall is padded to 10’, with 6’ of brick on the upper part. I kinda like it. Makes the center fielder have to move and the right fielder make a decision on how he’s going to play the ball. The dimensions are shorter than Turner but that 16’ fence means home runs must have loft.
It’s Kopech and yes he looks like a closer to me. Gonsolin and Casparius could both be multiple inning relievers, which this team needs. I believe Feduccia will be called up.
Toes and a lot of arms. Weird.
9 runs. That is what this offense is capable of, but why so many all or nothing days? Consistency would be nice.
2 weeks left. Time to turn it up. The schedule suggests this team will take care of business. Miami, Colorado and San Diego at home, then finish in Colorado. Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat and with a 3.5 game lead you will be tough to catch.
Miami thrashed Philly in their latest series. U never know in Colorado so it won’t be easy with our pitching.
Don’t play in Colorado until the last three games. They play today in Atlanta, then 3 in Miami, six at home starting with the Rockies this weekend, Padres come in next Tuesday for three then they finish up in Colorado. Hopefully they have the division sewn up by then.
I enjoyed destroying their closer immensely.
I can see Lux being traded in the off season and Betts moving to second. I can also see Edmand at short and Rojas moving around the infield playing as needed.
This opens outfield spots for Rushing, Pages, Outman, and Teo Hernandez.
I hope that’s not our OF next season, I’d like to think we can do better than that. I’d like to see Teoscar back but I think he’s going to be looking for that big contract, not sure if Andrew will be the one to give it to him.
Rojas is easily our best SS. He should start there next year. Edman can stay in his current role, giving Rojas a day off every week and starting in CF.
Edman can have the CT/Kiké role, infield and outfield, and Rojas can have backup infield spot. I still want an everyday shortstop. Adames is 29. He’ll do.
Great idea to trade away the one player in the every day lineup who is in his mid 20s.
This team is old already, pitching and hitting side.Maybe one reason why they have so many injuries.
They must get younger and more athletic.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!
Im not a huge Lux fan, I’ll give him credit he’s improved the last third of the season, but I’m still not sold that he’s the future at second for the dodgers.
Maybe Lux could be traded for younger talent. Not a bad thought really. Mookie does want second base.
Yep. More likely to be traded for prospects, or a similarly young player.
Glasnow has left the team. Dave Roberts said he does not know where he went. Apparently, he is very frustrated with the way his injury has been handled. This was on Yahoo Sports this morning. Some think he might have gone to get a second opinion.
Two really concerning pieces of information here:
1) The manager doesn’t know where his player is but knows he isn’t with the team.
2) After the trainers, etc for the team have already come under scrutiny, we now have the guy who many considered our #1 starter “frustrated with the way his injury has been handled”. Frustrated enough to leave the team.
That is troubling, I always thought our medical staff had the reputation of being top notch, this brings that into question. With our resources we should have one of the top medical staffs in sports.
Exactly, if players are questioning the staff, things need to change,
As he should.
Agreed.
Cole Irvin claimed by the Twins.
Would like to see them up by at least 5 games when they face the Padres next week. Padres are playing the Astros the next three days. They are pitching Darvish, King and Cease. Should be a good series and I hope Houston pummels them. Heyward had 3 hits yesterday including his 8th homer of the year, and he drove in 2 runs.
Houston is good, but not the powerhouse they used to be. We shall see…
No, but they have been playing well and they have good pitching.
Joe Kelly has rejoined the Dodgers in Atlanta. Per David Vassagh.
Swell
Barnes said he had imaging, and it showed a break in a different place than last time. Pretty sure he is IL bound.
So, Bear will Barnes spot be taken by Feduccia or will they give Rushing a try?
I glanced at the OKC stats on both. Feduccia is hitting .284 / .837 w/ 6 dingers.
His splits are significant however; .219 vs LHP and .304 vs RHP.
Rushing is hitting .267/.887 w/ 7 dingers. But his splits are NOT significant; .261 vs LHP and .272 vs RHP. It would be nice to have a backup catcher who could fill a pinch hitting role as well.
Does the report that Feduccia is on his way have any legs?
What’s your scouting report say?
According to the Atlantic, Feduccia is already in Atlanta, or on his way. Feduccia is a pretty decent defensive catcher, something Rushing is still working on. He is definitely the better offensive choice, but he has been playing left field almost exclusively and has only caught 3 games at AAA, doubtful they consider him a backup option at this point.
SI now has the story about Glasnow, he cleaned out his locker and flew out, but no one knows where he went. Strange. If he was heading somewhere for medical treatment, you would think the manager and front office would have been notified. He was obviously tired of fielding questions about his injury from reporters.
I sure hope this has a happy ending
Not sure how the Dodgers handle players on the IL with leave away from the team, but the way Doc answered the question without “covering for Glasnow” leads me to believe the Dodgers might just be a bit pissed at him. Can you just leave the team that pays you handsomely to play without telling them where you’re going?
I get being frustrated with being on the IL and missing the post season, but to just leave without your employer knowing where you’re at seems like Glasnow is a “me first” player. Optics not so good on this one.
Stay tuned for more news at eleven…………..
I’d lay odds at 3:1 that this is a non-story.
Reported by Sports Illustrated on their website. Just google it and you will see that it is a story.
I’ll stick by my post, there’s nothing there.
At 3 to 1 I’ll take the bet. 15 push-ups. We on?
I don’t know why Glasnow would be pissed at the Dodgers. He did this year what he does every year. It doesn’t make sense to me unless he’s pissed they made him pitch more than 90 pitches so often.
He hasn’t earned my give-a-schit yet.
Not sure how MLB teams work the IL list and allow for absences from the team, but to
leave the team unexcused without a known destination known to the manager strikes me as a “ me first” player.
Unacceptable and for Doc to make no attempt to cover for him kind of tells me Doc is pissed.
looks like he went AWOL and owes the people that pay him handsomely to play a game an explanation.
Per Bruce Kuntz @DodgersDigest:
LHRP prospect Garrett McDaniels since moving to a relief role in late June:
28.1 IP
2.22 ERA
1.57 FIP
33.9 K%
5.1 BB%
0 home runs
.193 AVG against
McDaniels, who was a 30th round draftee by Miami in 2018, is suddenly a very intriguing prospect.
Interesting but 24 so he needs to move quickly. Might b the lefty they need in a couple.
Winning the last two of this series, with the Glasnow disappointment is a nice turn.
Meanwhile Chris Taylor’s OPS+?
56.
I can’t believe he’s going to be on the playoff roster.
AF not ready to admit he made a huge mistake. I can’t wait til Taylor goes away.
We all have our weaknesses.
Fantastic recovery to this series by the Dodgers. Sure looked like the Dodgers were going to be swept. Battled to win game 3 n looks like a winner for game 4 against good pitching. Also on the road where they have struggled. This bullpen has been abused but have looked good the last 2 .
just a side note Imanaga of the Cubs has gone to the post with no injury all year. Struck out 11 today in mid September. Cease of the pads has done the same. Sale all year. King of the pads all year after being a reliever. I could go on peralta of Milwaukee. There are ace pitchers and other pitchers who have gone to the post all year. No Dodgers. Make of that what u will.
Anyway proud of the Dodgers finish in Atlanta. Hope we can keep it up.
This past Friday morning, I would’ve settled for a split in this series against a good team. We got the split.
Now I want at least 2 of 3 in Miami
Until 2021, no team in MLB history had ever had an R H E line of 9 4 1.
Since then, it has been done twice. Both by the Dodgers. Both in Atlanta.
That is amazing! 4 hits and 9 runs.
Nice comeback in the series the last two games.
Great base running by Rojas, who is having a great year.
I think Phil Jones was about the only guy advocating for Rojas to be the full time SS early this year. He has been a valuable player for the Dodgers all season.
Among Dodgers regulars, Rojas is now tied with Mookie for top BA at .297.
Well, unless we count newest regular Tommy Edman, who is now at .298.
Shohei has slipped to .288 and Freddie is at .280. Love to see Freddie flex that HR, though.
Best play today: The Edman-to-Kike-to-Smith relay to cut down Michael Harris at the plate. A real momentum killer for the Braves.
Max Fried pitched pretty well. He could be on the Dodgers’ FA shopping list this winter, and he might want to come home to LA.