Clayton Kershaw pronounced himself ready and did not need a rehab start. The Dodgers are so far out in front, really what difference does it make if Kershaw pitches against the Mets or Round Rock Express? Actually, NYM may have been a preferred rehab start as he was 10-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 98.1 IP coming into the game.
After the 1st inning, this was vintage Kershaw. With three walks in the 1st inning, his control was certainly rusty as to be expected. Would he be better prepared for the playoffs had he pitched with OKC? I don’t think so. And I acknowledge that had Trea Turner been positioned differently, the first inning would have ended on a Francisco Lindor DP.
Kershaw seemed to work out the rust in the second inning. He retires the side in order in the 2nd through the 5th, with 6 K’s. After he walked in the one run, Kersh retired 13 in a row.
I see no problem whatsoever that Kersh was removed after 5.0 IP. Even if the bullpen imploded and the Mets jumped all over them, this was a game to get Kershaw back and to get him ready for October. A win would be preferred, but getting Kershaw back was more important. He had 74 pitches, and seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
Chris Martin threw a great pitch to Starling Marte, and he hit it on the end of the bat that Gavin Lux casually fielded and Marte beat the throw. That brings up a concern about the defense. It is not just the errors, but the missed opportunities.
- Lux not charging a ground ball.
- Trea Turner did not appear to be positioned properly in the 1st. Maybe he was per the position sheets, but I got the impression that even Nomar thought he was too much in the hole. Yes, I am guessing, but before shifts, I remember where SS played when in DP position.
- Muncy not putting the glove on Lindor’s steal of third. I could very well be wrong, but it sure looked like the throw beat him, and Muncy had time to get the glove down to Lindor’s hand.
- Lux and Betts miscommunication on a pop up into right field.
- Chris Taylor’s failure to give cutoff a chance, and Caleb Ferguson failing to back up the overthrow.
Chris Martin should not have given up a run in that inning had Lux charged Marte’s ball. Neither should have Caleb Ferguson in his inning had their not been the miscommunication.
Yet another question. Do the Dodgers OF play more shallow than do the Mets OF? It sure seemed that Brandon Nimmo gets to the balls where Lindor hit his. I do not believe he is faster or has more range than do Trayce Thompson or Cody Bellinger. It is just a silly observation. Means nothing.
If it were not for defensive lapses, the Dodgers shut out the Mets. I would have a lot of confidence facing NYM in the NLCS.
As an aside, not knowing the status of LAD pitching for 2023, I would not mind at all to see Chris Bassitt pitching for LAD next year. He is a FA. He was laboring in the 6th, but got out of trouble. 103 pitches. His game was very similar to Tyler Anderson’s. He got hit a bit, but was able to navigate through traffic.
OTOH, while Edwin Díaz who is also a FA after this year, is in another universe this year as a closer, I see no reason for any LAD fan to think that Díaz will be wearing LAD blue next year. There is speculation, that Díaz will be the first reliever to receive $100MM contract. Let Steve Cohen pony up those dollars. Can NYM afford Jacob deGrom and Díaz? Of course they can, but will they? It has been reported deGrom wants $50MM/year.
Yesterday Bluto indicated that he would take the field against the Dodgers to win the championship, and Badger agreed. That is certainly a safe choice, but I am not going to Vegas to place a bet, so I choose to go out on a limb and say the Dodgers will win the WS with or without Tony Gonsolin. They are that deep.
I have no problem playing any team in MLB with that rotation. Of course having Gonsolin would be preferrable, but not knowing what the MRI will show, we will just have to wait until a specific report is made.
MiLB Summary
Round Rock Express (Texas) 2 vs OKC Dodgers 0 – 7 innings due to wet grounds
- Dodgers outhit Express 7-2, but could not score. Bobby Miller walked a batter in the 2nd, and then allowed a 2-out 2-run HR. He then proceeded to retire the next 13 players in a row.
- Bobby Miller – 6.0 IP, 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 14 Ks, 100 pitches (69 strikes). 14 strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
- James Outman – 2-3
Box Score
NW Arkansas Travelers (KC) and Tulsa Drillers Game Postponed due to rain
Lake County Captains (Cleveland) 8 vs Great Lakes Loons 5
- Jorbit Vivas – 2-4 with a double (19)
- Kekai Rios – 2-4 with a double (8)
- Ismael Alcantara – double (10)
- Diego Cartaya – 1-3, 2 walks, 2 RBIs
- Adolfo Ramirez – 5.0 IP, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts
- Ben Harris – 1.1 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Box Score
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 1 vs Inland Empire 66ers (LAA) 9
- Quakes had 8 hits, all singles
- Chris Alleyne – 2-4
- Jacob Meador – 1.0 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Box Score
Bobby Miller had another good start. 2 hits in 6.0 innings. Unfortunately one of those hits was a 2-run HR (only 2 runs), and OKC was shut out. Miller struck out 14 in those 6.0 innings, and only walked one. The command was certainly there tonight. Now he needs to back Thursday night’s game with another stellar job in his next start.
I went on record early saying I wasn’t all that impressed with the Dodgers defense. They’ve been better than I anticipated, but last night was awful. That said, we got out pitched in this series.
I said taking the field is a safe bet. There were some very good regular season teams last year that didn’t win it. The only one the Dodgers won in the last 40 some years was the shortened season. I don’t gamble either.
Not that much wear on Kershaw’s arm the last two years. He might be the #1 going into the playoffs. I have a gut feeling we will need to hit win against the better teams. Just a feeling.
Miller. The best arm in our organization?
He has the best arm, now he needs to become the best pitcher. I know I sometimes come across as someone who is not enamored by Bobby Miller, but really all I have ever wanted to do is to try and temper some of the over-zealous calls for Miller to get pushed to LA without being fully developed (I am not including you Badger). He now has three AAA starts, and the last two have been very good, last night was special. I do think Miller will get every opportunity to make the rotation next year. I cannot see AF/BG signing a mid to back end starter as a FA and block Miller. He probably has another 4 starts for OKC, and if he shows continued consistency, then the Dodgers should consider taking off the MiLB training wheels.
Check this out:
I hope Jeff is right!
I wouldn’t bet on it. Doh!
My heart sometimes gets too large and blocks my thought process, but in this case, I see something special in this team. I have not felt this way since 2017. But we also know how that ended. Except for this week with NYM, the team has found ways to win when they should not have.
A few notes:
Someone needs to slap that smirk off of Nimmo’s mug.
I’ve come to realize that Bellinger has less baseball acumen than Puig.
DeGrom is very good but is beatable.
I can’t trust Bellinger, Muncy, Taylor, or Gallo to come up big in the playoffs.
Trea needs a few days off. I know Roberts says Trea wants to play everyday, which is admirable, but Roberts is the manager and he needs to make a managerial decision; in this case, resting Trea despite any objections.
Looking forward to seeing what Vargas can do.
My five-year-old grandson in Chico has become a Giants fan. His T-Ball league is sponsored by the Giants and they gave all the youngsters Giant jerseys and other paraphernalia. Good for the Giants. Bad for my grandson as he is now out of my will. 😂
Interesting thoughts Fred.
Responding bottom to top:
I too have grandsons in Chico. One is 5 years old. Don’t know his favorite team, but his Dad is a Dodgers fan.
Vargas. Me too.
Agree on Trea. His edge appears to have been rubbed a bit smooth.
If each of those guys can have one clutch moment in each series, the rest of the lineup will get it done.
deGrom might be peaking by October. That’s a scary thought.
Bellinger clearly isn’t right and time is short. I’m still hopeful.
Nimmo. Isn’t he a lost fish? Under the gills and low and away. That will fin-ish him.
Well I have had a cup of coffee but haven’t yet played Wordle. I don’t have anything to add, yet. I’ll be back.
Free agents deGrom and Diaz – will both be Mets going forward. Steve Cohen will pay them whatever he needs to…………………….because he can, and they’re worth it.
Trea – add me to the list of those who say he needs a couple days off, whether he wants them or not.
Ben Harris – this is a guy (a reliever) we drafted out of the U of Georgia last year. He started the year at Rancho and after good success there he’s spent the last half at GL.
How about this for some impressive stats:
He has given up 1 run in his last 22 innings
35 k’s and just 7 bb’s in those 22 innings
He hasn’t given up a hit in his last 14 outings, which covers 17.2 innings.
This guy has future closer written all over him.
Ben Harris looks like the real deal. Harold and I have been touting him all year. He has earned every bit of recognition he is currently getting. He is 22, and it sure would have been nice to see him pushed to AA. He had a rough start at Rancho, but since getting the Great Lakes promotion, he has been almost unhittable. In his last 17 games at Great Lakes, he has pitched 20 innings without surrendering a run, on 2 hits, 8 walks, and 32 strikeouts. That is a 4:1 strikeout ratio which is excellent at any level. It is more than 50% K of the outs recorded (32 out of 60).
Harris has been throwing more strikes since joining Tulsa (65% vs less than 62% pre-Tulsa), but he needs to become a bit more efficient. At Tulsa, he has 16.83 P/IP and 4.489 P/PA.
Maybe the series with NYM was helped by the scheduling gurus who seemed to have it out for LAD. Teams are supposed to play early games on getaway day. Yet they played a night game in Miami before traveling to play NYM the next day. Yes it was in the same time zone, but the team did not get to their NY hotel until 4:00 AM on game day. Perhaps it was the adrenaline that pushed them on Tuesday, but they looked lethargic the next two days, and played that way.
Now they have to fly across country for a game that started at 4:10 PM on the east coast, when it should have been 1:00 PM (or earlier) so the Dodgers could get back to LA to play the next night against their division rivals; Padres and Yu Darvish.
Hey, look who’s not in the lineup:
1. Mookie Betts (R) RF
2. F. Freeman (L) 1B
3. Will Smith (R) C
4. Max Muncy (L) DH
5. Justin Turner (R) 3B
6. Joey Gallo (L) LF
7. Chris Taylor (R) 2B
8. Cody Bellinger (L) CF
9. Hanser Alberto (R) SS
Trea gets a night off, and I guess that Gavin is in the doghouse. That is two below .200, 1 below .205, and yet another below .225 with all four heading south.
Blake Treinen has been activated, and Jake Reed has been DFA’d. He was optioned his 6th time and by rule needed to be DFA’d. He cannot be added to any roster and be eligible for the post season. If he passes through waivers, perhaps he elects a to sign a MiLB deal with LAD. He will have one more option year after 2022.
We won’t miss Reed. Unless of course we do.
One of those Mendoza hitters is going yard tonight.
Gonsolin with encouraging MRI.
I am downtown Tahoe for the Keith Urban concert at Harrahs. I did not get a chance to see the report. Anything on Graterol?
Not sure results were released. Just read that Roberts said the results were “encouraging” and Gonsolin would begin a throwing program tomorrow. I have heard nothing new on Graterol.