The Dodgers played game two of their series with the Guardians tonight minus one of their big guns, Teoscar Hernandez. That’s the bad news, the good news is that imaging earlier in the day showed no broken bones and Teo said later he was feeling much better and that he felt he could play by Monday or Tuesday against the Cubs. The Dodgers also knew that both the Phillies and the D-Backs had lost their games earlier in the day to Miami and Houston respectively. Pages started in left for Teo, and Barnes did the catching. Another change was Max Muncy moving into his old familiar 4 slot. Edman, Lux and Rojas followed him.
The way Dodgers players have been biting the dust with injurie after injurie, the fans have to be wondering who is next. Other news prior to game time was that both Glasnow and Yamamoto were throwing on the field today. Glasnow a bullpen, and Yamamoto long toss in the outfield. David Vassagh reported that Graterol will be activated in the next two days, so either Sunday or Monday. Yamamoto is set to come off of the IL to pitch on Tuesday against the Cubs.
The Dodgers climbed all over Willaims in the first inning. Ohtani grounded out after hitting a very loud foul down the right-field line. Willams then walked Betts, Freeman and Muncy. Edman hit a ball down the left-field line for a ground-rule double scoring Betts and Freeman. Lux hit a sac-fly to score Muncy. Rojas then singled to right scoring Edman. That knocked Williams out of the game and Avila replaced him. Pages then hit a 2-run homer to cap the scoring, and the Dodgers led 6-0.
Wrobleski replaced Brasier who started the bullpen game. Fry was aboard on catcher’s interference by Barnes. Schneeman popped out. Lane Thomas then homered into the left field bleachers. It would be the last score for Cleveland although they had a bunch of baserunners.
In the bottom of the 4th, Betts hit his 16th homer with 2 outs and that would end the scoring for the game. Meanwhile, the Dodger bullpen kept the Guardians off of the board. Treinen, Vesia, Kopech and Honeywell were great the rest of the way allowing just 4 hits in their 5 innings of work. Honeywell got the win as the Dodgers prevailed, 7-2. Both Arizona and San Diego lost and the Dodgers picked up a game on both. They also pulled into a tie with the Phillies for the best record in the majors as Philly lost to the Marlins.
In the minors OKC lost 4-1, Tulsa beat San Antonio, 5-4, Great Lakes beat Dayton, 3-0 on the next to last day of their season, and Rancho beat Visalia in the next to last game of their season 6-4. The Dodgers had to feel pretty good going into Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Ace, Tanner Bibee. 
Sunday’s game would be played in 103-degree heat. It was close to 110 on the field. Both pitchers started off by getting the first three hitters they faced. Cleveland’s first baserunner was Thomas, who singled to left and then went to second on an error by Pages. Flaherty got the next two hitters with no trouble. Muncy walked to lead off the third, but the next three hitters went down.
Flaherty pitched around a single in the third. With 2 outs in the bottom of the third, Ohtani singled, but was picked off by Bibee. Ramirez singled to lead off the fourth, but then Naylor lined to Muncy who turned a double play. Thomas struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Betts led off with a triple off of the top of the center field fence. Freeman grounded out to first and Betts had to hole. Muncy walked and Smith singled to score Mookie. Edman walked, but then Lux struck out and Pages flew out to right. 
Flaherty struck out two in a clean 5th. Kiermaier struck out to lead off the fifth, Ohtani then hit a 450-foot bomb down the right field line. Betts and Freeman made outs. Flaherty carved up the Guardians in the sixth. The Dodgers had runners on first and second with 1 out, but Taylor, hitting for Lux, struck out and then so did Pages.
Flaherty got the Guardians 1-2-3 in the seventh. Cleveland did the same in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the eighth, Flaherty got Schneeman, but then Freeman singled. Kopech relieved and got the next two hitters to end the inning. Flaherty pitched 7.1 innings of shutout baseball, his best performance as a Dodger.
In the bottom of the eighth, Freeman grounded out. Muncy then hit his 12th homer to left center field, off of a lefty no less. Smith doubled and then scored on a single by Taylor after Edman struck out for the second out of the inning. Pages then struck out to end the eighth. Phillips came in to pitch the ninth.
The first two hitters in the Cleveland ninth singled. Ramirez then hit into a double play. He then walked Naylor putting runners on first and third. With 2 on and 2 out, Phillips struck out Thomas to end the game. LA wins 4-0. Flaherty got his 12th win and dropped his ERA below 3 to 2.86.
SF jumped out to a 7-1 lead over the Padres in San Diego by the sixth inning, so far, SD has scored 5 over the last two innings to make the score, 7-6. Arizona plays Houston tonight. LA will not lose any games off of their lead. They did pick up a game on Philadelphia as the Phillies lost their second straight to Miami, 10-1. The D-Backs beat Houston 12-6. They scored 8 runs in the first three innings off of Justin Verlander. Pavin Smith hit 3 homers and drove in 7 runs in the rout.
The Dodgers finished the schedule against AL teams with a 30-16 record. That is a .644-win percentage. The Giants beat the Padres, 7-6 dropping them to 6 games behind the Dodgers. Great Lakes ended their season with a 6-5 win over Dayton, ending their season with a 69-61 record good for third place. Josue DePaula was 0-2 in this game, but he had 3 walks and an RBI. DePaula finished the year with a .268/.404/.405 slash line, an .809 OPS. He had 10 homers and 62 RBIs. He stole 27 bases and was caught 3 times.
OKC dropped a 7-2 decision to Sugarland. Feyereisen started and took the loss allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings. Rooney allowed 2 runs, Little 1 and Dreyer 2. Outman walked three times, Feduccia was the only player with 2 hits. Tulsa dropped a 6-4 decision to San Antonio. Lockwood-Powell, Young and Davis all had 2 hits. Lockwood-Powell hit a homer, his 14th, Ramos hit his 16th. Rosario went 3.1 innings and gave up all of the runs for his 5th loss.
Great Lakes finished their season with a 6-5 win over Dayton. DePaula was 0-2 with 3 walks and an RBI. He finished his season with a .268/404/.405 line. He had 10 homers, 62 driven in, 27 steals and he was caught just 3 times. His OPS was .809. Great Lakes finished at 69-61 in 3rd place.
Rancho finished their season with a 6-2 loss to Visalia. They were 65-65 on the season 3rd in the Cal South division. Swan went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs for the loss. Zahir Hope finished with a .290/.419/.484 slash line. He stole 9 bases and was caught 2 times. His OPS was .903. Kendall George finished with a .279/.384/.328 slash line with an OPS of .712. He had one homer and 31 driven in. He did steal 38 bases and was caught 12 times.
Dodgers picked up a game on the Padres and kept their lead at 6.5 over the D-Backs. They also picked up a game on the Phillies. They lead all of the majors in wins. 19 to play. 17 for the Padres.
Zahir Hope could move up quickly… With Hope and Farris, the Busch deal is looking like a win-win.
I wonder how many RBI’s Ohtani would have if he hit just one place back in the lineup. I think I would hit him third. Betts, Freddie, Ohtani.
Can someone tell me how many solo shots he has?
This team is showing its superiority. They got through the August schedule and remained in first place. Considering the injuries I find that extraordinary. I was prepared for them to be caught.
The Dodgers are the team to beat in the National League and everybody knows it. Now let’s get Glasnow and Yamamoto back in time to finish the season and roll into the playoffs at full strength.
Whose next indeed! Here are some pitchers to go down with major arm/ shoulder injuries;
Buehler, Kershaw,May, Gonsolin, Sheehan, Ryan. Then Yamamoto, Glasnow and Stone with inflamed shoulders. This is not normal and is intolerable.
As a fan you can say it’s happening to every team but this is almost every starter they have. As an organization you have to look deep and make changes. And no, I am not in a position to say how they need to change because I don’t know what they are already doing and how it is different from other teams or past practices. But this is ridiculous!
Nice win yesterday and for the series over a very good Cleveland team.
Flaherty was a clinic on pitching backwards. His command of his breaking balls, to get ahead in the count, was awesome. His 84 well located slider and his slow 77 mph curve set up his 94mph fastball. He’d keep that edgy and get weak contact or swing and miss. The 7th should be a training video on how to get hitters outs. His secret is great command of 3 pitches.
I liked Doc sending Flaherty out for the 8th. His pitch count was fine and I’m sure the plan was to give him 1 baserunner. I’ve done it many times with a pitcher. The agreement with the pitcher is to give him the inning until he gives up a baserunner. If he cruises he gets thru 8. If a runner gets on any way, you make the pitching change. I liked Doc doing that.
And there was the move in the 6th, I didn’t like.
The bottom of the 6th reflects the kind of Doc moves that I criticize. Up 2 with runners on first and second, with one out, the sac bunt is in order. It’s the perfect situation with the lower part of the order, to set up an add on run. It would be for sure, for me, in the playoffs, so do it now.
Lux has zero sac bunts on the year. Maybe his career. If he could bunt, he’d stay in the lineup. But he doesn’t so you pinch hit for Lux with CT3, knowing you will force a pitching change, which predictably happened; so now you sac bunt with CT3 to get 2 add on runs in scoring position.
But no. After the pitching change, CT3 faces the RHP and you DON’t BUNT? Naturally he strikes out, as does the next hitter and the promising inning is wasted.
If you don’t plan on sacrificing with CT3, keep Lux in the game. He struggles against LHP, .159/.414 but CT# hits .173/.545 so the pinch hitting move, without the bunt, is useless. Another Doc move that’s more eye candy than justified.
Phillips was shitty. With a big lead Evan, just pump 96 mph fastballs. Don’t trick em and don’t walk anybody.
I was reading some late posts from yesterday’s blog. STB brought up Mike Marshall’s approach to a pitcher throwing a baseball and was confused (totally understandable) on how it was explained. I had remembered that 60 minutes did a story on Marshall and his pitching methods. So, I checked on YouTube and found this video. Here’s the link.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Pitcher+mike+marshall+on+60+minutes
This should be all one line. Highlight it and paste into the address bar.
If it doesn’t work then search “pitcher mike marshall on 60 minutes”
Injury not Injurie
Dodgers need to win something like 15 of the remaining games to get to 100.
Anyone think it’s doable?
Sked is relatively easy.
Mookie is up for the Roberto Clemente Award. I just voted for him on MLB.com.
Former Dodger, Eddy Alvarez was purchased from the Red Sox by the Mets. Anthony Gose, who pitched against LA Sunday and gave up the homer to Muncy, was DFAd by Cleveland.
RE: Pitching injuries
I have wondered about the shift from “drop and drive” pitching to the “tall and fall” that’s in vogue now and its effect on pitching injuries. With the former, the emphasis is on the lower half generating the power. With the latter, you pitch “downhill” and the arm does more work.
They are starting to study this and the early returns that this could be a reason why there are more Tommy John surgeries now.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23259671221128041?icid=int.sj-full-text.citing-articles.17
Guys, neither Jeff nor I have a post ready for tomorrow, so continue to post your thoughts on this post. A new one will be posted on Wednesday.
Buehler?
Buehler?
Buehler?
Okay, I am officially done with Buehler. Can not trot him out over and over again. He not only loses games but he ruins the bullpen too .
It just does not make any sense.And now you have Yamamoto today knowing he will go 3-4 innings at max.And then Miller….
I would rather see Casparius, Wrobleski or maybe even Jackson Ferris out there.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for asking W, I’m slowing down but still waking up every day. Good to see you posting here.
Speaking of slowing down, wasn’t it about this time last year the Dodgers offense started sputtering? Last night it was pitching of course, which is predictable with the starter issues the team has. Two more unearned runs looks bad in box score, as I have said all year this defense does not impress, but it wasn’t the defense that lost this one. Clearly it was the starting pitching.
And here comes Yamamoto to the rescue. Crossing fingers for this one.
The ex-Dodgers were 6 for 9 with 6 RBI and on a mission to prove something it appeared.
Congrats to Busch going 4 for 5. We knew he was a good player but there was no room at his positions, He benefitted from his trade and good for him.
The Dodgers got Ferris and Hope for Busch and Almonte. That trade will need to marinate for a few years before a review, but initially, Yence had shoulder surgery, but Busch got an opportunity to be an everyday MLB player.
This game got ugly and there is nothing to talk about after the 6th inning.
It was the same old thing with Walker Buehler. If I casually watched him throw a bullpen, I would like his stuff. He still has that 97 mph fastball and can spin some nice breaking balls.
But in competition Buehler continues to throw his pitches upper thigh high, especially the fastball. It isn’t center-cut but it is in the inner 1/3 or outer 1/3 of the strike zone, consistently. But it is thigh high. Everything needs to be 10” lower or 10”’higher.
And he doesn’t get away with anything. The homer to Busch was a fastball up and away to the corner of the zone. And to Busch’s credit, he went the other way to the short porch in left and hit it out.
He is consistently incapable of pitching at the bottom of the strike zone.
Hendricks was the opposite of Buehler. Walker got hit throwing strikes and Hendricks never throws a strike. He lives off the plate and gets hitters to get themselves out. He’s relentless and won’t give in and throw one over the plate.
WOW, that Pete Crow-Armstrong can run and cover center field. Bellinger could always go get it in center, but this Pete Crow-Williams has another gear in order to move Belli to right.
Lux is in a dead pull mode again.
Ed Kranepool passed away yesterday as did one of my favorite actors, James Earl Jones. The voice of Darth Vader, and Admiral Griggs in three of the Jack Ryan movies, also had a pivotal role in three baseball movies. Field of Dreams, Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings and The Sandlot. I first remember seeing him in a movie when he played the young bombardier in Dr. Strangelove. He also played a B-52 pilot in the HBO movie, By the Dawns Early Light. He was also widely acclaimed as a stage actor. And he was the bad guy in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s, Conan the Barbarian. RIP.
Buehler took two steps back last night. He probably should not have been sent back out to start the 6th inning. That was when the game got out of hand, and Banda did not help much. The offense sputtered against a guy with an ERA over 6. Muncy had two chances with the bases loaded and only delivered a sac-fly. Just a bad game all-around. Muncy’s catch for the DP was pretty cool thought. Yamamoto tonight. Hope we never see Ramirez again.
The Marlins claimed Michael Petersen off of waivers from the Dodgers, so there is a good chance he faces them next week in Miami. Bickford sent down by the Yankees. Brett De Geus was DFAd to make room for Petersen. Another former Dodger. Yahoo sports is reporting that most pundits think the Dodgers will be very active this offseason with Sasaki, if he is posted, as their main target.
Ramirez DFAd. Yamamoto activated.
Teo still not in the lineup, Edman is batting 4th. Barnes 9th and catching.
Tony Gonsolin pitched today for OKC.
2ip, 2 hits, 3k. No clue how hard he was throwing, however.
Banda probably done for the year due to a left hand fracture placed on 15 day IL. Graterol activated.
Az and SD both winning in the 6th inning of their games. How about that Edman kid?
These two are gabbing right through some important plays. Call the game dammit.