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.
Magic number down to 14.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I think it’s 13.
I think it is14 because we would lose the tiebreaker with the Padres.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!
Dodgers have 86 wins the Padres have 81. So if the Padres have 17 games left, they can win a max of 98 games. Dodgers win 13 they have 99.
The only way the tie breaker comes into play is if they were tied at the end of 162. Doubtful that happens. Where the tiebreaker will come into play is if they and the Phillies tie for the best record. Personally, I would rather see the Phillies have the best record because they would have to play the winner of the Padres-D-Backs series if they stay in the same positions they are right now.
Excellent point.
Okay, your math is better than mine and even better for the men in blue!😀
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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.
It drives me nuts. And I want to say at or just below 2/3rd of them are solo shots. Add the fact he strikes out a lot for a lead off batter that should set the table……for him batting 3rd LOL!!!
I would add at least 10 RBI because for half the season 7-8-9 have been anemic. Could be closer to 15.
They are winning. I get it. I just think they cannot help but be different when it isn’t always necessary. Like pinch hitting for Max when he is always the best option they have regardless of the pitcher.
👍
Ohtani’s best career stats are in the 2-slot. He is a .287 hitter hitting second, .269 leading off. Second is also where his highest OPS is, and the only slot where it is over 1.000. He hits .271 in the three hole. I bat him second. He has struck out 145 times this year, he struck out 143 last year but played in fewer games. Doubtful he reaches his career high of 189. His OBP this year is 38 points lower than last year.
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!
There is an interesting Jack Harris article in Times this morning regarding the arm injuries. It’s called “the epicenter of the ache”, and it’s written about the Dodgers of course, but the problem is league wide. I can’t copy and paste any of it, and there’s a paywall of course, but the gist is they know what the problem is, it’s insisting on velocity, but they don’t know what to do about it as they continue to insist on, and teach, how to throw harder.
As for this year the goal is to get as many back as is possible and get them ready for the playoffs.
This problem isn’t going to be fixed anytime soon. It’s systemic and requires an entirely new paradigm which hasn’t been discovered yet. The Dodgers, and Guardians I believe, are considered ahead of curve on development so we should look to them to figure this out. At the current time Friedman admits he doesn’t have the solution so nothing is going to change now or in the immediate future. Stand by for more of the same.
Would it change if the Dodgers #FireFriedman?
Joke!
Badger –
Thank you for the synopsis of that article on this important topic. I have had numerous discussions with my baseball buddies about why it is happening and its impact on the future of the game. I will stay tuned to learn more about how MLB will address it.
Speaking of the “future of the game,” are others here as concerned as I am about the rampant growth of sports betting being promoted by both professional and college athletic organizations? It seems to me that given baseball’s past with sports betting it should not be so closely packaged with MLB games? I understand that it is legalized now but l am uncomfortable with is pervasiveness these days. I would be interested in the comments of others on this topic.
Badger hope you’re well and the back is holding up.
Still no one thinking there might be a correlation between the advent of the Pitching Clock and the huge increase in arm and shoulder injuries!!!!
Pitchers have always thrown hard, yes there were exceptions of course, but the one thing that has changed in recent times is the time between those pitches. I flagged it up before it was introduced and I’m still sure it has had an effect. I guess time will tell.
I would imagine there’s going to be a lot of crossed fingers when Yamamoto takes the mound tomorrow evening. Having him and Glasgow rested and ready to go for the Post Season would be a massive boost.
I’m with you Watford, pitchers have been chasing velocity for a while now, and it has caused more arm injuries, but the pitch clock has pushed things across the line to the realm of ridiculousness. To me it seems there has been a rash of arm injuries the past two seasons. In my mind it would be like lifting weights, do your three sets of ten, but never rest your muscles in between sets. I’m not a trainer, or a doctor, but even I can see what’s happening. I think keeping the games short is more important to the mlb, than the health of the players.
I think the union is going to have to step up and tackle this problem, they may not be able to address it until the next contract, either that or maybe a dangerous work environment law suit is on the horizon.
one thing for sure if I had a kid that wanted to play baseball, I would not let him be a pitcher.
Watford Dodger, you mentioned the pitch clock as a possible culprit in the “huge” increase in arm injuries. Certainly an interesting topic but I’m in the camp that thinks if the pitch clock has had any effect at all, it’s minimal.
Repeated maximum effort has negative effects, on the arm, over time. Arm injuries have steadily risen as velocity and spin has risen.
This root cause has been going on for at least 10 years. as organizations have encouraged young pitchers to increase spin and velocity. Now pitching labs, with advance technology are in every organization. They all pay lip service to reducing injuries but every one is seeking velocity.
For years it was believed that velo was God given. A mature young pitcher might gain 3 or 4 miles per hour on their fastball but that was about it. This was believed by pitching gurus like Tom House.
Well, modern technology and biomechanics proved that wrong. Now it’s common to increase maximum velocity by 10 miles an hour.
This increase was well under way and I’ve seen no evidence that the pitch clock has accelerated arm injuries.
Young pitchers all came up through the minors with the Pitch Clock.
I’ll bet that if you allowed every pitcher to take as long as they wanted and they threw as hard as they can and spin it as hard as they can, there would be NO reduction in arm injuries. And you’d have 5 hour games.
How do you see evidence that spin accelerates arm injuries, and the pitch clock doesn’t?
I’m not saying you are wrong, it’s intuitively correct to me. But is there evidence?
That’s a really good question, Bluto. I guess I’ve listened to the “experts” who have attributed long-term maximum velocity and spin together as the culprits for arm injuries.
I’ve also listened to guys like John Smoltz talk about the effects of the pitch clock to form my opinion on that.
check it out on YouTube. Google “John Smoltz explains why MLB’s top pitchers are getting hurt with elbow injuries”.
Your question is exactly why I’m advocating more science in this area for form some solid conclusions.
Miller was also shut down for a while and Frasso had TJ surgery. That’s 11 of our top 12 starters at the beginning of the year out for part of or all of 24. Only Knack has been healthy. This is intolerable not only for Dodgers but MLB
Frasso had shoulder labrum surgery in November 2023.
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.
If Taylor bunted and then the next batter stuck out, doesn’t end with the same result?
It was interesting to see Phillips face several LHB in the 9th. He’s had troubles in the past and they seem to be still be the case. His struggles this year facing lefties is something that will need to be handled properly during the postseason.
No reason for Taylor to bunt with one out. Maybe with 0 outs to get the runner to 3rd with one out.
You guys are right about not having Taylor bunt with ONE out. Geez, I even wrote there was one out but somehow my brain failed to comprehend it.
I would think the bunt’s in order with no outs but not one. And folks who hate small ball would argue, never bunt. But I would have moved both runners into scoring position with NO outs.
I’m getting stupid in my old age.
In the words of Edith Ann……never mind.
Thanks Sam,
It’s super hard to get a hit, so don’t give away outs.
So many people pine for the “small ball” approach and then overlook the fact that most cases end up refuting the logic.
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”
This is also quite excellent:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31553574/why-pitching-know-today-exist-mike-marshall
And this “response” (not really, but Will Carroll is great)
https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/6217/under-the-knife-marshalls-law/
Ted, thanks for the tip on accessing the Mike Marshall video. I’d never seen it and it’s absolutely fascinating. It is really interesting to listen to his research and teaching methods from 2010. A number of things stood out:
*when Mike pitched, the average MLB velocity was less then 90mph. And he discussed the problems that have steadily gotten worse.
*he expressed the theory that large jumps in velocity was not possible. Guys had a God given skill that had limits to improvement.
*He proposed very different mechanics and muscle use then is in vogue today. He was not a proponent of separation by a pitcher. He described the disadvantages of hip and upper body separation which is exactly how Aroldis Chapman throws 105 mph.
*he talked about “pitch sequencing” before it was a thing.
*he pointed out issues with a young Steven Strasburg. He was right.
*what is significant was his use of science and kinesiology to come up with efficient mechanics that are safe. He discussed pronation. Cameras show today that every pitch, including curves and sliders, end with pronation.
Ideas like Marshall’s and many others are exactly what I was talking about yesterday when I stated MLB and all of the organizations need to pool their resources to study how to reduce arm injuries. That includes pitching mechanics and training methods.
It’s proven that long term repetitive pitching at maximum velocity with maximum spin will eventually wear out the elbow and shoulder. Are there better solutions through stuff like Mike Marshall promoted to rethink what’s being done? Are the ideas of innings limits and pitch management better than other training methods and increased throwing to build arm strength? Are their better was to train muscles to put less stress on UCL?
Plenty thought Marshall was a Nut. But what we’re doing isn’t working.
Something besides disposable pitchers, steel cables for UCL’s and braces that act like restrictor plates on NASCARs, must be explored.
Maybe Marshal should have thrown a couple of arm up pitches after the long delay. The delay everybody is aware of.
Injury not Injurie
Spell correct has told me injurie many times.
What?
Is it a French phone?
No, it does it on my computer, I do not use the phone to do this stuff.
Dodgers need to win something like 15 of the remaining games to get to 100.
Anyone think it’s doable?
Sked is relatively easy.
Not that easy, 3 with the Cubs, who are fighting to get into the playoffs, and we get Imanaga on Tuesday against Yamamoto. Then four with the Braves, who are trying to fight off the Mets. Miami just took two of three against the Phillies, then we get the Rockies, who have many new players, the Padres, and then the Rockies to finish in Colorado, which is a snake pit. Winning 100 is probably not the priority.
We’d have to go 14-5. Is it doable? Totally doable as we’re just that good.
But it’s a .736 winning % which says it’s not likely.
So I’ll say it’s doable, but not likely.
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
This is just a joke with Buehler and Miller. I’d rather pitch Knack in October. How sweet was that for Bellinger!
I love it. Busch and Bellinger saying hello
Why would you love seeing anyone homer against the Dodgers?
Great post Rick. I had never thought of comparing drop and drive to tall and fall guys. And very interesting results.
The Tom House – Ron Wolforth school of tall and fall seemed to take over during the 90’s and beyond. I didn’t encounter any coaches teaching drop and drive during that period.
Interesting analysis that American kids are more tall & fall and Japanese pitchers taught drop and drive. It’s my impression, and maybe falsely, that Japanese pitchers in general are more finesse oriented and don’t throw as hard whereas the American kids are all about velocity.
Anyway it’s an interesting study and if arm injuries can be reduced, everything should be open for review.
That’s for the site Dodgerrick.
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.
Here’s an idea. Let us vote on what uniform number we most associate with a player.
For example I think of 3 as Willie Davis.
Not Cessar Izturis?
cool idea, I will post mine, and then you guys can do yours.
Are you separating Brooklyn and LA?
#0 Flaherty. No Brooklyn player wore 0.
#1 Pee Wee Reese, both LA and Brooklyn.
#2 Leo Durocher-Brooklyn, Bobby Valentine-LA.
#3 Billy Cox-BR, Willie Davis-LA.
#4 Duke Snider-BR and LA.
#5 Cookie Lavagetto-BR, Corey Seager-LA, Freeman in a couple years.
#6 Carl Furillo-BR, Steve Garvey-LA.
#7 Pete Reiser-BR, Steve Yeager-LA.
#8 George Shuba-BR, Reggie Smith-LA.
#9 Babe Phelps-BR, Wally Moon-LA.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice night for Belli and Busch liked em both
Hard to be confident about October when your second best starter right now is the bullpen. Jeff and Bear, please don’t feel the pressure to put out a post every day. We’re very grateful for all your effort and the great writing that you both provide for us.
Casparius maybe, but Wrobleski has proved nothing more than he allows homers at a higher rate than Buehler. 9 homers in 32 innings, an ERA over 6? Please, and as for Ferris, kid is 20 years old has pitched exactly 44 games and 177.2 innings in his career, 121 of those this year. His average start is less than 5 innings. Talk about putting pressure on the bullpen that is already overworked. Try again.
But Wrobleski is still young and could use the experience . My old coach used to say; If I have two equal players for the same position I will always go with the younger one. And their overall stats are not that far apart to say that Buehler is the better choice.
Wrobleski showed me a lot when he took one for the team in ARI . Pitched well after that disastrous inning and pitched two more scoreless after that in relief.
Yes, Ferris is young but he would only have to be there for 2-3 starts. And who knows, maybe the Dodgers catch lightning in a bottle ?
More than anything the names I lilsted were with the intention to point out that IMHO Buehler is done. At least for 2024.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A. If they were going to bring up Ferris or Henriquez it would have happened already. B. Wrobleski was on the ropes both innings of that relief stint. Experience is what the team needs, not some kid throwing batting practice. Is Buehler even going to make the postseason roster? At this point, doubtful. They need to lock down the division first, then you can experiment with the kids. Ferris would put even more pressure on a bullpen that could use some length from its starters. It isn’t happening. Not one single pitcher at AAA with more than 5 wins, most have ERA’s above 4. Wrobleski’s at AAA is over 5.
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.
And we think we have problems. The Braves are on the outside looking in right now. Big series for them against us coming up. Both teams have been devastated with injuries this year but we have survived a lot better because of our pitching depth.
We may a lot of pitchers, but a deep look at our pitching stats reveals some serious weaknesses.
The Dodger starters are down the list in innings pitched, quality starts, surrendering home runs, and FIP. The relievers are near the top in blown saves and down the list save percentage. What this team is good at is scoring runs, but you know who is better? The Arizona Diamondbacks.
I am hoping Glasnow and Yamamoto come back and pitch like the starters we know they can be. If they do, and the offense shows up, we will be favorites going into October. But if they do not, and the offense shuts down, even a little, it will be tough to beat playoff teams.
It’s nearing mid September. It’s time to turn it up.
And their pitching has an ERA over 4. They are way down at the bottom of the league. Let them and SD beat each other up in the playoffs.
Last year they ended relatively strong:
9/10 @ Nationals W, 7-3
9/11 vs. Padres L 11-8
9/12 vs. Padres W, 11-2
9/13 vs. Padres L, 6-1
9/15 @ Mariners W, 6-3
9/16 @ Mariners W, 6-2
9/17 @ MarinersW, 6-1
9/18 vs Detroit W, 8-3
9/19 vs Detroit W, 3-2
9/20 vs Detroit L, 4-2
9/21 vs. Giants W, 7-2
9/22 vs. Giants L, 5-1
9/23 vs. Giants W, 7-0
9/24 vs. Giants W, 3-2
9/25 @ Rockies L, 4-1
9/26 @ Rockies W, 11-2
9/27 @ Rockies W, 8-2
9/28 @Rockies L, 14-5
9/29 @Giants W, 6-2
9/30 @Giants L 2-1
10/1 @Giants W 5-2
I think that’s a .666 winning clip.
That’s a lot of games against teams with losing records.
This is and was true!
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.
Buehler is among those pitchers who are missing the sticky stuff the most. The velo is only a tick below what it was before his 2nd TJ surgery but the sticky stuff is gone.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My take on Buehler – he won’t be helpful in the time left. Yes, he has a 97 mph fastball, but checking the heat maps on fangraphs Phil is right, Buehler can’t find the edges with it.
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/walker-buehler/19374/heat-maps?position=P
It would be helpful if he had an effective change up, but he does not. On the same site check the Pitch Type Splits. They show hitters are banging the change up at .500. I don’t see him or Miller included on the post season roster. I could be wrong about that. We’ll see.
The team could also use Graterol at 100%. Is he coming back?
I say again, this team needs to hit.
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.
Thulsa Doom.
Epic .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
RIP to the King of Zamunda!
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.
Ramirez will be DFAed today when Yamamoto comes back.
Grove or Honeywell will be next when the Bazooka returns tomorrow.
If the Dodgers do not get Glasnow and Yamamoto back or if they can not be counted on for more than 4-5 innings in the playoffs they MUST have a killer bullpen.
And for that to have Henriquez IMHO (and in the eyes of many others , looking at various blogs and you tube channells) should get a close look.
Banda has hit a wall lately because the Dodgers overused him . That is the collateral damage when you have too many starters who can not provide innings.
I would like our playoff bullpen to consist of : Kopech, Phillpps, Treinen, Hudson,Vesia, Banda, Henriquez,Graterol plus one starter not needed for the 4 men rotation as the long man.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In his defense, Muncy hit a line drive shot, but right at the 1b.
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.
Interesting. Why is he even pitching this late in the year? Bullpen help?
If the Catman can go 2 innings, he would be a viable option for the pen.
He certainly would. As maybe would Buehler and/or Miller.
Banda probably done for the year due to a left hand fracture placed on 15 day IL. Graterol activated.
Maybe I missed something. Did Banda actually get injured or is this a reference to “phantom injury”?
Sounds like someone had a bad outing and made things worse by punching a wall.
Yet another LA Dodger pitcher going on the IL. This pitching staff is a joke.
Injuries are not a joke tho Banda’s seems self induced. Yamamoto gave us some hope tonight! And I quess we’ve found our new cleanup hitter!
No joking matter. This particular injurie is strange since he pitched last night.
INJURY!
Az and SD both winning in the 6th inning of their games. How about that Edman kid?
If only Muncy could hit left handers!
These two are gabbing right through some important plays. Call the game dammit.