Dustin May throttled San Diego for 6.2 innings. Then Xander Bogaerts smoked a double to dead center that Trayce Thompson made a good play and throw to 2B, but Bogaerts made it in safely. He walked Matt Carpenter after Dustin thought he had him struck out. K zone says it was on the line. Bob Melvin made a strategic move to pinch run Rougned Odor for Carpenter. Orel said it was a smart move, but it was really a no-brainer. It turned out to be an impact move as Ha-Seong Kim doubled down the left field line and Odor raced home from 1st just beating the throw at the plate.
May had thrown only 66 pitches thru 6 IP, and was breezing. He was pounding the strike zone all night. I have zero problem with Doc leaving May in to face Kim. It was his game. With Soto on 3rd in the 5th, he got Kim to ground out to Miguel Rojas to keep Soto stranded at 3rd. Kim beat him this time, give Kim credit. As Dontrelle would say…”The other guys drive expensive cars too.” I know I am in the minority, but I like Dontrelle.
Then the bullpen took over from there. Caleb Ferguson struck out Trent Grisham on three pitches to end the 8th.
With the Dodgers back up 4-2 in the 8th, Nelson Cruz, PH for Brett Sullivan, and Fernando Tatis singled. Cruz moved to 3rd. Ferguson struck out Jake Cronenworth, and everything was set up for RHRP Evan Phillips to face RHH Manny Machado. The hope was that Phillips would induce Machado to hit the ball on the ground for a potential DP.
Blake Snell was his usual tough competitor against the Dodgers. Chris Taylor who sees Snell better than any other Dodger doubled of him. But Snell buckled down and got Muncy on a ground ball, moving CT3 to 3rd. Miguel Vargas got the count to 3-0, but ended striking out on the 8th pitch from Snell. Snell got Rojas to end the threat.
In the 3rd, Snell unbelievably walked Trayce Thompson on 4 pitches. Mookie followed with a walk of his own. They both scored when Freddie doubled in the right-center gap. Will Smith hit a bloop single to center and the Dodgers had runners on the corners with nobody out. Snell struck out JDM on three pitches that were borderline at best. May did not get the borderline against Carpenter, but Snell got 3 on JDM.
Snell settled down and sat the Dodgers down fairly easily the next three innings. He walked Will Smith and gave up a single to JDM, but that was all.
After the Padres tied it up in the top of the 7th inning, Snell was out and another lefty came in. LHRP Tim Hill came in to relief. Hill got Thompson to ground out, and then last weekend’s hero came to the plate. On a 3-1 pitch, Mookie hit a sinker that did not move over the left field wall for the lead. Last weekend, Mookie homered off LHRP Josh Hader, and Friday he homered off LHRP Tim Hill. But wait there is more. Freddie, who had already doubled home to two in the 3rd, followed Mookie’s solo blast with a solo shot of his own.
That set up the Ferguson and Phillips piggyback shut down inning. Phillips came back in the 9th to try for a 5 out save (13 pitches). When his sweeper is working, he is unhittable. He owned Bogaerts in that 9th inning AB as well as Kim. The bullpen was awesome again. With Ferguson back from paternity leave, they have everyone back.
The Dodgers have now beaten San Diego three consecutive games, and all three games have been nailbiters. Great starting pitching, great relief pitching, and clutch hitting for the Dodgers, and off good LHP. I hope Snell loses all of his games, but it sure would be nice to have him pitch against the Dodgers as he does against other teams. Other teams seem to hit him better.
The Dodgers were 2-8 with runners in scoring position, and 2 of the 4 runs were a direct result of HRs.
Saturday is a rematch of Sunday’s game – Julio Urías v Joe Musgrove. Win this one and win the series.
05-12-2023 MiLB Summary Report
OKC Dodgers 6 – Round Rock Express (Texas) 0
Matt Andriese pitched a brilliant 2-hit shutout 6.0 innings. This was by far his best effort with the Dodgers. He is starting to string together some good outings.
OKC pitched a 2-hit shutout. Mark Washington pitched 2.0 perfect innings with a K, and Alex Vesia pitched a scoreless 9th with a K.
OKC was shutout themselves until the 6th. Drew Avans opened the inning with a single that was followed by a Michael Busch BB. Luke Williams forced Busch at 2nd. Steven Duggar singled to score Avans. That was followed by Mann who singled home Williams. Justin Yurchak reached on an error and Duggar scored. The 4th run was plated by a Patrick Mazeika single. Yurchak was out at home to end the inning.
A walk and a pair of singles scored 1 in the 8th. And a 1-out single, HBP, and BB to load the bases. Luke Williams hit a sac fly to finish the scoring.
OKC did not have an XBH.
- Steven Duggar – 3-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Devin Mann – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI
Tulsa Drillers 10 – Springfield Cardinals
With Landon Knack on the bump looking to continue his dominance, he allowed a run in the 1st on a single, SB, and a 2-out single.
The Drillers got the run back in the bottom of the 1st. With one out, Jorbit Vivas singled and moved to 3rd on a double by Andy Pages. Imanol Vargas and Diego Cartaya drew back to back walks to force in the tying run.
The Drillers broke it open in the 2nd with 5. Carson Taylor led off with a HR. With one out, Jonny DeLuca drew a BB. After the 2nd out, Andy Pages singled, Imanol Vargas had a run scoring single, and Diego Cartaya slugged a 3-run HR.
The Drillers scored another in the 4th, after a BB and a pair of singles, again with Imanol Vargas getting the run scoring single.
Knack was rolling along thru 5 innings. He allowed a couple of hits and a HBP, but he did not walk a batter. He did get 4 Ks. His ERA dropped to 1.55 on the year.
Tanner Dodson, Ben Harris, and Trevor Bettencourt each pitched a scoreless innings (6th-8th).
The bats continued to produce in the 8th. Taylor drew a walk and moved to third on a Brandon Lewis double. Taylor scored on a ground out, and Lewis scored on a triple by Andy Pages. Pages crossed home on still another Imanol Vargas RBI single, his 3rd of the game.
The Cardinals scored 4 in the 9th off Bettencourt and Jack Little. Only two were earned.
The Drillers have now won 4 straight against the Cardinals, and have won 9 of their last 10 games.
- Andy Pages – 3-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (12), triple (1)
- Imanol Vargas – 3-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 3 RBI,
- Carson Taylor – 2-3, 1BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, HR (2)
- Jorbit Vivas – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Diego Cartaya – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR (3)
Great Lakes Loons 8 – Lake County Captains (Cleveland) 4 – 10 innings
Great Lakes struck first in the 3rd inning. Jake Vogel reached via E4 and stole 2B. Surprisingly this was Vogel’s 1st SB. Frank Rodriguez singled and moved Vogel to 3rd. Austin Gauthier continued to dominate A+ pitching and double Vogel home. Dalton Rushing singled Rodriguez home and Gauthier moved up to 3rd. Then Rushing and Gauthier pulled off a double steal of 2nd and home respectively.
Ronan Kopp started for GL and pitched effectively in the first two innings. In the 3rd, Kopp issued a pair of walks, and a single brought home the Captains first run. Kopp is still not stretching out as if he were considered a starting candidate.
Robbie Peto pitched flawlessly for the first two innings he pitched. The Captains scored 3 in the 7th (Peto’s 3rd inning).They ran out of more runs by having runners thrown out at the plate and at 2nd base. However, they did take a 4-3 lead into the 8th.
In the 8th, the Loons got a single by Damon Keith, a BB to Kyle Freeland, and run scoring single to Taylor Young.
While Christian Suarez and Antonio Knowles were shutting down the Lake County bats, the Loons put up 4 in the 10th. With Dalton Rushing starting on 2nd, Damon Keith and Alex Freeland singled with Rushing scoring and Keith ending up at 3rd. Taylor Young got a sac fly. Griffin Lockwood-Powell then unloaded with a 2-run HR and the Loons had a 4 run lead.
With a runner on 2nd, Knowles walked the first batter, but then retired the side with a pair of Ks.
- Austin Gauthier – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, double (8)
- Damon Keith – 2-5, 2 runs
- Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (6), HR (2)
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 11 – Stockton Ports (A’s) 1
After playing three straight one-run games in their series with Stockton, the Quakes enjoyed a good old-fashioned blowout on Friday night, hammering the Ports by a final of 11-1.
Jose Izarra led off the game with a home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle, as the Quakes never looked back, scoring five in the first inning against Stockton starter Yehizon Sanchez (0-5) to set the tone in front of nearly 4,000 fans.
Rancho starter Payton Martin used just 25 pitches over two scoreless innings, while Chris Campos nabbed his team-leading fifth win of the year, as he allowed just one run over 3.2 innings in relief.
Nick Biddison and Jorge Puerta both chipped in with three RBIs each, as the Quakes have now won three of four in the series and can clinch another series victory with a win in either of the two remaining games.
The Quakes (23-9) will send Peter Heubeck (0-2) to the mound on Saturday night, as he’ll take on Stockton lefty James Gonzalez (0-3) at 6:30pm.
Some random thoughts.
A good night for Dodger and Laker fans.
I think I read that Rojas is going back to the way he hit in spring training which was to maximize contact instead of the big swing that was so unsuccessful in April. He can be a spoiler at the bottom of the lineup by putting the ball in play with runners on base.
I’m not a rah rah guy. I’m not much of a cheerleader. I enjoy the inner peace of success. I say that because surprisingly Taylor and Muncy annoy me with their bland attitude. I miss Joc and Kike’. Tatis can be over-the-top so for me he is too much rah rah. However, I would be overjoyed if Tatis were the Dodger shortstop.
Kershaw is an awesome in-game interview.
Should a team like KC keep a superstar when they don’t have a decent path to being competitive now or for the next maybe 5 years? They could get quite a few controlled players for him that would make them better without adding payroll. I’m talking about Witt Jr.
Bear, my question is now whether they will trade him but should they trade him.
I think KC has a real problem. They are no where near being a contender anytime soon. But they also need a face of the franchise and Witt is that. But all things considered, it would be wise for them to move him for a large return. Will they? Doubtful. Dodgers released 5 minor leaguers. One outfielder, Michael Reed, and four pitchers. The most notable name on the pitchers list is Cole Percival’s kid. He has signed with the Angels.
Percival was released May 9. I did report him. As you said, he signed with LAA…go figure. Another pitcher, LHP Julian Smith was also released May 9. I thought that I did report him because he was a favorite of Harold’s, but I do not remember.
Michael Reed was released April 29. He was a 2nd round 2016 draft choice by San Diego. I was following him thru his MiLB days. I was surprised that San Diego released him, and surprised that LAD signed him. He played with Andy Pages at Tulsa last year. He was Buddy Reed up until this year. He has signed with Milwaukee and their ACL team. I have a soft spot in my heart for Reed. I do hope he climbs that ladder to the top one day.
The other two pitchers were 18 year old DSL guys: Steven Castillo (Nicaragua) and Edgar Aviles (Mexico). Castillo was released 16 months after signing (May 5), and Aviles was released 13 months after signing (May 9). I am not sure what happened here, but this is way too early for LAD to give up on young arms. That is not something they do.
They will not be the last.
I would welcome Tatis as the LAD SS with open arms. Being immature and silly are not tantamount to bad chemistry or a dirty player like Machado.
Should KC trade Bobby Witt Jr. IMO, yes. KC has control over Witt until 2027, and does not figure to be a serious contender during that time. KC has butchered high draft picks, especially in 2018 with 4 top 40 picks and 6 top 100. They could use an infusion of prospects at or very near MLB.
Will they? IMO, No! KC could never satisfy their baseball people OR fan base that they would be getting enough in return.
Could the Dodgers put together a package that could entice KC? Absolutely. Will they? IMO, NO! That is just not something AF has ever done. He trades prospects for rentals (Hill, Darvish, Betts, Machado, Scherzer, Turner), but when has he traded prospects for a player at Witt’s stage of his career? The cost would be too high for AF.
Morning Jeff, great win last night. I have zero problem with Roberts leaving May in. It was his game until it wasn’t. Padres and Dodgers have played exactly 2 playoff series against each other and are 1-1. I still believe had the Dodgers not had 5 days off after their last game, they would have won that series. In 2020 the Dodgers swept them like the little crybaby’s they are and clobbered them in the final game of that series. Smith had five hits that day. The only Dodger ever with 5 hits in a post-season game. As for Dontrelle, I love the guy. He has fun and his repartee with his boothmate is both refreshing and fun to listen to.
Thank you on Dontrelle. He is fun. I know a lot out there disagree.
Less would be more with him.
The best color guy the Dodgers have, BY FAR, is the one they aren’t even paying. Clayton Kershaw.
Great personality, can talk on any subject while keeping his eye on what’s happening on the field and then making worthwhile comments on that subject.
I think what I like most about CK as opposed to most of the others is that he is actually having a pleasant, interesting conversation with Joe or Stephen or whomever. Most of the others sound either like they’re deathly afraid of dead air space or are being paid by the word (or in Jessica’s case by the giggle).
My wife and I were watching the game when CK came on. She said he has found his future. While I think he is the more knowledgeable and more amiable of any of the Dodgers announcer side-kicks, and has the perfect personality for color commentary, broadcasting will not be in his future, except MAYBE (big Maybe) an occasional Fox or ESPN Game of the Week. His future is being a Dad and philanthropy.
Question for all Jeff, which current Dodgers do you guys think would make good managers or coaches after they retire? I do think CK would be great in the booth, but I also think he is such a family and charity’s focused guy that spending a lot of time away from his family after he retires would not be very attractive to him.
Responding to your question, Bear, the two names that stand out to me as future coach/managers would be JHey and Rojas. They both seem to be very good communicators, are respected in the clubhouse and really study the game.
I agree, Jeff, that Clayton would never spend a whole season traveling around with the team just to do broadcasts.
I suppose they might prevail upon him to sit in whenever they come to Dallas, or maybe he’d be willing to do a few games a year remotely.
Family and philanthropy are far more important to him than sitting in front of a mic. When he retires, anything he does, with the exception of his charity work in Africa, is likely to be done close to Dallas, at least as long as his kids are young and still in school. Who knows, maybe coaching at the high school or college level might be part of his future, but again, close to Dallas.
Maybe when Charlie gets to HS???
Chase Utley would be a good Manager but like Kersh, I don’t think he wants to travel with the team after retirement. He made enough money while playing.
I’ll add AJ Ellis as a Manager. Ooh, how about AJ and Kersh in the booth together.
I like Davis. Vin did football and baseball game of the week with joe Garagiola. Will wants to get national exposure and weekend baseball on Fox gives it to him. A good career move.
I think Joe gets boxed in with his color guys. Give him some space and let him know that he is responsible to do the broadcast and if he wants input from the sidekick then ask a question of them.
I like him too. But I agree 10% less would be better. Same with Orel but let’s make it 90% less. He does know pitching, and can be somewhat interesting when he’s droning on about that.
Fans usually are split on broadcasters unless they are like the legends, Scully, Carey, Buck, Jack not Joe. I have never warmed to Davis, I prefer Neverett. I know I am definitely in the minority there. I also like Charlie Steiner on the radio simply because he isn’t perfect. Orel drives me nuts. I like his knowledge about pitching, but he doth drone too much methinks.
I like Davis. I just wish he would be THE guy. He’s not. He’s all over the place.
I don’t know who THE guy is, but maybe some time needs to pass. I spend a lot of minutes watching the Dodgers with the mute on. I know what I’m looking at, I don’t need it explained to me. Certainly not by Orel. For now, I’ll take Nelson and Nomar