First off, how many bad umpiring games do we have to endure? Ramon De Jesus was just another poor excuse for a home plate umpire.
Now to the game. Are we witnessing the unveiling of a future dominant Ace? Dustin May pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in the 2nd game of the year, throwing 84 pitches (56 strikes). I know, I know it is only the DBacks. On this night, he pitched 5.0 scoreless innings before he walked Geraldo Perdomo on 4 pitches to open the 6th. Perdomo scored on a Josh Rojas double to break the streak. May proceeded to strike out Ketel Marte, got Lourdes Gurriel Jr to pop up to Freddie, and got Christian Walker to ground out 6-3. After 6.0 IP and 83 pitches, Dustin was done. He came out with a 5-1 lead and then turned it over to the pen.
May has been clear in that he insists that he is going to go as hard as he can for as long as can. He seemed to tire some in the 6th. After the game he blamed himself for not staying ready between innings. He called it bone headed on his part, and he will learn from it.
He still got his 2nd quality start of the year. That makes 6 quality starts for the first seven games this season for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers got on the board in the second. Max Muncy walked, went to 2nd on an infield single by James Outman. Chris Taylor finally got a hit WRISP when he looped a single in LF to score Muncy.
The Dodgers then stretched the lead in the 3rd when Freddie hit a 1-out double that was originally scored a single and E-9. McCarthy slid to cut off the ball that could have saved it from a triple, Will Smith followed with a BB, and then Max hit a DP that the pitcher overran 1B and Perdomo’s throw went off Merrill Kelly’s glove for an error, and Freeman scored. JD Martinez laced a double into LF and Muncy was able to score from 1B. Okay, JDM is not a good baserunner as he got thrown out at 3B for the 2nd time in 7 games. But the Dodgers were up 3-0.
Will Smith’s hands are just so fast. Two of his HRs came from inside pitches, one up at the top of the zone and breaking in on him. His double off Merrill Kelly in the 6th was off a change that was inside and dropping. He is such a gifted hitter. James Outman then singled Will home with 2 outs and a 4-0 lead. Smith’s line drive in the 7th was another good example of hitting it where it was pitched. Unfortunately the ball hung up for Jake McCarthy to make the catch.
Smith’s double was 96.7 MPH while Outman’s 2 out single was 107.2 MPH.
In the top of the 7th, Freddie hit his first HR of the season. It was an oppo shot that we are used to seeing from Freddie.
Alex Vesia entered in the 7th with a 5-1 lead and try to make up for his last outing against the DBacks. It is fun to watch Corbin Carroll run. On a ball hit to Freddie in the 7th, there was no way that Alex Vesia was going to beat Carroll to first. It was a good thing that the ball was hit hard so that Freddie could beat him to the bag. Vesia is still having all sorts of problems this year. After the Carroll shot (out), Jake McCarthy triples into the RF corner, and Gabriel Moreno doubles over the head of Outman in CF.
Yency Almonte came in to relieve Vesia and got a 5-3 ground out, walked Perdomo after going 1-2, and then an F-8 to end the threat.
Phil Bickford relieved Almonte in the 8th. We learned after the game, that Doc did not want to use Bickford, but Brusdar Graterol had his back stiffen, and like he is always willing to do, Bickford took the ball, even on a night he was not supposed to. He gave up a booming double to Ketel Marte to open the inning. He got Gurriel to chase, but not before yanking a WP and moving Marte to third. He then got Christian Walker on a swinging strike up in the zone on the inside part of the plate. Finally he got Carroll to pop up to Smith, who almost hit Muncy with his mask. Bickford was heating it up with multiple 97 MPH fastballs. That is as hard as he has thrown in his career.
The Dodgers left the bases loaded with one out in the top of the 9th. It was a scary moment when Carlos Vargas hit Mookie in the head with a 97.6 fastball, that the umpire called a foul ball. The Dodgers ended up 2-9 WRISP.
Evan Phillips entered the 9th in a save situation, and did just that with two fly outs to David Peralta in LF, and then got Kyle Lewis looking to end the game.
Dustin May was just nasty on this night. To throw as hard as he does and have the ball move as much as it does…I am just glad that he is on the Dodgers.
James Outman continues to shine. He went 2-3 with a BB, and is now batting .353/.522/.765/1.287. Yes it is a small sample size, but he continues to look confident every time he comes to the plate. .522 OBP is very impressive. And it would be very special for a rookie if it were not for Miguel Vargas and his .722 OBP. The Dodgers have 8 batters with >.300 OBP. They have 6 batters with >1.000 OPS. Yes, Yes, Yes. It is a small sample size and against Arizona and Colorado.
The Dodgers are 5-2. Starters are 5-0, while the relievers are 0-2.
Clayton Kershaw faces Madison Bumgarner on Friday night in the 2nd game of the series.
![](https://ladodgerchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Clayton-Kershaw-vs-Madison-Bumgarner-300x166.jpg)
Vesia didn’t shut the door. Almonte was within a few feet of giving up the tying 3 run hr. Those guys need to get it together.
Bickford, after the base hit and wild pitch, was electric!!
Also, was anyone able to see the Rancho game? If so, how did Maddux Bruns’ stuff look? I know he had 7k in 4ip, but I wonder how electric he looked as well?
I imagine it was quite good.
This is the best group of SP prospects I’ve seen.
Next 2-3 years should be fun.
How long does Doc keep Muncy batting 4th or 5th?
Muncy has pictures
Why haven’t you traded Muncy to Philadelphia yet. They lost Rhys Hoskins for the year, and now have lost his replacement Darick Hall to thumb surgery. I am not sure what Muncy could bring back in a trade, but Philadelphia could use a LHH 1B.
Well, he ain’t no 3rd baseman. How long is the leash on Muncy. If he doesn’t OPS .800 or better, he is a huge liability.
The comment was more tongue in cheek to Bums, who is trading Max every hour. But more to your question, I am not giving up on Muncy after 7 games (offensively), just as I am not making James Outman an MVP candidate. Let’s see where both are at after the weekend series against NYY in June. That would still be two months before the deadline.
However, I am convinced that Muncy is not a MLB 3B at this point. His range at 3B is pitiful. It is not the errors that he makes, but the plays he does not get to that are called hits. It does not take a Nolan Arenado or Ke’Bryan Hayes to make those plays. When you have the quintessential homer Orel Hershiser question the range of Muncy, one really has to think about his ability at 3B.
In jest or not, Muncy to the Phillies makes a lot of sense.
Muncy is better in warmer air. And I thought he was doing fine at second. Better than what we’ve seen at third, that’s for sure. He’s still a DH on the roster I constructed.
Speaking of that, I’ve made it clear I’m no JD Martinez fan. He did it again yesterday, running into stand up inning ending 3rd out at third base. If he were Edgar instead of JD I’d be ok with him. He’s not and I’m not. Maybe he’ll change my mind later. But the question I had was simply this – why do we need a DH that can’t run, can’t slide and doesn’t play defense? Why not just have Outman. Thompson, Muncy, Smith on his days off, Heyward if he’s still here…. in other words have baseball players DH.
Maybe we should have kept JT.
???
I deserved the ribbing. However, I haven’t badmouthed Muncy for his slow start. Certainly not anything to gloat about. I originally said a few years back it might be better to sell high on Muncy than wait and sell low. Was I wrong?
Maybe hitting him 9th would take some pressure from him.
I am not against moving Rojas to third and for Muncy to share DH with Martinez. Muncy is a first baseman and DH. That would make Taylor SS.
Taylor is a backup middle infielder who can play outfield but shouldn’t until he hits again.
I wonder if Betts could play 3rd base?
I haven’t looked at Philadelphia. Maybe they could be the third team in a trade. Are the Yankees ready to go with Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza up the middle? Volpe is off to a slow start. That would make Gleyber Torres expendable but he is off to a great start. I’d put him at third.
The Yankees still have DJ LeMahieu playing 2nd base as well.
I have never considered what you have said about Muncy as bad-mouthing him. I like kidding you because it is funny when you have/had Muncy traded in every deal…real, imagined, or otherwise. And now there is a team that can actually use a LHH 1B (Philadelphia), and you didn’t trade Max. I feel the same with Badger and his comments on JDM. He is not bad-mouthing him. I just think that 7 games is too small of a sample size to draw any conclusions.
Were you wrong? Maybe/maybe not. Were you right?. Maybe/maybe not. I have no idea because we have no idea what any team would have been willing to trade for Max. Was he more valuable in 2021? Yes!!! But he was also needed by the Dodgers, until he got hurt.
Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza. Any of the three could/should be an improvement. Is there a potential deal to be made? If there is one, I am sure AF will know what that deal could look like. The timing is just not right. I cannot see AF trading Max at his lowest trade value.
He doesn’t want to leave and he has pictures
AF with Bauer in their contract negotiations.
Nineteen year old Thayron Liranzo has had a great Single-A debut last night.
There had been a bit off discussion here and there about Liranzo. Primarily on his swing and athleticism.
The switch-hitting catcher has gone 2-4 with a homer and two RBI
Also in that game, Maddux Bruns pitched well and showed of a new pitch,
“The night featured a new weapon in Bruns arsenal, a fresh changeup developed over the last offseason. This pitch assisted the young lefties’ efficiency as he allowed just three hits, all being singles with two being infield hits. Of all the outs recorded on the night, only two came from balls struck out of the infield. The vast majority of recorded outs on Bruns’ night came by strikeout or groundout with one GIDP recorded.n
The Quakes will continue their series versus the 66ers as fellow 2021 draftee Peter Heubeck takes the mound aiming to open the Quakes season with a winning streak.”
There is a MiLB Game Summary post published below this post.
Maddux Bruns pitched well…the game of his professional career. It is going to take more than one night to convince me that he is over his control issues. He has always had a live arm, just ZERO control.
But the night belonged to Emmet Sheehan. 5.0 scoreless/hitless innings. He retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced. The only blemish was a HBP in the 9th. He had 8 Ks in his 5.0 IP. He followed an outstanding season debut for Landon Knack. 4.0 scoreless, 2 hits, 0 walks.
At Rancho, Thayron Liranzo was the catcher last night, while Jesus Galiz was the DH. Liranzo had 2 hits including a HR, and two of the games three RBIs.
Baseball America has recently published their top 2B prospects in MLB. The Dodgers landed the #1 (Miguel Vargas) and #3 (Michael Busch). The Pirates also landed two in the top ten: #2 Termarr Johnson and #7 Nick Gonzalez. The Orioles have another top middle infield prospect, 23 year old Connor Norby currently in AAA.
1. Miguel Vargas – Dodgers
2. Termarr Johnson – Pirates
3. Michael Busch – Dodgers
4. Connor Norby – Orioles
5. Edouard Julien – Twins
6. Jonathan Aranda – Rays
7. Nick Gonzalez – Pirates
8. Jace Jung – Tigers
9. Nick Yorke – Red Sox
10. Zack Gelof – A’s
I am guessing nobody in the top ten 3B or SS…two positions of need.
If Vargas was playing 3rd his name would be at the top of that list too.
Perhaps the Dodgers should have Busch working at 3rd base.
I believe that was (is) a consideration, but it has not happened yet. In 2023, he has started 4 games at 2B and 2 at 1B. For his MiLB career:
2B – 219 games
1B – 13 games
LF – 13 games
DH – 19 games
That is something I have been monitoring.
Thanks. Maybe we can get Matt Chapman next year when he is a free agent. Doesn’t help now, but, could secure 3B for 3 to 5 years.
I would guess that if they’ve never had Busch play third or short, both his range and his arm are suspect.
We already have a third baseman with no range. I’d much rather see Busch in left field if we’re going to have to move him off of second base.
Unfortunately, I see both Busch and Muncy as LHH 1B/DH. Just keep Busch around for a year to be next season’s DH???
Matt Chapman, Cal ST. Fullerton and El Toro High School, looks like a potential FA choice. The Dodgers last 3B from Fullerton turned out to be pretty good.
“Just keep Busch around for a year to be next season’s DH???”
Yes. That’s an example of what I suggested earlier. He can hack. He’s team controlled. Put him to work.
The manager has said Busch will get time at 3b.
patience is a virtue.
MiLB News:
Starting pitching for Friday 04-07-2023:
OKC – Robbie Erlin
Tulsa – Nick Frasso
Great Lakes – Ronan Kopp
Rancho – Peter Heubeck
Marshall Kasowski has been assigned to OKC replacing Jake Reed who has been placed on the Temporary Inactive List.
How long can they keep Muncy batting 4th or 5th?