Jason Heyward’s time in L.A. is over, for now at least. It has been a relatively short stay. In 2022, he had the worst year of his career. In 48 games, he hit .204 and had just 1 homer. The Cubs released him with 2 years left on his contract. The Dodgers signed him for the MLB minimum of 720,000 dollars. They signed him on the recommendation of Freddie Freeman, his former teammate with the Braves.
The Dodgers also signed David Peralta. It seemed like they were loading up on veteran outfielders, and maybe did not have much faith in the kids. Heyward did not have a great spring, but the Dodgers had been tinkering with his hitting mechanics. He did hit 2 homers and drove in a few runs. But what changed the whole picture was the injury to Gavin Lux. With Rojas now having to play SS on a daily basis, Mookie Betts ended up moving to second base when rookie, Miguel Vargas, could not hold down the job.
Heyward was the primary RF when Betts was at second. Also scrambling the outfield picture was the relapse of Trace Thompson. Thompson had been re-acquired during the 22 season and was outstanding defensively and with the bat. He had 13 homers down the stretch and hit .268. In the third game of the year against Az, Thompson hit 3 homers and drove in 8 runs in a 10-1 LA romp. It was all downhill for him after that.
Outman replaced Thompson in center, with Heyward, Taylor, Peralta, and Betts manning the corner outfield spots most of the year. Jason would sit against LHP. He got only 26 at bats off of lefties all year. He did manage to hit 2 homers off of them. But he hit .276 against RHP and contributed 13 long balls against the southpaws. He only struck out 64 times in 334 at bats.
This season had been a different story. He had a good spring training. The Dodgers had brought him back on a 9-million-dollar deal. The Cubs had released him from his contract. He missed most of May, and part of June with injuries. He then was injured again and missed most of July.
But he still had his moments. In a game against the Rockies in Denver on the 18th of June, he came up in the top of the 9th inning as a PH with the bases loaded and 1 out. The Dodgers trailing at the time, 9-4. He hit a grand slam homer into the right field seats to cut the deficit to 1 run. One out and a couple runners later, Teo hit what turned out to be a game winning three-run homer.
Heyward also made several excellent defensive plays in RF when he was playing there. Then just 3 days ago, Jason hit a three-run game winning homer in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs to beat Seattle. But, with Betts returning to RF full time, his playing time was going to take a huge hit. Heyward is the consummate professional. I am pretty sure he would have handled that very well. But what I do not understand is the Dodgers cutting loose their only viable LH power bat off of the bench for a utility player who is hitting .50 points lower than Heyward.
With Sept 1 a week away, they could have waited to activate Taylor since he could have been on his re-hab assignment until then. Is it because Taylor is still owed 13 million on a really bad contract? And Heyward is only owed a little over 1 million? I get that Jason is 35 now, more injury prone that he has been, but he is a rock in a very tight clubhouse. His DFA had to affect some of his teammates. So far there has been no explanation for the move. Roberts did say it was a very hard decision to make. It is one I hope does not come back and bite them on the ass in the playoffs when they need a pinch hitter who hits RHP well. 
Minor League Scores
El Paso beat OKC 6-4. Jon Duplantier made the start and got the loss. He worked 4 innings and gave up 9 hits and 5 runs. He walked 2 and struck out 2. Rooney pitched a scoreless inning; Martinez gave up a run in his 3 innings of work on a homer by Kevin Plawecki. Conor Brogdon pitched a scoreless ninth. Andy Pages was 1-5, Rushing was 2-5 with an RBI and Cody Hoese hit his 15th homer and had 2 driven in.
Tulsa lost 3-2 and only managed 2 hits. One of them was Keith’s 13th homer, a solo shot in the 7th inning. He also drove in the second run in the top of the 9th on a sac-fly. Ortiz-Mayr pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 2 runs. Sublette took the loss when he gave up a walk-off homer in the 9th.
Great Lakes got crushed 14-1 by Wisconsin. The Loons managed only 6 hits. Nevin had 2 of them. Every pitcher gave up runs. All 14 were earned.
Rancho was shut out by Lake Elsinore 1-0. They managed just 2 hits, Quintero and Osorio. Cam Day took the loss. He pitched 6 full innings. He gave up 6 hits, walked 2 and struck out 5.
Game Summary
The Dodgers faced the Rays with Bobby Miller getting the start against Tyler Alexander. Miller got the first two outs and then threw a high fastball to Junior Caminero and Caminero hit a home run. He managed to get out of the inning without any more damage. Meanwhile, Alexander gave up some hits but managed to keep the Dodgers off of the scoreboard through 4 innings. Miller got in trouble in the top of the third allowing a double to Caminero with 2 outs and then Morel hit a towering fly ball deep into the bullpen for a 3-0 Rays lead. Miller settled down and pitched into the sixth inning. Meanwhile in the bottom of the 5th, Edman singled and Rojas flied out. Lux walked and Kike hit a three-run homer into the left field pavilion to tie the game. Miller went 6 full innings striking out 9, giving up 3 runs and 7 hits. He struck out 9 and gets a no decision. The bullpen shut the Rays down, Brasier, Phillips and Kopech gave up 1 hit between them, struck out 4 and did not walk a batter. Kopech did make an error allowing the only runner against him. The Dodgers had Will Smith get hit with a pitch to open the 9th. Edman got his second hit, and they had runners on second and first. Rojas laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. With runners on second and third, Lux grounded out to the second baseman and Smith had to hold. Max Muncy pinch hit for Kike. He walked loading the bases. Ohtani came to the plate and hit his 40th homer on the first pitch to win the game, 7-3. Shohei stole his 40th base earlier in the game and became the first 40-40 man in Dodger history, and only the 6th in major league history. It was an important win, their 5th in a row and allowed them to keep their 4-game lead over the Diamondbacks and their 4.5 game lead over the Padres since both won. Will Smith threw out 2 more runners trying to steal.
33 games left. If the Dodgers go .500 the rest of the way, they would finish with 94 wins. To match that, the D-Backs and Padres would both need to win 21 of their remaining games to tie. This is going to make the next month really interesting. Congratulations to Ohtani for becoming the first 40-40 man in team history. Matt Kemp just missed doing that in 2011.
Cavan Biggio signed a minor league contract with the Giants. The Giants signed catcher Andrew Knapp to a major league contract. They recently had to place Bailey on the IL. Braves signed Harold Ramirez to a minor league deal. Tigers signed Oscar Mercado to a minor league deal, Cubs DFAd David Bote. D-Backs are moving Jordan Montgomery into the bullpen. Edgar Martinez signed as the hitting coach for the Mariners for the rest of the season.
What a way to join the exclusive 40-40 club!
Bobby Miller with a solid outing giving the Dodgers a quality start, going 6 and giving up 3 runs.
The stuff is there , touching 100 mph several times. It is just the command that needs improvement.
He made one really bad, bad pitch to Morel when he hung that breaking ball .and poor pitch sequencing vs Caminero on the first Hr. I put this one on the veteran catcher at least partially.
But clear improvement from him, with 9 Ks and 0 BB. If he can pitch like he did his last 3 innings he might be an option for the postseason.
He definetely has earned another start or two until Glasnow comes back.
Certainly the better option than Buehler.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was pleasantly surprised and happy with Miller’s outing. 6 innings, 9 Ks, 3 runs, works with me. Hopefully, this is just a start to get back to being a solid SP. -TM
Though it was a great W last night with all the drama you could hope for when you watch a Dodgers game as a fan of the Blew crew I have to question Roberts about his strategy in the 9th (with a view ahead to the postseason).
Why did he not bring in a pinch runner (KK) after Smith walked ?. Or at the latest when Edman moved Smith to 2nd and Rojas up to bunt (which was a good decision to play situational small ball here) ? In a situation like that every half step can make the difference .
I am pretty sure KK scores on that ground out by Lux . 2b man had to dive for the ball and Smith had a bad lead from 3b.KK is one of the best base runners in the game and Roberts did not use him with the game on the line.
Yes, in the end the drama with Ohtanis walkd off-40-40 grand slam made more than up for it but from a strategic, in game decision IMHO Roberts did everything to mess this up.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Has backup catcher Feduccia even played one inning behind the plate? Maybe they didn’t want.to have to use him if the.game continued?
No, he does have one at bat.
Karros/Nomar/whoever was also asking why Will Smith wasn’t pinch run for in the 9th.
My only thought was if you pinch run for Smith in the 9th, and we don’t score in the 9th, we go to the top of the 10th inning where Tampa starts the inning with a runner on 2nd and no out.
Therefore, if Smith is out of the game, the backup catcher, Feduccia comes in. And perhaps since Feduccia has not played in the bigs before (as far I I can remember), maybe Doc didn’t want Feduccia’s first time out there to be in that specific extra inning situation.
I would bet if Barnes was the active backup, Kiermier would’ve run for Smith at some point, especially when Smith got to 3rd.
Bobby Miller seemed to get better and better as the game went on, and that is what really impressed me. It seemed that he figured something out in inning 3 or 4, and the stuff was still there in the 6th. Really looking forward to his next start to see if he’s hopefully turned the corner.
Agree. Thought he should pinch run when Smith got on first. The base hit to left center would probably send kk to 3rd.probably didn’t want Feduccia to come in.
I thought about a pinch-runner for Smith too, but there was still a great chance the game would go into extra innings.
I think Roberts made the right call.
Great Dodger win last night. Would have been fun to be at DS for that one.
Doesn’t appear SD or AZ are going to go into a losing funk anytime soon so the Dodgers have to keep it going.
Miller pitched well but his proclivity for giving up the long ball does not inspire me with confidence in the post season.
Wish we could get some positive news on Glasnow. Yamamoto’s last sim game seems positive. Kopech is a beast and is now our official closer.
Keep it going Dodgers!
Kopech was the best add of the deadline.
Edman, Flahtery a close 2nd. KK in 3rd.
I’m glad SD and Arizona are pressuring us….this may help us stay competitive and not lose the edge whenever we win the division so easily. -TM
Something else about Heyward: Outman singled him out as his chief mentor as a rookie. Heyward helped Outman deal with the ups and down all season. (On a lesser team, Outman would have had more time to work through his troubles this season before getting sent down.)
I hope Heyward stays in baseball, whether or not his playing days are over.
As for Dodgers’ need for left-handed power off the bench, perhaps that’s part of the reason Kike started today and Max came off the bench.
Certainly that decision worked out well, as Kike hit a big home run and Max did his part drawing a walk to set up Shohei’s slam. (Max has always combined power and plate discipline.) Anyway, it will be interesting to see if Roberts keeps Max and Kike in a platoon. Certainly Kike has played better since he started wearing the new spectacles.
While Shohei delivered a fantastic moment, the best news from this game was probably Bobby Miller’s performance. Except for two gopher balls, he was strong at the right time. He seemed in danger of falling out of consideration for the post-season rotation, but now he’s solidly back in the mix. If he doesn’t start, he could be another power arm out of the bullpen.
Another memorable moment: The guy in the TB cap dropping Shohei’s 40th HR back over the fence–and then holding his head in frustration.
I don’t know what happened to that ball… I hope it got back to Shohei… but that HR ball would have been a collectible worth a tidy sum.
lol….i saw that…I was happy too, thinking that ball was given to Ohtani.
Maybe on Heyward they dfa’d him early to allow him to be playoff eligible with another team as a courtesy to him. He has to be activated by midnight August 31.
It’s totally possible.
What a fun win. A walk-off salami by Shohei was a thing of beauty. His fly balls seem jet propelled. His bat speed is awesome.
I like the back end of our pen and Kopech is a prototypical closer.
Will’s catch and throw has been outstanding lately. He gunned DeLuca in the 9th. Kopech a respectable 1.35 home, Will 1.8. 3.15 beats 3.3.
And I loved Miggy Ro’s sac bunt moving 2 runners into scoring position in the 9th.
I’m going to spend the rest of this post complaining, so if you don’t want to hear it, move on now.
Eric Karros is such a negative bastard. Finally in the 6th inning, while Bobby Miller was striking out the side, acknowledged that it was a pretty good outing, EXCEPT for the 2 bad pitches.
We all know Bobby Miller has been off and lacking confidence. But I’ve seen some improvement and positive signs. And he hasn’t gotten away with any mistakes.
If Bobbie listens to Eric Karros and Joe Davis on a replay, I can see why he wouldn’t have any confidence. The entire 2nd inning, while he’s striking out the side after a lead off single, Joe Davis and especially Eric Karros offered up nothing but criticism. They reviewed what a prospect and Ace in waiting he HAD been until his injury. Karros criticized every single struggle the kid has had this season coming back.
Karros couldn’t get off Miller’s ass about scrapping his fastball and being a junker. Karros hates Miller’s fastball.
Karros just had to find “blame” somewhere for the home run to Caminero, in the 1st, criticizing Miller’s pitch selection. The truth is pitch selection is seldom the culprit on a homer. It’s location.
The pitch to Caminero, a 1 and 2, 100mph fastball, looked to me, to at the very top of the zone, Close to a ball. It wasn’t a mistake. It is GOOD HITTING by Caminero.
For most hitters, that’s strike three.
Karros blamed Miller and called that a mistake the rest of the night.
Miller does not have the liveliest fastball in MLB. Shades of Graterol in that regard. He’s pretty straight. But a well located 100, still plays. And he located his fastball well all night with 97+. There’s a lot to like there.
By the end of his outing, 9 Ks, no walks and 7 hits, Eric finally started to backpedal a little on all the trash and criticism he’d been spitting out, falsely stating Miller used his breaking ball to set up his fastball, as he’d suggested. That is so Tim McCarver, trying to prove his point with false examples, after the fact. He’s just bullshit.
I though it was a very positive outing for Miller.
I thought about using a pinch runner for Smith in the 9th after he hat by a pitch. But Barnes is out and Feducca has yet to play. With another runner at 3rd, that might have allowed the contact play on Lux’s grounder.
Karros finally mentioned a pinch runner option well after the fact but I couldn’t hear his reasoning, because was Deiter was so playing so loud in the background, I couldn’t hear it.
I plan to watch the Marlins broadcast for the weekend because Karros is unbearably shitty.
Then U B watching Marlins vs Cubs!😜
All those Florida teams look alike 😉
Touche!
It all made sense to me. Gotta think about extra innings as your playing to win. And, it worked out just fine. This is how the Dodgers are built, 7-3, and when it works it’s beautiful to watch. I felt lucky to have seen it.
Your point about location is a good one. Miller’s fastball needs to be used to set up the out pitch breaking ball. That was Karros’ point and it’s a good one. But, no need to keep hammering it. Miller made several mistakes, mistakes that won’t play against better lineups, but the outing was encouraging to me. Location. Keep working on on. Visualize success!
Great game. Great win. Next game, next pitch.
Sometimes those grammatical errors slip by when YOU’RE not paying close attention.
I was talking to my sis on the phone, it was her birthday, and had the sound turned off.
Good post on Heyward Bear. I don’t get it either.
I guess KK will be our LHB needed to be a pinch hitter…assuming Max is in the starting line up.
I was able to watch the last couple of innings. Quite a dramatic finish for Ohtani and the team.
The criticism of Roberts on not putting a runner in for Smith in the ninth I didn’t think was warranted. Of course, Karros was quick to give his opinion on the stupidity of not dong so after the ball hit by Lux (?). That ball was hit hard to a drawn in second baseman. With Muncy and Ohtani coming up I think it was the right move to hold Smith at third despite Karros Monday morning QBing the situation. Another aspect to consider is that Smith runs damn for a catcher.
Anyway, Ohtani took care of the game with his historic home run. Roberts, once again, was confirmed to be the greatest manager in MLB history because of his players succeeding at what they are paid to do. Sarcasm alert!
I quit posting there after what he said about our posters and Jeff in particular. He is on one of his rants about people being stupid today. Just tired of all of that.
It’s called projection. Moron is as moron does.
You got that right. He is a clown.
Stop dissing clowns
LOL. My bad.
Well, there will be a different catcher on the Rays roster tonight, Rob Brantly, Bob’s boy, was DFAd by the Rays. Jacob Amaya, who was traded to the Marlins for Miguel Rojas, was just DFAd by the Astros. He is now 25 years old. Miguel Vargas is hitting .093 since joining the White Sox. He has 5 hits in 54 at bats. Seems that so far, the Dodgers have won that trade.
Feel very sorry for Jason Heyward.
When we signed him I was very surprised. I thought he was done, but no, he had a good season last year and showed up as the perfect teammate.
its a very hard game, hero to zero in a matter of days!
I know this is late to say because Muncy has been back for several days, but I’ve always wanted Muncy to bat lower in the lineup than 4 or 5. I like a good contact hitter batting 5th and normally a power hitter 6th, but with this loaded offensive team (although I would like another good hitter in the lineup) Muncy is able to have 2 contact hitters (Lux hopefully continuing to hit good and Smith) before him.
Arizona won keeping the pressure on. San Diego got Musgrove back and apparently Darvish is not far behind. We need to get Glasnow and Yamamoto back. I hope Yamamoto will have enough time to round into form. In the meantime another big game for Kershaw. Miller showed big progress with 9 ks and no walks. Miller has 3 big time pitches with the fb, curve, changeup. Our lineup tonight looks formidable. Go Dodgers!!!!!
Cassidy,
should Kershaw sit until next year?
Should he be pitching in October?
He could get the win tonight!
Hey guys,
Here is my interview with Ned Colletti and Dave Hobrecht.
I’ve never really been comfortable being in front of a camera or on video but I thought it came out pretty well. Ive always considered myslef more of a behind the scenes writer/blogger guy. Ned and Dave are super nice guys. Check out the All-Time Dodger Art Book when you get a chance it’s a fantastic read, and a great art book.
Sorry Jeff, I wasn’t able to get to your Sabathia question due to time limits, but if I get the chance to talk to Ned again, I’ll ask him. We just ran out of time. I hope you all enjoy and are having a great weekend.
Go Dodgers.
Is an understatement when Ohtani is on his game he is so much fun to watch. Everyone else seems mere mortal around him. When he is on no one else is close.
we have seen hot streaks this year with Ohtani, Betts, teo, lux, rojas smith n mb others. The one guy who has not really gotten hot like I have seen him is Freeman. I look forward to c him get red hot in September/october.
kershaw game tonight brought back old memories of some of his playoff games. He competed but just didn’t have that feel for his pitches. We can ill afford a playoff performance like that. He just didn’t have his curveball in the first. We got lucky he only give up 5.
And another BS. I’ve said it before, I don’t like late inning relievers going back to back and Brasier, Kopech and Phillips all did it tonight. There are enough arms down there you don’t have to do that.
Gotta score 8.
Or 10.
I think I’m going to be wrong about Rojas. We’ll see.
Weird (but entertaining) game. Kershaw looks totally lost in the first (but regains his composure) Rays make a boatload of mistakes that help the Dodgers come back and take the lead. Strange but kinda poetic that the game-tying home run in the ninth should have been a walk. Oh well — let’s have Stone pitch a good one tomorrow and take the series.
Rats!!!
Kelly Sucks.