Wednesday was a big game for the Dodgers and their future. Two rookies were starting in this same game. James Outman was starting his 3rd game in LF, and Miguel Vargas was making his MLB debut as the DH. Well, Vargas may be considered the higher rated prospect, but Outman has bragging rights about their respective 1st ML AB. Outman got a 2-run HR in his first PA, and all Vargas got was a 106.1 MPH (396 feet) ball hit into triples alley that bounced up and over the wall for an RBI ground rule double.
Sunday it was Alex Vesia that made sure to get Outman’s HR ball from a Rockies fan. Wednesday it was Blake Treinen who got Vargas’ ground rule double from a Giants fan.
Of course, Vargas can brag about the first stolen base.
But Vargas was not done. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and the infield in, Vargas hit a ball that J.D. Davis made a good play and threw late to home to get a sliding Max Muncy. It was originally ruled a fielder’s choice, but later changed to an infield single. At the end of 4, the Dodgers were up 2-0, and Miguel Vargas had both RBIs.
With a one out single by Outman in the 7th, Alex Cobb allowed 4 hits in his 6.1 IP. Three were by the two rookies, Vargas (2), and Outman (1).
Julio Urías pitched well, but got some bad luck on a couple of soft hit balls in the 7th. No matter. After Evan Phillips pitched out of a bases loaded 0-out jam on Tuesday, he inherited a bases loaded 0-out jam in the 7th on Wednesday.
I have no idea if Vargas had a green light to steal 3rd, or if Outman took off on his own on what turned out to be a perfectly executed hit and run with Austin Barnes. It was productive as it allowed Mookie Betts to get a sac fly.
The Dodgers had 6 hits. 3 by the Rookies noted above, 2 by Max Muncy, and 1 by Austin Barnes. Alex Cobb and the Giants bullpen did a good job with the Dodgers batters.
The Dodgers bullpen is not just good to retrieve memorable rookie first hit balls. They also have been. I already wrote about the Evan Phillips. He stranded all three hitters on 6 pitches in the 7th. Yency Almonte hit Wilmer Flores (not that Flores felt it), but got the other three on soft contact. Okay 2 out of the three. Austin Slater’s ground ball right to Gavin Lux was a hard hit ball.
I think Craig Kimbrel had some bad luck. He had Luis Gonzalez struck out, except plate umpire Cory Blaser thought it was a ball. But the umpire taketh and the umpire giveth. With the bases loaded, Kimbrel got a called strike against Slater to end the game that was a ball.
The Dodgers shut out the Giants. Urías is now 3-1 against the Giants for 2022, and has an ERA of 0.75 in 24 IP. The Dodgers have beaten the Giants 7 in a row, and are now 9-3 against SF for the year. Regardless as to what happens on Thursday, the Dodgers have won back to back 4 game series against NL West foes on the road.
The Giants have their own late bloomer Yency Almonte type RHRP in 27 year old Yunior Marte. He looks very impressive.
Now for some encouraging news for the veteran Dodgers. Max Muncy hit the ball hard three times; 97.1, 106.9, and 107.1. Max went 2-4. He has now hit 9 out of his last 11 games.
Meanwhile, in Salt Lake City there were three Dodgers starting on rehab assignments, Dustin May, Chris Taylor, and Edwin Ríos. CT3 started at 2nd and moved to 3rd, while Ríos was the DH. Based on the game tonight, it will not be long before CT3 is back. He showed that he was able to play infield and went 3-4 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. He had one pull side HR, and one oppo. Ríos had a double in his 5 AB. CT3 led off the game with his 1st HR of the night.
But the exciting news was Dustin May. He retired the first eight batters he faced, walked a batter, but got the final out in the third without surrendering a hit. He got the first two batters in the 4th, Matt Thaiss tripled on a 3-2 count. That triple was followed by a Chad Wallach single. May got the final out by striking out Jake Gatewood.
Five relievers followed with 5.0 scoreless innings, including Pedro Baez, who pitched his second consecutive game with a perfect inning pitched.
What we need now is to have Ryan Pepiot start a game with Outman and Vargas in the starting lineup. That is not too far-fetched. In 2019, the Dodgers started a pair of rookie position players (Will Smith, Edwin Ríos, Alex Verdugo, Matt Beaty, Kyle Garlick) and either Dustin May or Tony Gonsolin on the bump. The rookies were a big part of that 2019 team, and rookies figure to continue to contribute with this year’s veteran laden team.
According to Fabian Ardaya in The Athletic Vargas stole on his own. Vargas said “I just felt incredible and I didn’t feel like anyone could stop me.”
That makes sense. He does have good instincts, and he did steal it easy. He has a run grade of 40, but stole 12 bases and was only caught 4 times at OKC this year (43/10 for MiLB career).
Pitcher ignoring him and third baseman playing deep. Vargas accepted the invitation.
Outman and Vargas look like ballers. Both can run. I wonder how long they stick with the team.
How’s that 6 man rotation working out?
San Francisco as a team look like deer in the headlights. Can’t say it bothers me much.
Just checked, since July 1st neither Bellinger or Muncy has raised their OPS. They’ve each had moments, but overall they have sucked. Last 28 days Bellinger .566, Muncy .596.
I am not ready to say he is back, but it was a different Max Muncy we saw last night. The swing was more controlled. It did not look like he was trying to hit it 600 feet. Or it could be he just hits the ball better in SF. In 127 PA he has a batting line of .279/.409/.548/.958. That is the highest BA and second highest OPS of any baseball stadium he has more than 30 PA. In 42 PA, Max has an OPS of .968 in Citi Park (NYM).
He needs to keep this up thru at least this upcoming weekend at home against SD.
If he does not get his option picked up, I can see him in SF next year. Brandon Belt should be gone as will Evan Longoria.
With RHSP Jakob Junis going today, I am going out on a limb and predicting that Joey Gallo will be in the lineup this afternoon and he will make his presence known (positively).
Looks like Taylor’s time off for his foot injury has allowed him to rest his other ailments that were keeping him out of the infield. Now it sounds like he may be platooning with Lux at second plus play some LF. I have not believed he was a good third baseman even though he does okay at short. Wherever, I hope he cut his Ks in half.
I thought Vargas would have looked heavier. He is a slim guy and looked faster than his grade 40. I would have liked to see him at third last night and Max at DH. But DH let him relax more for his first MLB game.
Outman Ked 3 times but I doubt he has seen what Cobb was throwing in MiLB.
I enjoyed the game last night with Vargas, Thompson, and Outman playing. It’s a long season and they made the game fresher.
Drury hit a grandslam for SD. Just saying.
I said the same thing to my wife while watching Outman K in his 2nd AB. Outman is her new favorite. So she perks up when he is batting. I looked at her and told her that he has never seen that pitch thrown that well before. It was unhittable for many veteran MLB players. I guarantee Outman has not seen a splitter as good as Cobb threw last night in MiLB.
Just a really good, well-constructed team.
Love that Drury his the first pitch he saw for a GS down in San Diego.
Drury was a guy I was interested in, but Taylor back healthy means we probably didn’t need him. Castillo was another guy I had hoped we get. If May can give us 5 ten times down the stretch maybe we didn’t need Castillo. I’d still like to know how we keep Gonsolin, Kershaw, Urias and Anderson fresh for October. Maybe adding May into the 6 man rotation is the plan. Hope it works.
I am a Muncy fan, and a 7 day slash of .286/.385/.476 is encouraging. Do that against San Diego and I’ll be a believer.
Not much non-trade deadline news from Internet, so just focus on Fangraphs….
On:
The Mitch White deal:
TL;DR White is a serviceable pitcher. De Jesus is essentially a lottery ticket. Frasso could be electric. Brito a projectable 6-foot-5 lefty who sits 89 with a decent curveball shape and has a clean over-the-top delivery.
The Gallo deal:
TL;DR At first glance, this deal makes much more sense for the Yankees than it does for the Dodgers. The Yankees couldn’t seem to get Gallo going but were able to offload him and his salary in favor of a live arm who could help them in a year or two. That said, from the Dodgers’ standpoint it’s worth remembering that few people expected the likes of Muncy, Taylor, or Justin Turner to thrive with the team before they picked them up, and at least within the small samples, the same might be said for Thompson
The Martin deal:
TL;DR The trade seems like a good fit for both teams. There’s no immediate 40-man impact to either club (both Martin and McKinstry are already on the 40), but it adds to Chicago’s little postseason crunch by adding another long-term 40-man piece, while it subtracts from Los Angeles’ since Martin will be a free agent after the season, joining the dozen or so players set to become part of the Dodgers diaspora.
Good info Bluto. Thanks.
Frasso and Brito. Just the kind of guys the Dodgers like to work with.
diaspora. Good word. Haven’t heard used outside of religious connotations, but I reckon it fits in that sentence.
We jews love the word diaspora!
The first three definitions on my Dictionary app:
noun
LOL
Substitute Dodgers for Israel and Joc should be diasporaing to the Dodgers.
Not that I am at all interested, but Didi Gregorius and Jackie Bradley Jr. were both released.
Great photos!
You know, I’m glad he’s still with the Dodgers. I wonder if he was offered for Soto.
Well that Mitch White trade is not looking so good right now. I guess Ryan Pepiot better get ready. Badger, forget about your 6 man rotation. How long is Kershaw going to be out now?
Crap.
I have no idea who the Dodgers will bring up but I guess Pepiot is the logical choice. Miller has given up 11 earned in his last 10 innings. Gavin Stone has looked good. What do you think Jeff?
I say go back in time and get Luis Castillo. Or do not trade Mitch White.
Pepiot is the most tested. IMO Miller just is not ready. He will look great one game and then put up a stinker like he did last night. 2 out of his last 3 games were very rough.
Grove pitched well his last two times out. But he is still building up from his stint on the IL.
Gavin Stone is not ready. I would rather see him pushed to AAA, and if he does okay there, consider him for September.
Darkhorse candidate – Andre Jackson (on the 40 man). After a horrendous start, he has been pitching well lately, with a very good outing last time out.
Regardless, you are asking a MiLB pitcher to replace a HOF pitcher. Pressure not too much, right?
Serious question – Why couldn’t the LAD braintrust see this coming? IMO they believe they had such a huge lead, they could wait for May and Buehler to come back. So for now, I see Pepiot (1) and Jackson (2).
Good point – what was the plan? Was there a plan? Did they forget what happened less than a year ago? As pedestrian as White may have been, his presence was serving a purpose. Now what? Pepiot and/or Jackson takes his place?
It’s my opinion the Dodgers had better proceed with a 6 man rotation or there will be more issues before October.
In an interview after the game Kershaw tried to present a positive spin. Wait til tomorrow and see how it feels. Yeah, sure. It’s his back again. Back problems don’t just go away.
I would guess that Kershaw already has an appointment to see Dr. Watkins.
Anyone know why Kapler lost it? Built up frustration? Had an early dinner date?
Even when he records a save, Kimbrel makes me a nervous wreck.
I vote Evan Phillips or Yency Almonte for closer.
He was upset that Phil Cuzzie felt it necessary to come over and address Jarlin Garcia because the umpire apparently thought Garcia was mocking Mookie. There was no need for the umpire to get involved. The issue was over. Kap had already discussed it with Garcia. He was protecting his player.
There is no question that Garcia was an ass and was mocking Mookie, but nothing came of it. Move on.
I read Cuzzie was coming over to warn the bench and eject Garcia. I don’t know if that’s true but if it is Kapler was right to go off.
Kids have done well. 4 new players joined Rancho today, and they helped the Quakes win. Kershaw’s back flared up again and the pen had to pitch 5 innings. Final was 5-3. Another 4-game sweep and 8 in a row against the hated ones. Padres lost despite Soto getting a double and a triple and scoring a run. Lead is now 12.5.