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Here Come The Stupid Giants, Magic Number at 9

Sometimes life gets in the way of Dodger baseball. This is exactly what happened to me on Sunday afternoon as the Dodgers lost a wild game 10-9 in 12 innings to the Dbacks. I apologize for the lack of recap, rest assured that will be the only time you will see that happen over here at LADR.

The loss ultimately stung but felt less frustrating after knowing that the Giants lost their game to the Cardinals as well. The Dodger’s magic number is now 9 and they are still 5 games ahead with 13 to play as they head home for the final home stand and big showdown series with the Giants. The loss not only split the series with Arizona but also split a tiring road trip for the Dodgers at 5-5.

The Sunday afternoon extra inning loss featured a crazy 6-run sixth inning rally for the Dodgers as they came back from a 7-1 deficit. Starter Jose De Leon allowed 6 runs (4 earned) and was unable to get out of the fourth inning. A throwing error from Charlie Culberson sure didn’t help.

The Dodger’s 6-run rally was highlighted by a 3-run double from Adrian Gonzalez, and a 2-run double from Howie Kendrick. Ultimately Ross Stripling gave up the game-winning run on a single to Brandon Drury in the bottom of the twelfth. The Dodgers had used up their entire position player roster by then and Joc Pederson was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes.

Dodgers Lineup vs. Giants

Madison Bumgarner 14-9 vs. Clayton Kershaw-11-3

Game Time – 7:10 PM – TV-SNLA-MLB.tv

So the Dodgers put that irritating loss behind them and head home to face the Giants as Vin Scully will call his final games of hs illustrious carer. Speaking of Scully, my mom ran into him on Saturday afternoon while having lunch. Imagine her luck. I am totally jealous.

While my Mom is still enjoying her post Vin Scully glow, the Dodgers head home for a showdown with the Giants. Left handed annoyance Madison Bumgarner will square off with Clayton Kershaw tonight in the opening game.

Kershaw pitched well in his second game back from the disabled list. He tossed six shutout frames against the Yankees and looked to be in vintage Kershaw form. He is 11-3 on the season with a 1.81 ERA over 18 starts. Most amazing of course is his strikeout to walk numbers which are otherworldly. Kershaw has 155 whiffs and only 9 walks in 129.1 innings pitched. That gives him a strikeout to walk ratio of 17-1.

Kershaw has been hall of fame worthy against the Giants. In 33 career starts against San Francisco he is 18-7 with a 1.62 ERA and 267 strikeouts against 40 walks. This includes 5 complete game shutouts. The Giants are hitting just .161 against Kershaw with an OPS of .413. Kershaw has struck out the current Giants 135 times and issued just 14 walks. This year Kershaw has faced the Giants 3 times and won two decisions against a no-decision. The last time he faced the Giants back on June 10 he struck out 13 and allowed two earned runs on five hits over eight innings in a 3-2 Dodger win.

Kershaw vs. Giants

Name PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
Buster Posey 88 85 19 3 0 2 8 2 16 .224 .250 .329 .579 0 0 2 1 5
Angel Pagan 65 63 18 5 0 0 1 2 14 .286 .308 .365 .673 0 0 0 0 2
Hunter Pence 62 61 6 0 0 0 4 1 16 .098 .113 .098 .211 0 0 0 0 0
Brandon Belt 50 46 3 1 0 0 0 3 25 .065 .140 .087 .227 0 0 0 1 0
Gregor Blanco 31 28 5 0 0 0 0 3 10 .179 .258 .179 .437 0 0 0 0 0
Brandon Crawford 25 24 2 0 0 0 0 1 10 .083 .120 .083 .203 0 0 0 0 1
Madison Bumgarner 19 18 4 0 0 2 2 0 10 .222 .222 .556 .778 1 0 0 0 0
Joe Panik 15 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .267 .267 .267 .533 0 0 0 0 0
Denard Span 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Kelby Tomlinson 13 12 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 .077 .000 .077 0 0 0 0 0
Matt Cain 9 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 .111 .111 .111 .222 0 0 0 0 0
Ehire Adrianza 8 8 1 0 0 1 1 0 3 .125 .125 .500 .625 0 0 0 0 0
Mac Williamson 7 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 .143 .143 .143 .286 0 0 0 0 0
Johnny Cueto 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 1 0 0 0 0
Gorkys Hernandez 5 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 .500 .600 .750 1.350 0 0 0 0 0
Jarrett Parker 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Trevor Brown 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Conor Gillaspie 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Jake Peavy 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Total 429 411 66 10 0 5 16 14 135 .161 .192 .221 .413 2 0 2 2 8

 

As for Madison Bumgarner, he has been just as equally tough on the Dodgers. This year Bumgarner is 14-9 with a 2.66 ERA in 31 starts. Bumgarner has struck out 231 and walked 52 over 206.1 innings pitched. He’s given up 23 home runs though, and that is tied for the most home runs he has allowed in a season. Bumgarner has faced the Dodgers three times this year as well and is 0-2 with a no-decision.

The last time he faced the Dodgers was back on August 23 when he gave up five earned runs on nine hits across five frames in a 9-5 Dodger win. He has won just once since September 3. In 24 career starts against the Dodgers he is 13-9 with a 2.78 ERA. The current Dodgers are hitting just .243 against him with a .690 OPS against. Kike Hernandez seems to have his number as he is hitting .579 (11 for 19) with 4 doubles and 3 home runs.

Bumgarner vs. Dodgers

Name PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP GDP
Adrian Gonzalez 53 50 10 2 0 0 6 2 10 .200 .226 .240 .466 0 1 0 0 0
Justin Turner 45 41 11 2 0 2 5 3 7 .268 .311 .463 .775 0 1 0 0 0
Yasiel Puig 33 29 7 0 0 2 2 3 8 .241 .333 .448 .782 0 0 0 1 0
Andre Ethier 25 24 3 1 0 0 1 0 9 .125 .160 .167 .327 0 0 0 1 1
Clayton Kershaw 21 20 3 0 0 0 0 0 8 .150 .150 .150 .300 1 0 0 0 0
Carlos Ruiz 21 19 7 2 0 1 2 0 2 .368 .350 .632 .982 1 1 0 0 1
Enrique Hernandez 19 19 11 4 0 3 5 0 5 .579 .579 1.263 1.842 0 0 0 0 0
Howie Kendrick 18 18 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 .167 .167 .167 .333 0 0 0 0 0
Charlie Culberson 17 16 4 2 0 0 4 0 4 .250 .294 .375 .669 0 0 0 1 1
Chase Utley 13 12 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .167 .231 .167 .397 0 0 0 0 0
Yasmani Grandal 12 11 1 1 0 0 1 0 5 .091 .083 .182 .265 0 1 0 0 1
Joc Pederson 9 9 2 1 0 1 1 0 4 .222 .222 .667 .889 0 0 0 0 0
Corey Seager 6 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 .400 .500 .600 1.100 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Blanton 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 2 0 0 0 0
Josh Reddick 4 3 2 0 0 1 3 1 0 .667 .750 1.667 2.417 0 0 0 0 0
Rob Segedin 3 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .333 .333 1.333 1.667 0 0 0 0 0
Kenta Maeda 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Bud Norris 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0
Total 306 284 69 16 0 11 32 11 73 .243 .275 .415 .690 4 4 0 3 4

 

Since Carlos Ruiz is also hitting well against Bumgarner ( 7 for 19) I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in there, especially with Yasmani Grandal still battling that sore wrist. Another thing to watch for is Madison Bumgarner the hitter. This year he has hit three home runs and is batting .156 with 6 extra-base hits. He has 14 career home runs as a major league hitter.

The Giants have been playing bad baseball. They have the worst record in the majors since the all-star break and are floundering to stay alive in the NL wild card race. A huge problem for them this year has been their inability to hold late leads and come back from behind in games.

Just thinking of the Giants at home playing golf in October is delicious. The Giants have a one game lead over the Cardinals for the second wild card. The Mets are a game ahead of them in the standings. The Dodgers are 47-27 at home this season while the Giants are 39-35 on the road.

You can also catch tonight’s action on MLB.tv. If you have an account you can stream the game on your laptop computer or tablet device.

Go Blue!

Defeat SF!

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

48 thoughts on “Here Come The Stupid Giants, Magic Number at 9

  1. Hasn’t hit me yet that the only voice I’ve ever cared about in baseball will soon be gone. Funny that 2 of the greatest, maybe the 2 greatest period, were with LA teams. Talking of course about the great Chick Hearn, and the voice…Vin Scully. They broke the molds when they made those 2, they just don’t make em like that any more.

    1. It is truly sad about this being Vin’s last year. Living in Florida and Long Island before that, I haven’t heard his voice live since the bums moved moved to LA. One thing for sure, the will NEVER be another Vin Scully.
      The only good thing about his leaving was that it is his decision and NOT THE MAN UPSTAIRS if you catch my drift.

  2. your mom is very lucky! I met him once, on a plane, back in 1998. We were both going from LAX to Dallas. Me, to go drink alcohol. Him, to call the Dodgers/Rangers game. He smiled at me from his first class seat and man I wish cell phones had cameras back then!!!

    I’ll be at the Stadium Friday night for Vin Scully Appreciation night. Anyone else going?

  3. Vin’s last home stand. And at least it will have ball games that count. That is the way I want to remember Vinny. Calling Dodger-Giant games in a true pennant race. And do not think for one minute that the Giants are going to lie down for the Dodgers in any way. They are going to go out kicking and screaming. We can only hope they bring in Casilla for a save and he lives up to form and blows the ball game! I have dis liked, well that is too mild a word, HATED the Giants for years. Their fans and that disgusting black and orange uni have drove me nuts ever since I found this great game. I refused to listen to ESPN games because Jon Miller was the announcer a lot of times. Nothing pleases me more in the world than a Giant loss, or seeing them in their dugout after blowing a big game. The Giants going down in flames is truly a spectacle to behold, and I am looking forward to seeing that the next 3 days.

      1. Bum
        I watching the Braves Met’s game right now.

        And guess what, Matt Kemp has hit 13 HRs, and has 30 RBIs since he joined the Braves.

  4. I saw Vinny circa 1980. We were coming out of the parking lot after a Sunday game. Sitting in the back of my dad’s tation wagon, stuck in traffic, my sister and I looked over to the next lane and their was Vinny also trying to get out. We waived, he smiled and waived back. Pretty cool.

  5. I have had the privilege of eating in the Pressbox with Vin and chatting with him on several occasions. He is the same in person as he is on the air waves. Just genuine and no pretense. I did ask him for an autographed baseball and he obliged. I recently gave away all my autographed baseballs except for Vin Scully, Clayton Kershaw, Steve Garvey and Russ Martin.

    Vin is pure class!

    It’s going to be a dogfight. This is truly a team of Junkyard Dogs. Let’s spank the biggest Bum of all tonight!

        1. Dodgers could have fewer GMs next year. Maybe Geren will replace Chip Hale as well and the Dodgers sign AJ in time for him to take Geren’s place for the playoffs.

  6. I always loved hearing Vin’s voice over the radio while at Dodger Stadium when broadcasts did not have the delay. Most brought transistor radios. Speakers in the restrooms and in the food areas also had Vin on them. Players could hear Vin on the field.

    The scoreboard wasn’t what they are now and Vin kept us in the game. Too bad the delay took that away from us.

  7. I can remember Vin calling a game as a kid where the count was 3 – 1, one out, two on and Vin says the pitcher looks over to the on deck circle and sees a threat as Duke Snider with one knee on the ground is watching, waiting.

      1. I don’t know. The Dodgers were still in Brooklyn and I lived in Southern California. Its awesome when one’s favorite team moves to where they live. Not that I now want the Dodgers to move to New Hampshire where I am now.

        1. My introduction to baseball was when the Dodgers came back from an 0-2 deficit and beat the Yankees in the 81 Series. That got my hooked on the Dodgers. Just would spend my evenings laying on my bed listening to Vin. I’d wake up to to check the box scores in the paper.

          I think we were lucky in SoCal to have Vin and Chick. I love them both. I was thinking today about the Rams coming back to LA. I was a huge Rams fan and idolized Eric Dickerson. One radio sportscaster who I thought was great and I think was underrated was Bob Starr. In lieu of having TV access, I’d listen to Starr. Great memories of him calling the formation before the ball was snapped and describing Ellard catching a TD from Everett.

          1. Bob Miller of the Kings is also awesome to listen to. Thank God his health is better and he’ll be back this year for the Kings’ 50th anniversary season!

            Anyway, it’s time for Dodger baseball!

    1. That one carried a lot longer than I thought it would. Puig kind of just swiped at it effortlessly and the ball went over the center fielder’s head.

  8. The next time the Dodgers go against Bumgarner, I would have have every batter step into the box and say “I’m looking at you” and point to their eyes.

    Bumgarner is a bully. Give him some of his own medicine… or maybe drill him in the butt with a fastball.

  9. Now that was really something! And I was calling it all before it happened and I even have a witness here that heard me laying down the bottom o 9th. Still gotta spank that ass outta the post season! CHEERS!!!!!!!!

      1. They should have turned and stared at the douche. Once Toles got on I thought we were good. I sure hope he’s our leadoff hitter next year.

  10. Great win by the Blue, it disguises one important fact – they still can’t hit southpaws.

    7 ip, 1 H, 10 K, 0 BB for Bumgartner.

      1. I wouldn’t use today’s game as further evidence we can’t hit lefties. Bum was dealing today and he would have shut down any team, with any lineup.

        Now, if Moore handles us, then I’ll say “yes, we still cant hit lefties”

        1. Bobby
          What made Bumgarner more effective, was that that umpire was giving him high strikes.

          I wish someone could help Puig hit fastballs better, because if Bumgarner continued to throw those fastballs up to Puig, he would knock that ball far.

          He had the hardest and the only hit off Bumgarner, for a while there.

          And Puig hit that ball hard.

          No ones hits, carried like Puig’s hit did last night, to center.

          Bumgarner was throwing harder, then he has this year.

          He was throwing almost as hard as he could, after the umpire kept on giving him those high strikes.

          Bumgarner normally is just over 90, and his fastballs last night, were at 92.

  11. Giants lead the league in blown saves with 29 including 9 in the 9th inning.

    Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys

  12. We cannot hit lefties, but they often don’t go all the way these days and our record against lefty started games is .500, even with a horrific BA.

    Grinders, this team is made of.

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