The Dodgers have won two straight against the Snakes in thrilling fashion to tie the Snakes for first place. This afternoon the Dodgers sent Walker Buehler to the mound to face former Red Sox Clay Buchholz. What do you know, a pitchers duel broke out. This series has been close with a playoff feel to it. The pitching has been great in this series on both sides.
The Rockies win.
The winner of the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game will be in first place in the NL West. The loser will be in third place.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 2, 2018
In the top of the first, Paul Goldschmidt hit a dinker for a single for the DBacks. That would be Arizona’s only hit for a quite a long time in this game. In the bottom of the third inning, Walker Buehler got the Dodger’s first hit. Joc Pederson then got hit by pitch with outs and put Buehler on 2nd base. Justin Turner then walked. Manny Machado then came up with an opportunity to strike. He flied out and down went that opportunity.
The Dodgers haven’t been able to jump out in front in this series. In the bottom of the 5th, Max Muncy hit a solo shot and sent the crowd into a frenzy. The Dodgers led 1-0.
Max on, Max off. pic.twitter.com/eDbO1bAyMf
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 2, 2018
Walker Buehler then singled again. Joc Pederson then singled. The Dodgers had something cooking. Justin Turner then hit a rocket right to a Dback and the Dodgers were doubled up. In the top of the 7th, Paul Goldschmidt singled. Daniel Descalso then walked. New Dodger Ryan Madson then came in. Ketel Marte then walked. Alex Avila then hit a fly to center. Bellinger caught it and threw a rocket to the plate. It looked as though it gunned down Goldschmidt. He ended up being safe and the score was 1-1.
Caleb Ferguson was facing Daniel Descalso in the ninth. Descalso homered and the Dbags took a 2-1 lead. The air went out of the stadium. Kenley Jansen then came in to pitch and got in a bit of trouble but was able to get out of it.
Jansen gets Souza looking. One to tie and two to win. pic.twitter.com/SqRQfifJtL
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) September 2, 2018
Brad Boxberger came in to try and get the split for the Dbags. Alex Verdugo came in and worked a walk. Max Muncy then batted and worked a walk. Tim Locastro came in to pitch-run. Kiki Hernandez then bunted the runners over to 2nd and 3rd. The Dbacks brought in Archie Bradley to face Matt Kemp. Matt Kemp won the game last night.
MATT KEMP COMES UP BIG AGAIN 😳
(via @Dodgers)pic.twitter.com/Jk3jCQE0U9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 2, 2018
The Dodgers have won three straight games by the score of 3-2 in dramatic fashion. They took 3 of 4 from the Dbacks. The Dodgers are alone in first place. No time to relax. Tomorrow they face Degrom. Next weekend they face the Rockies.
James Moya
Hi I’m James Moya. I am an avid Dodgers fan. I graduated Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelors in Communications. I used to freelance at the San Bernardino Sun. I’m excited about this opportunity to write for LA Dodger Report to gain experience. I’m a straight shooter on my opinions and I hope to get some good conversations going. My dream has always been to report on the Dodgers because Baseball is the National Past-time. I hope you enjoy the ride with me.
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Great recap James. There is an excitement now – thats been missing the whole year! Let’s keep it up!
Dodgers now have 4 catchers on the roster as they call up Rocky Gale and put Brock Stewart on the 60 day DL. Buehler had precautionary X-rays on his left foot. He was complaining of soreness that got worse as the game progressed. Stripling will be ready by Friday. Matt Kemp looking like Matt Kemp again. 5 RBI’s on his last 2 hits.
Now they get the Mets and deGrom, who have been playing better of late. No need to have Barnes or Grandal in there vs lefty’s with Gale called up. He had a decent season at OKC. Not much power. But they at least have options. Wonder if Doc will try the all lefty thing against deGrom tomorrow. They have almost enough guys to do it. Muncy, Toles, Pederson, Utley, Bellinger, Verdugo, Grandal, wish Corey was available…..
Gale was called up because he is a real catcher.
The Dodgers think of Farmer as an utility player.
Still listed on the roster as a catcher no matter what they think of him. Like Kike is listed as an outfielder.
Thinking about expanded rosters and such, I was perusing my Dodger media guide and thought it would be fun to look up some notable names who once graced Dodger rosters. Some are even in the Hall. What is odd is that some of those players, although they were not Dodgers for extended periods, had multiple uniform numbers over their time on the team. Joe Medwick wore three different numbers over his 4 years on the team. Other notable players included, the Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd, nicknamed big and little poison. Both also played for the Pirates, and Paul wore # 1 before a certain SS we all love. Leo Durocher of course, Gene Mauch, Hack Wilson. Lefty O’Doul and Medwick at one time wore #6. Which for 21 years after Steve Garvey was not worn. Al Lopez, HOF manager was a catcher as a Dodger. Babe Dahlgren. Babe is famous for being the player who took over at 1st base for Lou Gehrig. He wore # 12. Burleigh Grimes wore # 13. It went 17 years without a player wearing it until Joe Ferguson claimed it. 3 hall of famers wore # 15 on the Dodgers, Dazzy Vance, Waite Hoyt, and Dick Williams. Jim Bunning, Wes Ferrell, Kiki Cuyler, Casey Stengel, Hoyt Wilhelm, Max Carey. Stengel, Chuck Connors of TV fame, Don Newcombe and Frank Robinson all wore 36 in Dodger blue. There were great nicknames in the old days and 2 of the best were Boots Poffenburger, and Boom Boom Beck. Both of whom were Dodgers at one time. Former Cardinal great, Ken Boyer wore 45 as a Dodger. Juan Marichal was # 46. Joc’s dad wore # 57 his time in Dodger blue. Lasorda wore 52 and 29 before he got his retired #2. Rocky Colovito wore # 16. Some very interesting names have worn the uni, including of course, the Babe.
Quietly, and almost imperceptibly because Kenley and our batting’s been so inconsistent, our starting pitching has stabilized. They’re not dominant but just damned good 1-5. Middle relief has been getting rest, all we need now is another reliever to step up big and take control of that 7th-8th inning. Can Josh Fields take control?
Madson and Maeda, not necessarily in that order.
Jeff
Madson sucks.
So do your comments.
Ha.
Jeff–Your opinions are so far over the top you need to stick with something you can make sense. You want to make it personal a$$hole?? Anyone who thinks Madson is worth anything is dumber than sh!t. You think the kids are who will take the Dodgers to the playoffs this year? You are mistaken. FU
FU Jerk!!!!!!!!!!!!!To you Jeff
Guys,
let’s just all take a deep breath here.
I read some stat that the Dodgers starting pitching is tops in the majors, eclipsing the Astros.
YF
We are still not getting hits when runners are in scoring position.
And we can’t win every game like we did this weekend.
I was never concerned with our starting pitching, especially with the way Ryu has thrown this year.
But our bullpen is still very questionable!
Let’s see what happens with Degrom tonight, because they hit him the last time they faced him.
Because the Dbacks just looked weak this weekend.
And their manager was stupid to throw Bradley against Kemp again, because Kemp has hit Bradley, before this weekend.
MJ,
The Dbacks are a weak team. They are pretenders. They have good pitching but their hitting is quite lame. Goldschmidt slumped most of the first half and they never really recovered their hitting stroke. They survived on their pitching and sunk like a stone with their poor batting. On paper, we are a much stronger team with better balance except for hitting with RISP. This is our only real problem.
Colorado, otoh, is exactly opposite of Dbacks. They have strong hitting with weak pitching. If only the Dodgers get their sights set on scoring with RisP, they will take the division and beat teams like the Mets as if they were swatting flies. DeGrom is a very good pitcher, but the Dodgers had their chance to put him away and didn’t.
The biggest question in my mind is will the Dodgers go in a different direction with players like Grandal, Taylor, Joc, and Puig. To me, these guys don’t deliver. Players like Verdugo should replace one of those OFielders. I’d like to see what Gale has as a catcher because the Dodgers are not going to let Farmer catch. Dozier is another guy on the edge for me. They had Muncy at 2B tonight. They were willing to sacrifice defense for hitting. Why bring in Hernandez to replace Muncy? Roberts was hoping but this made no sense to me. We might need a real hitting 2B and LoCastro is not it. I say change the outfield first. Sit Puig and Joc. Use Verdugo, Belli, and Kemp. We have nothing to lose. Freese and Muncy at 1B when Belli is playing CF.
I have to agree with most of this. I don’t think the Dbacks are as bad as Jeff believe, but he makes a good point. They definitely have the pitching but their lineup has some holes. Colorado seems to be able to get the clutch hits and that’s why they’re winning despite their awful pitching. But that won’t hold up long. Pitching is still the name of the game.
As for the Dodgers, I agree about Taylor, Joc and Puig holding the team back. I’ve always liked Joc, but prefer him in a platoon/bench role at this point. Taylor and Puig have not performed either. Taylor strikes out way too much and Puig has been a below average hitter for several years now. He’s basically become an average hitter with little to no on base skills. Those guys are unable to adjust and that is their downfall. As for Grandal, that’s a different story. Unfortunately the Dodgers don’t have an alternative behind the plate. Barnes is atrocious, one of the worst hitters in baseball so you absolutely can’t play him. The only other catcher that can be considered is Farmer and he’s not very good either and hasn’t been around the pitching staff long enough. Their best option right now is still Grandal. At least Grandal can hit one out of the park occasionally and knows the pitching staff well. The best outfield right now is Kemp, Bellinger and Verdugo. Verdugo is just the type of player they need because he’s contact oriented. He gets on base and runs the bases well. Stick Muncy at first and maybe Hernandez can play some second base. Dozier isn’t hitting either and while he’s a great defensive player, he wasn’t hitting in Minnesota either.
Yes, the big question mark is Grandal, Scott. That’s why I’d like to see what Gale brings. He’s had a very good season in the minors and I’m assuming they brought him up now to use him a bit. Grandal is not a write off as he does have some good at bats but they are getting more and more infrequent as he slumps big time once again. We’ve got to address this.
Jeff
I have had a chance to pause and reflect our past interaction on this blog and have determined that I have been extremely wrong with what I have said regarding certain people who have commented on this blog including you and some others. I want to sincerely apologize to you for those comments, especially the ones above. I will no longer comment here as it appears that I have nothing of value to add to the discussion. Good luck to the Dodgers and you and the rest of those that comment here. I hope you have fun and the Dodgers are successful.
Scott— You have a great blog and I have enjoyed participating in it. Keep up the good work.
Come on Pack, don’t leave. Don’t worry about it. You’re a good guy. There’s no reason to stop commenting.
What happened to Badger, Scott, and posters like DodgerRick, Bobby, and several other good posters that used to be regulars here? Why have they all disappeared from here?
I don’t know Jeff. I don’t know what happened to Badger, but the other guys are at the other site I think. Actually not sure about Bobby, but I know Rick is. I’ve certainly tried to Foster a good community over here.
Scott, it’s hard to imagine anything that you’ve done to turn people away. Timmons site probably has the edge because of the contributing writers who post a lot about the farm system and the players to keep an eye on. This gives an extended perspective on the whole Dodger operation and there are some long time fans who are very knowledgeable about the team and the game as a whole. But I don’t find much difference in content between the two blogs when it comes to game to game analysis and conclusions about the current players, management, and team needs. Your site has more interpersonal comments which could make the difference to some posters or not. Moderating on your part may be called for in some instances to let people know they are out of line or to keep on topic and not make things personal. I don’t know if you do that privately as other blogs do that(send private messages to posters who are violating certain boundaries).