The second game of the series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays featured a battle between two Cy Young Award winners, Clayton Kershaw and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. No further hype necessary.
2nd inning
Joc Pederson went BOOM! Knuckleball, shmuckleball!
Pederson blasted a solo home run that flew 434 feet to center field.
Note to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts: Do not sit the hot home run bats, skipper!
Jays
Scored one to tie.
But the scary news was Kershaw was at 43 pitches at the end of the second inning.
3rd inning Tie game 1-1
Chase Utley opened with a base hit.
Corey Seager followed with a single to third.
Justin Turner hit a single, and suddenly Dickey was surrounded by crocodiles with nobody out.
Wild pitch!
Utley came in, but was called out at the plate.
The Dodgers went to an instant reply challenge.
Utley looked safe on a couple of replay angles. NY agreed, Utley was safe, and the run scored.
Adrian Gonzalez delivered the butter and eggs to drive in two with a clean single. Dodgers up 4-1.
The Dodgers broadcast team let us in on an amazing stat that blew my mind: Kershaw is 79 and 0 when he gets four or more runs of support. Amazing! I wonder what Jake Arrieta‘s stats are with four runs?
5th inning Dodgers 4-1
Jays
With a man on second, Kevin Pillar hit a ball that Howie Kendrick had trouble with in left field. He actually batted it to the ground from shoulder height, effectively bouncing it off the fake grass and into his hand. That scored a run to make it 4-2.
6th inning Dodgers 4-2
Kershaw report: 7 hits, 2 runs, 9 Ks but 101 pitches
7th inning Dodgers 4-2
Dodgers
R.A. Dickey was definitely settled down. The Dodgers hadn’t had a base runner since the 3rd inning. The Dodgers’ bullpen will have to nut up to hold this slim lead.
The question in my mind was, would the skipper go right to Kenley Jansen for the 6-out save? First Kershaw would have to survive the 7th.
Jays
He did!
8th inning Dodgers 4-2
Dodgers
Justin Turner hit his first home run of the season. It was a solo shot to left field. Dodgers up 5-2.
Jays
Pedro Baez in for the Dodgers. (Dodgers have a team 7.14 ERA in the 8th inning.)
Baez went 1,2,3. Well done.
9th inning Dodgers 5-2
With Howie on first, Joc hit one under the glove of Barney for an error.
Carl Crawford then hit what 9 out of 10 times is an outfield gapper, but not this time. Pillar got on his horse and stretched ALL the way out to make a highlight, diving catch. However, Howie brought in the run on the sac fly. Dodgers 6-2.
Kenley Jansen vs Blue Jays
Jose Bautista – pop up. 1 out
Juan Encarnacion– K looking. 2 out
Dustin Smoak – base hit
Troy Tulowitzki – Hard hit, deep fly out to left.
Dodgers win 6-2!
The Dodgers put it together today behind their ace, with two home runs (one hit late in the game for insurance), Adrian Gonzalez hitting in the clutch, and the bullpen standing fast. A good team win to set up a Mother’s Day rubber match on the card.
Clayton Kershaw (4-1) went 7 innings, with 8 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 10 Ks. ERA 2.04
Home runs: Joc Pederson, Justin Turner
Team with RISP: 1 for 3
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
Follow Me:
PITCHING IS STILL THE PROBLEM!
Looking at the Dodgers’ pitching numbers in toto does not give an accurate depiction of the Dodgers’ staff. Look at the numbers:
Overall:
15 – 15 3.77 ERA 1.15 WHIP
But.. here are the numbers without Kershaw:
11 – 14 4.43 ERA 1.25 WHIP
And here are the numbers without Kershaw, Maeda and Jansen:
8 – 13 5.10 ERA 1.39 WHIP
i maintain that the pitching is a big problem. The Dodgers have a 3 man pitching staff – unless it’s 1889 or something, that won’t get it done.
You are 100% correct Rick
Maybe it will be Lincicum to the rescue.
Whatever the question, Lincecum is not the answer. Let the midgets have him.
Badger who do you think is going down? I never heard of that relief pitcher either. I hate when they bring another pitcher that hasn’t pitched well.
They just can’t help them selves with these type of transactions.
Bum that HR that Joc hit, really messed up his later at bats.
I gotta disagree MJ, when anybody says a home run was a bad thing.
Would it have been better if Joc went 3 for 4 , but all singles? I’ll take the homer.
Should he have tried to hit a homer every other time up? Of course not, but he’ll learn to dial back as he gains confidence.
Two homers on the road trip and one against a lefty. That’s alright with me.
His batting coaches should get him straight for tomorrow
I think it was the knuckle ball more than the home run.
He seemed to be laughing at it with the umpire. It had to be dancing.
There were several rolling knucklers that were up in the strike zone. Dickey can’t do it like he usta did. There’s a good reason why his ERA is up.
Joc sent the one roller he got that was up in the strike zone 435 feet.
One can subtract the best three pitchers from any staff in the game and watch the numbers jump. Very, very few staffs in baseball are gold from top to bottom, or even through two-thirds of the staff.
Sure, the Dodgers pitching staff has dead Wood (literally) that can be immediately cast off. The curse/frustration with the middle third of the staff is nonetheless keeping us in the hunt so far.
You say we’re lucky to be in the .500 division? I’ll take it for what it is.
If the only way we get into the playoff this season is the other teams lose every game and we wake up in the playoffs, I’ll take it.
But that aint gonna happen. So I’ll take this team’s potential. I won’t bet the ranch on them, but they’ve got potential, especially if circumstances push the front office to bring up more of the younger players – which I can see happening.
Baez is a definite Jeckyll and Hyde pitcher. Today worked for him.
We should take that and enjoy the win.
Oscar he was swinging from his heels after that. And that isn’t a good thing. He has worked so hard, to fight that.
Bum Joc is batting sixth today.
And sometimes three or four singles, are sometimes better, then a HR, especially with people on base!
REALLY!
OK – do most teams have 1 only good relief pitcher?
Do most teams have a back of the rotation that looks like this?
Striping: 0 – 2 , 4.33, 1.41 WHIP, BA against .250, 1 HR allowed
Wood: 1 – 3, 5.18, 1.48 WHIP, BA against .278, 4 HR allowed
Kazmir: 2 – 2, 5.68, 1.36 WHIP, BA against .273, 7 (!) HR allowed
If you only have 3 good pitchers you will struggle to be better than a .500 team.
Dodger rick I think that Stripling is his own worse enemy. He can clean that up himself.
He just needs to stop trying to be so fine with all of his pitches.
I think in his last game, he had in his head, who was on deck. Other then that, he was fine.
Some teams have a middle rotation that looks like that. Not playoff teams.
The new pitcher they got from the Twins, has given up more HRs, then anyone of are current relief pitchers. He has given up 5 HRs. Baez has given up 4 HRs. Is this still the Dodgers?
And just what did you expect from these clowns? FO is as FO does…
I expect more of the same.
Oscar I wish Puig’s batting instructors can get him to be less impulsively, and start hitting to the right side.
Badger you don’t sound impressed.
With the FO? No. I’m not impressed. From the McCarthy signing to the picking up of some guy Minnesota dumped, I am not impressed. After a few hundred moves, are we a better baseball team? Doesn’t look like it to me.
Badger I was just joking!
Ok we’ve got some opening here to clear up some logjams and let the kids in.
The Angels just lost Garret Richards and Andrew Heaney. Give them Woods, Kazmir and Kendricks. I don’t really care much for what we get in return, but what this does is clear up sone spots so we can play Trayce THompson more, and to get Zach Lee and Bolsinger some chances before the All Star break.
I like the idea YF, but I doubt the Angels will. Kazmir makes too much money for three years and Wood is just not very good. Also if anyone believed Zach Lee was going to be a Major League pitcher he would be on a staff now. He isn’t, and probably for good reason. He’s 24, the Dodgers need a 5th starter, and they aren’t using him. One has to ask why. They haven’t traded him, and I’m going to assume there is reason for that too. As for Kendrick, is he worth $20 million? Not now, that’s for sure. Don’t forget, the Angels already dumped him.
The Kendrick paradigm for 2016 is far different than the 2015 paradigm.
Before the 2015 season the Angels had to believe Kendrick would get a multi-year contract somewhere near $60M as a free agent after the 2015 season. They did not want to give him that contract so they traded him.
The Dodgers thought they could get a draft pick for him by offering him a qualifying offer. But his defense declined in 2015 and draft picks became more coveted. After no teams offered him that multi-year contract Kendrick signed for 2 years and $20M. He should have taken the one year qualifying offer at about $15.3M.
The two year $20M contract looked like a bargain for the Dodgers but Kendrick has started the season reminding everybody of his age via injury and his lack of a bat.
The Angels might want him. The Dodgers might need him to platoon at second because Kike’ is still unproven against righties and Utley is maybe to old to play 140 games.
If a trade is made with the Angels I would want Street. He could be the 8th inning guy. The Angels now need an innings pitcher and Lee might be the best the Dodgers have that they don’t need in that regard. Lee and Kendrick and Hatcher should be more than enough to get Street.
Good idea, Bum. I’m just afraid Utley would pull up lame as soon as we traded Kendrick away. Throw in Wood instead.
If Wood were traded, what would your preferred rotation look like?
Bum I didn’t read your comment yet, and I had the exact same idea. Don’t you think we could get Street for less.
I would offer Wood, instead of Lee, because Wood is a leftie, and he has already pitched in the majors. And everyone in baseball, probably don’t think highly of Lee, because the Dodgers don’t.
Wood straight up for Street MJ?
Ask for Houston street. He can set up for us!
I doubt anyone wants Kendrick. If they did, he wouldn’t be here. I still take Kiké over him, any day, but that’s just me. It’s my opinion that we are at the point it’s time to play our future stars.
Toronto favored today with an over/under at 9. Wow. Don’t see that number often.
Where was the “trade Trout” rumor started?
I think both Utley and Kendrick are likely to pull up lame. Utley has looked very good, but can he run around like that until October? I doubt it.
I think Trout started it.
Because the Angels lost those two starting Pitchers. And Because Trout is that once in a lifetime player, and he alone, might get the Angels back enough, to replenish the Angels.
You don’t trade Mike Trout. The GM that does that will be unemployed soon after.
Puig, Urias, Thompson, Kendrick, Lee, and Crawford. Make the proposal Badger. Trout would look good in RF for the Dodgers.
Street is right up our Street.
He’s on the 15 day disabled list with a strained oblique.
Bring him in.
Okay, in that case Bolsinger for Street,oblique for oblique.
I predict nobody for nobody. That’s fair. And I also predict more guys like Fien. That’s easy to do. Just scour the scrap heaps and – choose.
Watford you are sure right, that he falls in line with some of our Dodger players, and he is especially a player, that our front office, would covet. They never use to have oblique problems in baseball, like they do now. There are so many problems with obliques now, you would think teams, would make sure that there players, are not over doing the exercises, that they do for obliques now.
There has to be an imbalance in some players, for the oblique injuries to happen. Strong obliques are great support for the back, but it seems like some players, just over do it, to get that six pack. Talking about obliques, it looks like Bolsinger, will be back soon. If he only could pitch, further into games.
I think it might be good for management, to have a couple of these pitchers, that don’t pitch deep into games. Lined up to where one starts the game, and the other pitcher, is ready to come in, before the first pitcher, faces the line up, the third time around the order. That is if there is enough space on the roster, to do something like that.
giants have about 10 wins from the off season buys. I’m afraid those pitchers aren’t going away soon. Compare that to our off season. Throw Wood in that mix and you get a real shitty stew. Plus the aholes have some new guys in the bullpen, who, as usual, over perform. Where are our over performers? I still say this front office is no better than the last and the one before. Just younger with nice shirts and no budget or accountability.
Our overperfmers are Chase and Utley.
Good one Badger! I like Utley. What has happened with Stripling good curve ball? It seems like he hasn’t had that good curve, or am I just missing it?
The only exciting news I’ve heard the last 3 weeks is that we’re considering bringing Urias up soon for the pen.
The fact that we want to bring up the Twins reject asap is a utter joke.
But somehow we have a chance to win this road series vs a good team which would be huge.
Bringing that relief pitcher to the Dodgers, might cause more problems, then he is worth. But once again, this front office, take another pitcher, off the trash heep, as some have accurately described it. These guys think they are still working for a small market team.
And they are just going out of there way, to find a diamond in the ruff. When instead, the obvious, would not only be easier, but also be a much better choice. They have to pay this lastest relief pitcher, about 1.5 million. And these type of transactions, can nickle and dime, but we’re talking millions in baseball today.
And they can be another good way, to waste a lot of money, like this front office has already done, by signing all of these pitchers, that have extensive injury histories, and for not. And that is why Badger insists, that it isn’t about the money!
Yep…Kershaw won his game which sets up Grienke winning today and the Dodgers taking the series from the powerful Blue Jays….
Oh wait this 2016. Well Kershaw won his game.
Maeda should have won his game too!
Bobby it sounds like the new pitcher is with the Dodgers, in Toronto now. Because they talked about him going through customs.
I hope they don’t use him today, because he is from the American League, and the Bluejays might know him well.
And he has already given up five HRs. He makes Baez and Hatcher feel better.
There are a lot of pitchers who have started inordinately slow this year. I’m going to list a few:
Giants
• Jake Peavy – 9.00 ERA/44 H in 31 IP (Career 3.60 ERA)
• Matt Cain – 7.84 ERA/47 H in 29 IP (Career 3.54 ERA)
D-Bags
• Shelby Miller – 7.84 ERA/31 H in 29 IP (Career 3.42 ERA)
• Zack Greinke – 5.15 ERA/54 H in 43 IP (Career 3.38 ERA)
Red Sox
• David Price – 6.75 ERA/45 H in 41 IP (Career 3.19 ERA)
Cardinals
• Adam Wainwright – 6.30 ERA/48 H in 40 IP (Career 3.06 ERA
• Mike Leake – 6.03 ERA/37 H in 34 IP (Career 3.94 ERA)
Dodgers
• Alex Wood – 5.18 ERA/37 H in 33 IP (Career 3.43 ERA)
• Scott Kazmir – 5.68 /35 H in 31 IP (Career 3.99 ERA)
Here’s a few things to glean from this: Baseball is a streaky game – when players are going good, their confidence is high and it seems that everything they do is right, but sooner or later they get in a funk and lose confidence and then it seems that everything they do is wrong. Clayton Kershaw had a 3.73 ERA in April 2015, 3.97 ERA in May 2015 and then 2.16 in June, 0.27 in July, 1.40 in Augusta and 1.84 in September.
One thing I think is important to look at is how many hits they have verses IP and ERA (of course, there are lots of other issues such as FIP and WHIP and many others). I just believe if a pitcher gives up a hit or less per IP, he has a good chance of getting better.
So, go back and look – the stats suggest that Peavy and Cain may not get better, especially considering their ages and injuries. Shelby Miller has given up 2 more hits than IP, so it seems likely that he will come back to at least his career averages. On the other hand, Zack Greinke has given up 11 more hits than IP. That is a red flag to me. I think something is going on there.
Mike Leake looks to be the victim of bad luck and I think he will get back to his average year. Adam Wainwright has given up a lot of hits, but is coming off a missed season, so anything could happen there. David Price has 4 more hits than IP, so one would think he should return back to his career average.
Finally, Alex Wood and Scott Kazmir have each given up 4 more hits than innings pitched, so there is also reason to believe that the could return back to their career averages, especially when you consider that both have a high swing and miss rate.
If you say the sky is falling, soon many people believe it… I know most of you do. I don’t! Career averages are just that – what a player averages for his career is often what his finishes each season close to. Of course, there are good and bad seasons and there are no guarantees, but I think it is totally disingenuous to believe that other players can rise to their norm, yet KazWood can’t! In case you don’t know, here is what disingenuous means:
“not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
synonyms:I nsincere, dishonest, untruthful, false, deceitful, duplicitous, lying, mendacious; hypocritical”
I am not saying that Kaz and Wood WILL come back and have great seasons. I don’t know and neither do you, but many of you let your hate of FAZ short-circuit your thinking ability.
I also know that we have several starters rehabilitating and many other prospects in the minors. I still like our chances.. a plethora of knee-jerk reactions aside. The season is young.
I’m just sayin’!
Baseball is supposed to be a fun game, Enjoy the ride… unless you are just a natural sourpuss. Then, feel free to do what you do best!
You make a good point. It’s possible some of these guys will get back to their career ERAs. It’s also possible to draw to an inside straight, but it’s not really the way to bet. It’s a matter of probability, and while I’m not a statistician I would point out that Price, for example, has been remarkably consistent; after struggling in his first full season, his ERA has fluctuated from about 2.5 to 3.5. Some of the others, like Peavey, Greinke and Kazmir have much higher standard deviations. Cain hasn’t pitched well since 2012 and last year was his worst ever…he may be done. Wood and Miller don’t have much of a track record. That is assuming of course that they are healthy; I read where Price’s velocity is down so that’s a red flag.
And if you really believe something, it’s not disingenuous, no matter how wrong it may be. A lot of fans think at least half our rotation and the bullpen are awful. The fact that the Dodgers are already thinking of bringing up Urias tells me they’re not the only ones.
Mark you make me laugh! And I don’t mean that, in a bad way. You really crack me up.
And I think even the Cubbie will have that happen. Not that they are a bad team, but there has been many bad teams, that have had a great first two months of the season.
They will regress but they are pretty good – just not THIS good!
Hell, baseball is supposed to be fun.
The boys of summer.
Fun in the son.
Happy Mothers Day!
Somewhere, somehow it seems to be the opposite.
Yes, you can root for your team, but you don’t have to be oblivious to stats and tendencies!
If you find yourself constantly finding the cynical angle to everything, you likely aren’t the nicest person to be around and secondly you will be full of negativity.
It’s that nasty little 28-year World Series drought Mark, makes Dodger fans irritable. Understandably. Especially when watching slick talking executives mis-manage the club into mediocrity.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
Kazmir could learn a lot from Estrada. They are the same kind of pitchers, except Kazmir is a leftie. And I hope Agone gets something to hit, because Estrada is pitching around him. Because Estrada is almost pitching everybody the same way. And Crawford needs to let Pederson to pick up and throw the ball, if they are that close. And think about just tossing it to Joc, because he has a much better arm.
Mark, trash in, trash out. Trade, sign, pick up from the left over pile a bunch of crap — then crap out.
Not mad at F&Z. They just should not be at the player in and out position, but with some other team that does not care much. But this is the Dodgers and they need a class GM who can create a better winning roster.
We missed Agon on that play. Agon would have got the out even at home. Nice play from Cory, and nice try from Utley. Good job from Stripling, to get out of that inning.
If A-Gon’s cleats didn’t slip, he would have gotten then runner, but if he slipped like Howie, there would be no chance.
I still say Gonzo makes that play
Easily.
This ump is calling strikes on the outside corner, that are at Agon’s and Cory’s shoulders. They can’t hit those balls. And some of the pitches he is calling strikes, are lower then the players ankles, when the ball goes over the plate.
Stats and tendencies are exactly what lead me to believe what I believe to be true. Since FAZ took over they have a tendency to pick up players that get hurt or don’t play better than they ever have before. The stats say we don’t hit well with runners in scoring position and other than Kershaw and Jansen our pitchers are rather mediocre. We are playing up to our abilities. What else can we expect?
Badger,
Again, what you say is untrue. Over half the roster is performing below their historical averages. They are not playing up to their capabilities.
However, I believe it will even out!
The offense should come around, but Yikes man this pitching staff needs a lot of work
I think the offense might get better. Not sure of that, but I think it depends on what stat you are looking at. We are currently 20th in average and 13th in runs scored. Runs is the big one of course, but pick a stat across the board and I don’t see us in the Top 10 in any of them. And you know how I feel about this staff. I think the significant moves, if any, will be with the pitching.
Dodgers being no-hit through 4 – great!
Over half the roster performing below historical averages? Are you sure about that? I’m looking at the lineup right now – Utley isn’t, Gonzalez isn’t, Pederson isn’t, Grandal isn’t, Thompson? not enough data, Seager and Stripling, same thing, that leaves Kendrick and Crawford. I’ll give you them. Shall we go through the entire roster? Let’s start with McCarthy, Ryu, and Anderson not performing at all. And then we can go through the 300+ moves with players that were just released or disappeared.
I think the point is the guys FAZ have brought in have not improved the club. We had fewer wins last year than the year before and are on our way to fewer again. I just don’t believe we are better. Apparently you do. I would ask you to review our debates over the years for accuracy but I don’t want to embarrass you any further. Maybe this time you will be right. You’re due. 95 wins.
Of course, the mighty Badger is never wrong. He’s a legend in his own mind.
Such drivel!
I think you just said what you wrote was drivel, in which case I agree.
My new attitude is that I am hoping are players are doing everything they can, to win, and win. In spite of the front office, not doing there job to fix the bullpen.
And not giving the team, decent starting pitching, especially the last two places in the rotation. And Kazmir, is in my mind, one of the last two pitchers in the rotation.
Just like I have been saying, Roberts needs to put Cory down farther in the batting order. I don’t blame Cory about his last at bat. Because this umpire has been calling strikes that are high and outside, of the strike zone. So Cory didn’t know what to swing at. Cory normally has a good eye at the plate, even under pressure. But he needs to be moved down in the line up. Roberts moved him down, and that was when Cory was able to get some hits, and bring his average up. I’m sorry, but Cory didn’t have a spring training really, and this is still his first season, in the big leagues.
Bum Joc hit one out, for the team, and for his buddy Cory!
Now he needs to hit a liner to left or bunt.
Once again Dummie has left the nonperforming RP in too long.
Somebody needs to hide Hatcher’s passport so he can’t come back to America.
Useless piece of garbage
Utley is the man!
Nice play. Lucky break he was moving that way, but Seager woulda had it.
We needed Jansen for that out? Really?
Utley is THE man on this team.
Great series win.
Really enjoyed these games in Toronto, and that’s what it’s all about.
A tip of the cap to Stripling. 85 pitches to get through 6. Sure would like to have seen 100 pitches and 7 IP, but he showed me something today. Who needs Lee. Trade him and Kendrick for Trout and Street.
I just don’t see Urias coming up soon. They are not stretching him out and I can’t conceive him in the BP. He’s viewed as the future co-Ace (singleton Ace if Kershaw blows this popsicle stand). You don’t groom someone like that their whole career then mess with their minds by suddenly demanding a reliever mentality.
The old Dodger way, was to put some guys in the pen their first season. Pedro Martinez pitched 63 games out of the pen when he was 21.
Fernando pitched 10 games out of the pen when he was 19.
Sandy Koufax pitched 83 games out of the bullpen… before he became Sandy Koufax!
Don Drysdale pitched about 60 games out of the pen early in his career.
Other teams do it too. I have no problem with it. I’d like to see them bring Urias up soon. 120 innings could be easily attainable for him with a spot start here and there.
BTW: In Don Sutton’s first minor league season, he pitched 249 innings at age 20! WOW!
Look what it did to his arm 🙂
agreed!
I thought the team played well, in all of there games in Toronto. This team has been coming back, and winning, late in games. That would have never happened last year! And everybody did
there part today.
Grandal had a really good at bat, that gave the team an extra run. And Cory, Utley and Howie all had clutch hits, to help us score. Joc had another HR, to tie the game. And Thompson got the first hit, and Puig even came in, and got a nice hit to rightfield.
Turner and Agon couldn’t come through today, but they will come through a lot this year. And Stripling looked more like the Stripling, in the game, he pitched against the Giants!
I see a lot of positives. The fans on this board are ready to slit their wrists because FAZ has been running this team for 28 years and they have not made it to the World Series. It’s all FAZ’s fault… all of these 28 years! Friedman just looks young!