Alex Wood was on the mound today taking on Anibal Sanchez of the Braves. Wood has had run support issues this year and lately hasn’t been able to last long in game. If you think about not many Dodgers pitchers haven’t been able to get out of bed without getting injured or landing on the DL. The game started out fine as Max Muncy hit a solo shot in the bottom of the first and the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead.
Dave Roberts said Wood is not 100 percent synced up, in part because of hamstring and adductor discomfort.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) June 10, 2018
Don’t forget Walker Buehler also has injured ribs so I throw my hands up. Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda are close to returning. In the top of the 2nd, Nick Markakis doubled. Former Dodger Charlie Culberson singled him in to tie the score. In the top of the third, Dansby Swanson reached on an infield single. Freddie Freeman singled. Tyler Flowers then doubled in two runs off Alex Wood and the score was 3-1.
In the top of the 5th, Dansby Swanson singled. Freddie Freeman singled again. Tyler Flowers singled in a run and ended Wood’s night and the score was 4-1 Atlanta. In the bottom of the 5th, Yasiel Puig hit a single. Joc Pederson then hit a double. Logan Forsythe got an RBI groundout and the score was 4-2. In the top of the 7th, Scott Alexander came in to pitch. Swanson doubled followed by a Freeman single. Sounds like a broken record.
#Dodgers call up RHP Daniel Corcino, return SHP Pat Venditte to AAA. Dennis Santana on 60-day DL.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) June 9, 2018
Nick Markakis then singled in a run to make the score 5-2. In the bottom of the 7th, Yasiel Puig hit a double and would eventually score on a wild pitch and the score was 5-3 Braves. Yasiel Puig singled to lead off the 9th, but Yasmani Grandal hit into a double play to end that threat. The bullpen got taxed again. Ross Stripling will pitch tomorrow. As for during the week who knows.
James Moya
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Let’s face it, Wood has not been able to pitch like he did last year. It’s true that earlier in the season, run support could be blamed for his losses, but that is not really the central issue with him. He is a pitcher that has trouble going more than 3 innings, but he is not managed that way. He is expected by Roberts to go more than that, hence lies the problem at this point in the Dodger universe.
We all saw him begin to fall apart in the 3rd, but Roberts stood there and watched him unravel for a further 2 innings. Wood is no longer a starter. He should be considered a long reliever along with Rich Hill. Once you sort out the present pitching staff and stop thinking along the lines of starter and relievers, Roberts could begin to manage the staff with intelligence. After 3 innings, he’s gone. What’s the big deal? We have an army of pitchers ready to step in. 3 innings is all they need from any of the ‘starters’/long men and the pressure put on the rest of the staff will be eased.
Roberts still needs to sort through the staff and really question the quality of pitchers like Alexander, Yimi, and Hudson. To burn Yimi and Hudson for 1 batter is silly especially the way Roberts goes through his deck too often. His on the job training has been difficult to watch.
The bats couldn’t get it done today. They had their chances. We can’t win them all.
My last complaint concerns Forsythe. I was always supportive of his defense, but that has evaporated. He neither defends or hits adequately for the standards of this team. I think they should replace him as fast as they can. I know there has been some talk about getting a better 2Bman. The FO will not pay for a top of the liner so let’s not hope for a Machado. There must be someone already in the minors or on the trade block that will do the trick. Can they pull it off?
What a strange year this is shaping up to be.
92 pitches to go 4.2. He struggled, but he battled. Box score says 2 earned in those 4.2. When this team only scores 3 it will be tough to win. 0 for 6 WRISP. Wood hasn’t been what he was last year, but he deserved better in this one.
6 relievers used. Baez, Hudson and Corcino were clean.
There are those of us who saw this coming. Frankly I thought it would happen last year. I liken it to building a house with defective lumber. It will eventually collapse.
The answer may very well be what Jeff has proposed the last few days. Frankly I know I don’t much like the plan, but at this point I see the value in it. As ridiculous as it may seem, and it does seem ridiculous, this team is on a tight budget. Those of us who have lived through that know what it means. You make do with what you got. You make do on less. In my opinion, for the Dodgers it simply means – how do you get 27 outs and minimize the damage? Well, you don’t do it by giving teams unearned runs. And you don’t do it by going 0fer with runners in scoring position. This team will have to be tight defensively and this team will have to hit. And we fans will have to accept the fact the load is being pulled by a starting staff of ponies, not horses. Ponies can’t go the distance. But ponies can deliver the mail. They do it by going short distances and handing it off. We are a pitching relay team. We’ve now used 25 different pitchers this year. We may use 30 before the summer is over. Yeah, it may be boring but this is who we have become.
Can we win like this? Sure we can. But we can’t make defensive mistakes and we must hit.
Badger,
Wood gave up 9 hits in 4.2 innings. He was being creamed by a very good hitting team. Those hits would have been minimized had Roberts acted sooner.
Perspective Jeff. 2 earned runs tells me he battled. 4.2, 9 hits, 92 pitches. Yoiks. But no walks. Only 2 earned. How do you even do that? Struck out 6 in those 4.2. Not good Wood, but I’m not blaming him for this one. Had Forsythe not ef’d up, Wood would have had 5 IP, 2 earned and we would have been tied 3-3 after 9.
Forsythe is a problem. What to do?
Badger
Any time this team faces a pitcher that throws a lot of off speed stuff, our young hitters have problems hitting pitchers like this.
I can understand why the Astros are having their number four and five starters, throwing more off speed stuff, then fastballs, because it seems it takes young hitters a while, to hit well against a pitchers that predominantly throw off speed pitches, or pitches backward.
This is exactly what happened in game seven last year.
I was afraid our hitting in that Pirate’s Series, was more about the young pitchers the Pirates had, because those pitchers threw more fastballs, and they didn’t have good command, when they threw their fastballs.
Jeff
Not only did Forsythe make his second error in two series, that allowed two runs to score that shouldn’t have, one of the key hits off Wood in that inning, was a ground ball that was hit where a second baseman would normally be, so that also wasn’t Wood’s fault either.
He hasn’t been as good, but yesterday his velocity was back up, so I think he will definitely get another start, and stay in the rotation, because the Dodgers have no choice.
Muncy can be moved over to second, he has played second in the majors as well, in AAA.
I looked at his defensive metrics at second, and he doesn’t have bad numbers defensively at second.
Forsythe once again, is hitting just over the Mendoza line, and he is hitting just above the Mendoza line against both lefties and righties.
Last year, at least Forsythe had good numbers against lefties, but his numbers are not good offensely at all, this year.
And his OPS is in the 500s this year.
Some great stats:
Muncy has 11 home runs this season, one more than Anthony Rizzo, three more than Kris Bryant.
Corcino became the 25th pitcher used by the Dodgers this season; they used 26 all of last season.
On his current pace, Bryce Harper would finish the year with:
125 walks
133 hits
102 runs
50 homers
112 RBI
13 stolen bases
Saturday’s game marked the fifth time this season that the Dodgers have not scored more than three runs in a game Wood started.
There are always current pace stats that are interesting. But they usually are only relevant currently. Those numbers you just posted could actually happen.
As it currently stands, Forsythe is on pace to suck miserably over 162. Will that change? I suspect so, but I don’t see him as anything more than a replacement player, as in …. he needs to be replaced. Sooner than later.
Interesting observation on the off speed stuff MJ. Well placed change of speed pitches have been getting aggressive hitters out since Lajoie was a rookie. Not much you can do about it really. Hit the mistakes hard when you get them. Tip your cap when the pitcher throws the perfect pitch.
We’re favored today. 7 1/2 runs. We rebound and win this one 5-4.
I looked at Muncy’s numbers at second in 2016 when he played for the A’s, and in 159 innings, he doesn’t have bad defensive metrics at second.
Forsythe probably has more range then Muncy does, but that is not that important, when Forsythe is making errors on routine plays, like he did in the last two series, that not only cost us two runs in each game, it cost us two games too.
And Forsythe has already made 7 errors this year, at second and third, evenly.
And we all know that Forsythe is not much help with the bat either.
He is once again, letting good pitches go by early in the count, and causing himself to be behind on the count to pitchers more often then not, and he is not a good enough hitter, to be behind on the count that often.
He ranks 389 in all of baseball, for not swinging at the first pitch.
And most of the time, the first two pitches a pitcher throws, are the best pitches a hitter might get.
Even Joc has learned to not get that deep in counts anymore, because if some have not noticed, Joc has not walked for quite a while, because he has been swinging more early in counts, during this hot streak.
And like Badger said, they are not going to hit like they have all the time, and with Corey out, we can’t have a player in the line up, with no bat, like we did last year with Forsythe.
And he has not hit righties well, most of his career, so Roberts is not going to get Forsythe to hit righties well this year, anymore then he did last year.
And Forsythe hit below 200 against righties last year.
Badger, how are our squirrels going to get any hits, if they are only getting one or two fastballs at the most, in their at bats, against pitchers like that?
Those are very low odds for our squirrels!
The way I would go about it is likely different than what is being taught now. I always looked for mistakes within the strike zone. Forsythe takes strike one. Everyone knows it. The best thing he could do to change everything about his at bat is go up there looking dead red and straighten it out right away. You do that a few times and pitchers won’t give it to you anymore. The next thing is to bang frisbee breaking pitches off the outfield wall. I’ve seen many of those flat out missed by this group.
Squirrels love nuts served up on a platter. They live on them. The good pitchers are going to work the corners and change speeds. The best don’t make many mistakes. So when you get that pitch in your zone you just can’t miss it.
And whatever you do don’t chase. I saw Kemp do that a couple times yesterday.
It’s simple but not easy. Focus. Punish strikes, lay off balls.
Badger
Kemp looked a little tired to me, yesterday.
Because he has not been going after those sliders on the outside
corner, much this year.
We need a healthy Turner, because he is the best off speed hitter, on this team.
All year, last year I thought Taylor would regress.
Maybe Kemp won’t.
Tired?
Maybe he needs a day off.
Forsythe could not be more frustrating to watch and, for me, to look back in the context of initial expectations.
Andrew Toles, through 10 games at AAA: .364/.417/.568.
Toles for DeGrom straight up.
Good trade.
MJ
I can’t believe you are calling for a day off for Kemp. I can see Badger doing it but not you. Sad day.
Good to see you pack!
It’s a happy day. Forsythe connected.
Badger
Yeah, and Matty just singled in a run.
Package
I was just saying the truth, because it looked like Kemp was a little tired, because he had not swung at that many sliders, this year.
Badger
Forsythe lived by the first pitch, and died by next first pitch, because he hit it right at someone, and that was one short, at bat.
But the next first pitch was way inside, but he got lucky, and kept it fair.
Package
Anyways, Kemp is getting a day off tomorrow, the whole team is!
Five consecutive strikeouts for Cody Bellinger.
Nuts.
Oh, there’s one!
Cody faces lefties, that will happen, but his OPS is higher then Puig’s, against lefties.
Not sure what Puig has to do with anything.
Sicker than a dog….but glad they won……day off..I need it.