The Dodgers had yesterday off after getting thrashed by the Oakland A’s the other day. The Dodgers Kryptonite came to town in the form of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers put Kenta Maeda on the mound and he always seems to struggle against the snakes. Actually the whole team seems to struggle against the snakes. Former Dodger Zack Greinke would also be on the mound. It seems to me the Dodgers really miss the Red Turn. The Dodgers would go on to lose their 10th straight regular season game to Arizona.
The comeback fell just short, and the Dodgers are now 4-8 https://t.co/VNvZisMWJN pic.twitter.com/tMJRZvPpox
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) April 14, 2018
David Peralta started the game with a walk. Ketel Marte then singled and the snakes were in business. Dodger killer Daniel Descalso eventually singled in a run for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Chris Taylor hit the first pitch from Zack Greinke for a homer to to tie the score 1-1. Maeda would have a horrible third inning. Greinke started with a walk. David Peralta then singled. Marte then hit a routine double play ball but Maeda made a throwing error and everyone was safe.
Greinke scored on a wild pitch. Peralta then scored on another wild pitch. Daniel Decalso then hit a sacrifice fly for another run. Chris Owings then doubled. Jarrod Dyson then doubled him in for another run ending Maeda’s night. The score was 5-1. In the bottom of the 6th, Cody Bellinger hit a solo shot to make the score 5-2. In the top of the 7th, Descalso hit a two run shot off Tony Cingrani to make the score 7-2.
#Dodgers lose, 8-7. Bad news: another loss. Good news: They showed some fight.
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) April 14, 2018
In the bottom of the 7th, Yasiel worked a walk. Then Logan Forsythe hit a double. The next two Dodgers made two outs. Chris Taylor reached on an infield single to score a run. Corey Seager then singled in a run. Matt Kemp then singled and the Dodgers scored three runs to make the score 7-5.
J.T. Chargois then gave up a solo shot to Nick Ahmed to make the score 8-5. In the bottom of the 8th, Yasmani Grandal singled followed by a Yasiel Puig walk. Joc Pederson then walked. Chase Utley hit a luck single that hit the second base bag, which would’ve been a double play. Grandal and Puig would score to make the score 8-7. Chris Taylor then came up with Pederson on third with one out and a chance to tie the game. He hit into a double play ending all hopes.
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.
Follow Me:
We are getting outplayed and our young players who got traded are, I’m reading between the lines here, letting it be known that they were not happy being a blocked prospect. Not a healthy state for us going forward. When you dick people around people notice. Many r assume players are dumb – in many cases they know the “PR” line far better than the owners and the players all talk amongst each other. This is why fans should never make the mistake of putting the FO over the team.
FAZ has out-clevered themselves.
Dodgers digging themselves further into a hole.
Just read the box. In earned runs we beat ‘em.
Noticed Hernandez and Pederson are hitting .300…. if you add their averages together.
Bellinger didn’t strike out. That’s a good thing.
We still have 6 guys in the lineup that are hitting .235 or less.
Grandal with a passed ball. There’s a surprise.
4 for 10 WRISP. That’s an improvement.
Baez and Fields look ok. Not sure anyone else does.
I’m not worried yet. Why? It’s not summer.
The AAA team is not having any problem scoring runs, and hitting, when runners are in scoring position.
Maeda Meltdown. Plate du Jour.
Against AAA pitching. I doubt they do that against front line major league pitchers. Boxberger has a 0.00 ERA and 5 saves already……
Michael
That may be, but there is someone on that major league bench right now, that didn’t do that, when they were sent down, unlike Puig.
And there are players down there, that have hit, major league pitching.
Taijeron has 26 games of MLB experience and hit .173. Toles has 79 games and a .279 average. Solano has 306 games and a .257 average. Locastro has 3 MLB games. Ramos has 0 games. Valera has 5. Muncy has 96 games and a .195 average. Gale has 14 games. Brockmeyer has 0. Peter has 0. Verdugo has 15. Segedin has 53 and a career average of .226. That is the entire starting lineup at OKC. 3 guys with no experience what so ever……only 1 player with more than 100 games and none with an average over .279 at the MLB level….now which players, other than Toles have proved they can hit major league pitching>? Sorry MJ< that argument and statement is totally false and does not hold water at all. There is no comparison to major league pitching and AAA pitching. The only time Puig ever played in AAA, 2016, he hit .348 with 4 homers and 12 RBI's in 19 games. So there is no single player at the AAA level who if promoted would make a big difference in the Dodger offense. Toles might play better than Pederson has, but there are no guarantees.
Maeda put them in a hole. His 2 wild pitches, which are totally out of character for him made it worse. But he had not started a game in 10 days and was obviously rusty. These guys are used to a routine. But that said, it is no excuse for bad play. That throw to 2nd when he could have turned an easy DP was brutal. Now the bases are jammed instead of a runner at 3rd and 2 out. It changed the entire complexion of the game. They did battle back and Utley came through again. Taylor then ruined that by swinging at the first pitch when Bradley was having trouble with his control. He grounds into a rally killing double play. Chargois gives up the 8th run on a homer….otherwise that game is tied. At least the offense showed some life. They have scored 13 runs in their last 2 games and lost both. They did strike out too many times last night and when Greinke was struggling in the first inning with what seemed to be either back or rib cage problems, he struck out Seager, Kemp and Puig on pitches that were definitely balls. And of course, in the 9th inning with Bellinger on first, Grandal swings at the first pitch and the game is over. So right now, at least the last 2 games, the offense is not the problem. In fact over the last 3 games they have scored 17 runs. Although they are not hitting on all cylinders right now, that at least is a good sign, and they are starting to show power. I know the AAA team is scoring runs, but that is against AAA pitching. Does not mean it will translate into success in LA.
Michael
Like I already said, there is someone on the bench right not, that didn’t hit AAA pitching, when they were sent down!
And there are players on the AAA team, that have hit, major league pitching.
My point was, this team has to have better at bats, when runners are in scoring position, and that is just good baseball, in general.
Duh…..like nobody knew that. But it was the starters who failed in the clutch, not the bench guys….they had 2 hits and a walk. The only pinch hitter who failed was Barnes. And as my response to an earlier post by you proves, that statement about the guys at OKC hitting MLB pitching is totally wrong. And we all know Joc struggled at AAA last year. But before that he hit very well there. Oh by the way, in 141 AAA games Pederson has a .292 average with 36 home runs and 87 RBI’s, his OBP there is .417, so except for that hiccup in 17 games last year, he has done well at that level…another argument lost…..
Michael
That was four years ago!
He has still not hit consistently in the majors, after three years, of consistent at bats.
And when a player gets sent down, for lack of production, they need to go down and prove themselves, and he didn’t.
And only you can talk about an argument lost, because all that matters, is what have you don’t lately, and that was four long, years ago.
And Joc has never come close, to that type of numbers, in the majors.
So What? He only played 17 games there last year. He has spent most of his time in the majors since then. But he was a successful hitter at AAA. Had he played there all year last year who knows how he would have done. Joc has played 3 full seasons in the majors, yet he is only 23 HR’s behind Puig who has played almost 5. Has he hit for a high average? No, but he out hit Kike who actually has played in 10 more games and was barely over the Mendoza line at .202 over those 2 years. Where as Joc has averaged .229 over that span. Add to that his solid World Series and I think you are directing your displeasure at the wrong guy. He has only struck out twice so far and Kike has struck out 9. Joc only has 21 at bats. Kike has 31. You were talking about what they had at OKC as having players there who had proved they could hit MLB pitching. You totally lost that argument. Am I saying Joc will ever be the player he was in AAA? Probably not. But there is no ready replacement at OKC except maybe Toles, and Kike could be replaced easily by Solano who has a pretty good glove and can play multiple positions also. I have softened my stand on Joc a lot because to me, he still falls into the same traps he did before, but I listen to the announcers and interviews and the people in control are very happy with Joc’s approach at the plate. Bottom line…..no matter what we think, there are people in positions of power who make the decisions that either send a player down, or give him a bunch of opportunities. At this point in time, those people like him and want him on the team. By the way, he is starting tonight in LF over Kemp.
The better at bats part I agree with…..
Michael
Farmer has not got as many starts, or at bats, that Joc has, but Farmer has more hits.
Farmer should be getting more playing time, then both Forsythe or Joc, to see what he can do.
At least he put in the hard work in the off season, and actually had, a good spring training.
If Farmer was an OF he probably would get more time than Joc. I personally think he should be starting over Forsythe at third. But I am not the manager. Farmer is a better hitter than either of them.
How do we know Farmer is a better hitter? He’s got 33 at bats in the bigs. There’s no book on a guy until at least 100. Yeah, I want to see more of him too. But I don’t expect him to continue hitting .300.
I still think we’ll be fine. Especially when Turner gets back. The dbacks aren’t going to continue to play at a .769 pace and we aren’t a .333 team. I think we should just relax, fill up the bong with some gorilla glue and groove til the win streak starts.