After a three-game losing streak, including dropping the first game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers were asking themselves, can Maeda-san be a stopper san? The answer was yes, in more ways than one.
We’ll pick things up in the third, with the Dodgers down by one.
3rd inning Dbacks 1-0
Dbacks
Maeda in a little trouble. Men on first and second with one out.
Paul Goldshmidt blew an RBI single right up the middle. 2-0
4th inning Dbacks 2-0
Dodgers
Went down 1,2,3.
Dbacks pitcher Bradley had 6 Ks, 11 retired in a row, and no hits at that point.
Dbacks
1.2,3 for Maeda.
5th inning Dbacks 2-0
Dodgers
Joc Pederson said “No mas” to the no-hitter. Solo home run. 2-1
Yasmani Grandal got a four-pitch walk, and took second on a WP.
Chase Utley came through with a base hit to drive in two and take the lead 3-2
Dbacks
Little squibber to Maeda, he forced the throw to first, bouncing the ball to right field, allowing the tying run to score from second. 3-3
6th inning 3-3
Dodgers
Justin Turner blasted a solo home run, giving the lead back to the Dodgers. 4-3
Joc Pederson hit his second homer of the night! 5-3, Dodgers!
Dbacks
Kenta Maeda took a Paul Goldschmidt-batted ball off his knee, tossed the ball to first, and crumpled to the ground in pain. He could not continue, and scarier, he couldn’t even walk off the field.
J.P. Howell replaced him.
Then Louis Coleman, who gave up a two out RBI single 5-4.
7th inning Dodgers 5-4
Dodgers
Howie Kendrick with a lead off double.
Chase Utley let fly with a two-run home run. 7-4.
Dbacks
Casey Fien in for the Dodgers.
Whatacatch by Joc Pederson leaping up at the CF wall for the third out!
8th inning Dodgers 7-4
New Dodger Will Venable came up to PH with two out. Weak 4-3. Any guesses why Philadelphia dumped him?
9th inning Dodgers 7-4
Kenley Jansen vs Dbacks
Generic Dback: K
Rickie Weeks: K
Wellington Castillo: K
Dodgers win! 7-4
The Dodgers were no-hit through the first four innings, and then the wheels came off for the Dbacks. The boys in blue scored three in the fifth, and got a two-home run night from Joc Pederson.
Kenta Maeda pitched decently, but the real problem came with that ball he took off his shin. Later reports said Maeda had a contusion, and was negative for broken bones. Whew! Even money he makes his next start.
Adrian Gonzalez collected a Golden Sombrero, but the good news was the rest of the offense picked up the slack, hitting four home runs on the night.
More good news came from the pitching side of the team, as Kenley looked like Kenley once again, striking out the side with authority.
Maybe it was the mojo from Kike’s freshly shaved head.
Early game tomorrow – 12:40 p.m. Pacific time.
Kenta Maeda (W 6-4) went 5 1/3 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 ER, 1 walk, 6 Ks. ERA 2.75
Double: Howie Kendrick
Home runs: Pederson (2), Turner, Utley
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.
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To stay around .500 baseball — they boys in blue have to win like 3 or 4 games a week, and lose 3 or 4 games a week.
Now if you talk about a streak of like 41-5 at some point — then then would have really turned a corner.
Maeda’s injury: http://m.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article/184111576/kenta-maeda-bruises-right-leg-on-comebacker
Archie Bradley is younger than Jose De Leon. Ok, by 3 days, but the point is he is young and getting some early OJT. I think he will be good sometime soon, but not yet. The Dodgers hitters eventually got to a young starter who was making strike zone mistakes early on. We should win games against such inexperienced starters. And we did. And we will be favored again today. And a win streak is indeed possible. But an extended win streak out of this group would be very surprising. We are right about where most of us expected to be. I’m not the least bit surprised the giants are in first place and playing well. Look who they signed. They added power arms to an 84 win team. They SHOULD be better. We lost a Cy runner-up and replaced him with a 5.6 inning 4.5 ERA guy. We clearly did not make moves to improve. Why would anyone expect us to play better? That makes NO sense.
Maeda with a bruise and a “pinched nerve”. Nobody knows exactly what this means but I don’t expect him to make his next scheduled start. He’s the guy to watch very closely as the innings stack up. A bruised knee could change his delivery. He already has a tender elbow and is pitching more often than he has in his entire career. I’d be very careful with him at this point. It might be time to consider DeLeon.
“Why would anyone expect us to play better?”
– a movement back towards the mean. I would expect the Dodgers to hit better at some point.
– I would expect a Bolsinger or perhaps a Wood to be replaced at some point with a Ryu, McCarthy or an Anderson.
– the bullpen continues to stabilize…or at least don’t use Hatcher.
Is the team going to go on a 41-8 run. Probably not. Can we expect them to play better? Sure. That’s not being a Pollyanna.
41-8 run – probably not? How about no freakin way.
What I said about playing better was in reference to the changes made from last year. I too expect this current squad to hit better. Better enough to win the West? Maybe. Better enough to win the NL pennant? Probably not.
Badger
I think Agone might be hurting too.
He will likely need some time off. I’d plan on it.
Dodgerpatch
I agree with you. They are going to play better. Just the fact that Turner is heating up, makes a big difference. And the young players, should get better, as the season progresses. Joc has had a hit in the last four games, and has hit two HRs, and a couple of doubles, that could easily been HRs, in some parks.
I had been down on him, because of his base stealing adventure, but he looks like he is figuring things out. He hit a 98 fastball, for a HR into the drink in SF. And he hit a change up, for a HR last night. That tells me he is learning.
And Joc has played some good defense in this series. And Howie looks like he is starting to hit too. And what can I say about Utley, Utley is not only a smart player, he is a player.
I think Utley’s at bats, hadn’t looked that good lately, was because he takes a lot of pitches, because he leads off, to try to get on base. And when he does that, and gets two strikes on himself, it is harder, to get a hit, and beat the pitcher, when a hitter, is behind on the count.
They need to continue to hit today, and get some quick runs for Kershaw, so he doesn’t have to pitch a stressful game.
And after they get those quick runs, they need to continue to have good at bats, and get some more hits, and runs, throughout the game.
And they can’t assume that Kershaw has this. They need to help him, with good offensive production.
Well Oscar you blew that one calling Bradley, Terhan. Who is actually with the Braves. Down to brass tacks. After Pederson’s blast, the whole team seemed to perk up. And although they could not hold a 3-2 lead, the bullpen pitched well….. I think you guys are way off base about Wil Venable. The guy has been a solid player his entire career and he is only 33. Plus, get your facts straight. Philly released him only because he asked out of his contract. A lot of veterans do that. Joe Thatcher did it to the Dodgers last month. . On a previous post someone said that signing Venable was dumpster diving, well it worked last year when they picked up 35 year old Justin Ruggiano, who was a solid contributor down the stretch. Venable is a better fielder than Crawford, has a .250 career average and steals bases. He has been around Dave Roberts for years in SD, so I think they have a better pulse on what the guy can offer than us fans.
Michael
I think everyone is disappointed, because they think the Dodgers need a big bat.
And Venable has never hit above 268, in his career. And he has not hit more then 9 or 10 HRs, in a long time.
The thing he does have going for himself, is that he knows most of the pitchers, in the Western division.
Well I know they need a big bat, but that requires a trade and since when do these guys unload any kind of talent for a bat?? Venable stole 16 bases last year, and he has hit as many as 22 dingers. Point is, he is a better fielder than Crawford was who everybody dissed about his glove. He is younger, can play all 3 OF positions, not just LF like Carl. Since they took over after the 2014 season the FO has not added a true hitter. They have traded for pitching mostly, and not very good pitching at that. Peraza was probably one of the better hitters they acquired. But they traded him in the 3 team deal that brought Thompson, Johnson and Montas. How many of the free agent pitchers that they have signed have panned out? Most are at .500 or below as Dodgers. How many of the players they have traded for have performed well, and I am talking hitters here. Kike played above his head last year, now he has come back to earth. Grandal was great for 3 months and has stunk up the joint ever since. Hatcher is so mediocre that they do not trust him after the 5th inning. Liberatore has done well, Peralta was released. McCarthy was 4-0 when he went down after a month with the team. Anderson was a .500 pitcher, Wood is at .500, Kazmir and Maeda are ok, but nothing to shout about. Barnes has been good at AAA, but not given much of a shot up here. The lineup changes every damn day. There is no consistency. Wil Venable hit 22 homers in 2013, not that long ago. So he has some pop. They are carrying 8 relievers…….stupid. They have been playing with a short bench since late April. If there is a plan, we have not seen it. The other day Friedman said he knew the Dodgers need a middle of the order bat. But he has done nothing. I think they were living in a dream world where Ryu, McCarthy, Ethier all come back in June, but that is not happening. It will probably be mid August for Ethier, and late June early July for the other 2. Now Maeda takes a shot off the leg, and he is day to day. Puig will probably come back sometime during the home stand. I am hoping they dump either Howell or Hatcher to clear a spot for him, make the bench stronger. I see improvement in Turner and Pederson, a little life out of Howie, and Utley staying a steadying force. But this is not in any way shape or form a championship team without some major changes. I doubt they stay in contention unless the Giants totally collapse.
Michael
I’m just glad that it looks like Turner is breaking through and so are some of the other players. But we have had to many outfielders, for some time now, so why are they bringing in another outfielder?
And Howie and Kike play in the outfield too.
Number 1. Joc is the only LH OF of those you mentioned. Kike and Howie are really infielders. Howie has played most of his career at 2B. Kike is a utility guy, and is a better Inf, than he is in the OF. He does not really have an outfielders arm. His defense is ok, but not nearly as good as Venable. And with Puig on the DL, they were down to 4 outfielders even though they list Kike there. MJ. this is a team full of multipositional players. Everyone except Gonzo, Ellis, Grandal, and Seager play some where else. Grandal is a lousy 1B, so I do not count him as one. Kendrick plays 2B, 3B, and LF. Utley plays 2B, 3B and 1B…….
Thanks for alerting me to that mistake, Michael. I’m not sure where my head was at when I made that note. Although I have the distinct feeling the Dodgers’ announcer made that verbal mistake, and I was writing my note as he was speaking. Hmmm….Either way, it’s fixed now. Thanks again.
No problem Oscar. Most guys on here missed that one. Heck, Vin was calling Kersh Koufax a couple weeks ago. And the new guy probably has blew a name or two. Been following the team long enough to find a little humor in the small boo boos. I am not really impressed with Joe Davis, but Vinny can’t do it forever, and I would hate to be in that guys shoes because he is going to be compared to Vin no matter what..