When you think of the absolute worst possible way to start a season the Dodgers looked you square in the eyes and pointed a finger in your face while saying watch this. Welcome to the 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers baseball season. The Dodgers haven’t scored a run after playing the first 18 innings of the new season and I have no idea when or if they’ll score again.
I’m sure at some point they’ll score a run. But it’s entirely likely that this horrible funk could go on for several more games, perhaps another week. Can the Dodgers cross the plate at all this series? This is bad. Talk about a World Series hangover, and the Dodgers lost the World Series.
Sorry for bringing that up again. Opening day was surely annoying but at least the Dodgers got a few runners on base, had a few hits. They had six singles to be exact, and ten base runners overall counting the four walks. They didn’t score of course but at least they put themselves into a couple of chances to score.
Wait, that’s not entirely accurate. To be honest the only chance the Dodgers had to score was in the seventh inning of Thursday’s opener when Yasmani Grandal and Chase Utley singled. Chris Taylor worked a full count before looking at a called third strike. Something that is becoming an annoying pattern. That’s the only scoring rally the Dodgers have had this season and they didn’t score.
Friday night’s loss was even worse if that’s possible. The Dodgers made sure of it though. The boys in blue had a total of one hit and one base runner the entire game losing 1-0 thanks to another Joe Panik solo home run. This homer was in the top of the ninth inning off of Kenley Jansen. That’s consecutive 1-0 losses to start the season against the Giants. The Dodgers wanted to play an entire game devoid of any offense whatsoever and gosh they did it. Nine innings of automatic outs.
It was a shame because the pitching looks phenomenal so far. Clayton Kershaw tossed six innings of one-run ball on opening day. Alex Wood pitched eight shutout innings in Friday night’s sleeper. Wood allowed just one hit, (which was an infield dribbler) and the Giants had only two hits. One of those hits was a second solo homer from Panik. Is there reason to panick?
You bet there is. Let me just spell this out for you so you can understand properly. The Dodgers have not scored a run in 18 innings this year. They have zero, count them zero extra-base hits. They’ve gotten a runner to third once in two games. This is beyond anything that we could have ever imagined.
The lineup on Friday was almost the same as it was on Thursday. Chase Utley got the start at second base in place of Enrique Hernandez. Otherwise the lineup looked almost identical. They’ve been shut out by Ty Blach and now Johnny Cueto. Who’s the next pitcher to feast off of the Dodger’s limp bats?
According to the schedule it’s…(checks schedule) Derek Holland. Yes the reanimated corpse of Derek Holland who’s only with the Giants because Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija got hurt. The Dodgers will have Kenta Maeda on the mound to make his 2018 debut. Poor guy. It’s very probable that Holland will throw a no-hitter.
There’s very little the Dodgers can do right now. It’s not like they have some kind of Giancarlo Stanton waiting in the minors. If Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, Yasmani Grandal and the rest of the guys don’t hit then there’s nothing the Dodgers can do until Justin Turner returns from his wrist injury. Kyle Farmer and Austin Barnes have not gotten to the plate. Supposedly they’re supposed to get a start soon. Maybe they can have better plate approaches than some of the other Dodgers. This could conceivably go on for several more games. But if you think this can’t continue any longer well then you’ve probably never watched the Dodgers.
The worst part of this is it happening against the Giants. They couldn’t have waited a couple of weeks to do this? I mean it is one thing to get blanked on consecutive days by the Cardinals, Cubs or Nationals. To do it against the Giants though? Get out of here. I’m going to miss most of Saturday’s game, which starts at 6:10 PM. So that means the Dodgers will score like ten runs and win 10-1. I can guarantee you that.
Tell me again why we don’t have Giancarlo Stanton?
Oh yeah, we couldn’t afford him. The Los Angeles Dodgers, owned by billionaires and with an $8 billion tv contract could not afford the taxes brought on by 7.6 WAR home town boy. Before I hear from the FAZonians the minutiae of resetting the cap, please, spare us those details. Reminds me we think like the Rays now.
The positive about yesterday is obviously Wood. 8 innings was a complete surprise and he did it on 90 pitches. That’s impressive. 90 pitches might be a good limit for him. It would be nice to have him at full strength in October. You know, just in case we may be playing then.
Let me make the definitive statement on this game and the season thus far, this will save you all the effort and time to post your own comments. This truly sums up all that can and should be said about those two stinkers:
NO COMMENT!!!
I wasn’t surprised at all, because even when the Dodgers were playing well, and with Turner in the line up, they have always had trouble hitting Cueto.
In fact, I think Turner had to hit a HR off Cueto, to beat Cueto, and the Giants last year.
They are not having good at bats, and Roberts needs to get on his players to have better at bats, and tell them, you are better then this.
And actually Bach had given them trouble in the past, but I thought that was only when we were having trouble with lefties.
Corey needs to get his timing, because he is our best hitter, when Turner is out.
He did hit a ball hard to left, but after that, he hit into a double play.
Cody just needs to make better contact, and just try to hit the ball the other way, so he is not trying to do to much.
Hey Badger, what do you think of those Rams loading up with some top DBs (and possibly felons) in the league. Not to mention adding the choirboy Suh for the D line? If they can keep their behavior in check this could be one crazy defense.
In honor of Pope Francis, I think the Rams defensive unit should all wear OH HELL NO! t-shirts in all their practices and under their pads. The POPE DEFENSIVE UNIT (is anyone going to score on you this season? OH HELL NO!)
Sorry gang, I am fighting a really bad cold and am really grouchy…so what else is new. This has been a pitiful start to the year. I hate them losing to the Giants. But getting beat twice by a banjo hitter like Panik and not scoring a run in two games is just flat embarrassing. Jansen threw that pitch right down Broadway and the alarming thing is that he never got over 91 on the gun. Grandmal seizure showed his ineptitude once more. Double plays, strike outs and more pop flies than in a little league game. Joc Pederson could not hit a bull in the ass with a bass fiddle. Wood deserved a better fate as did Kershaw. How about that Watson guy? 6 batters, 5 K’s in two games. They had better have a good approach today or they will be 3 games out after 3 games. Pitiful, just plain pitiful….
Michael
I hope you feel better soon, I had to go through that, a couple of months ago, and I know it drags on, and you just don’t feel like doing anything.
I am wondering if there was not a little hanky panky going on between the Dodgers and the Cubs FO’s. On the 27th, the Dodgers DFA’d Trayce Thompson and claimed Cory Mazzoni off waivers from the Cubs. Yesterday the Cubs claimed Mazzoni off waivers from the Dodgers. Why in the world pick a guy up only to give him back 3 days later? Makes no sense to me but I am sure the FAZMANIACS out there are toasting the brilliance of this move. Thinking like this is what made Giancarlo Stanton a Yankee instead of a Dodger. Oh, and how about that guy Kemp…..he has looked pretty good out there in LF……and he has more hits than Puig, Seager and Bellinger combined.