26 strikeouts, two monster dongs and 12 innings was all the Dodgers needed to muscle past the Brewers 2-1 on Friday evening during the opening game of the weekend set at Miller Park. The Dodgers were certainly feckless offensively entering tonight’s marathon affair. The Dodgers had scored just one run on 8 hits during the final two games of the St. Louis series and were generally feckless through most of tonight. It’s funny seeing some of the fans panicking on twitter during this little mini offensive slump. Trust me we’ve seen the Dodgers more feckless than this. I remember a couple of years ago when the Dodgers went nearly a week without scoring a single run. Two days is nothing.
Thankfully the Dodgers got some fantastic pitching today and two home runs from Yasmani Grandal and Cody Bellinger gave the club a very exciting come from behind win. Clayton Kershaw tossed seven innings and struck out 14 against just one walk while allowing one run on only two hits. He also reached a career milestone striking out his 2,000th career batter. He’s now the second youngest pitcher to reach that milestone in MLB history. Pretty incredible honestly.
Dodgers 2 8 1
Brewers 1 5 1
WP-Jansen-3-0
LP-Feliz-1-5
HR-Santana-9-Grandal-6-Bellinger-12
Unfortunately big right hander Jimmy Nelson matched Kershaw pitch for pitch. He struck out 11 over his eight innings of work. He walked none and allowed 5 hits. The only blemish on Kershaw’s otherwise outstanding night was a seventh inning home run to rookie Domingo Santana. The game started out shaky for Kershaw as he allowed a double to Keon Broxton and walked Eric Thames. After that he would retire the next 20 batters in a row.
With Milwaukee up 1-0 in the top of the eighth, the Dodgers tried to rally but in grand feckless fashion came up empty. Yasiel Puig’s infield single rolled into no-man’s land between the mound and third base. Then Brett Eibner lines a single to put runners on first and second. With Kershaw due up Roberts has Chris Taylor come up to bat.
I have no idea why but Roberts has been bunting a lot of late. Not surprisingly almost every time it ends in failure. So Taylor is not able to get the bunt down instead falling into a two-strike hole before grounding into a force out. It could have been a double play had Villar not bobbled the ball. But don’t worry, the Brewers got their double play alright when Logan forsythe immediately grounded into the aforementioned deuce I was just talking about.
With the Dodgers down 1-0 in the top of the ninth, Milwaukee brings in Corey Knebel to close out the game. After Corey Seager whiffs, Yasmani Grandal blasts a laser shot home run over the right field wall to tie the game. Check it out below. It was majestic!
Adrian Gonzalez doubled as well, but the Dodgers would not get anymore in this frame. After a botched pick-off play and two intentional walks to Cody Bellinger and Puig Eibner whiffs to end the inning.
The game would go on as Pedro Baez tossed two magnificent innings in relief striking out 5. Left hander Grant Dayton Pitches a scoreless inning striking out three. Kenley Jansen is called into the game in the bottom of the eleventh. He strikes out two in that inning and pitches a scoreless frame.
The Dodgers broke through in the top of the twelfth. With veteran Neftali Feliz on the mound for Milwaukee, rookie of the month Cody Bellinger launches a massive second deck home run to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead.
Things wouldn’t be easy for the Dodgers and Kenley to hold onto the lead in the bottom of the inning but they did. Kenley whiffs Manny Pina for the first out. Then Villa doubled down the left field line and later steals third base. With just one out and a man at third the Dodger’s infield is forced to come in. Fortunately Kenley blows away Orlando Arcia and then gets Travis Shaw to pop up for the final out of the game.
Before the game Cody Bellinger was named NL rookie of the month for May and Alex Wood was named the NL pitcher of the month. Bellinger drove in 27 runs in May and Wood posted an ERA of 1.27 and struck out 41. Both men are very deserving of their honors.
The Dodger bullpen is fantastic as Kenley has yet to walk a batter in 2017. The Dodgers improve to 34-22 and are currently tied for first place with Colorado at the moment. The Rockies are losing to San Diego so if the Padres hold on and beat them the Dodgers would move back into sole possession of first place in the NL West by a half game.
Kershaw’s 2,000th K
The Dodgers/Milwaukee series continues on Saturday afternoon as Rich Hill will counter Matt Garza at 1: 10 PM PST. Happy Friday guys!
Did I get this right, so both Grandal and Bellinger hit their home runs after striking out three times each?
Dayton and Baez both looked good. I am very encouraged by Dayton’s showing, and maybe Baez is figuring things out. Puig got stranded twice by poor situational hitting.
YF
I get sick of watching major league players, that can’t execute a bunt!
They don’t even do the right things when they are attempting a bunt.
Taylor was trying to get out of the the box to fast on a sac bunt, and he should have just focused on getting the bunt down.
Chad at Dodgers Digest wrote a snarky recap of today’s game. It’s was a funny read. It’s good to see bloggers start to not be so serious and defensive all the time. It takes skill to not to regurgitate the company line ad nauseum.
YF
I have noticed since spring training, that they do that a lot at Dodgers Digest.
Was it great pitching – or something else?
I don’t recall a game with so many poor at bats. Everybody on both teams was swinning for a 500′ home run – except of course Taylor being sent up there to bunt. That was odd.
Pitchers throwing as hard as they can and hitters swinging for downs in every at bat. I hardly recognize this game anymore.
Badger
Like I said above it is frustrating watching a major leaguer not knowing how to execute a bunt.
Taylor like many of the players, was to concerned in getting out of the box, then getting the bunt down.
And like the announcers said, Roberts just should have let Kershaw get the bunt down.
In some of these blow out games, Roberts should use them so the players can practice getting bunts down, in a game situation.
Knowing how to bunt, is just another tool to have, to give a player, or a team, an advantage.
Friedman isn’t against bunting like some think.
Maddan did it all the time when he was under Friedman.
Friedman only uses saber metrics as a tool.
Are GM is probably a little different, since he was schooled under Beane.
But I am sure, he has had to change his approach on the Dodgers, because of Friedman.
It seems almost every time Kershaw goes beyond seven innings, he gets hit, and allows at least one run.
I thought most of the Brewers players were not very experienced major league players, and that is why Kershaw looked so dominant. against them.
And most of the Brewers players, had not faced Kershaw before too, and that can give a pitcher an advantage too.
The homer was hit in the 7th inning, not past it. The Brewers strike out a lot period. Against everybody. They lead the NL in K’s.
Michael
Thanks I was moving around during that part of the game, so it fits with his post season history to a tee..
The Brewers might strike out a lot, but most of the team the Brewers had on the field last night, don’t have a lot of major league experience.
And maybe that is part of the reason, that they strike out, so much.
And most had never faced Kershaw either, and that does make a difference.
Well MJ, they are in the majors for a reason. Villar, and Thames have more than a couple of years service, so they are not that young. But they also have a team that has a lot of power. They have more homers than the Dodgers. Offensively, the teams are very close. Dodgers have more veterans, Brewers more kids. Kershaw fools a lot of hitters no matter how good they are. Point is, he was out pitched by a guy who is in no way his equal in talent. Brewers BP gave up the game. That is the biggest difference between the 2 teams.
You do not practice bunting in game situations. Not even if it is a blowout. Wasting bench players on something like that is not a good idea. GM’s and the FO have very little to say about in game situations. You do not see the manager on the phone talking to the GM and asking for suggestions. They are probably still in LA working out of the offices. Dodgers made 5 moves yesterday. They got LHP Jason Wheeler from the Twins for cash, sent him to OKC, and signed to LHP and 2 OF’s to minor league deals. Wheeler only pitched in 2 games for the Twinkies.
Michael,
The best way they can practice bunting in a game situation, would be in a blow out game.
It is obvious that practicing bunting in batting practice, is not working, with the bad results, the team has gotten, when a player has been asked, to bunt!
And how are they going to waste bench players, by trying to bunt, in one of their at bats?
That just doesn’t make sense.
And by the way, people often think that any team that has a saber metric front office, the front office, won’t allow their managers, to bunt.
And that is because saber metric people, don’t value or believe, in bunting.
It is a mere philosophy !
And there has been many people on here, that have thought that same thing!
Well it is STUPID. Practicing anything in a game is dumb by all measures. And I have never in all the years I have been watching the game heard a manager say, well I sent him up to practice his bunts because he sucks at it. And losing a bench player giving up an out when you are playing with a short bench is DUMBER. That being said, the onus is on Roberts. He elected to go with Taylor and had the best bunter on the team so far, Kershaw, take a seat. His bad. Because Taylor did not get the runners over. I will tell you another thing. You bunt in a blowout to get men over, and the next batter is going to get a heater aimed at his coconut! That’s trying to run up the score, and pitchers do not like that kind of thing. Bunting is practiced in spring and before every game during batting practice. Some players never become proficient at it. Some are totally afraid of the pitch hitting their hands. As far as saber metric geeks not liking to bunt, who cares? That is a managers in game decision, not the FO’s. Those are the facts not some fantasy you think should be done.
Bad results? Because one guy blows it in a tight game? The pitchers are usually the ones called on to sacrifice. Kershaw is good at it. Wood is mediocre. And I really do not give a rats patootie how many people think otherwise. The decision is the managers, based on the situation at the time. The execution is on the player. Either you practice to get better at it, or you do not. Bunting is basically a lost art. A guy like Hamilton on the Reds, could bunt his way to .300. So could Gordon if he was a good bunter which he never has been.
FAZ gets another… Triple digits again today. Summer is here…
https://twitter.com/LaVelleNeal/status/870847189752332289
Stupid moderation…
Source: The Twins have traded Jason Wheeler to the Dodgers for cash.
Bunting’s a weird one.
It only really pays off, for me, if you bunt for a base hit or if it’s a very weak hitter. Thus, why have your strong players practice it. There are finite ABs, don’t waste one generating an out.
I have no idea why Roberts would have Taylor do it. Makes no sense, he’s one of the stronger hitters the team has and lifts the ball.
I agree with Badger, the shift towards launch angles is perhaps a short-term bad thing. IT will eventually equalize, but right now I feel its on the edge of being excessive.
Good take.
If you are drag bunting to get a base hit, you have to position the ball perfectly and catch the defense with their pants down. I remember playing a game and everyone was playing me deep. I bunted and got on, stole second, went to 3rd on a ground out. And got totally lucky when the batter with me on 3rd missed the bunt sign, I was halfway to home, and the catcher was so stunned he threw the ball back to the pitcher instead of 3rd, and I scored. Weird.
Michael
That is your opinion, but that doesn’t mean it is stupid or right.
They bring pitchers in from the bullpen, to pitch to just get their feet wet too, in real games, for the exact same reason.
They take out regular players, and play the bench players in a blow outs too.
And you just said they opposite, not to long ago.
When you said a player can’t learn to bunt in batting practice, so make up your mind.
Players and managers, do a lot of things in a blow out, that they don’t do in regular games!
And obviously Roberts should have let Kershaw bunt, but really any major league player, should know how to bunt.
Roberts was right to have Taylor bunt, it was Taylor that didn’t bunt properly.
And the fact is that Taylor did hit a double play ball, to the second baseman, but the second baseman, fumbled the ball, so he doesn’t always get the ball, in the air.
And apparently Taylor insured Roberts, he knew how to bunt.
And didn’t you say Mattingly left because of that reason?
Left hand batters, are the players that drag a bunt, not righties like Taylor.
A sac bunt doesn’t have to be a surprise when a hitter takes their time, and makes a good bunt.
Again, you are wrong. Sac bunts are never a surprise because the hitter usually squares before the pitch is even thrown. And RH hitters can drag bunt too. They just take it up the first base line with them. I have seen it done many times. If I said a player cannot learn to bunt in practice, I was wrong. And I said the onus is on the player once he is given the bunt sign, so yeah, Taylor blew it. And yes, they put the scrubs in during a blowout, but not to practice bunts. The main reason they are in the game is to give the regulars a blow. I never said why DM left. As far as I know it was because the FO had no confidence in him, and they had different philosophy’s. They wanted someone who used their method of game philosophy, and strategy. Pitching in blow outs to give pitchers game experience has been around forever. Now if you are getting blown out you are trying to get on base any way you can. But you are not sacrificing to just get one run, because that is wasting outs. And like I said, you sacrifice in a blow out and it looks like you are trying to run up the score and embarrass the other team. That pitcher is going head hunting if you do that.
Michael
You are the one that is wrong.
Rightie hitters, don’t drag a bunt, because they don’t have the advantage, that a leftie batter, has.
Because the left hand batters box, is closer to first base!
And because of that, it is faster for a leftie hitter, to make it to first base!
And that is why left hand hitters, drag the ball, up the first baseline!
That allows them to get in motion, at the same time, they are dragging a bunt.
And it is like a running start, and getting the bunt down, at the same time!
And when a rightie hitter, pushes a bunt up the first base line, that is not called, a dragged bunt!
Some announcers may say that, but that is not a dragged bunt.
Because rightie batter’s box, is closer to third base, not first base.
I never said a sac bunt
has to be a surprise, so you better read my posts!
I said a sac bunt, doesn’t even have to be a surprise, because the hitter, just wants to deliberately drop the bunt down, to make sure that they get the bunt down!
And that is what I said you said, about Mattingly!
You said he wanted to run the team, his own way, and that the front office was telling him, how to run the team.
And if you are the team getting blown out, the other team doesn’t care, what you do!
And in fact, that is often when Roberts, takes his regular players out, to give them a rest, when we are being blown out!
Bluto
Taylor hit a perfect double play ball, to the second baseman, and he fumbled the ball, so we were lucky there.
Bluto
The Dodgers hit two double play balls, in that inning, alone.
Taylor’s hit should have been a double play, in that inning, and then another player, did hit into a double play, to end that same inning.
In a sport where the best hitters, only are successful 30 percent of the time, bunts can be good!
That was Forsythe.
Michael thanks!
Bunts can be good?
Yes. When you are bunting for a base hit, or when you cannot hit.
Neither applies to Taylor
Bluto
You had to feel better about Agone yesterday.
Both of his hit’s , exit velocity was 100, and 101.
Here’s Joe Maddon TODAY on bunting:
“If you want to give us outs, we’ll take outs any day of the week.”
On Gonzalez and MJ’s comment:
Well, the gap double was a nice hit.
INFINITELY better than the rolled-over grounders that used to be a staple of his game (pre June 1).
That said, he still has one more HR than I do.
Bluto
That is funny because Joe Maddan does bunt!
More praise for Kemp. Big Dodger mistake.
http://markbradley.blog.myajc.com/2017/06/01/why-the-braves-wont-trade-matt-kemp/
Never liked the trade, never will. I think they gave up on Matt too soon. Grandal is not even close to the offensive player Kemp is. And he will never be. He has improved in one area this year, he is throwing out runners. As bad as the Ump’s strike zones have been this year, I think his framing has not made much difference. I cannot remember a season where I have seen so many bad calls. And pitch trac’s has shown that to be the case most of the time. The ump last night was pretty consistent and his right arm must have been worn out from all those strike calls. And he is a vacation replacement guy.
Dumb trade. We had Ethier, and Joc on the way, both left handed hitters. It would have made more sense to trade one of our left handed hitters, Crawford AND his salary for Grandal, instead of Kemp. The dumb GM at San Diego probably would have done it. Mattingly hated Kemp (who didn’t he hate?) so he probably pushed the trade that way. I never liked Mattingly simply because he was Torre’s boy…
Jonah
I didn’t like Mattingly either.
And you would think with his own back problem, he would have understood what Kemp was going through.
He should have handled Kemp better, and with more compassion, because Kemp injured himself, on that wall in Colorado, and Mattingly saw that!
He thought Puig would step up, but Puig will never be the hitter, Kemp is!
They probably would have traded Andre, but he was coming off that horrible performance in 2014. .249 average and only 4 homers. Kemp had a decent year and had more value. And he and DM did not really care for each other, so Matt was the odd man out. Andre rebounded a little in 2015, but has not really been himself in close to 4 years.
What world are you living in? Why Crawford? Why not just a bag of balls….because? I’m sure that dumb GM had no idea of Grandal’s potential and would have just given him away to the Dodgers for Crawford and his 20 million salary.
There are some comments that are just so nonsensical I’m actually astounded.
LOL.
Puig was the one that was suppose to step up when Kemp was traded, not Grandal.
And Puig was part of the reason, that Kemp was traded..
That is because Kemp didn’t put up with Puig’s behavior, and he called him on the carpet, for his behavior.
Totally wrong. Kemp was traded because he was considered a defensive liability and a club house cancer. Defensively he had not been the same player since the injury in 2012. So I can see some reason there, but it is not like he is the worst LF in the league. Kemp was traded for Grandal. So basically you compare what you get out of what you got for what you trade. Grandal has not come close to matching Kemp’s numbers and he never will. He is not that kind of hitter. Neither is Puig. Grandal was acquired because FAZ liked his pitch framing ability. Anything they got offensively from him is a plus. As far as Kemp being a cancer in the clubhouse, that came from the little spat he and Mattingly had when he moved Matt out of CF. Matt still felt he could do the job. Obviously he was not the same guy out there, so they moved him to LF, where he did not really feel comfortable, then they moved him to RF and he played a lot better. He is in LF in the ATL because Markakis has a better arm out there, and that is his natural position. There was also some question of Kemp’s off the field relationship with Rihanna. They thought it was affecting his rehab and game prep.
Michael
I am not wrong!
Kemp called Puig on the field, for his actions.
And the only place Kemp wanted to play, was right field, so it was either Puig or Kemp.
And Mattingly thought Puig would step up, and make up, for the right hand power, that was lost, when Kemp was traded!
They said that Kemp was the only outfielder, that had even value, and that is why they traded him.
They never at the time, said that Kemp was to big a liability on defense.
He just couldn’t play center anymore.
“but it is not like he is the worst LF in the league.”
No, he’s probably literally the worst LF in the league. That’s not an exaggeration.
Not sure the stats bear that out. But then stats often don’t get in the way of opinion. Atlanta left fielders, Kemp mostly I assume, are ranked 20th in the baseball. Dodgers left fielders are ranked 22nd. Both have a league average 2 errors. Both with 2 assists. Kemp listed with 1 and 1, and a below average range factor. This according to ESPN. He’s not a great outfielder, but Atlanta doesn’t really care about that now. .979 OPS.
Hey, maybe you saw Peraza’s Squirrel imitation? He was 1 for 5, a home run.
Ok, I take it all back.
He was the second worst.
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=of&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2016&month=0&season1=2016&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=20,a
And there’s still no place for Peraza to play in this lineup. …nor Cotton…nor Holmes…nor any of these crown jewels of the Dodgers prospect system you pine after.
One post I totally agree with is Badgers about how many really horrible at bats there were last night. 2 Brewers got the Golden Sombrero, Augilar and Villar. Broxton and Perez struck out 3 times each. Shaw, Nelson, Santana, and Arcia twice. Forsythe, Grandal and Bellinger 3 times each. Eibner and Kershaw twice. Forsythe was probably along with Kershaw the only ones who were not trying to put the ball in orbit. None of them shortened their swing one teeny weeny bit. Bellinger has K’d over 40 times in his short time in the majors. They are not going to mess with his swing, but they need to adjust his thinking and approach.
At least Bellinger is producing, unlike some of the other players, on the team.
.252 BA, 12 homers 30 RBI’s OBP is .325. He has struck out 49 times and walked 15. He has left 73 runners on base. If he cut down on those K’s and put the ball in play, all those numbers would be better.
I notice Michael is changing his avatar more often than some people here change their underwear, he’s using half a dozen or so different ones. I like that. So I will change mine every now and then also.
Jonah
Why not, if you can do it!
Jonah
Your favorite Wolf Dog!
I am Wolf, hear me howl?
Get tired of looking at the same one all the time, and I have a ton of pictures I can choose from, so I change it up.
We also ended up with Jimmy Rollins in that Kemp trade. He made it worth it. Right?
Bunting isn’t valued so I doubt it’s worked on anymore. They probably sent Taylor up because, knowing he never bunts, he has a better chance of hitting with two strikes than does Kershaw. Also, if Kershaw is sent up everybody knows he’s gonna bunt so the corners would be on top of him. Still strange to see it unfold.
Brewers are averaging 10 Ks per game. How in the world do they have a winning record? Launch angle.
Badger
The announcers said Taylor knew how to bunt.
And obviously it wouldn’t been a bad decision, if he would have got the bunt down!
Because we should have hit into two double plays, in that inning alone, but the first one, was bobbled by the second baseman.
Badger
They do bunt, so they do need to learn how to bunt properly.
What Taylor did last night didn’t look like he knew how to bunt to me. You have to practice against live pitching now and then to get it right. Anybody and everybody lays down two then swings away in batting practice. You don’t learn how to bunt that way. I doubt Taylor has had many live bunts in his entire career.
An efficient 97 pitches thru 4 four by our #2 starter
That is sarcasm I hope………on this day, 2016, Corey Seager became the only Dodger rookie to hit 3 homers in a game. Also became the 1st rookie SS in MLB history to homer 3 times in a game, and the 6th youngest player in MLB history to perform the feat. Edison Volquez has no hit the D-Backs through 6 in Miami. Hill officially sucks….
Not arguing with you anymore MJ, you believe what you want. I believe what I have heard and read many times since the trade. He did not demand to play RF. He wanted to play CF. They moved him to RF because Puig was out. As for his fielding, I have seen many times on this thread and others about his dwar being at a minus. As far as him calling out Puig, why would that be a reason for being traded? I remember Jeff Kent doing exactly the same thing to Kemp when he was a rookie. Some of the ideas you come up with are so far away from reality it is unreal. Practice bunts in a blow out? Please. They are not going to do that. They do not even think that way.
Michael
For not wanting to argue you just did.
Kemp was put in left field, not right field, when he was moved out of centerfield.
And that is the truth!
And he didn’t want to play left, because he didn’t feel comfortable there.
And that is was started the thing between him, and Mattingly.
Mattingly benched Kemp, because Kemp didn’t want to play left field.
My new gravitar is me relaxing on a hot summer day! Remind me again why they gave Blister Boy 48 million over 3 years.
Looks to me like MJ just plain wore you out. Arguing with a woman is like shadow boxing, very tiring and totally unsatisfying.
Maybe, but it keeps you in shape.
I’ve got the dbacks on the tv. Going into the 9th. Still no hits by vipers.
95 here today.
Why Hill? FAZ do love the high risk.
It’s got to the point where I’m saying “just get to the 5th and go to the pen”.
Volquez did it.
Badger
That is what they get for giving Hatcher, chance after chance!
Not FAZ Badger, MLB.
Lester threw 5.2 in Game 1.
Arrieta threw 5.2 in Game 2.
Hendricks threw 4.1 in Game 3.
Lester went a stunning 6 IP in Game 5.
Etc.
The comment about FAZ was in answer to Michael’s question “why FAZ”. Are you saying those pitchers are as high risk as Hill? If so, have to disagree.
What was I just saying about the pen?
I was just using your post to get into the fact that pitchers don’t go more than 5 or 6 anymore.
Chris Taylor for Zach Lee.
Oh, you changed lanes on me. I’m with you now.
You’re right. Teams are in general using their bullpens more. There are a number of pitchers averaging 6 IP, or close to it. Only one Dodger in the group. Of the Top 100 in innings there is Kershaw at #1, then the next Dodger is McFlimsy at 99. So far, so good, though I find it a bit troubling that in damn near every game I watch the opposing starter outlasts ours. Credit where it’s due – bullpen has been nails. 8th the in IP, 2nd in ERA. Can they keep it up? They do we win the West.
Jonah
I didn’t start this!
Michael thinks he knows everything and talks down to people at times.
He called my idea stupid, and that was just rude.
I am just standing up for my self.
Badger
Hatcher never disappoints!
That is what you said about the pen!
I guess they were due.
No, I never have thought I know everything, no way in hell, but I do know that bunting during a game for practice is a dumb idea. If you think that is rude, you have very thin skin. No major league manager worth his salt would do something that dumb during a game, blow out or not. I was not talking down to you, I was telling you why it would not happen. And you, pig headed as you are about some things continue to push your ridiculous theory. You will never win this stupid argument with me. Michael damn sure knows more about the game than you do. If you do not want me to reply to those thoughts, do not say stupid shit.
Michael
Wrong again, you just proved what I said about you!
Michael
Just the fact that you talk about yourself, in the third person, says it all.
Anyone left standing, there’s a new post. No blood spatters yet.
Gotta love this team. Really deep.
Doing this with Turner out? With nothing from Peterson? With Gonzalez under performing, Hill off-form and Toles and Ethier injured for the year.
You must give them proper credit for their great ability to do 180 degree turns as well…
This board is getting “chippy” again! I love it!