The Dodgers have returned home after an ok road trip, but finished the trip strong with a series win over the Blue Jays in the final game on Mother’s Day. The Dodgers played five games on artificial turf and came away clean as a whistle. They won three out of the five games, didn’t embarrass themselves as much as we thought they would, and even Carl Crawford survived and didn’t end up getting hurt. That in itself is quite the miracle. I’m sure the Dodgers are glad to be back on natural grass this week.
Tonight the boys in blue will kick off a nine game home stand that begins with a huge four game series with the New York Mets. The series is the first time the two clubs have faced each other since their epic 5-game NLDS last October. Of course the memories are still painfully fresh in our minds, but the Mets pulled out the series win as they ended up going all the way to the World Series.
Dodgers Lineup vs. Mets
Hernandez LF
Kendrick 2B
Gonzalez 1B
Turner 3B
Puig RF
Thompson CF
Ellis C
Culberson SS
Kazmir P
Steven Matz-4-1 vs. Scott Kazmir-2-2
Game Time – 7:10 PM – TV-SNLA
The Dodgers are back in first place (16-15) after their late rally win in Toronto. Colorado defeated the Giants last night so both clubs are tied for first place in the NL West. The Dodgers are technically one percentage point ahead of the Giants. Colorado is one game behind and Arizona sits two games back. Meanwhile the Mets are good again. They are back in first place themselves after the Cubs swept the Nationals over the weekend. The Mets (19-11) have a half game le over Washington in the NL East.
The faces have changed a bit for the Mets. Ruben Tejada is gone and Daniel Murphy is now with the Nationals. The Mets traded Jon Niese for Neil Walker in the offseason and they also have Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop. Their primary catcher is now Rene Rivera. However they still have Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, and Juan Lagares in the outfield. Their pitching staff is still dominant with Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Jeurys Familia. Of course Captain David Wright is still there, and Matt Harvey has been having problems. Remember Chase Utley is still a Dodger too, so there is bound to be some old blood remaining. Oh and Bartolo Colon is still really really fat. He also just recently hit a home run. Watch his blubber fly.
Tonight’s pitching match-up features a battle of left handers as Steven Matz counters Scott Kazmir. The last time we saw Matz was in game 4 of the 2015 NLDS. He was defeated by Clayton Kershaw and lasted just 5 innings after surrendering 3 runs. The 24-year old looked frustrated and uneasy in that game. He is rarely that frustrating because he is a very solid pitcher. In his first MLB season last year he finished with a 4-0 record and a 2.27 ERA in 6 starts. This season he is 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA in 5 starts. He’s struck out 30 and walked 7 in 28.2 innings pitched. He keeps the ball in the ball park and limits base runners well.
He’s made just one career regular season start against the Dodgers which was at Dodger Stadium. He won that start going six innings allowing just two hits and striking out eight. He is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA away from Citi Field. The Dodgers are hitting just .233 (8 for 35) against Matz with only one extra-base hit.
Matz vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Enrique Hernandez | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Howie Kendrick | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Turner | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .200 | .333 | .400 | .733 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasiel Puig | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Ellis | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .500 | .333 | .833 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Corey Seager | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joc Pederson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 38 | 35 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | .229 | .289 | .257 | .547 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Scott Kazmir is trying to turn his season around. So far in his first season in the National League he has been atrocious. In 6 starts with the Dodgers he is 2-2 with a 5.68 ERA. He’s allowed 9.9 hits per nine innings, including seven home runs in 35 frames. He has struck out 30 and walked only eight. His control has been good. The problem is he’s getting lit up like a Christmas tree every time. I am beginning to think that it’s possible he could just suck. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he can turn things around. However this doesn’t look like a favorable match-up for the Dodgers.
In his last start he got bombed again when he was in Tampa Bay. He allowed four earned runs over 6.2 innings pitched. Kazmir has made three career starts against the Mets. He’s 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA. The Mets have had trouble hitting Kazmir in the past though. He’s limited the Mets to a .656 OPS and .232 (16 for 69) average. Curtis Granderson is hitting .273 (3 for 11) with two extra-base hits against him.
Kazmir vs. Mets.
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | 21 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | .118 | .238 | .176 | .415 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Curtis Granderson | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .273 | .429 | .727 | 1.156 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yoenis Cespedes | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .000 | .143 | .000 | .143 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rene Rivera | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .286 | .286 | .286 | .571 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Campbell | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .400 | .400 | .600 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alejandro De Aza | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .600 | .600 | .600 | 1.200 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lucas Duda | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .200 | .200 | .400 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Juan Lagares | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | .400 | .250 | .650 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Wright | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .400 | .600 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilmer Flores | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bartolo Colon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 80 | 69 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 21 | .232 | .308 | .348 | .656 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Yasiel Puig is still sucking like no tomorrow. We’ll see if he’s back in the lineup, but hitting .243 just isn’t going to cut it. Somehow he needs to figure it out. So does Justin Turner, who hasn’t been hitting much either. With a left hander on the mound I am sure Roberts/Friedman will use the all righty lineup again. Yuck.
Tonight is the beginning of the retired pin series. All Dodger fans in attendance will receive a pin of Pee Wee Reese. If you are a Mets fan you don’t get anything. You’ll get a scowl ad get to leave with your bad reputation.
Let’s see if the Dodgers can hang with a very good club. My heart hopes they can, but my brain knows that they probably won’t.
Go Blue!
Four games against the metropolitans! Should be fun!
Well the Mets are not a big offensive team, but either were the Rays, and Kazmir had trouble pitching to them. So let’s hope he finally can convince us, that he can pitch.
I hope he watched the Bluejays starting pitcher, pitch yesterday, so he can see, that even a pitcher, with no big fastball, and mostly only using two pitches, can pitch successfully in the majors.
Kazmir just needs to pitch, and pitch offensively, not pitch defensively.
I wonder how many more millions of dollars have been spent on Cuban prospects based on the early over-achievement of Puig? I hope it turns out that it wasn’t over-achievement, but . . . .
I am thinking that his early days gave expectation that the Cuban leagues are closer to the Majors than they actually are. The old school said he needed more experience before being called up. Would have hated to miss the rush he gave to the Dodgers early on, but it’s hard to argue that he would not have benefited from more time in the minors.
There’s no extra points given for being on topic, right?
I think at one time the Cuban league may have been equivalent to AAA, but with all the defections it’s more like AA. Add the culture shock of living in a country with a different language where you can get into a lot of trouble. I see Aroldis Chapman just said Cuban players are easy targets for people looking to exploit them.
According to something Dave Cameron said a few years ago the upper levels of Cuban professional baseball are the equivalent of High A ball. It might be a bit better than that, but there is no way of knowing. I hope our FAZ scouts are better than the ones that we fired. As was mentioned yesterday, the Dodgers have spent a lot of money, well over $200 million, on Cubans.
Meanwhile, today, Urias tossed 6 more scoreless innings, at Colorado Springs too, which I’d guess is high altitude and more of a pitcher’s park.
I think he’s ready
Believe it or not, the Dodgers’ starting rotation, whose 3.43 ERA ranks fourth in the NL, averages more innings per start (6.09) than the Mets (5.96).
That can’t last. Can it?
Badger what is your daily prediction for tonight’s game?
Dodgers over. Always, Dodgers over.
Bum Think about it. Our starting pitchers, are pitching further into games, because Roberts can’t trust the bullpen, to do there jobs. The Mets probably have a better pen, so there manager will probably go to the pen faster, then Roberts really wants to go to our bullpen.
That is why I think that Bumgarner pitched better, in the post season, then Kershaw. Bumgarner didn’t have the constant pressure, all season long, like Kershaw has, to pitch deep into games, to avoid going to the bullpen. Because the Giants have had a much better bullpen, then the Dodgers have, in the last few years.
And Bochy is really good at bullpen management, unlike Mattingly. Both Kershaw and Greinke, were always under pressure, to pitch perfectly, and pitch deep into games, all season long.
To avoid going to bullpen, and to try to get the ball, to Kenley. Can you imagine how our starting pitchers, and Roberts would feel, if the Dodgers would have gotten Chapman?
Our rotation has those stats because Kersh has been absurdly dominant as usual, and Maeda has been way better than expected.
However, overall, I don’ think our rotation is a huge problem. We have 3 #4/5 types, and right now a 1 and a 2. If Wood or Kaz can become more consistent, we’re ok . Our issue is the bullpen, and the fact that our relievers in the 8th inning have like a 7ERA. That is atrocious .
“Is it time to trade Trout?”
“Only if you’re stupid.” Michael Wilbon ESPN. (quoting Badger LADR)
I wish I were as confident in our starting staff. Yes, they have pitched better than I thought they would, but it’s a long season. I agree about the pen.
This should be an awesome series. The Dodgers will have to bring their A Game and they need A-Gon to break out of his slump.
Here is what I have been eating, breathing and drinking lately:
https://www.uswatersystems.com/blog/2016/05/a-breakthrough-technology-so-powerful-its-changing-the-world/
So you are aka Mark Timmons and you use this blog for marketing?
Yes, Mark does. And he markets his wife’s businesses and his son’s sports teams. He might even give out some passes to the eating place his wife opened this past year — and free passes to his son’s sporting events. Because he likes all of us.
If this is marketing, that would be a Yes!
Just saw both starting lineups and realized our lineup has more homeruns than ………………………….Cespedes(12-11). Whoopee
The all powerful AJ and Culberson lineup.
A lot of slow starters in the lineup tonight. 3 Mendoza’s, against a tough pitcher. Mets favored. Not surprised. 7 1/2 runs.
Once they are batting around the Mendoza line, I don’t think it matters much who is pitching.
I see your point. They aren’t facing aces every at bat to arrive at, and below, .200. I figure they have to get better. I’m right about that – aren’t I?
When are managers going to show players, in spring training, that running normally down the base, is faster then diving down to first base? Just the fact that your foot is alreading closer, then your hands, should let you know, that running is faster. And the other problem, is the chance of a injury.
Roberts said that the Dodgers would be facing six right handers, in a row after tonight’s game. And he said he wanted some to play before, they face the next six right handers, in a row.
Just like I said about Kazmir. He always puts the Dodgers behind, before they even hit! High fastball, when is this guy going to learn!
It is not a question of learning. At this point in his career, he can no longer execute what he needs to do. Twenty-nine baseball clubs had executives smart enough not to sign him.