The Dodgers decided to use the series finale against the Cubs on Wednesday afternoon as a rehab assignment for two starting pitchers. One was Clayton Kershaw who has only pitched in three innings since his return from the disabled list. The other hurler was young rookie Walker Buehler who is rehabbing from a rib micro-fracture suffered several weeks ago. One went well and one was ill-advised. Guess which one went well?
Kershaw looked every bit himself against the Cubs in Wednesday’s contest. Originally the Dodgers tried to script the entire game. You see Kershaw was “scheduled” to throw around 75 pitches or five innings whichever came first and then he would be followed by Buehler who was expected to pitch about three innings before someone else pitched the ninth. Best laid plans I guess you could say. It’s hard to predict or script a baseball game because many things can not go accordingly.
Kershaw looked just fine, tossing his five innings and allowing just one earned run and striking out six. His pitches looked great, and he had command over his fastball and curve. His offerings seemed to look sharp. I think he could have gone deeper into the game despite the Dodgers self imposed pitch limit. I thought the plan to throw Buehler out there when he hadn’t pitched in weeks against a tough opponent was probably not the best idea. Buehler unsurprisingly struggled in his appearance and the Dodgers got clobbered 11-5.
Today they’ll try and turn the page as the fourth place Colorado Rockies come into town for a weekend series. The Dodgers will give the ball to another starter that’s just coming off the disabled list, Rich Hill for the series opener. Colorado will counter with left hander Tyler Anderson. For all you sports betters, the line looks favorable for the Dodgers on Friday night.
Suddenly the hottest team in the majors, the Dodgers are a sizable -162 favorites in the first of a three-game set with the Rockies. Not only is LA an MLB-best 21-9 in its last 30 games, they have also owned Colorado this year (5-1 head to head) and have the pleasure of facing Rockies lefty Tyler Anderson, who has a sky-high .326 opp. batting average against current Dodgers. Sportsbettingdime.com puts upcoming games on this mlb betting page and then lists various bookies’ odds. Given how well LA has hit lefties this year (18-10 record vs lefty starters), the best value may be on the LAD moneyline at +135.
Here are the Dodger’s numbers they’ve put up against Anderson in the past. Note that Justin Turner is batting .556 (10 for 18) against the southpaw. The Las Vegas native has posted a 4.62 ERA in 2018 and has struck out 8.1 batters per nine innings. Anderson has a career 4.85 ERA against the Dodgers over 8 career starts.
Anderson vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | OPS |
| Enrique Hernandez | 22 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .222 | .364 | .975 |
| Justin Turner | 21 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .556 | .571 | 1.460 |
| Yasiel Puig | 11 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .182 | .382 |
| Logan Forsythe | 10 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .375 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Chris Taylor | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .286 | .400 | 1.114 |
| Austin Barnes | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .250 | .250 | .625 |
| Matt Kemp | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | 1.500 |
| Cody Bellinger | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .500 | .600 | 1.850 |
| Yasmani Grandal | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .250 |
| Joc Pederson | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .500 | 1.167 |
| Rob Segedin | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Max Muncy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Kenta Maeda | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Brock Stewart | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Ross Stripling | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Alex Wood | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Scott Alexander | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 119 | 100 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 13 | 18 | .290 | .362 | .902 |
Hill’s numbers against Colorado are fair considering the Rockies have only faced the veteran for 34 plate appearances. However Hill has an 0-3 record and a 7.52 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies. Most of those problems have come at Coors Field where Hill has an 8.80 ERA in three of those four starts.
Hill vs. Rockies
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | OPS |
| Chris Iannetta | 14 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | .214 | .214 | .857 |
| Nolan Arenado | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .667 | 2.333 |
| Charlie Blackmon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .667 | .667 |
| Ian Desmond | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| DJ LeMahieu | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Trevor Story | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .500 | .500 |
| Raimel Tapia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 |
| Tony Wolters | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 34 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 13 | .258 | .324 | .872 |
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Look for the Dodgers to continue their power surge. They’ve already tied the club record for most home runs in a month with 53. The Major League record is 58 and with two more days left in the month it seems like a certainty that the Dodgers will at least break their team record. The next home run within the next two games will do that. The Dodgers find themselves 3.5 games back entering Friday’s contest. Here are the current standings in the National League West.
West |
Record | PCT | GB | L10 | STRK | |
| Arizona | 47 | 34 | .580 | – | – | 8-2 |
| LA Dodgers | 43 | 37 | .538 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 6-4 |
| San Francisco | 42 | 40 | .512 | 5.5 | 2.5 | 7-3 |
| Colorado | 39 | 42 | .481 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 5-5 |
| San Diego | 36 | 47 | .434 | 12.0 | 9.0 | 2-8 |
I cringe every time I see his name as the starting pitcher. You just never know which Hill you are going to get. And this year, he is worse…
So far, he’s okay. 4th inning. What is not okay is the curse of the lefties. We can’t seem to hit them more times than not. Turner just got the first hit. Let’s see if we can overturn this curse.
I love it.
You love the curse of the lefties?
Rockies slumping. We should blow them away.
Can Forsythe go below .200 tonight?
He is not hitting lefties this season. Or righties, for that matter. lol
They have a good record against lefties this year, I believe.
I just love Hill.
Forsythe? And his ability to take 2 straight pitches down the middle?
Not so much.
Time to extract Hill?
Call on Yimi! HR. When, oh when, will Roberts learn? When will he ever learn………….
FYI three middle relievers on the DL from arm/shoulder fatigue. Probably a good idea to get some more innings from the starters right Jeff? Otherwise you get bums like Garcia and Goeddel blowing games, until their arms are blown and some other triple-A castoffs replace them.
It was Yimi’s turn. He’s on the roster. As long as he’s there, he will pitch. I’d expect it if I I were you.
“I just love Hill”. Yeah. We know. Your Hill wood can be seen from orbit. He was good last night. He got his ERA below 5. He also got outpitched. Agree about Forsythe. They keep sticking him out there.