Kenta Maeda brought some Japanese-flavored Dodger mojo to the mound at Coors Field tonight, trying to right the Dodgers’ ship after yesterday’s loss. He got us all thinking about something special for a couple of innings, and caused the boys in the broadcast truck to dust off the old videotapes of Hideo Nomo‘s Colorado no-hitter.
He eventually lost the bid to match his fellow countryman’s rainy day feat, but he showed the Dodgers that he’s the real number two starting pitcher in the rotation.
1st inning
Dodgers
Corey Seager-Single
Yasiel Puig – Single
Adrian Gonzalez – Fielder’s Choice with RBI
2nd inning Dodgers 1-0
Dodgers
Joc Pederson on first.
A.J. Ellis blasts a two-run homer with a no doubt about it swing. Dodgers 3-0
3rd inning Dodgers 3-0
Rockies
Nine up, nine down for Kenta Maeda.
5th inning
Rockies
At this point Kenta Maeda had walked one, but also had a no-hitter going. Dodger Nation was starting to feel something special. That feeling intensified when Enrique Hernandez made a sensational, stretching, tumbling catch to end the inning and keep the no-no alive.
6th inning. Dodgers 4-0
Rockies vs Kenta Maeda
After a first batter strike out, Maeda gave up three consecutive singles to end the no-hitter talk and load the bases.
A pop up and a force play at home ended the threat and preserved the shut out.
7th inning Dodgers 4-0
Rockies
After one out, Maeda’s night was done.
It was now up to the bullpen to hold a 4-0 lead for three innings. The bullpen crew could give up one run an inning and still save the game.
Joe Blanton on the mound. He quickly tests this theory and gives up two hits and one run. It’s now 4-1.
9th inning Dodgers 4-1
Kenley Jansen in for the Dodgers.
K
Fly out CF
Easy ground out 4-3
Dodgers win!
The Dodgers even the series with the Rockies. Game three to come tomorrow afternoon.
Kenta Maeda with 6 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 8 K’s ERA 0.36
BTW – Maeda is the first pitcher in MLB history to give up only one run in his first four games (min. 20 inn)
Kenley Jansen starts the season 8 for 8 in saves.
Home Run – A.J. Ellis
Doubles – Utley, Puig
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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Maeda is our new number two. Cold as Ice. AJ answered his critics at least for this week. And maybe someone should’ve hit Baez in the head with a ball before.
Lol – all spot on!
My crituque was more about Wood, then AJ. I just thought that Maeda had a better chance to win, so I wanted a better offense for Maeda.
AJ up to .200 with an OBP of .294. I think he can hit as high as .230 with some good bounces going his way.
Meada reminds me of Maddux. He knows exactly what he is doing out there. He never throws the same pitch twice. He did however get away with a few location mistakes yesterday. Orel and Nomar both commented on it.
Garcia with a bicep strain. Another on the DL. With this team, there is no reason to suspect it’s not going to go like this all year. Who’s next out and who’s next up?
Tommy Lasorda used to say you can tell who the guys are that don’t condition properly for the season, because those are the ones who are injured early on.
Taken with a grain of Lasorda salt…I always thought he had something there.
Just caught up with yesterday’s game and Maeda was great.
The biggest difference to the team this season is the role Utley is playing in the Lead Off spot.
He is the catalyst around which the other parts are moving.
His defense has been outstanding & his leadership qualities & hustle are obvious.
We have lacked a decent Table Setter for some time – having one makes a huge difference.
Utley has definitely stepped up as a team leader.
I feel him as a real Dodger, and not some passing mercenary.
I was wrong about Utley, he is definitely earning his money. Which points up all the more the total uselessness of Kendrick’s signing and even worse, the $48MM dump that is Kazmir.
The Dodgers drafted both Utley and Goldschmidt but neither signed.
On my way to Wembley with a huge hangover to watch the FA Cup semi final against Crystal Palace.
Got a bad feeling in my stomach…
Try baking soda W.
Utley slash line – .317/.377/.460. Damn. Who is this kid? He’s playing like a 30 year old. Or maybe more precisely, he’s playing like he did when he was approaching 30. Can he keep this up at age 37. I doubt it. But it’s fun to watch now. And what an influential veteran to have in the dugout. I hope he decides to stick around the organization for a long time.
About that hangover remedy…what to do with that baking soda?
Mix with water, drink. Supposed to neutralize the acidic stomach that drinking causes. Alka seltzer is more pleasant to take.
Hair of the dog.
Badger did you hear that the Braves is bringing up, a pitching prospect, that they got in that trade with the Dbacks, to pitch in the majors today?This really makes that DBack trade look worse, if this prospect, pitches good today.
That would be Inciarte, this pitching prospect, and the number one pick, in all of baseball, that shortstop, that the Braves got, for Shelby Miller.
That is quite a haul, if this pitching prospect, does a decent job.
Didn’t see that MJ but I’ll check it out. Yes, that trade will be talked about for quite a while. Dbacks going for it. I get that, but I don’t get that trade. Maybe it works for them. You never know. But it does send a message.
We need to play Utley as much as possible. However, he is going to need rest to keep him going all year. Agon and Utley are the leaders and I cannot think of two better. I thought AJ called a great game last night. Now we will se what Wood can do. I hope he does well because I hate to see Zach Lee have to pitch in Coors Field. Zach is pitching well. He needs another shot at the majors. He may get it if Kasmir and Wood falter.
Maeda really looks like he knows how to pitch. I think he is our number two right now. Kasmir needs to pitch like a number three. Wood can be replaced if he does not come around. The depth is starting to pay off.
They’ll probably wait until one more go-round of the rotation before they make any changes.
It’s a bit unfair to use Coors Field as a barometer for those type of decisions.
That said, I figure if Wood or Kazmir have one more bad/weak outing on the next homestand, it’s bye-bye, and welcome to the show for Lee.
Isn’t Kazmir out ?
The Coors effect. Phooey! Pitching can be simple–if you have control. Maeda has fantastic control of all his pitches. In that respect he is Maddox like. It is control, not just to the sides of the strike zone, but within the smallest portions of the strike zone, particularly the outside corners. This is hard to do, but I don’t think there is enough emphasis on it as kids come up through the ranks. It all starts with mechanics and repeatability, which result in perfect balance. Now just to keep him healthy. His Japanese compatriots haven’t been very good in that department. And then you have Alex Wood, who has no mechanics. Good luck today. Getaway day. Should be a slugfest.
So far Maeda is looking like the best signing of the winter…. Especially with that team friendly contract. Even if the league makes adjustments now that there’s a “book” on him, the hitters still have to hit it! I would assume Maddux is enjoying Maeda’s performance also. He’s a pitcher, in every sense of the word. Let’s just hope those the irregularities is his arm don’t cause any issues.
In his latest masterpiece, Maeda took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against Colorado on Saturday before surrendering three hits and finishing with 6 1-3 scoreless innings.