After 16 innings last night, the Dodgers and Cardinals went at it again. Kenta Maeda was trying to prove he’s a reliable and effective innings eater, and the Dodgers’ offense was trying to prove they understand the philosophy of the RBI.
We’ll pick things up in the second.
2nd inning
Dodgers
Howie Kendrick kept his hitting streak alive at 15 with a base hit.
3rd inning
Dodgers rally! Kenta Maeda squeeze bunted to score Toles from third. 1-0
RBI single from Corey Seager to score Joc Pederson.
Then Justin Turner blasted a gapper to right-center and scored two more! 4-0
Cards
1,2,3 inning. Job done.
4th inning Dodgers 4-0
Cards
Six up, six down for Maeda.
5th inning Dodgers 4-0
For the second night in a row, Matt Adams took a Dodgers pitcher out of the park with a solo home run. 4-1
6th inning Dodgers 4-1
Dodgers
Adrian Gonzalez blasted a moon shot half way up the CF meadow! Solo homer. 5-1
Two Dodgers on for Joc Pederson with one out. Joc (finally) got a base hit!
Andrew Toles was stopped halfway to third when the cutoff throw reached Adams at the pitcher’s mound. Adams bobbled the exchange, then bobbled again – and Toles brought home the second run. 7-1
Utley followed with a two out single, and Pederson was sent home, only to be thrown out by a mile. Wrong call on that one. It would have been better to hold up Joc on third with Corey Seager coming up. Just sayin’.
Cards
The “third time through the order” bug jumped up and bit Maeda. One run scored. 7-2 Maeda got two out, but couldn’t finish the inning.
Luis Avilan in. Job done.
7th inning Dodgers 7-2
Cards
1,2,3 inning gor Avilan.
8th inning Dodgers 7-2
Cards
Stripling in. Job done.
9th inning Dodgers 7-2
Stripling in to finish the game out. Job done.
Dodgers Win! 7-2
Maeda was excellent for five innings (or twice through the order) today. He held the Cards to one rune through five. But he clearly ran out of gas in the sixth, giving up a second run, and struggling just to get to two outs.
After blowing smoke last night with RISP, the Dodgers’ bats found their groove today with multiple-run rallies in the third and the sixth.
Don’t look now, Joc: Andrew Toles showing the Dodgers he wants an outfield job, went 3 for 4.
Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson got their grooves back with a home run and a clutch RBI.
Kenta Maeda (W 9-7) went 6 2/3 innings with 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 HR, 0 walks, 3 Ks. ERA 3.25
Home run: Adrian Gonzalez
Team with RISP: 5 for 12 That’s what we’ve been talkin’ about.
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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Tonights game was a show of intestinal fortitude!
These guys have GUTS… even if their closer doesn’t!
I think the best is yet to come.
Puig to the Yankees for Chapman.
Jose De Leon is better than Chris Archer – NO.
Chris Sale cuts up unis – NO.
Yanks would want more than Puig. His trade value is way down, and why trade a 25 year old OF with a huge upside for a rental? Think you are way off base because according to the reports, Chapman is close to being traded and the Dodgers are not on the list..Cleveland, Washington and the Giants mentioned…Archer has a track record, Deleon does not…..
I can see Chapman on the gints. Good fit. I can see Sale on the Rangers. I don’t see Puig going anywhere. The fact that De Leon hasn’t been given a sniff suggests to me maybe I don’t have a clue what FAZ thinks of him. Just because 2 or 3 of the 397 moves made produce a few positive moments doesn’t mean its time to hail all things FAZ. We are still in second place with a long way to go.
TrueBlueLA offers this up:
2017 Rotation
1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Sonny Gray
3. Chris Archer
4. Kenta Maeda
5. Brandon McCarthy
Now that’s a an LA rotation worth paying to see. It means creating a few dents in the system of course. And, I think we could count on some mid season rests for a couple of those guys who could benefit from it. In fact, I still look to a 6 man rotation that would benefit everybody.
I really don’t want Sunny Gray if he is having trouble right now, because he isn’t a big guy and I am afraid that the innings might catch up with him, because he is a power pitcher.
I would only want Archer if the deal made sense.
Most of the teams that think they are still in pennant race, that are selling prospects at the trade deadline for rentals, are not going to get the best deal, unless that team knows there prospects, and there worth well.
I think the Dodgers are kind of in the middle right now.
I want to see DeLeon pitch in the bigs, before anything is done with him.
Or is the front office afraid to bring him up, thinking his value might go down, if he doesn’t do well?
Anyways, I just don’t think there will be any really big moves made by the Dodgers.
And there seems to be no player out there, that would help this team anyways, that would be worth trading one of our top prospects away.
I don’t think the Giants have the best prospects, to get Chapman, but if the Giants get Chapman, I won’t be happy at all.
I still think Chapman was worth getting, for a one year rental, because if he was trouble, it would be for only one year.
Or they could have traded him, at the trade deadline, and got even better prospects, if they handled this deal well.
They could have traded up pretty well, with a relief pitcher like Chapman, at the trade deadline.
They say the Cubs and Nationals are in on Chapman too.
And I think both those two teams, have better and more prospects, to offer the Yankees, then the Giants.
The Giants usually don’t go big, and Romo is back pitching, so I don’t think they are a candidate for Chapman, because Romo has closed for them before.
Chapman would have evened out the pitching between the Giants and the Dodgers, if we would have gotten him.
Because if a team doesn’t have two big starting pitchers, they can level the field, by making games shorter, for there starters, with a top bullpen core, like the Royals have had.
I hope Joc is going to continue to shorten his swing, and get better, because that would be good for the Dodgers.
But if he only does this for a while, and goes back to swinging from his heels again, he may be out of a job, so I hope he is serious this time around.
I think Roberts should keep Joc hitting eighth too.
Because Joc knows that a pitcher, isn’t going to give him a good pitch, with the pitcher coming up, and Joc can have a pretty good eye at times.
This well make Joc wait for his pitch better, and help his OBA.
Hairson said that Joc is going to have to prove himself, to the front office, are he might be out of a job, that is where I got that from.
I think the Giants will do what they have to do. And what they have done consistently over the last few years. They will get someone who fills a need. And they will do what they need to do to get that player. The Dodgers system is loaded with a lot of prospects. But until they prove they can play at the MLB level, they are just that……prospects. Just because you are a 1st or second round pick is no guarantee you pan out. Chapman is not a one year rental. He is a rental for how ever many games are left when he is traded. The Dodgers have 63 games left. Is he worth a top pick for a 63 game rental>>???? I doubt it. Is he worth a couple of lower tier guys? Probably. Anyone they trade for, or even consider trading for, the other team is going to try and get the max for their player One reason is because they all KNOW that without Kershaw, they have the Dodgers over a barrel. I think Friedman is in a quandary because he not only needs to make a good trade, he needs to make an IMPACT trade. If he does the 13 man Atlanta thing again, he will be burned at the stake by the media and the fans.
Do the Giants have the goods to pull off a trade for Chapman? How bad would that be if he lands there? Two guys that we all wanted the Dodgers to get this season would be on the rival’s roster in the midst of a playoff fight – sick sick sick!!!
Or the question might be….’Can you believe the Giants are trading more pieces from their farm to improve their major league team?’ Don’t they know that your not suppose to do that….no wonder their farm is ranked towards the bottom. They act like they have won Championships…..oh wait.
I do not want Archer or Gray. It would take all of our top prospects to acquire them. Gray is just an injury away to finish his career. I do not like the way Gray throws. I would rather have Urias and Stripling instead of Archer and Gray.
Avilan and Stripling both looked good last night. Herscheiser had nothing but good things to say about Stripling. Could very well be one of our starters next year. I like the idea of letting these prospects pitch out of the bull pen first. St Louis does this. I can see Urias and Stripling starting next year.
Price would be less than you think since both are having down years. That being said, according to most reports, Archer is the main target. 5-13 ERA north of 4…..but still would cost one prime prospect. Gray got hammered his last outing and the price is dropping…
I think you’re right about price, but there always seems to be some team willing to overbid.
I don’t want Urias in the rotation until ’18. I don’t buy the idea he has nothing left to learn, I’d like to see another year working on command and stamina.
I’m not sure what’s going on with Gray but I’m all in on Archer. I’m all in on Sale too. Those guys both need a change of scenery.
Keith Law has us at #5 and the midgets at #21 in his midseason system ranking. Every team has enough to pull the trade of choice, not every team is willing to pull the trigger. SF can bid high on Chapman and it won’t surprise me to see them accomplish something big.
Badger
Do you really think that the Giants have more top prospects, then the Cubbies, and the Nationals?
Archer is not only a good pitcher, he seems to be a really good team mate too.
If he came to the Dodgers, I could see him getting even better, especially with having Kershaw being kind of mentor to him, even though they are the same age.
I feel the same about Urias as you do Badger.
I think he needs to pitch deeper into games, and face a line up three times through, for a season in AAA, before being ready to pitch in the majors.
He needs to have that competition, to learn how to get out of trouble.
There are a lot a pitchers in AAA, that would look really good, if they were only pitching twice through the order.
Even Bolsinger, can look good two times through the order.
Avilan has looked really good, in his last two appearances.
And yesteday he pitched to both righties and lefties.
Both pitchers did what a good relief core should do.
They threw strikes, and didn’t get behind on the count, and had quick innings.
They didn’t take so much time between there pitches, like Baez always seems to do.
I hate when Baez does that, especially when it is an important time in a game.
It is almost feels like slow torture, while waiting to see if Baez is going to get the hitter out.
And it sure doesn’t make Baez look to confident, when he is out there.
I am not looking foward to tonight’s broadcast on ESPN, unless Joe is calling the game.
ESPN hates the Dodgers, and don’t care if it is so obvious.
But the new girl, and Boone, are not as bad, as the previous broadcasters were.
TrueBlueLA is idiotic if it thinks we’d trade Urias as part of any package to get Gray or Archer.
Cards starting a rookie today. We take him and Kaz shows up. We take the series 2-3 games. That’s all I want.
Giants Yanks at 10am on TBS. Go Yanks!
Thanks Bobby
For reminding me about the Giant Yankee game today!
Bobby
These announcers are really boring.
I hope I’m not cursing these guys. But is there something different about this team from years past? A resilience? The 42-8 team had it for that period, but this team seems like it brings it wherever it goes. It might be the youth; the mix of young and old; Utley. I’ve said this before, but maybe the biggest reason is Manager Happy. Is he making Dodger baseball fun again? He seems to have a good, basic understanding of the personality of the roster. For me, it won’t be fun until the giants are 10 games behind. Finding the right pieces in the bullpen is a huge difference maker. Pitchers, like hitters, feed off each other’s success. No tired arms. Just keep chucking it. Of course, it’s nice to have some hitters kicking butt. Kendrick’s average is nearing his career stat; what more can be said about Seager? Turner. I’ll take Archer. No one else. He’s been in the TV booth and would fit nicely in Hollywood.
I think the answer to why De Leon hasn’t been up with the Dodgers this year has to do with injuries. Had he been healthy all year I suspect that he , and not Urias would have been brought up.
Lots of the names mentioned above interest me, although Gray’s numbers tell me that he might have serious issues. And, of course the price of acquiring any of them is of paramount importance. And I’d prefer to keep De Leon out of any deal. More than likely it’s going to take a package to get anything done.
Tomorrow night, assuming no deal is done beforehand, we get to see Archer up close.
They are now saying the Dodgers are in on Chapman too.
And Ken Rosenthal has said the Dodgers on in on Chapman.
I am only saying Rosenthal, because that gives this rumor, a little more credence.
No where does Rosenthal say the Dodgers are in on Chapman. What it said was that those teams had inquired, but no talks are on going and according to the Yankees, a deal is close. Interest is one thing, actual trade talks are something else…..could it happen? Maybe, but my gut says no..
He added the Dodgers later.
That is the point. Later as an after thought. Dodgers have never been mentioned as the team who was really interested. Nationals are thought to have the most interest……My gut tells me, and my head that he is not worth a lot.. Not as a 2 month rental..sorry..if they could extend him…..that would be different….
And all of those teams, including the Dodgers have showed interest in Chapman.
I never said that the Dodgers were going to trade for Chapman.
And Rosenthal had not mentioned the Dodgers yesterday, but he did today, earlier in the day.
And all of the news, is coming in at different times of the day.
The last thing you wrote, is the lastest news.
I’ll go one better:
Puig, Yimi Garcia and Holmes to the Yankees for Beltran and Chapman. Dodgers assume Chapmans and Beltrans contracts. I think NY would do that. Puig is low risk, high reward!
On Archer or Gray. NO! It will cost too much for someone who may not be much better. Julio Urias has a lot to learn – most of it upstairs. Last year he bombed at AAA and then came back and dominated it this year… only to bomb at the MLB level. He will likely repeat that next year. He’s just young, but I expect him in the rotation the 2nd half of 2017.
De Leon looks ready now. He may have been tweaked early in the year, but I’m pretty sure they just wanted him to strengthen his core. I think he pitches for the Dodgers this week!
Let’s see how that goes!
I agree about Archer. With both Archer and Gray, you’re paying a king’s ransom in prospects for potential with question marks. Archer has regressed this year, and if we want a pitcher with good stuff who’s been inconsistent because of control issues, we already have one in Kazmir? You’d be buying Archer with the assumption…or hope…you can correct his mechanics. Maybe he has a resurgence, but I don’t think it’d be happening this year, so that eliminates him as an impact player down the stretch.
All transactions, whether via trade or free agency, ultimately center on the assessment of those uncertainties. There are question marks over whether Urias and DeLeon realize their prospect potential and become successful major leaguers. I think the chances just as good if not better that both of those guys match or exceed the production we’d get from any player we’d have to pay dearly for.
Sale…what an idiot. I’m amazed to read comments defending that guy.
Did you see the video of him talking about the tension in the clubhouse patch? That entire team is pissed. Sale is the one who acted out. Yeah, it seems childish on the surface, but it had been building for a long time.
Which is what happens when you have charismatic, yet malignant personae who are indulged their own power trips have their way without repercussions. It’s like the same narcissistic exercise in mass hysterical contrived grievance that goes on among the privileged and entitled at our elite universities. I think that sense of entitlement must be spreading like the Zika virus.
http://nypost.com/2015/12/18/pc-students-at-lena-dunhams-college-offended-by-lack-of-fried-chicken/
Greg Luzinski wore that uni for three years. Neither he nor any of his teammates threw temper tantrums. At some point grownups need to punish children. It establishes appropriate boundaries. Chris Sale is a child.
This is how you deal with adults who act like children in an adult world when it applies to the dress code. http://reason.com/blog/2016/06/30/intern-fired-for-dress-code-petition-is
And don’t give me any of that ex-hippie, truth to power stuff. There’s a legitimate protest over a true social wrong, and then there’s the protest of the petulant, petty and self-possessed.
Amen,
Amen,
Amen,
Amen!
Beltran and Chapman would help the team, but perhaps more important it would keep the Giants from getting them. I will be amused if a “knucklehead” who wasn’t worth trading for last winter is suddenly worth trading for now, though.
Puig is worth trading for. But teams looking for playoff help wouldn’t be looking at him. Teams that are looking down the road a bit would more likely be the trade partner. Like Atlanta, the Phillies. KC is 5 games out of the Wild Card but Puig might fit on that team. They all run around with their hair on fire and Yazzie has plenty of that. I can see FAZ moving Puig for top prospects, but I don’t see them moving him for a rental. Not this year. Did you see those odds that were posted?
But wait, we’re 6-4. We do that the rest of the way we win it all.
Keep everybody.
BTW, Beltran may be just what we need!
Mark
I have always liked Beltran, he is a class act.
And he is the only position player, that I thought could help the Dodgers, that is on the market now.
But can he play rightfield, on an everyday basis, for the next few months, is the question.
I have heard he will need to DH soon.
He could probably give days off to Agone too.
He would bring the same kind of thing, that Utley brings to the team, in a different way.
But is his HR total, more because of the short rightfield, in Yankee stadium?
I will say this, the Cardinals would have never beat us in the play offs, if Beltran wasn’t on the team.
Beltran got all of the tough clutch hits, to help the Cardinals beat us, in the first post season.
He also made that key throw, to get Ellis out, at home, even though Yadi never even tagged Ellis.
I do not support any trade that gives up a top 5 prospect.
Holmes is the only one I would consider. I have never been a huge fan of him, but I have a friend who is a scout that believes he is a #2… so there’s that!
You are right – we could be sorry, but Chapman would push Jansen and Beltran would give us flexibility in the OF.
I Kershaw comes back, this is the move that could make a huge impact.
I don’t trade Holmes. I see a lot of Don Sutton in him. Mostly in the hair.
Beltran can still hack, but a lot of his at bats this year came as a DH. We can’t offer him that, you gonna put him on the bench? He’s 39. There is logic to having him here though. And who wouldn’t want Chapman. But to give up a +WAR team controlled 25 year old former All Star, a ML reliever and a Don Sutton look alike for 2 rentals seems a bit much. Does Chapman and Beltran bring us a title? I don’t think so.
That’s even assuming the Yanks bite. I dunno. I kind of like it. Holmes is years away and hard to project. Yimi is whatever. Puig is tough to let go of. We still wait on his potential, perhaps in vain, and, like you said, Beltran hacks. You’re right about the defense downgrade in right.
Badger
I think everybody feels that way.
I concur with those who posit Archer as a good fit. It may subtract Deleon from the Dodgers’ future, but so be it. Archer, though not at top form, is nasty when he is and worth the gamble. Sale interests me, too, with his team friendly contract. Nothing like adding a jersey shredder. OK, so he is no Nick Punto. Not sure where I’m going with that…. I read that Sale’s ERA is in the 4’s over his last ten starts. Maybe that helps explain his angst. Nonetheless, as good as he’d look in Dodgers blue and white, with no threat to any Dodger throwback unis (we’ve always had classy dress decorum), I don’t see FAZ trading the farm for him. (It is time to bring back that horse for another beating, eh Badger?). I say no to Chapman. FAZ did, and will again, I think. They don’t seem the type to admit they goofed, and getting him now for a higher price and for a shorter term doesn’t make sense. Besides, our bullpen isn’t currently an area of need, unlike prior years. Speaking of the bullpen, I say no to resigning Kenley. I agree with Mark, there. Throwing all that first tier money next year at a guy who at times pitches like a second tier closer isn’t a good bet. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d consider Liberatore as next year’s closer. I really like his makeup, prefer it to Baez who I fear is still being considered. Maybe he’s not though, as we’ve seen him pitch earlier in games with the emergence of Liberatore and the success of Blanton.
Long time no post – still read regularly, especially for Badger’s takes. Look forward to catching up with you tomorrow Badger.
Hey Dave, good to see you posting again.
Unless there is something wrong with De Leon we don’t know about, I don’t trade him.
Sale wants out of that dysfunctional mess in Chicago. I think its possible he will be accommodated.
Yeah, more punishment. That’s what the world needs. Lock him up! Lock him up!
Jersey shredder. The White Sox have had some of the ugliest jerseys of all time. They should be shredded. He did the team a favor.
Beltran’s knees are gone. I know he’s just a rental but he can’t hide as a DH here and can’t play every day in the OF.
I support getting an upgraded bat, but wouldn’t give up much to get Beltran.
Chapman was so bad a few months ago that the Braintrust pulled the plug on a trade – but now he’s OK?
The braintrust blinked.
Agree in principle about Beltran. If we had him already instead of …. say….. Crawford, then yeah, good for us, let’s get it on. But to give up prospects for a platoon rental that isn’t the keystone piece, then no. We got outfielders o’plenty, platoon them. Some AL playoff team might could use Beltran. Or the giants. Bochy would know what to do with him. And Chapman is a scary good fit in SF. I think I should stop here.
Puig has not fallen off that much where all we can get for him is a 39 year old DH for 2 months.
This is the NL West, and our right fielder, whomever that is, will have to go chase down fly balls in SF, AZ, Colorado, and SD. Those are huge ball parks where you need speed and an arm to play RF. As good as Beltran’s bat may be, how good is it where right field isn’t 315 feet away? Those short home runs in NY will be long outs in the NL West. The guy used to be an absolute stud, a gold glove OF. He’s not that anymore. Too risky to have someone like that in RF.
Now Chapman on the other hand can only help the bullpen. I’m sure he could get us closer to the playoffs, where a late inning bp of Blanton, Liberatore, Jansen, Chapman would be nightmare.
Be interesting to see what happens. Because July 31 falls on a Sunday this year, the trade deadline is actually Aug 1. So we have 8 days!
I think The Chapman Sweepstakes will be over long before that. And we won’t get him. FAZ will keep trying to pinch pennies right up to the last minute and we will get some third rate player who won’t make any difference…
We had Chapman in our pocket but pulled out because of his personal issues. Does anyone remember who we were going to give up in order to get Chapman.
From what I remember it was a done deal
It was Peraza and a pitcher, I believe?
Thanks Bobby. I’m not sure either but thanks for replying.
Pretty much the same as they gave them later. Peraza, Schebler, and Dixon…..that was what was reported
Good points Bobby.
I don’t see us getting Chapman, there are to many teams that want him, so his price will be higher then he will be worth.