The Dodgers were fresh off an extra inning win against the Giants. It was a game they really needed. Now the Dodgers embark on a quick three game road trip in the Pacific Northwest after a day off yesterday to play the Mariners. The cool thing about playing in an AL Park, is you get to have a DH hitting. Boy the Dodgers used that to their advantage as the offense broke out. Walker Buehler took the mound for the Dodgers and took on left-hander Wade LeBlanc.
Yesterday the Rockies and the Snakes both won. So the Dodgers are in third place 2 games behind the snakes and 1/2 behind the Rockies. The Rockies also won today. In the top of the third, Yasmani Grandal hit a solo shot and the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead. In the top of the fourth, Manny Machado went deep and the Dodgers went up 2-0. Matt Kemp then got a single. Next came up was Max Muncy who hit a two run shot and the Dodgers took a 4-0 lead. Yasmani, Monster Max, Kemp, and Machado all finally got some offensive production.
Brian Dozier was right. Most winning streaks do follow a loss. #Dodgers beat the Mariners 11-1. They have won 2 in a row.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 18, 2018
In the bottom of the fourth, Ryan Healy hit a solo shot off Buehler for the Mariners only run of the game. In the top of the fifth, Brian Dozier walked, Justin Turner then followed with a single. Cody Bellinger then hit a single to score a run to make the score 5-1. Matt Kemp then got a hit and got to second on an error scoring a run. Kiki Hernandez hit sac fly to score a run and the score was 7-1. In the top of the 7th, Justin Turner hit a single. Manny Machado then came up and went yard again to make the score 9-1.
#Dodgers Dave Roberts said he met with Justin Turner/Manny Machado about switching them in lineup. After some prodding, Machado acknowledged he feels more comfortable batting third
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 18, 2018
Cody Bellinger then walked in the 7th as well. Matt Kemp then hit a two run shot to make the score 11-1. The Dodgers are 13-14 since the break. The bullpen did a great job today. The starting pitching with Buehler did well. The offense has to step up to take some pressure off the bullpen. Kenley Jansen is on the horizon.
James Moya
Hi I’m James Moya. I am an avid Dodgers fan. I graduated Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelors in Communications. I used to freelance at the San Bernardino Sun. I’m excited about this opportunity to write for LA Dodger Report to gain experience. I’m a straight shooter on my opinions and I hope to get some good conversations going. My dream has always been to report on the Dodgers because Baseball is the National Past-time. I hope you enjoy the ride with me.
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A very solid win. The team fired on all cylinders and even Rosscup looked great to finish it out.
This is a very powerful lineup and the switch of Manny batting #3 is starting to pay off in spades. Tuner, Machado, Bellinger, Kemp, is a monster lineup to deal with. Add in the DH and we fly high. It’s just crazy how this team can explode one day and go cold the next. Maybe Seattle’s chill in the air serves to wake them up. I don’t know.
Buehler will be a fixture in this rotation for a long time to come, methinks.
An outfielder has to go this fall to make room for Verdugo and/or Toles. FAZ would like it to be Kemp because that would help them most financially. Next choice, also money wise, would be Puig, and Joc last of all. Kike and Taylor are pretty safe because of their low salaries and position versatility. FAZ puts more value on that than it is worth… I expect Muncy to be retained because he has power, he’s cheap, and he plays several positions but not very well. They better adopt the DH this year and also increase roster size. Roberts can’t handle a 25 man roster well, he’ll really screw up with 28 men. There’s where they could really improve the team, hire a strong manager who will tell FAZ to just get him the players, he’ll decide how and when to use them… And then I woke up….
I am glad we won after Buehler threw another good game, but I was not impressed with the starter the Mariners threw at us.
Because he was a journeyman six starter, much like our front office would bring to the team, to make one or two starts, depending on how well they did.
Cody is really looking good right now, because he has stopped trying to hit it out, in every at bat.
It was also good to see Kemp have a good game too.
But Manny’s first HR, and Muncy’s HR, was not hit hard, according to what Major League Baseball considers, hard exit velocity.
Both these two HRs were not hit 100 or 100 plus, like most HRs are hit, and one of these two HRs, was not even hit 98.
I don’t see Muncy as a major league hitter myself, but I do like him.
We were only 1 for 4 when runners were in scoring position last night, too.
And with the lead we had, that doesn’t tell us a thing about our bullpen.
We will have to wait, until we have a close game again.
Not hit hard? A home run only has to go over the barrier (fence) to be a home run. This Stat Cast crap is just more Sabremetric gingerbread to make room for more “experts” to make money telling us what we just saw happen with our own eyes.
Funny you should say that Jonah. MLB.com has a list of the longest HR’s since stat cast was started in 2015. Then they even list each teams top homers for distance. Interesting fact, of the Dodgers 10 longest HR’s since stat cast came to be, Joc Pederson has 5 of the top 10. His longest being 477 feet at Coors in 2015. He followed that with a 472 foot shot the same game. Wanna guess who hit #3 ? I would bet unless they read the article, no one on here would remember, Brett Eibner. His went 465 feet. The Dodgers have hit 11 balls of more than 450 feet and Pederson has 5 of them. Ethier hit one that went exactly 450. Nobody else has more than one dinger of 450 or more. The other guys with those kinds of shots, Hernandez, Seager, Turner, and believe it or not, Carl Crawford. Grandal and Puig came close at 449 along with Seager. Joc also has 2 449 shots. Not of much statistical value, but fun to read. Longest blast of 2018 so far, Puig at 449 on the 1st of June. Then Bellinger at 443. Seager the only other player at 440 this year. He hit his April 10th. I have seen 3 leave Dodger Stadium, still the longest HR’s I have ever witnessed. Willie Stargell hit 2 out of Dodger Stadium, and I saw both. 1st one was off of Alan Foster and it cleared the RF Pavilion roof. Second one was off of Andy Messersmith and it hit the roof on it’s way out. The only other ball was a HR Mike Piazza hit that cleared the LF bullpen. Only 500 ft. HR listed so far is a Giancarlo Stanton shot at Coors Field. 503 feet. And like I said he would, Puig is appealing his suspension.
Michael
Almost everything that Puig hits, is at a high exit velocity, but sometimes he has one or two in a season, that is just a blip,on the exit velocity.
I wouldn’t want to be playing up at third, when Puig is hitting.
You and me both. He hits rockets and reminds me of another Dodger right fielder who did the same, Frank Howard. Of course Big Frank was 6’7″ and weighed upwards of 270. But when he hit one, it stayed hit. And his arm reminds me of 2 former Dodger RF’s. Carl Furillo, better known as the Reading Rocket, and Raul Mondesi, who had an absolute cannon of an arm and is the only Dodger with 2 30-30 seasons.
Jonah
It is just odd, because when you look at most HRs hit, there exit velocity is almost always, a 100 plus.
I have only seen HRs go out, at a lower velocity, in Colorado.
I look at the feed after someone hits a HR, and on the feed, they always show the exit velocity, and have a video of the HR.
Yes, lower air pressure due to higher altitude is a factor there, but so is launch angle. Temperature and atmospheric conditions (Barometric Pressure) also factor into how far a ball carries… Attempting to hit the ball harder and at a precise angle is a direct cause of more and longer home runs, AND ALSO More strikeouts and lower batting averages. You can’t have it both ways.
We finally got to see what Machado can do with the bat. Took a while. For me the key was Buehler working out of that mess in the 3rd. He did it! The sky is the limit with that kid, sans injury of course.
The kid has mad skills and poise. The other young Dodger pitcher with poise is close to returning. Julio Urias. I believe those 2 will be the Dodgers next 1-2 punch and I think the front office thinks that way too. It is one of the reasons I do not think they will make a hard effort to keep Kershaw if he opts out. Machado makes more sense. At his age, with his skills, he is a far better bargain than a aging Kershaw. They have a lot of good young arms on the rise. Next year will be the last for Rich Hill. They have Wood, Stripling, Buehler, Urias, Stewart, Ferguson, and Maeda, all on the roster and all with starter credentials. They have May, White, Santana, Alvarez, Tony Gonsolin, who made the jump from A to AA and is pitching lights out in Tulsa. In the lower minors they have John Rooney, a lefty, Gerardo Carrillo, and Andrew Sopko. Ryu will be a free agent. So will Machado, Grandal, Dozier, and a few others who really are not all that important. Now all this depends on Kersh opting out. With the year he is having, will he? He has proved he is healthy right now, but over the long haul? He has 2 years left on his deal after this season. Guaranteed 60 mil plus. Does he go for a larger paycheck? If so, where? Texas? Houston? The Yankees? He would probably like to be near his home in Dallas, but I doubt the Rangers spend that kind of money to bring him in. So, it will be one interesting off season, especially if FAZ’s boys flame out and do not win the division since that is about the only way they are making it to the playoffs.
Talking about HRs, Toles hit a game winning HR, last night.
He had 3 hits, including the HR, a triple, and he had 4 two out RBIs, and scored 2 runs.
Yes Buehler is pitching well, just like he did, before he went out, but we are lucky he did go out, because we don’t have to worry as much, about the innings, on his arm.
Washington put Harper on waivers. Should we hold our breath until FAZ claims him? About $5 MM left on his salary, we could actually afford him.
DC throwing in the towel and hoping for a bite. But what would you give up for a 39 game rental? He worth your best in the minors without having him more than that many games? Best thing is that since the Dodgers are in 3rd place, they would have a shot at him before AZ or the Rocks. But SF could claim him too. Makes a lot of sense for them because he is an automatic upgrade on anyone they have in the outfield. And he makes their offense better immediately. Word is though, that if he reaches the point where he can be claimed by the Phillies, they are in. Also, how much would his offense suffer, ala Machado, playing in a pitchers park like Dodger Stadium?
Bigger question though Jonah, is do you think FAZ would risk it? Upsetting the chemistry on this team might be a bad idea. And Harper is not the most popular guy in the majors.
No. But the a-hole has spent 4 years doing what I’d think he wouldn’t and not doing what I think he should…. Don’t bet on my picks.
Is Badger in a snit or can’t he log in?
Badger is in a pot stupor, lol, unable to comprehend the log in procedure.
Badger is probably to busy living life, unlike us.
They are suppose to have Daniel Murphy on waivers too.
If we didn’t have to many players right now to plug into the line up, he would be a good bat off the bench.
I don’t know the background on his injuries this year, but he has always hit well.
I wish this game was on 6 today, because it is nice when it is a hour early, especially for everyone on the east coast.
I like what I see in Dozier, but I didn’t realize he was small as he is.
But I am afraid of the times, he doesn’t produce in the first half of the season, and he is already in his thirties.
But he sure seems to be quite the competitor unlike Forsythe, who is hitting in the 400s for the Twins right now.
It appears the big lights in LA were to much for him, or he was just more familiar with the pitchers, in the American League.
I think there are more quality pitchers in the National League now.
The pitchers that the Mariners used last night, didn’t seem that tough, and the pitcher we are facing tonight, doesn’t have a very good ERA either.
This pitcher tonight has an ERA over 6.
Funny.
FYI, CBD oil does not make you stuper. I’m stuper enough without getting high.
And I don’t do snits Jonah. I’ve lived with a couple snitters, so I know the play, but snitting is for sissies. I’ve been helping a friend move.
Why in the world would this team claim Harper? We already have fortyleven left handed outfield squirrels. We don’t need another. Stuper idea. You guys must be high.
Perhaps if you shared some of your CBD Oil with Scott he could redo the software. Personally, I never touch the stuff, I’m perfectly capable of falling out of bed by myself, with no chemical assistance…
I don’t want to jinx our good fortune by mentioning a name, but has anyone else noticed that someone has improved the site by his absence?
Is he still posting at Dodgerblab?
Oh is Felony Douche Bag over at Moe N Lester or Pedro Phile site exclusively, I pray? Too bad that pile of enjoyment has decided to be exclusive to the site of ill repute.
Badger, I think you need to be getting high and get mental and physical relief all at once. Personally all that shyte is behind me. However I think you are prime candidate. LOL
165 home runs in tonight’s starting lineup.
Ran out of edit time…
1. Joc Pederson (L) LF
2. Justin Turner (R) 3B
3. Manny Machado (R) SS
4. Cody Bellinger (L) CF
5. Brian Dozier (R) 2B
6. Yasmani Grandal (S) C
7. Matt Kemp (R) DH
8. Max Muncy (L) 1B
9. Yasiel Puig (R) RF
Jonah
I just don’t get why Dummy cannot put out the same lineup? I think I have seen him do it once. Can he not remember? No, I think he just a real Dummy.
Jonah
What is wrong with you, Package can’t stand to see that same line up, a second time today?
HR ball jumps up and bites Hill in the ass again. I know he has been good, but when he gives up the HR ball, they usually lose.