I’m not even sure where to start tonight. Should we begin by mentioning this was the second night in a row the Dodgers’ starting pitcher couldn’t get into the fifth inning – and they allowed too many runs for the offense to recover? Maybe we should lead off with the nine base runners the Dodgers left tonight – including leaving the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
We would also be remiss if we didn’t mention Chase Utley and Cody Bellinger getting plunked by Arizona pitchers. This is a very bad habit that the Dodgers are definitely not doing enough to discourage. I’m not calling for head shots, but the Snakes bean Dodgers like it’s a natural thing. The Dodgers need to send a message the other way. Pronto.
No, I won’t start with any of that. Let’s run with the lone highlights from the night, courtesy of Curtis Granderson and Yasiel Puig. Granderson broke up the Snakes’ shutout in the seventh with a solo home run…
Puig later singled up the middle with the bases loaded in the eighth to score two. It was the last time the Dodgers scored, despite loading the bases again in the inning with only one out. Puig also had a brilliant 10 pitch at bat. He eventually walked, and was left on base as nobody else wearing the travel greys could get anything going with the wood tonight.
Otherwise, everything else about this game was thoroughly forgettable. Hyun-Jin Ryu went Jeckle and Hyde and pitched horribly. He only lasted four innings, walking three, with eight hits and THREE home runs. I suppose it can be checked off to everyone has a bad night, but too many Dodgers are experiencing bad nights – all a t once – and the results aint pretty.
Corey Seager had most of the night off. He had a PH appearance that was a big fat nothing. Enrique Hernandez went 0 for 4…and so on and so on.
Oh yeah, in case I forgot to mention it, the Diamondbacks hit Dodgers at the plate with impunity.
Tomorrow Kenta Maeda goes to the mound. Let’s see if he can get to the fifth inning. Where have I heard that before?
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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You do not expect two pitchers who for the last month or so have been nails to each give up 6 runs. Both of these losses are on the starting pitching. The pen over the last 2 games has given up 1 run of the 13 scored by the Snakes. You put way too much pressure on the offense putting them in that kind of hole. But I look at it this way, better to struggle a little now, then get hot again heading into the playoffs. You have to look back on how they have played since May and how great they have played and managed to not lose a series until last weekend. Unreal. But expecting them to keep up the blistering pace they were on is a little unrealistic, especially since CK went down, Wood has been out, so you lost your 2 best pitchers, Cody on the DL for 10 days, Turner slumping since the all star break. Yet they still have a double digit lead and are far and away ahead of all the other division leaders. They will weather this storm. Rosters expand this Friday, Kershaw on the mound Friday and Wood returns on Sunday. So help is coming. By the way , I watched the end of the Angels game and saw the reason I am so glad that the FO got smart and got rid of Chris Hatcher. The Angels were down 8-6 and loaded the bases. Cliff Pennington worked a full count then took a Hatcher fastball over the wall for a grand slam that ended up winning the game for the Halos.
Michael
They should have got rid of the guy sooner.
If you really think about Hatcher, he had one good season with the Marlins, and he was only good for us for three weeks at the end of the season.
He was a thrower not a pitcher, but many people feel in love with his stuff.
Ryu’s off speed stuff got lit up just as Rich Hill’s stuff did. Now there may be some that say, just don’t start them ever again in Arizona. Yeah so we start our number 3 and 4 starters in Games 1 and 2 in LA in a playoff series and go with Kershaw and Darvish in AZ? And what if we come back to LA in a series and you’ve just managed to limit your top 2 pitchers to one start each in a playof series?
Bottom line, they have to figure out how to be more effective using Rich Hill and Ryu in Arizona. Go with what I said earlier. Don’t throw any curveballs and change ups near the strike zone. They will not drop and the DBacks will hammer those pitches. Be effectively wild and walk people if you have to. And get the middle relievers ready. Stewart and Stripling and Maeda. This series is a good test and a wake up call to the coaching staff. You have to have a game plan when your starter is not a power pitcher in AZ.
YF
What I don’t get is why aren’t the Dbacks pitchers having the same problem with their curves and off speed pitches?
I know curves dont break well in hot dry weather but that is why I am asking, since the Dbacks pitchers threw curves and off speed stuff too.
A couple of reasons. First, they pitch there all the time so they have a pretty good idea of where their release point should be. If you watched the game you would notice that Ray was keeping his slider and change up low. And I mean at the knees and below. The pitch Goldy hit off Ryu for that first inning homer was actually a good pitch. Goldschmidt just went down and golfed that ball. The others came off pitches right down the middle. Hill was not getting ahead of hitters. So he was throwing his curve and they were waiting on it. And his were hung right in the middle of the plate. It was like hanging a baseball on a string in your garage so you can practice your swing. BOOM. When Hill has his fastball working, he mixes his pitches up better. The D-Backs were ambushing his curveball. With Ryu last night, his fastball was up in the zone a lot and very hittable. Also the D-Backs were doing what the Dodgers were doing a few weeks ago, they were attacking anything in the zone.
Michael is right about the pitching. This reminded me of the beginning of the season when we couldn’t get much mileage out of anyone but Kershaw and Wood. Teams have been knocking balls out of the park at an alarming rate against us. Plus, the bats have gone colder than they’ve been for quite some time. Those memories of slumps are still too fresh in my Dodger brain compartment and I want to scream.
Hernandez has just about had it in my book. He can’t seem to hit in the majors and his only raison d’etre is his ability to play a few positions. He’s got no offensive game. I would look for him to be replaced either this season or traded by next season along with Pederson.
Forsythe, whom I have defended until now, is also looking might iffy at the plate. I have little confidence in his bat with men on base. If they are going to look at anyone else for the remainder of the season, they better do it quick.
And, Oscar, Jekyll is spelled this way. 🙂
Great post Jeff and Michael. This is exactly what this community brings to the conversation instead of the rah rah blogs. As a team we need quality middle relievers. Stewart, Stripling and Maeda have not been consistent but they could be enough. Could Font give us a big lift? I think we need 3 quality middle relievers to get us to the WS.
The middle relief did the job yesterday and the day before. 5 plus innings in both games and 1 run, that’s pretty solid stuff. Early game today against Greinke. They have done pretty good against him lately, lets hope the bats come alive. Greinke is not what he was before, he is good, but not invincible, CK on the bump in SD tomorrow.
Jeff
Both Forsythe and Kike shouldn’t be hitting against right hand pitching.
They are both at, and below the Mendoza line, against righties.
The fact that Forsythe has a high OBA doesn’t impress me, because one of the biggest reasons Forsythe is having trouble hitting, is that he is over working his counts, and he is down with two strikes much to often.
He is not a good enough hitter to be down with two strikes all the time, and he has an astronomical amount of strike outs, for a player that is slugging in the 300s against righties.
But Kike hit the ball hard yesterday, if Joe and Orel were right, but he just hit them right by the third base man.
But Forsythe and Kike do have much better numbers against lefties, and Kike is a platoon player because of his weakness against righties, but he is playing right now, because Corey has an elbow problem.
I would have Chase and Barnes play second more often against righties, if Farmer comes back, because Forsythe is a wasted at bat, against righties, so he shouldn’t be playing everyday because of this .
Well come Friday, they can move Taylor back in the infield because Verdugo will be here. Then Kike can sit when there is a righty on the mound, both he and Forsythe.
Kike hit in bad luck yesterday, two shots right at Rosario. Then a shot to RF. That stuff happens. But those were off lefty’s. They PH for him when a righty came in.
Jeff,
you are absolutely 100% correct about Hernandez’s horrendous bat. He’s been an awful hitter for the past two seasons now. It’s not surprising since he was nothing but a career minor league utility player before the Dodgers traded for him. I still don’t under stand what the Dodger’s fascination is with him.
Verdugo being called up
Yep, Verdugo is coming up on Friday, along with Ethier, Stewart, and Farmer. Any other call ups will come after the AAA season is over most likely. With Pederson being one of those. And I expect Buehler will be in that mix. I finally figured out the Dodger problem since last week. It is the dreaded Sports Illustrated cover jinx. Yep, they put Turner and the boys in Blue on the cover and they have struggled since then.
Michael
I sure hope a new issue is coming out soon!
I forgot to get that, I will have to take a look!
As you know, that isn’t the same as getting on the cover of the Rolling Stone.
Well were country singers, we got golden fingers and we’re loved everywhere we go, and we keep getting bigger but we can’t get our picture on the cover of the Rollin Stone!
Michael
I understand why Roberts is playing Granderson at the top of the order.
He must have been really hot before he joined the team.
Because here are his numbers for August.
259/360/700s/1000s/
And I read that Joc was staying behind, to get in some more at bats, in.
Yes, that is the reason he is staying back. Maeda is getting lit up today so it looks like they will get swept for the first time this year, and the losing streak goes to 5 and the D-Backs are now 17 back, or will be. They need to return the favor next week in LA>
Michael
Any time Maeda stops attacking hitters, he gets hit!
He messes with those off speed pitches on the corners, and they end up backing up, and the hitters, hit them out!
Where was his high fastball just out of the strike zone?
Yes, that is totally true. When he pussy-foots around out there instead of attacking, he is very hittable. And those two homers were on pitches right down Broadway. Latest report on Corey is that he will not play in the field until late next week if then. He might be out longer. He starts a throwing program on Monday in LA. Looks like Font may also get a call up along with Buehler, Verdugo et-al. At least that is the buzz and it looks like Roberts is considering a 6 man rotation. McCarthy will also be back sometime next week. I think most of those guys will be competing for post season roster spots. They will be LOADED with outfielders.
He was at the top, he is hitting down in the order now. He was hot in August and July, he has cooled off since he got to LA.
Justin Upton traded to the Angels for two minor leaguers and they let Cameron Maybin go to the Astros on waivers. Tigers in talks with a few teams about Verlander. Deadline is this afternoon to be eligible for the playoff roster.
Michael
He will be good for the Angels, because he will protect Trout, in the line up.
I guess Font won pitcher of the year, in the division they play in.
A lot of players getting waived today. Juan Nicasio was picked up by the Phillies, and Ryan Siegrist of the Cardinals was waived.
I don’t know why they continue to pitch to Goldy when he has been so hot, put him on first!
Got me there…..I would walk him.
Well counting on Maeda to break the streak of early inning disaster is not going to work. He’s going to be a lone reliever for us in the postseason – it’s the best way to keep him from pitching in the first 3 innings.
Look at it this way. If we are back in April then October is going to be mid May for us.