The Dodgers kept their winning streak alive on Independence Day with two come from behind rallies against the Orioles. The final rally saw them come from behind to overcome a 5-2 deficit and defeat the Baltimore club by a 7-5 score. It was Corey Seager’s triple that keyed the go-ahead run and broke a 5-5 tie. The Dodgers have now won ten consecutive home games and five straight games. The record is 13 home wins in a row back in 2009.
Overall the Dodgers are 48-37 and have turned their season around. My three solid weeks of complaining has made a huge difference. Or maybe guys like Justin Turner, Howie Kendrick, and Yasiel Puig finding their strokes has helped too. I would say it’s all played a part in a team wide effort. It’s now official. The Dodgers no longer suck. Sounds pretty nice doesn’t it?
There are still some problems to work out though. Clayton Kershaw is hurt, and Dave Roberts refuses to let any starter go past the fifth inning. His obsession with using 6 relievers per game has become borderline neurotic. However the Dodgers are scorching hot right now and I don’t want to see the all-star break halt their momentum.
Dodgers Lineup vs. Baltimore
Utley 2B
Seager SS
Thompson CF
González 1B
Puig RF
Grandal C
Kendrick LF
Taylor 3B
Maeda P— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 5, 2016
Chris Tillman-10-2 vs. Kenta Maeda-7-5
Game Time 7:10 PM – TV -SNLA
Their series with the Baltimore Orioles goes on as the second game will see right hander Chris Tillman countering Kenta Maeda.
Tillman is the 28-year old right hander from Anaheim. He was drafted by the Mariners in 2008, but was traded to the Orioles in the Erik Bedard, George Sherrill trade. Oh sure there were other players involved in that trade like current Oriole Adam Jones, but none more important than George Sherrill. Tillman has spent his entire 8-year MLB career with the Orioles. He’s been the de facto ace posting a 66-44 record in 166 starts for Baltimore.
This season he has posted a 10-2 record with a 3.71 ERA over 17 starts. In 99.1 innings pitched he’s whiffed 91 and walked 36. He’s posted a 1.2 WHIP and allowed 8.0 hits per nine. He is 4-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 16 career interleague starts. Tillman has never faced the Dodgers, but has faced a few of the current Dodgers who used to play in the American League. The veteran has a four pitch mix that includes a four-seamer, cutter, curveball and changeup.
Tillman vs. Dodgers
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | SH | SF | IBB | HBP | GDP |
| Howie Kendrick | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .375 | .375 | .500 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .250 | .333 | .250 | .583 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chase Utley | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Venable | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Taylor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 21 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | .235 | .333 | .294 | .627 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Dodgers will counter with Kenta Maeda. The Japanese right hander is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA over his 16 starts. During his last start he defeated the Brewers by allowing just one earned run on three hits over six innings and striking out six. He’s struck out 89 and walked 26 across 92.2 innings pitched. Maeda has a 1.090 WHIP and has struck out 8.6 batters per nine.
If the Dodgers win tonight this would be the second six game winning streak of the season. The boys in blue are now 27-15 at home and have a 1.5 game lead over the Mets for the top wild card spot in the National League. Don’t forget to tune in to the announcement for the all-star game reserves and pitching staff. I expect for Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager to be named to the National League squad. I don’t expect for Chris Hatcher to be named at all.
Go Blue!
Courtesy of Grant Brisbee
“Since the start of 2014, the Los Angeles Dodgers have given a combined $83 million to Alex Guerrero, Erisbel Arruebarrena, and Yaisel Sierra. The first two are out of the organization, and Sierra was outrighted off the 40-man roster after three months in the minors. All three were available at one point to any team that wanted to claim them and pay their salary. All 29 teams declined. Again, that’s $83 million flushed down the toilet in 28 months. That’s more than the entire 2016 payroll of three teams. While it’s possible Sierra will turn his slow start around, it sure looks like the Dodgers failed miserably with their big-money speculation.”
The question is whether the Dodgers have spent their money effectively. Couldn’t they have signed a star pitcher or player with the $83MM devoted to Cuban washouts?
And what about the rotation?
“Shift to the Dodgers’ biggest problem over their last three division-winning seasons: their inability to build a trustworthy rotation behind the aces at the top. In each of the last three postseasons, the Dodgers have started Clayton Kershaw on short rest. That’s a) because he’s a fire-breathing demigod and b) because they were absolutely unconvinced they had anyone else who could compare with Kershaw at 80 percent. It was Kershaw and Greinke and pray for … other … chances … to, uh … start Kershaw and Greinke. ” And now they don’t have Greinke.
And what of those other pitchers?
“Now it’s just Kershaw and The New Dodgers Jug Band behind him, with rotating members whose names you might or might not recognize. They don’t even have a #2 they can trust. Put it this way: Since the start of the 2015 season, the Dodgers have used 23 different starting pitchers. That’s the most in baseball over that same stretch. ”
So they spent big $$ on guys who couldn’t pitch or stay healthy.
“It’s not like they were all random stopgaps, either. A lot of them cost substantial money, right down to pitchers like Beachy, who was paid $2.75 million for two poor starts last year. Now back to that $83 million spent just on the international flops. It … could have helped. It could have helped acquire Cole Hamels. It could have been put toward starting pitcher to replace Zack Greinke, or Jon Lester last year, or, heck, right over the top to bring Greinke back. It went to three international players who couldn’t stay on a 40-man roster for a second season, if they even made it that far.”
And this is “The Plan”?
Point of order,,,,,,,Arruebarrena is not out of the organization . He is on the restricted list. If you check, he is on the Tulsa roster as such.
Guerrero and Arruebarrena were signed by Colletti so no they were not part of the plan. Sierra who knows what he’s capable of not much right now. Hamels was not a money purchase and Lester was only headed to join Theo.
Good points, but I think he is using the total value of those players’ contracts to come up with the $83M figure, not just what the Dodgers have already paid. Of course, they’re on the hook for the money one way or another, just like they are with Carl Crawford. And Sierra is the only one of the three who came on Friedman’s watch, although they’ve certainly spent as much signing foreign players in the past year as the average team spends on its entire roster, some of which might have improved the team to the point where we would be looking back at the Giants instead of up.
2 years ago, we had Ryu; he had a great start in game 3 in STL, but we lost because we couldn’t score.
Last year, we had Brett Anderson start game 3, so yes, point taken!
Either way, good article; horrible use of funds
It’s good to get ones negative fix – there’s not much to be upset with unless you like to read Giants blogs. They are scared!
To be fair I read that article, and it wasn’t a negative article about the front office.
It was actually a positive article about the front office.
That was only the start of that article.
And I am not a pro front office person, on most of the things they have done.
What of this do you dispute? By the way, Brisbee wasn’t writing this for his Giants’ blog.
The name of the article says The Dodgers have wasted a lot of money, but it Might be Working.
The name of this article has a positive spin, at the end.
Sierra may be a typical Neddy Jr. “Clemente roster gamble”. He may be ok in 2 years.
Congrats on the 3 All-Star selections. Hatcher? Priceless!!!
Money generally wasted on Cubans? Yes. Who besides Cespedes and Chapman have not started declining after their 2nd year in the majors?
Gotta love Cory Seager.
I don’t like Trayce batting third.
Why didn’t Roberts rest Turner, against the Padres?
We really need catching. Norris is still available. How about Kendrick and $$$ for Norris and Solarte?
Another Padres catcher, that is not hitting.
Norris isn’t known to be a good defensive catcher
Hey guys
Man I feel bad for our bullpen. Here comes another 5 innings needed.
Another stinker of an offensive performance combined with another short outing from our starter – sounds familiar
It’s who we are. And Bal’more is a good club.
On a positive note – the pen shut them down for 5 innings. That is where our extra bench player needs to be.
I agree with that Badger. I don’t know why some were so upset with a shorter bench, of position players, when it is obvious, that the team needs more pitchers, in the bullpen.
The Orioles are a good offensive club, but there starting pitching, isn’t as good as the Dodgers.