The Dodgers have returned from their eventful East Coast road trip. It featured rain delays, almost fighting with the Phillies closer, a lot of home runs, and a 4-3 record for the two series.
Enrique Hernandez, Matt Beaty and A.J. Pollock had really good offensive showings. Kiké, who had been in a horrid slump, seems to have broken out of it in a big way. Since the All-Star break, he is has a slash line of .455/.571/.773 with two homers and eight RBI. Good timing with Chris Taylor now on the IL indefinitely.
Beaty was recalled from Triple-A on Monday because of Taylor’s injury, and has continued right where he left off before he was demoted. In his last seven games, spanning before and after his most recent trip to Oklahoma City, he’s batting .447/.500/1.000 with two home runs. Most impressive is that he has only struck out once.
And Pollock for his part has hit steadily since his return from the IL. He is batting .308 with three home runs, right in line with what his average offensive production should be for the season.
The bullpen is mostly what failed the Dodgers on that trip, right in line with what is their main issue throughout the season. On that front, the Dodgers are rumored to be interested in Shane Greene, the current closer for the Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers have “shown interest” in him before, as well as his teammate Nick Castellanos.
Greene has a 1.06 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 35 strikeouts and has converted 22 of his 24 save opportunities this season. The hiccup is that he is a righty, and the Dodgers really need another lefty arm in the bullpen. Just one more rumor to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches.
The Dodgers now welcome the beleaguered Miami Marlins to Chavez Ravine. Last place in the NL East, the Marlins sit at 36-58 for the season. Their run differential is -84, while the Dodgers is +151. They have as many wins on the road as they do at home.
Pitching matchups will start with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Zac Gallen. The Marlin’s righty has only appeared in four games this season, is 0-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Saturday’s game will be a battle of #22’s as Clayton Kershaw will face off against Sandy Alcantara. Another right hander, Alcantara is 4-9 with a 3.94 ERA and 76 strikeouts.
And for Sunday’s matinee game, Walker Buehler will take the mound to go against Jordan Yamamoto. The third righty of the series, Yamamoto just made his major league debut on June 12th of this season. He has made his presence known, so far amassing a 4-0 record, 1.59 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 34 strikeouts in 34 innings.
The Marlins offense is 23rd in batting average, last in homers and next to last in runs scored. The Dodgers should have an easy time with them with their top three pitchers going. Friday’s game is at 7:10, Saturday’s at 6:10, and Sunday’s at 1:10 PDT.
No comment
Andy, you know we love you and when we point out corrections it just shows you that we read your post.
Having said that, the starting times for this weekend’s games are 7:10, 6:10 and 1:10 PDT.
Hahahaha I’m so good at putting my time in there, and I double checked that! Thanks
Now I’m just getting nasty, but it’s PDT, not PST. Please forgive me. I took yesterday’s loss very hard. 🙂
Got it. And it’s not the pointing out errors, it’s how they’re pointed out. You were kind 😉
Kindness is very difficult to find in the world these days. I try to pass it out whenever I can.
I think the time to bring Gavin Lux up is fast approaching. They need to bring him up in time to make sure he qualifies for the playoffs because he’s going to be the starting 2B. It’s amaxing how far he has come from the scrawny 150lb kid we drafted to the power hitting middle infielder he is today.
If you bring up Lux you’re taking away at bats from Pollock and Joc. If you bring up Smith you’re taking ab’s from Martin and Barnes. Easy decision for me
First off guys, they are not going to stick a rookie into the pressure cooker that is the playoffs. Second, AAA is not the majors. No matter how well he is doing at OKC, there is no guarantee he continues in LA. You as seasoned fans should know that. His time is coming, but not this year. If you bring him up, the only place he can play is second. That takes at bats away from Muncy. They are not going to screw with team chemistry at this point in time. Matt Harvey DFA’d by the Angels. Floro to the IL and Sadler recalled.
What is supposedly wrong with Floro (I mean healthwise – no comments on his pitching results please)?
Floro has neck inflammation. Not sure when it started, but it got worse on the road trip.
Neck inflammation, eh? I think they used a version of the Dems debate drawing system. You put all the body parts in one box and all the conditions in another box and then you draw one from each box. Seems to work very well and apparently Rob Manfred hasn’t caught on yet.
The 10 Day Jacuzzi Docothon Blisterfeld Swapportunity. . 10 In The Tub Bunny Hop Boogie.
Lux will get some at bats this year. I doubt he’s a playoff player. That roster will not have call ups on it
A lot of talk all of a sudden about giants. Sell or no sell. We may not know for a while.
If the giants don’t trade everyone that has any trade value, they are making a mistake.
Logic says you’re absolutely right Keith, but this is Bochy’s last season and Madbum has that post season mystique. Farhan will know what he needs to do. Question is will ownership let him do it.
Ryu has now pitched 50% more innings than he did for the entire 2018 season. He also hasn’t looked very sharp recently. I think it’s time to let him miss a couple of turns and relax a little. We need him in good shape for October. I think that Floro’s neck inflammation could be contagious. Ten days on the IL might be just what the doctor ordered. Urias could pick up a couple of starts.
Well let’s hope Martin gets it and we bring up Smith!
I checked out early last night. Dodgers 0 for 12 WRISP? 6 for 30? Against the Marlins?
Yeah, a win is a win, but that is game must have been a snoozefest. Fans should demand their money back. I didn’t go but I want some money back.
More concerned about the continuing defensive problems. 2 more errors last night and that makes 6 games in a row with at least 2. And Muncy was not even in the lineup. Joc made the first one and then Seager missed an easy grounder. Interesting article by Howard Cole, I found it on twitter about the Dodgers prospects who might get traded at the deadline. Interesting because he had 3 untouchables, Lux, May and Smith. Gonsolin is 25 now. White is 24. Their time as hot prospects might be gone.
Winning ugly is still a win!
Yep Rich, and last night was ugly. Ryu gave about the gutsiest performance I have seen in a long time. What impressed me the most? How big that guy is! When he was finished with his outing, all the guys were coming up and giving him a hug and he towered over all of them save Belli. He made Verdugo look like a midget!
Haha! Full disclosure, I am on vacation this week and not watching the games closely so there may be more errors and typos than usual! 😉