Dodgers News and Notes – Defensive Woes, NL West Race, Bauer’s Court Hearing Begins, and More

Published on by Andy Lane Chapman

The Los Angeles Dodgers maybe, finally, are starting to hit their stride. On their east coast road trip, they won five of six, including a weekend sweep of the New York Mets.

The road trip included multiple rain delays, scorching heat, and two extra inning games. But the Dodgers kept battling and won the two extra inning games, something they had struggled with in the past. The rain delays in Philadelphia seemingly invigorated the offense, as their only loss there was the day with no rain delay.

And yet the Dodgers only managed to gain one game on the San Francisco Giants. They are four games back of first place with 44 games remaining for both teams. The Dodgers have both the Pirates and Rockies in their near future so this stretch could be a good stretch to pick up another game or two on the Giants, who somehow have not hit a skid so far this season.

If the Dodgers are going to manage to climb a few games in the standings, and go far into the playoffs, they are going to have to clean up their defense. Sunday night’s game featured multiple miscues, like Trea Turner being unable to catch a toss cleanly and turn a double play. Corey Seager was unable to tag a runner inches from him and ended up being late on a throw to first that would’ve gotten the batter out. And Will Smith threw to third to try to get a runner that wasn’t close, instead of throwing to first for the sure out.

All of these mistakes caused starter Max Scherzer to throw many more stressful pitches. Scherzer was removed in the sixth inning with 94 pitches and two earned runs allowed. Had some of those innings ended when they should have, Scherzer might have been able to pitch the seventh or beyond. Granted he left with a 9-2 lead so it was an easy decision to take him out then, but him having a huge lead is not always going to be the case.

Since Scherzer was removed with three innings left to cover, manager Dave Roberts turned to lower leverage relievers to finish out the game and in true Dodgers bullpen fashion they tried to make the game interesting. Darien Núñez allowed two earned runs and the Mets had many more missed scoring opportunities. While these guys probably won’t be pitching in the playoffs it would be nice to not have to have a huge lead for them to pitch.

Graphic from ESPN describing WAR lost to injury for each team

ESPN put up a graphic describing how much WAR the Dodgers have lost by how many injuries they’ve had this season. According to the chart, they have close to 10 games lost. The Giants have lost five, and without those injuries the Dodgers should be tied or a game ahead in the standings. Still having the second best record in the majors is a testament to their depth.

The Dodgers are now home for a seven game home stand where they will face the Pittsburgh Pirates for three, the Mets again for four, then a quick trip down to San Diego for three and back home to face the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves to finish out the month of August.

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CW/Sexual Assault

Trevor Bauer is expected in court on Monday at 8:30am in the civil hearing on the temporary ex-parte domestic violence restraining order against him. The trial is expected to take multiple days. New information was published in the Washington Post over the weekend that Bauer has had another restraining order against him in the past. The woman’s accusations against the pitcher are very similar to the ones in the current case, with him beating her and leaving her with bruises and blood in her eyes, which she received during sex without her consent. The Dodgers have yet to comment on any of these allegations, new or past. Bauer and his lawyers released statements via his Twitter account on Saturday.

34 thoughts on “Dodgers News and Notes – Defensive Woes, NL West Race, Bauer’s Court Hearing Begins, and More”

  1. Bauer should just learn to shut up. He is his own worst enemy. That being said, he can just stay gone. Padres close to a deal with Arietta. They are desperate for pitchers. Despite the mental errors and close calls last night, the offense picked up the ball and scored 2 touchdowns. Light moment of the night, Beaty’s 9th inning moon shot off of Drury. That thing was CRUSHED.

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    1. I was really happy to see Matt get that homer last night. I bet he was really happy too.

      With the mess that MLB created by starting yesterday’s game when they did, it’s going to be a tired group of guys taking the field against the Bucs tonight. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Doc give a few guys the night off. Considering that we almost always score very few runs after an offensive outburst the day before, it probably doesn’t matter who he starts tonight. Nobody is likely to bring a bat.

      Pirates are supposed to start a lefty so Albert will be in at first and I’m thinking Barnes will probably catch. Beyond that it’s anybody’s guess.

      Also wouldn’t be surprised to see Jackson brought up since he might be able to give them 3 or 4 innings and he’s already on the 40-man.

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      1. I said last night that it’s almost like MLB screwed the Dodgers out of a game in the division with that time of game. Mets also had to fly west and are unlikely to give the Giants their best either

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      2. Not sure who will get the call tonight. Jackson has pitched exactly 8 innings in AAA. I do not think that kid is ready for prime time. I think White will get one of the games. Price another. Then maybe a bullpen game before the Mets get in. Kershaw is supposed to play catch today. Pollock will be back in the lineup no doubt. I also do not think Pepiot is ready yet. He has not exactly been nails at AAA.

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      3. I guess they can just try to get by with what they already have here, but if I read correctly, tonight is the bullpen game, tomorrow Price, Wednesday is White (plus others, of course). If it’s me, I roll the dice and bring someone in from OKC (or possibly Tulsa) that I think has a chance to give me 5-6 innings. I mentioned Bibens-Dirkx yesterday. His track record is mediocre to say the least but he just pitched 7 shut out innings at OKC. He isn’t on the 40 man though so that would take some maneuvering.

        This is why I pay Andrew the big bucks to make these decisions for me. 🙂

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    2. Man, that Jackson is really something. He’s at Dodger Stadium and starting in OKC. I hope he doesn’t spread himself too thin.

      By the way Bear, I think I saw something on Twitter about Tsutsugo being added to the Pirates roster, but to be honest I don’t know if that’s the 26-man or 40-man.

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      2. Think he’ll hit them off Jackson, Andy?
        Boy, I would really rather have Yoshi starting in right field for us tonight instead of Billy. On the other hand McKinney has has some success in the past so he’s probably due for a homer or two himself.
        One thing I’ve noticed is that every time I think Doc is being ridiculous about giving a guy too many chances, that guy eventually winds up doing something good.

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      3. I have no idea I’m mostly being sarcastic but yeah I’m surprised that McKinney has stuck around this long

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      4. This is setting up perfectly. Tsutsugo hits a pinch hit homer in the top of the 9th to put the Pirates ahead. McKinney hits a walk off homer in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

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      8. Actually Andy, they took a survey once and it turns out I’m only third best, but the two people who came in first and second were really spectacular.

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      9. He was listed as the starter at OKC about an hour ago. As of right now he is not on the roster, neither is Phillips. Tsutsugo is not one the Pirates roster as of 10 minutes ago.

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  3. Tsutsugo is on the 40 man, not on the active roster as of 10 minutes ago. I think if Tsutsugo plays at all, he is not hitting anything out.

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      1. He is not in the starting lineup. They have to decide who to remove from the 26 man. Phillips is on the 40 man and listed in the minors. I think the most likely candidate to remove from the roster is Nunez

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    2. So you mean to tell me you don’t think my prediction of Tsutsugo and McKinney both hitting homers is going to be accurate? Bear, it’s a sure thing. You can bet money on it. Just don’t bet my money.

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      1. Tsutsugo would have to do it coming off of the bench, not likely. As for McKinney, he has not hardly shown warning track power yet.

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  5. Well Jefe, you were half right. McKinney hit a dinger, but in the 7th to tie the game and Muncy hit one in the 8th that won it. Tsutsugo had a PH double in the 9th but Jansen stranded him. Padres lost so they are 7 behind LA and only 1.5 in front of the Reds for the second wild card. Looks like SF is winning again, but all the Dodgers can do is take care of their own business.

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    1. Well Bear, I’m not quite up there with the greats (Carnac, Kreskin and Criswell), but who would have ever believed that McKinney and Tsutsugo would ever get hits in the same game, let alone one of them hit a homer.

      As you have pointed out, we still have plenty of time to catch the Giants, that is assuming they lose a few games between now and the end of the season.

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  6. Word has it that we’re going to sign Shane Greene. He’s given up 16 runs in 17 innings this year, so somebody please tell me which of our bullpen guys gets cut in order to put him on the roster. And then please explain to me why Greene is a better option than the guy who has to leave.

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    1. He is going to be signed. I think they are signing him on reputation. He won’t cost much, and if he flames out, oh well. Many have this year. Maybe they found a flaw in his mechanics.

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