What a wild game on Thursday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers were edged out by the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 9-7. After the Phillies led 7-1, the Dodgers came back and tied the game at 7 in the eighth inning. However, the Phillies scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning off of Dodger reliever Daniel Hudson.
Many Dodger fans were left asking the question why didn’t Craig Kimbrel pitch the ninth? Kimbrel had not pitched in five days, and Hudson had just previously pitched the day before against the Pirates.
The Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but failed to score.
Now for Friday’s game, the team will have to adapt and restructure their rotation. Clayton Kershaw, who was scheduled to start, was placed on the injured list due to SI joint inflammation. In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled left hander Garrett Cleavinger.
Kershaw was enjoying a fantastic start to his 2022 season, as he has posted a 4-0 record along with a 1.80 ERA and striking out 32 batters while only allowing three walks.
Walker Buehler, who was scheduled to start tomorrow night, will move up his start and pitch tonight.
The Dodgers now have two starting pitchers on the injured list with Kershaw and Andrew Heaney still remaining on the injured list. The story of last year was an injury carousel and it seemed the Dodgers were beat heavily by the injury bug.
With Buehler starting Friday, that leaves Saturday’s starter TBD. Julio Urias is scheduled to start on Sunday, but the Dodgers have a pending doubleheader on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which the team may want to call up a spot starter.
With David Price amid trade rumors, the Dodgers may want to stand pat and see how things turn out with Heaney and Kershaw before they make any move. Price still remains on the injury list as well. Ryan Pepiot, who just made his Major League debut on Wednesday, or Andre Jackson could be among the candidates selected to be called up.
Despite the surprising loss yesterday, and the shocking series losses to the Rockies, Pirates and Diamondbacks, the Dodgers still are only one of few teams to have reached 20 wins in the majors so far, and they are tied with the Mets for the best winning percentage in the National League.
The Dodgers post a 1-2 record against Arizona, Pittsburgh and Colorado, but a 17-4 record against everyone else.
The Dodgers will look to even the series Friday with Buehler moving up his start one day. He’s posted a 1.96 ERA so far and only allowed one run in seven innings last time out against the Cubs. He will face Philadelphia right hander Kyle Gibson, who is 3-1 with a 2.94 ERA.
First pitch for Friday is scheduled at 7:10 p.m. Pacific.
I’ve been pimping more starting pitching for a while now. Where will it come from? Well, if it’s from our system the bats better wake up. All of them.
I expect it’s more likely to come from our system than not, because I don’t think AF will give up the prospects necessary to get Montas or Castillo at this point in the season. Maybe at the trade deadline if the internal options seem not likely to work out, but that’s still a couple months away.
I have always expected the bats to wake up. Maybe CK’s injury will be the slap upside the head necessary to get that done.
The Dodgers have the young talent. Pepiot had first time nerves I think. Any young pitcher you put in will need a couple of starts to acclimate. But with Jackson, Pepiot and White on the 40-man they should be able to cover. I forgot Grove is on the 40 man also.
Kershaw has been spectacular! But I am glad it was a 1 year deal as he is continuing to have physical problems.
I like giving rookies a shot. The young guys learn from the experience and the good ones take back what they learned and work on their weaknesses.
Jackson pitched well last year. Pepiot couldn’t spot his fastball so he was dancing and dodging in his start. But he had the mental fortitude and the pitch quality to not allow a score.
I have been preaching it since the start of the season. Will Roberts PLEASE give Rios more at bats? The young man has power in that bat. Has a nice swing too. Muncy’s results so far indicate his elbow is either bothering him or restricted his ability to prepare for the season. Either way if you have an injury to your shoulder, wrist or in his case elbow the best thing for it is rest and controlled rehab to strengthen. Playing baseball is not a good rehab situation for a bad elbow. Sit him down and let Alberto, who is playing well, Taylor or Lux play 2nd. Let Muncy get better for the second half of the season. If you want bring up Outman who is on the 40man. Or Pillar who is not…
Don’t really think white or Jackson are part of our future or pepoit for that matter, although it was impressive that he could pitch that bad and not allow any runs. I’ve said before if you can’t throw strikes your future us limited and we saw pretty much what he us. Wheres miller and why is he still in double A?
I agree so far on Jackson and White. But not eliminating them yet. Both have shown promise. Pepiot I am going by scouts and baseball peoples evaluations. Let’s give Pepiot a couple more opportunities before writing him off. Unless there is more attrition I am guessing we may see Miller at end of year. There are several young pitchers that are on the cusp of being ready. I am hoping we can use the farm guys. Having controllable players at the MLB level gives Friedman more financial flexibility.
I’m not as confident in our young pitching as some are. One at a time, for a few starts during the summer is fine. But counting playoff games we’ve got about 150 games to go. We need reliable help and a lot of it.
Tmax, I understand what you’re saying about Max but, his numbers aren’t as bad as you may think, most front offices look at obp more than average, Max’s OBP is a very respectable .347 he’s scored 15 runs with 3 HRs, and 11 runs scored. The power numbers are a little down but not that bad if you look at the league as a whole. I would keep sending Muncy out as long as he keeps getting on base, and scoring runs.
I’m not sure about Pepiot, White, or Jackson, scoop, but I think Miller is the real deal, I don’t have a clue if he’ll be up here this year or next, but I’ll be surprised if he isn’t part of the rotation sometime in the future.
Well, the future could very well be now. If we stay in house, and I believe we will, at least for the time being, our top minor league arms will be exposed. None of them have been “stretched out”. All are 3 inning pitchers and though they’ve looked good, 3 innings against minor league hitters is no test.
I asked Jeff at Dodger Chronicles what he thought about this and he had some ideas. There are no Scherzers to bail us out, but some veterans could be available. It’s worth the read if you have an interest.
This could be a rough stretch for the Dodgers. Stand by.
Anyone still think they have enough pitching? Bullpen implodes for second straight game. Give Buehler points for gutting it out. But it was not the best situation. They would have been better off using a bullpen game and keeping the starters on schedule. The ump was terrible in the 10th.Those calls on Turner were the worst. This offense continues to sputter when needed the most. Good news, JT is waking up, bad news, Belli, Muncy and Lux continue to tank. The team sucks with the bases juiced and Mookie’s weak grounder up the middle off of the rookie in his second MLB game was just hard to watch.
I agree about miller. He appears to be the real deal, but the fact he is 23 and still in double A concerns me a lot. I always start thinking that they know something that we don’t. A real prospect is always pitching with the big club (ie Buehler and may) , even if the initial results aren’t great, they get the experience. That’s true of every teams good prospects. We need pitching help and it’s not coming from the farm.
Gordon, to ease your mind on Miller’s age, and that he’s not higher in the minors yet, he was drafted from Louisville in 2020, so his first year of pro ball was 2021. To be in AA after one year is actually pretty good, I think with our pitching on the big club, we’ll see him get moved up to AAA, before the season is over.
I agree. And ‘20 was a wash. We will likely need all these guys, including Price, before the year ends. Start clocks on them, probably as part of bullpen games.
Actually keith 23 is 23. When you come from college ball that’s just belowl A ball. They expect you to move up quickly. Not spend 2 years in double A . Maybe low grade prospects but not players like miller. Lots of reasons I suppose but I get concerned. But I think we’ll see himbefore the end of the season like most high related 23 year old prospects. Just concerned right now. Hope it’s just a blip.