To say this week has been intense and crazy would be an understatement.
The Dodgers benefitted from some timely hitting and a solid bullpen effort to defeat the Giants in Thursday’s finale 5-3, securing a four-game sweep and temporarily extending the division lead to 12 games over the Padres.
At 72-33, the Dodgers now have the best record in the entire major leagues, as there’s no reason to mention winning percentages or NL-best marks.
The day’s bad news came at the beginning of the fifth inning after veteran ace Clayton Kershaw was pulled from the game because of some apparent back issues.
Clayton Kershaw left the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/bHUSOxHX58
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 4, 2022
Nevertheless, Phil Bickford, the newly acquired Chris Martin, Caleb Ferguson and Alex Vesia combined for four mostly clean innings to preserve a 5-2 lead through the eighth inning.
Craig Kimbrel was his typical self in the ninth, making the game a bit closer than it should have been by surrendering a double to Brandon Belt and eventually allowing him to score on a wild pitch.
On the offensive side of things, second baseman Gavin Lux had the only multi-hit game for the Dodgers, going 2-for-4 with and RBI and a run scored. Max Muncy had a double to raise his average to .168, but the big blow came in the fourth inning when Mookie Betts launched a three-run homer to left-center field, his 25th of the season.
Trea Turner added insurance to the Los Angeles lead with a solo shot to center in the seventh inning, his 18th of the year.
Martin registered the win while Kimbrel posted his 20th save.
Righty starter Jakob Junis took the loss for San Francisco.
The Dodgers will pay tribute to legendary broadcaster Vin Scully on Friday with a special pre-game ceremony prior to the 7:10 p.m. opener against the Padres. Fans are asked to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. as the team commemorates the special services.
Fans will also have a chance to pay their respects at various locations throughout Dodger Stadium. Behind the Vin Scully Press Box, the “I’ll Miss You” banner from Scully’s last game at Dodger Stadium will be on display. Additionally, Vin’s World Series rings will be featured beginning August 19.
In the Dodger Stadium lobby, a new tribute to Scully will be added to the display case which will greet fans as they walk through the front door. Additionally, miniature versions of Scully’s microphone from the Dodgers’ Ring of Honor will be placed on any existing Scully displays at the stadium. Fans are encouraged to stop for a moment whenever they pass one of these icons to read about the life and legacy of the greatest sportscaster who ever lived.
On Wednesday, the Dodgers debuted a commemorative black patch featuring a microphone and the word “VIN” which the team will wear on their jerseys for the remainder of the season.
Kershaw’s back is barking at him again.Probably headed for another IL stint. That is ok. May should be back maybe next week. Pepiot can make a spot start if needed.
Hope you’re right bear, if this had happened in his last start it would have probably changed the trade deadline for the Dodgers.
Here’s a fun little project. Today take a screen shot of LAD and SDP stats and compare them with the end of the season (about 1/3 of the season left). Pay attention to hitting stats like %K, %W, OPS+, wOBA, wRC+ that are stadium independent, and pitching stats like K/9, W/9, FIP, SIERA. It’ll be informative to measure how the ‘new’ roster Padres compare to the Dodgers the rest of the way. How much did they really help themselves in player skills at the trade deadline versus the Dodgers?
I don’t see Kershaw going down as ok. He’s been very good since coming back. Pepiot won’t do what Clayton can and Roberts said yesterday May will have 2 more rehab starts before he will be evaluated for a return. I also think the 3 all year starters will need some time off before October rolls around.
May actually be OK scoop. 2 month to go. 12 game lead and few meaningful games left. Give them a chance to call up all the “prospects”. Rather see them now than mid September. Can’t realistically count on Kersh from week to week anymore and we have a few coming off injury.
I’m looking ahead Gordon. To November. Gonsolin is about to double his innings pitched from last year, Anderson has NEVER done what he is doing and had a .900. OPS against last Sept/October, Urias had a dead arm last mid October, and ….. Kershaw. As good as they have been, and they’ve been terrific, we still have 3 months of baseball to play. I was looking for a plan to rest these guys. You know, another inning eating starter or two to allow these guys some much deserved jacuzzi time in August and September. I’m still looking for that 6 man rotation that was talked about but they traded #6 and #3 just went on the IL. I’m not counting on May and Buehler. Maybe Friedman is.
With all that pop on the bench, it feels like September when the rosters expand.
November has never been a good month for us and I don’t expect t any different this year. Too many good teams. I’m also very leary about our pitching, which is why we should be looking at a few of the prospects now, to see if any of them are real. We are going into September with a much inferior pitching staff than last year and don’t feel good about Anderson and Gonsolin leading the staff and now kersh. Your concerns are real.