Hello,
A solid start by Chris Capuano was wasted by the inept Dodgers offense. Although Capuano was almost Kershawesque, the Dodgers offense failed to rise about the Mendoza line as usual. LA only had two hits all night, and the only run they scored was due to a Justin Upton error. In the 4th inning Adrian Gonzalez got on base due to a walk. Skip Schumaker had a double that moved Gonzalez over to third base and Gonzalez was able to score on Upton's error. The Dodgers scored their lone run on a walk, a rare well timed hit and an error. That perfectly describes the Dodgers offense this season.
Capuano pitched 7.1 innings, scattered 5 hits but only gave up 1 run. He had 5 strikeouts as he lowered his ERA to 4.84. But as with other solid Dodgers pitching performances this season, his performance was spoiled by the Dodgers anemic offense. The most exciting race the Dodgers may be involved in this season is trying not to be the lowest scoring team in MLB. Right now they are 29th place and lead the last place Marlins by 24 runs. Miami was shut out tonight, so this lowest scoring race is going to go through most of the season.
Or another way I could put it is the Dodgers have scored 30 less runs than the Houston Astros. What's significant about that that you may wonder? The Dodgers will spend approximately $190 million more in payroll this season.
Scott Van Slyke, after hitting two home runs yesterday and 3 home runs in 5 games, didn't even get to pinch hit. When you have Skip Schumaker and his .197 batting average, why would LA want to go with someone that has been better since he was called up. True Schumaker was the Dodgers offensive star of the night as he had a double. It's obvious that Schumaker isn't in the Dodgers long term plans, but Van Slyke could be. I hope the Dodgers don't make the same mistake that some teams do. The Dodgers aren't making the playoffs this season, they need to go to the youth movement and see what they do and don't have.
The Dodgers seem very comfortable in last place in the NL West, ah the good old days when I thought they would spend most of the season in 4th place. The Dodgers now have a 4.2% chance of making the playoffs. But let's be honest that 4.2% feels incredibly optimistic now.
Meanwhile the Braves, who are so loaded, they are going to have trouble finding at bats for tonight's hero Evan Gattis. While the Dodgers chances of making the playoffs continue to decrease, Atlanta's playoff chances increase. The NL East first place Braves now have a 79.5% chance of making the playoffs. Atlanta has won 2 games in a row, but only 5 of the their last 10. Thankfully for the Braves, LA came to town just in time. I expect the Braves to finish the sweep tomorrow in the early afternoon game.
But following tomorrow's game, at least pitching wise, the Dodgers look like they'll have a much better chance to win. They have their three best pitchers scheduled to start against the Brewers. First up is Clayton Kershaw, he'll pitch Monday. Then Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu will pitch Tuesday and Wednesday. Thankfully Josh Beckett is injured, which means that Capuano will pitch for the Dodgers on Friday. LA will be playing perhaps the best team in MLB now, the St. Louis Cardinals.
While the games Monday to Wednesday look like they could be more winnable in terms of pitching, the real question is what will the Dodgers offense do?
Going from one end of the spectrum to the other end of the spectrum, the Red Sox exploded for 12 runs in their dominating 12-5 victory over the Twins. (In contrast the Dodgers have only scored a total of 11 runs in their last 4 games.) The Red Sox have won 4 games in a row, but only 5 of their last 10. The strange stat of the Red Sox season is that they actually have a better record on the road than they do at home. Boston is 13-7 on the road and only 13-10 at historic Fenway Park.
Boston, 26-17, is second place in the very tough AL East. (The Blue Jays remain a colossal failure. Is that another reason Miami had a fire sale on Toronto's former Marlins? Of course the main reason is that the Marlins' owner is extremely cheap as well.) Boston currently trails the first place Yankees by 1 game. I love how the more things change, the more things stay the same. Even after the Blue Jays made all their moves and the Orioles resurgence, it's still the Red Sox and Yankees battling for first place in the AL East. According to ESPN.com Boston has a 57.6% chance to make the playoffs.
David Ortiz had a great game, he was 3 for 4 and he's now hitting .362 on the season. Ortiz hit 2 home runs and added 6 RBIs. Ortiz now has 7 home runs and 29 RBIs. Although Ortiz has only played 24 of the 43 Red Sox games, he's tied for the Red Sox home run lead. (Overall in MLB, he's tied for 37th place.) He's tied with Will Middlebrooks and Mike Napoli. He's also second on the Red Sox in RBIs, he's only 5 RBIs behind first place Napoli. (Overall in MLB, he's tied for 17th place.) Ortiz is 12th place in strikeouts, I expected he would be much higher in that category. That he's not much higher in that stat shouldn't be that surprising as he's in second place in Red Sox batting average.
themusicaddict
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