Hello,
With Dodgers starting pitching in such a precarious position, LA was forced to send Matt Magill to the mound. Magill is such an unknown quantity that ESPN doesn't even have a picture of the pitcher yet. In his second MLB start Magill was obviously nervous and the defending World Series champs feasted on him. The Giants scored 3 runs off of him in the first inning. In that first inning Magill was forced to throw 43 pitches just to get out of the inning. Approximately 100 pitches is considered the cut off point for how many pitches a starter will pitch in a game. After that rough 1st inning obviously Magill wasn't going to be pitching many innings. It didn't matter as Magill only lasted another 1/3rd of an inning. In 1 1/3 innings he have up 6 hits and 5 earned runs.
I did enjoy listening to the legendary Vin Scully on the MLB Network call last night. I love the MLB Network.
At the end of the first inning the Giants led 3-0 and usually once a team scores 4 runs the Dodgers are essentially done. At the end of the second inning the Giants led 5-0. But something strange happened on the way to an easy Giants victory, the Dodgers offense exploded. What was once a 6-1 lead in the 4th inning became a 8-7 Giants deficit in the 5th inning. The big blow in that inning was a 2 two run triple by recently called up Dee Gordon. Making his season debut for the Dodgers, Gordon was 2 for 4. He also got on base because of a walk and also drove in 2 runs.
Both teams pitching continued to be ineffective and the hitting kept on being timely. The game was tied at 9 runs going into the 10th inning. All that Dodgers offense went for naught as LA wasn't able to do anything in the top of the 10th inning. Luis Cruz (.095) grounded out, Matt Kemp (.261) struck out, Andre Either (.250) got on base because of a walk and A.J. Ellis (.271) flied out to right. With Adrian Gonzalez missing the game due to injury, Kemp is the Dodger I'd want up in a crucial situation. While Kemp has been getting back to his usually stellar form of late, he's obviously still not at 100%.
With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning it was Dodgers closer Brandon League vs. Guillermo Quiroz. In a battle of the former teammates Quiroz won. Quiroz hit a walk off homer and the Giants prevailed 10-9. The second straight night the Giants defeated the Dodgers on a walk off homer.
I'd suggest that League is a questionable closer. I realize he signed a lucrative extension in the offseason with the Dodgers. But like some other signings the Dodgers have made recently I'm not sure that was the best use of their money. League does have 8 saves in 12 appearances. However in 12.1 innings he has also given up 12 hits, a hit an inning isn't the kind of a pitching performance you'd expect from an elite closer. Also League is 0-1 with a brutal 4.38 ERA, that's close to Josh Beckett territory.
The Dodgers have now lost 5 of 7 games and continue their non-exciting battle with the Padres for 4th place in the NL West. LA closes out their three game series with the Giants on Sunday Night Baseball. Thankfully Hyun-Jin Ryu will be pitching tonight for the Dodgers. The second best Dodgers pitcher is 3-1. I hate to see how bad this season would be if the Dodgers hadn't signed Ryu in the offseason. So far that's been one of their best signings.
LA returns home by starting a three game series tomorrow against the Diamondbacks, the same Dbacks team that came off a 8-1 shellacking of the Padres last night. Pitching for LA against the Diamondbacks will be Chris Capuano (0-1, 9.64 ERA), Josh Beckett (0-4, 5.24 ERA) and Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 1.66 ERA). I hate being a fatalist but the Dodgers getting swept by the Giants wouldn't completely surprise me. Then the Dodgers would be most fortunate to take 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks, a team that so far is better than them.
themusicaddict
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