Hello,
In the finale of their 10 game home stand, the Dodgers lost 8-6 to the Diamondbacks. First place Arizona took 2 of 3 games in this series and have stretched their lead over LA to 8.5 games. This game figured to be a stellar pitching matchup with Patrick Corbin facing Hyun-Jin Ryu, it didn't turn out that way. Both pitchers ended with no decisions. Following this win the Diamondbacks are now 12-0 in games that Corbin starts.
Ryu was lucky he was bad in this specific game, as it's not very often the Dodgers score 6 runs in a game. Ryu really struggled in his 6 innings pitched. He gave up 11 hits and 3 earned runs, thankfully he got some timely outs or the damage could have been much worse. His record remains the same and his ERA increased slightly to 2.85. He also had a triple and a RBI in his only at bat, the Diamondbacks outfielder misplayed his solid hit. Maybe he should give some of the Dodgers hitters hitting tips as he has a .259 batting average.
Some of the other Dodgers pitchers struggled as well. Ronald Belisario, who's about to be suspended, suffered the loss. He was brutal in his 2/3rds of an inning. He gave up 3 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs, all runs were earned. It seems once again that Don Mattingly has made the right call about who the closer will be. Brandon League gave up 2 hits and 1 walk in his one inning of work. Meanwhile current closer Kenley Jansen was possibly the most effective Dodger pitcher of the night. He gave up no hits, no walks and had two strikeouts in his one inning of work.
The Dodgers finished with 12 hits and 6 runs, one of their best offensive performances of the season. Yasiel Puig was scratched from starting due to an injury. However in a pinch hitting appearance he had a crisp single. Puig remains on fire and is hitting .486 on the season. The only other Dodger hitter that's played significant time and is hitting above .300 is Adrian Gonzalez. Only two Dodger players had multiple hits last night, the first was Mark Ellis. Ellis was 2 for 6 and is hitting .275. Juan Uribe was 2 for 5 and is hitting .277.
After dropping to 28th in MLB in runs scored, the Dodgers surged back to 27th place. Heady days in LA indeed. LA has now scored 232 runs. Here's a contrast for how bad that is. The New York Mets have played 5 less games, but have scored 6 more runs. Yes, that's the freakin' Mets, not the Yankees. LA trails 26th place Seattle by 5 runs. Both teams have today off and can take a break in this frantic battle to be in 26th place of 30 MLB teams in runs scored.
In case you're wondering the Red Sox, the team with the best record in the AL, have the most runs in MLB. Boston has scored 351 runs, which is 24 more runs than the second highest scoring team the Cardinals. Not coincidentally the Cardinals have the best record in the NL.
Speaking of the Dodgers offense there seems to be some shakeup coming. Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke are all on DL, but hopefully a couple of them will be back soon. Hanley Ramirez isn't on DL, but he's not at 100%. Also Puig will probably be suspended soon. How long will that be and how much will it hurt the Dodgers losing their hottest bat?
Although the Dodgers are only 28-37, last place in the NL West and trail the Diamondbacks, Mattingly remains optimistic. It seems they may be their most healthy pretty soon. I appreciate his optimism, but how realistic is it? Are the Dodgers really about to turn the corner as it seems Mattingly is suggesting? Or is this a ploy for Dodgers management to give him more time? No matter what happens this season, I think Mattingly should be given a pass. He wasn't given a real strong team, in spite of their crazy payroll. I really like Mattingly and hope he's the Dodgers manager for many years to come.
In their 10 game home stand the Dodgers finished 5-5. Since LA is below .500, is a .500 home stand considered a success? This was also the final game in a 20 games in 20 days slog for the Dodgers.The Dodgers have a much needed day off on Thursday, before they start a 3 game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Friday's scheduled pitching matchup is Stephen Fife vs. AJ Burnett. I predict the Pirates will win at least 2 of the 3 games.
Also it looks like the Dodgers-Diamondbacks will be playing in Australia to kick off the 2014 season. That would be a game that I would love to go to. As much for visiting Australia as for seeing the actual game.
themusicaddict
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