Hello,
This will be my Dodgers Daily for the doubleheader between the Dodgers-Yankees that they played on June 19th, 2013. This is the first time the Dodgers played against the Yankees in New York since Game 6 of the 1981 World Series.
The Dodgers lost the first game 6-4, but they did score 4 runs. Scoring 4 runs in one game is a great day for the Dodgers offense. Again Yasiel Puig was one of the stars of the game for the Dodgers. Puig was 2 for 5 and is now hitting .472 through this game. It seems that Hanley Ramirez is returning to full health. In this game he was 4 for 4 and raised his batting average to .343. Due to injuries Ramirez has only played limited games this season. Although he hit a home run, it was only his second home run of the season. His batting average will probably come back to earth once he's played a lot more games. But all this Dodgers fan has to say is I'm so glad to have him back.
Hyun-Jin Ryu didn't have a particularly good game in his Yankees Stadium debut. In 6 innings he gave up 5 hits and 3 earned runs. Ryu is now 6-3 this season. Although not a great game by his standards, his ERA remains at a respectable 2.96. Since they are playing in an American League stadium, which means a DH plays for both teams, Ryu wasn't able to have his always entertaining at bats.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Dodgers bounced back with a 6-0 shutout. Of the two Dodgers pitchers that started Wednesday, you'd expect a better performance from Ryu than Chris Capuano. However Capuano was better on this day. He pitched 6 innings, gave up 3 hits and no runs. He's now 2-4 on the season, with a 4.62 ERA.
The offensive stars of this game were, well you can probably guess at least one. Once again Puig was one of the Dodgers stars. He was 2 for 4, hit his 5th home of the season and raised his batting average to .474. Hanley Ramirez had another great game for the Dodgers, he was 2 for 4. He's now hitting .359 on the season. Again with his at bats so few this season a couple of hits in a game can have a dramatic difference.
Ramirez was 6 for 8 in the doubleheader. Adrian Gonzalez also represented himself well, he was 4 for 9 over both games. Gonzalez is now hitting .309 this season. Andre Ethier, who sounds like he could be traded any day now, was 2 for 6. He raised his batting average to .251, he's really struggling, but at least he's out there everyday competing.
As for Puig he continues to hit historic milestones. Thanks to espn.com, as always, he's had 27 hits in 15 games. He's tied for third all-time in that category, he's tied with Joltin' Joe DiMaggio and Terry Pendleton. If he goes on to have a career like either of those players, I'd be very glad. I just hope he doesn't have a career like the two players who had more hits in 15 games. I haven't ever heard of either player.
The combustible Dodgers now go to San Diego for a 4 game series with the combustible Padres. The two teams have already had a brawl this season. Also both teams have had at least one other brawl with another team. The Padres had a brawl with the Giants last night, earlier in the year LA had a brawl with the Diamondbacks. In both of the Dodger brawls, Zack Greinke played a part. In case you're wondering, he's scheduled to pitch Saturday night's game. Conveniently it's scheduled to be one of the Fox Saturday night games. I get the feeling that teams in the NL West seem like they don't like each other.
The Dodgers are now 30-40 and last place in the NL West, they trail the first place Diamondbacks by 8 games. LA has won 1 game in a row but only 3 of their last 10 games. LA has a 2.8% chance of reaching the playoffs. Although with two wild card teams, the playoffs are a bit watered down.
The Dodgers scored 10 runs in the doubleheader on Wednesday. Does that mean their offense is finally waking up? Or am I just being a homer, thinking the Dodgers will bounce back no matter the evidence before my eyes?
It will definitely help the Dodgers when they get Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp back. (Although I do wonder when those two get back, who's turn will it be to be injured?) Crawford ($20,857,143) is still recovering from his hamstring injury, there doesn't seem to be a timetable when he'll be back. Kemp ($20,250,000) seems to be slowly recovering as well. Now he can play about 75% without pain. It sounds like he could be back soon, but there's no specific timetable. It would also be a help if Scott Van Slyke will be back soon. As for Ted Lilly and Josh Beckett you two can stay on DL for the rest of the year.
I've mocked the Dodgers ever since last season for their inability to score runs. As of now the Dodgers are tied for 27th place with the White Sox for runs scored. Although you'd have to give the edge there to the White Sox as they've played one less game. If the Dodgers explode today, they could move all the way to 26th place in runs scored, bypassing the White Sox and Mariners.
(I'm thinking of writing a blog about how MLB teams shouldn't sign players in their late 20s or early 30s to long term contracts. Rarely does that type of contract seem to work out for the team. LA has several examples of this type of player with Beckett, Lilly and possibly Carl Crawford. This season's Yankees team is also a cautionary tale about signing the age 30ish player to a long term contract. Mark Texeria or ARod anyone? Rodriguez's contract probably isn't the worst of all-time, but I can't think of a contract that's worse. The latest player to join this non-distinguished crew is Josh Hamilton, although I thought him being a bust was pretty easy to spot. If I'd been a GM, I wouldn't have signed him to a 5 year- $5 million contract. However the Angels signed him to a 5 year-$125 million contract, that's a lot of money to pay to a team's 7th hitter. He's been a terrible signing, I don't care how the Angels spin it.)
Sorry for the digression.
The Orioles continue to roll and the AL East teams continues to close in on each other. Baltimore slapped around the Tigers Wednesday afternoon 13-3. Chris Davis continues his assault on the Triple Crown. He hit his 25th and 26th home runs and had 5 RBIs on the day. Davis was also 3 for 5 and is now hitting .337 on the season. I'm loving the Chris Davis story so much, I just hope I never hear the words "P.E.D.'s" or "steroids" in relation to his name.
The Orioles are now 42-31 and in second place in the AL East, they are 1.5 games behind the Red Sox (44-30, 83.3%). Baltimore has won 7 of 10 and now have a 52.5% chance of making the playoffs. In third place are the Yankees, they are 3.5 games back. The Rays are in 4th place, trailing Boston by 6 games. In the battle of the hottest teams in MLB, the Blue Jays edged the Padres as Toronto has won 8 games in a row. The Blue Jays continue to surge up the AL East. Toronto is now 35-36, 7.5 games behind the Red Sox and have a 17.9% chance of making the playoffs. Also Jose Reyes should be back very soon for the Blue Jays. Objects in your mirror are closer than they appear.
The Orioles have Thursday off, before starting a crucial 3 games series with the Blue Jays in Toronto.
In the last game of the Orioles-Tigers series Miguel Cabrera didn't embarrass himself either. He's also trying to win the Triple Crown, it would be his second season in a row. Cabrera was 2 for 4, he's now hitting .361, with 19 home runs and an incredible 71 RBIs. Cabrera and Davis are either first or second in MLB for all of the Triple Crown stats.
Finally, the Pirates lost a heartbreaker on Wednesday. They lost in 13 innings to the Reds. Jason Grilli, Pirates closer extraordinaire, gave up a home run to the Reds Jay Bruce. Unfortunately it was a 1-0 game in the bottom of the 9th, Bruce's home run tied the game. It's also Bruce's first career hit off of Grilli. The Reds went on to win in 13 innings. Up to that point Grilli had converted all 25 of his save opportunities and hadn't given up any home runs.
The Pirates are now 42-30 and 3rd place in the NL Central. They have a 48.8% chance of making the playoffs. They trail St. Louis by 4 games, the Cardinals have the best record in all of MLB, and have a 97.5% of making the playoffs. The Reds are in second place in the NL Central, 2.5 games back of the Cardinals. As I write this the two teams are playing each other in Cincinnati. A victory on Thursday for Pittsburgh would be a real shot in the arm. It's 2-2 in the top of the 7th inning and the Pirates have the bases loaded. Pedro Alvarez had a double and drove in 3 runs. Pittsburgh leads 5-2, currently Alavarez is 3 for 4, one home run and 5 RBIs. Come on Pittsburgh, close the Reds out. The Pirates got a big 5-3 victory, that was a huge victory and a huge game by Alvarez.
After that the Pirates then have a three game series against the terrible Angels (32-40).
themusicaddict
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