Hello,
In case you are wondering the date in the title refers to when the Dodgers game was played, not when I wrote the blog.
The Dodgers offense seems to be revving up a bit as they scored 6 runs in their 7-6 loss to the Rockies on Saturday. This is only the third time all season the Dodgers scored at least 5 runs in back to back games. The Dodgers have now scored at least 5 games in 16 of 54 games, which is 29 %. LA drops to 12-4 in games in which they score at least 5 runs. Of course the Rockies scored at least 5 runs in both games as well, there's something about that thin Colorado air. Can the Dodgers score at least 5 runs for a third straight game on Sunday?
LA remains in 28th place in MLB in runs scored. However they only trail 27th place Washington by 1 run and 26th place Philadelphia by 2 runs. The Phillies and Nationals have each played 2 more games. Could the Dodgers move to #26 in runs scored in the next few games? Oh I can feel the excitement as I'm sure all other Dodgers fans can too.
On Saturday the Dodgers had 11 hits, even pitcher Zack Greinke had a hit. Matt Kemp didn't have a hit, but he has a good reason as he's on the DL. Matt I hope you are getting a lot of rest and you don't come back until you are fully healthy. Dodgers who had 2 hits yesterday were Jerry Hairston Jr., Carl Crawford, Skip Schumaker (Skip Schumaker had 2 hits?) and Tim Federowicz.
Now I'm going to break down the individual numbers a little bit. Greinke had his third straight bad start. Greinke continued his streak of relatively short starts. After only pitching 13.1 innings in his 3 previous games, Greinke pitched only 5.1 innings on Saturday. He gave up 9 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks and a home run. The Dodgers scored enough runs so that Greinke was credited with a no decision. Greinke remains at 2-1 and his ERA decreased to 4.80. $147 million just doesn't go as far as it use to.
Another disturbing trend for the Dodgers is Andre Ethier's batting average continues it's precipitous decline. Ethier was 0-5 on Saturday as his batting average dips to .240. He now has a lower batting average than pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Judge I'd like to present this as exhibit #1 in my case that Ned Colleti, not Don Mattingly, should be fired.
I've been pleasantly surprised by Crawford this season, I was sure he was the second poison pill LA had to swallow in their 2012 Dodgers-Red Sox trade. Josh Beckett is obviously the first poison pill at $17 million this season. He's played so badly that I hope they keep him on the DL for the rest of the season. However Crawford was 2 for 2 on Saturday, with two doubles and is hitting .301. While I've been pleasantly surprised by his hitting and his health up to now, I've also been waiting for him to break down. On running out a double yesterday he strained his hamstring. Crawford will miss Sunday's game but is listed as day to day. Hopefully this is just a temporary setback and not a sign of what's to come.
According to ESPN, the Dodgers chances of making the playoffs have now slipped to 3.9%. Oh how just yesterday, they were so close to getting to a 5% chance to make the playoffs. Ah the good old days.
Upcoming the Dodgers 3 game series with the Rockies ends today. First pitch is about 4:10 EST. I'd like to thank Root Sports again for the chance to see my Dodgers play. Today's scheduled pitching matchup is Matt McGill (0-0, 5.50 ERA) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (6-3, 3.16 ERA). My favorite Dodgers pitcher, Hyun-Jin Ryu, was cut from today's start with a sore foot.
LA then starts a 10 day home stand tomorrow, at the end of which they'll finally get their next day off. LA plays the Padres starting tomorrow. The last time the Padres visited Chavez Ravine, San Diego swept the series. The Dodgers had been playing decently up to then, but that started the Dodgers on their way to where they are now.
As for my other teams, the Red Sox slapped around the Yankees on Saturday. Boston won 11-1 to improve to 34-23 this season and they lead the Evil Empire by 2 games in the AL East. Mike Napoli had the big blast with a grand slam. He now has 9 home runs and 44 RBIs this season. Boston has a 76.5% chance of making the playoffs.
The Boston-New York rivalry must still be a ratings bonanza. The first game was carried nationally on MLBN. Saturday's game was carried nationally on Fox, at least I think it was as I was able to see part of it in Salt Lake. Tonight's game is on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Go Red Sox!
The other AL East team I cheer for is the Baltimore Orioles, they were slapped around by the home run explosion of the Tigers and lost 10-3. Miguel Cabrera continues his pace to win a second straight triple crown. Cabrera is running away in the RBI stat. He had 4 more RBIs yesterday and now has 65 RBIs on the season. He leads second place Chris Davis by 14 RBIs. Cabrera leads MLB by .14 in batting average. The only statistic Cabrera doesn't lead in is home runs, he trails Davis by 2 homers.
I kept on waiting for the Orioles to make another one of their patented comebacks, but it was not to be. The Tigers scored enough runs to ensure that they didn't have to rely on Jose Valverde. The Orioles are now 31-25, third place in the AL East and trail the Red Sox by 2.5 games. Baltimore has a 32.8% chance to make the playoffs.
With 4 teams within 3 games of first place in the AL East, that division is going to remain a battle all season.
themusicaddict
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