Hello,
The Dodgers were absolutely blasted on Friday, getting beat down 16-1 by the Phigthing Phillies. What can be said about this game, other than I'm glad it only counts as one loss. In this kind of game you just do the best you can, take it like a man and tip your hat to the other team. Here's a tip of my hat to the Phillies.
I can't really rip on the Dodgers either, a team is going to be on the wrong end of one of these losses two or three times a year. After having two decent to good games, Chris Capuano really struggled in this game. He only lasted 3.2 innings, giving up 10 hits, 7 runs. His ERA jumps to 4.72. But I'm sure the scrappy Capuano was fighting as hard as he could.
While the Dodgers were doing what they could to minimize the damage, the Phillies were unloading on their pitching staff. The Phillies scored in the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth inning. Sadly the Dodgers best pitching performance was by Skip Schumaker, yes the Dodgers outfielder. In one inning of play he gave up a hit and 2 walks, but no runs. He also pitched earlier in the season and still has a 0.00 ERA.
Philadelphia had a big game, but they'll be very lucky to make the playoffs. Add the Dodgers to the teams that will be lucky to make the playoffs, their 6 game winning streak was ground to a screeching halt yesterday. LA only had 5 hits and 1 run, something that has happened to this Dodgers offense too many times this season. The Dodgers are now 36-43 and at home in last place in the NL West. They trail the first place Diamondbacks by 6 games. LA has two more games with the Phillies and then they get a day off. Saturday's pitching match up should be a good one, Cliff Lee (9-2, 2.51 ERA) vs Hyun-Jin Ryu.
After Sunday's home game the Dodgers will go on a string of road games. Starting Tuesday 15 of the next 19 Dodgers games are on the road. They close the first half of the season with 13 straight games against NL West teams, we'll have a lot better read on this team once it's the All-Star break. LA plays in Colorado from July 2nd to July 4th, in San Francisco from July 5th to July 7th, followed by going to play the Diamondbacks from July 8th to July 10th. LA's final four games before the break will be against the Rockies in Chavez Ravine. They have July 15th to July 18th off for the All-Star break and start the second half of the season against the Nationals on their home field.
Philadelphia has scored 316 runs this season, which is 32 more runs than the Dodgers. LA seemed to be rising in the runs scored category, but other teams surged yesterday. After being tied for 26th in MLB for runs scored following Thursday night's games, the Dodgers have dropped to 28th place by themselves. They'll be battling with the Mariners and Nationals in order to move up or at least not to drop even more Saturday.
I realize I focus too much on runs scored and I know that's only one facet that makes for a successful team. Great pitching and timely hitting are two other key facets to success. In fact, the Pirates are only 19th in runs scored, however they have the best record in MLB. Pittsburgh is 49-30, won 7 in a row and 8 of 10 games. The Pirates have a 84.3% chance of reaching the playoffs. Since St. Louis lost on Friday, Pittsburgh leads the NL Central by 1 game. The Reds are in third place, 4.5 games back.
Gerrit Cole got the win for the Pirates, he's the first Pirates pitcher to win his first 4 starts in over a century. He's 4-0, but his ERA is a bit shaky at 3.70. Cole had a hit and was walked once in the game. He's hitting .333 and has an OBP of .429. Not to put too much pressure on the young fellow, but he needs to keep on performing at a high level for the Pirates to reach the playoffs. Of course they need to get their injured pitchers healthy again.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves won and also retired Chipper Jones' #10. The former All-Star third basemen is one of the greatest Braves ever. Not only was he a great player, but he actually stayed with one team for his whole career. That's an extremely rare thing. Thanks Chipper for all the great memories.
Meanwhile Atlanta got a huge win in a stretch of time they've been struggling. On Saturday they put the wood to the Diamondbacks, they have 2 straight wins. According to ESPN, Atlanta has a 92.2% chance of making the playoffs. The Braves are still comfortably in first place in the NL East. I don't get the feeling that the Nationals or the Phillies will mount much of a charge in the second half of the season. Atlanta is 46-30, in spite of only winning 4 of their last 10 games. They still lead the Nationals by 5.5 games. The Braves lead the third place Phillies by 7.5 games.
themusicaddict
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