Hello,
In the second game of their 3 game series the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 6-1, the second straight game that the score was 6-1. LA has won the first 2 games in the 3 game series, Game 3 is Wednesday night. LA has won 14 of 17 games and are within 2.5 games of Arizona. LA has a 27.5% chance to make the playoffs and also have climbed to 24th for runs scored, which is the highest I can remember them being this season.
While the Lakers are paying $29,000,000 in luxury taxes for that crappy team that was swept in the playoffs last season, the Dodgers continue to roll. While the Dodgers have spent a lot of money on their payroll, they are finally getting something out of it. And it's about time! The Lakers are in for a rough season, but they'll be so glad they didn't land Dwight Howard in a couple of years. I'm just waiting for some kind of word to come out of Houston that Howard is dissatisfied about something. Look for the Lakers to be back next season. I'm a big time Dodgers fan, but I have a strong dislike for the Lakers.
After being traded from Miami a few days ago, Ricky Nolasco made his Dodgers debut on Tuesday. He was quite simply outstanding. In 7 innings, he allowed 4 hits, 1 run and no walks. He improves to 6-8 and his ERA decreases to 3.70. He also was 2 for 2 from the plate, raising his batting average to a respectable .156. In his first at bat as a Dodger he had a single and RBI. Dodgers pitchers have had 5 straight hits. If that's not a record it has got to be close to a record.
Individual performances: Yasiel Puig was 1 for 3 and is hitting .407. However it seems he ran through a stop at third base sign and was thrown out. While Puig has been a great player and a shot in the arm for the Dodgers, his inexperience has raised it's head a few times. He also blew off Luis Gonzalez. I don't have a big problem with that, although he turned what should have been a good experience to gain knowledge into a public relations headache. One way or another I hope it's decided soon whether Puig is going to be invited to the All-Star game. That story has overstayed it's welcome.
Andre Ethier was 2 for 4 and is hitting .272 as he's playing better of late. When LA signed him to that long term extension last season I'm sure they were hoping that he would remain a power hitter. He's essentially a singles hitter now. Although his power numbers are low, at least he's providing some offense now. In all likelihood he's one of the Dodgers that likely will underperform their contract.
Carl Crawford got his first hit since being off the DL, he ended up 1 for 4 on Wednesday. His batting average continues to drop, it's down to .276. He did score twice in the game though. Like Ethier, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett will never live up to their current contracts. But at least they don't have the worst contracts in MLB. The top two worst contracts are Ryan Howard, who has even a worse contract than the player second on the list Alex Rodriguez.
Hanley Ramirez had his 19 game hitting streak snapped, he was 0 for 4 and his batting average decreased to .404. He and Puig remain locked in a battle for best batting average on the Dodgers, with Adrian Gonzalez in a distant third at .298. (I'm not counting pitcher Zack Greinke for obvious reasons, although he's hitting .370.)
Upcoming: On Wednesday night the Dodgers go for a 3 game sweep against the NL West leading Diamondbacks. Today's scheduled pitching matchup is Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3, 2.82 ERA) vs. Tyler Skaggs (2-1, 3.65 ERA).
The Pirates had soared to the best record in MLB just a few days ago. However they've been in a bit of a tailspin the last few days. The Pirates are in the midst of a 3 game series with the Oakland A's, the A's have won the first 2 games. Pittsburgh only scored 1 run total in each game, it's not a shock they lost both games. Pittsburgh has lost 4 straight games and 6 of their last 10 games. They've slipped to second place in the NL Central, although they still have the 3rd best record in MLB. Pittsburgh still has a 81.7% chance of reaching the playoffs.
The Pirates are 1.5 games behind the Cardinals, the team with the best record in MLB. As of now St. Louis has a 97.4% chance to reach the playoffs. The Reds are 3rd place in the NL Central, 5 games behind the Cards. Cincinati is 50-40 with a 67.7% chance of reaching the playoffs. Five teams in each league make the playoffs and 3 of those teams could come from the NL Central.
While the Pirates are in a bit of a tail spin, the A's are rising. They are in first place in the AL West, although the Rangers are right on their tail. Oakland leads the Rangers by only .5 games. The A's have won 3 in a row and 7 of 10. Oakland has a 84.8% chance of reaching the playoffs.
Scheduled to pitch for the Pirates tonight is Franklin Liriano (8-3, 2.20 ERA). I'm hopeful he'll get the Pirates back on the right track. I'm also hopeful that the Pirates won't have their third consecutive season with a second half fade. Maybe the All-Star break is coming at the right time for the Pirates.
The steroid cloud looms over all MLB as MLB prepares to put on a pretty bow for next week's All-Star game. Reports have surfaced that Ryan Braun was questioned about the Biogenesis mess, but he refused to answer questions. The only thing that shows your guilt more than not answering questions is admitting to whatever the charge is. I know Braun got off on a technicality for his first steroids issue, but obviously he's guilty as hell. Rodriguez is scheduled to not answer questions on Friday I believe. I completely agree that Braun and Rodriguez should have 100 game suspensions when all is said and done.
Since I don't want to end this blog on a bad note, congrats to the White Sox Alex Rios. He's one of a very few hitters who've gone 6 for 6 in a 9 inning game. He tied an American League record with his performance. He's only the 32nd American Leaguer to have accomplished that feat. Although in spite of having such a great game, he's only hitting 2.81. He raised his average by .14 points from what he was hitting following Monday's game. (Thanks to ESPN.)
themusicaddict
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