Hello,
I want to write a different kind of blog on Monday, thus I'm writing Sunday's Dodgers Daily blog Sunday night. I wasn't aware of how much time it would take to write a simple Dodgers Daily blog following each Dodgers game. 162 games is a lot to play and about 160 blogs is a lot to write about one subject.
LA-Tampa took the focus of all MLB when they matched up Sunday night on Sunday Night Baseball. I've ran out of positive things to say about the Dodgers, they are just so dominant of late. They swept the Cubs, then took 3 of 4 games from the Cardinals on the road. Following that they came home and swept one of the best teams in the entire AL, the Rays. Next the Dodgers play 3 games against the New York Mets, which is another series they should at least win.
LA has put everything together and they are firing on all cylinders. Sunday night's game was another example of their seeming unstoppable momentum. For about two innings Sunday's game looked like it was going to be close, but then LA scored 3 runs in the bottom of the second inning. With their momentum and Clayton Kershaw dealing, a 3-0 lead almost seems like an unsurmountable task for any Dodgers opponent. Kershaw took the offense into his hands, he drove in the Dodgers first two runs with an RBI single.
Kershaw was his usual dominant self from the mound. He pitched 8 innings, giving up 3 hits and only 2 runs. His record improved to 11-7 as his ERA increased slightly to 1.88. Along with his 11 wins, Kershaw has 6 RBIs also. He's not as good of a hitter as Zack Greinke, but he's helped himself with key hits multiple times this season.
The offensive heroes of the game, besides Kershaw, include Mark Ellis and A.J. Ellis. Mark Ellis was 3 for 5 and is hitting .280 on the season. He hit his 6th homer and has 38 RBIs this season. Meanwhile A.J. Ellis was 2 for 3 and is hitting .261 this season. He added his 40th RBI of the season.
Meanwhile the Dodgers continue to make a joke of the NL West, LA is certainly the cream of the crap. With LA winning and Arizona losing, the Dodgers now lead the second place Diamondbacks by 7.5 games. The Dodgers are 67-50, have won 9 of 10 and have a 96.0% chance of reaching the playoffs. Meanwhile Arizona is 59-57, have only won half of their last 10 games and have a 16.9% chance to reach the playoffs.
Meanwhile the stink of ARoid continues to linger over baseball. Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run of the season, which gives Rodriguez 648 homers. He's just 12 home runs away from tying the great Willie Mays. I say that ARoid has got close enough to the Say Hey Kid. Although I don't think it will happen but for Rodriguez to pass Mays that would be a shame. I guess the only comfort about that for me would be that the only way the ARoid gets in the Hall-of-Fame is to buy tickets. The Hall-of-Fame voters have already indicated that they won't vote in known steroid abusers. I completely agree with them.
Ew and ESPN.com says that ARoid will get a $6 million bonus if he ties Mays for homers, I didn't know there could be even more reasons to cheer against him.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost 3 games in a row and I'm sure there's some nervous chatter on local Pittsburgh sports radio. However I don't think the Pirates or their fans (which includes me) should start to panic. The Pirates are still 23 games above .500 with only 45 games left in the season. Pittsburgh has a 97.9% chance of reaching the playoffs and still lead the second place Cardinals by 3 games. Most teams probably have 3 or 4 3 game losing streaks and 3 or 4 3 game winning streaks each season. The Pirates just need to work their way through this.
Not only that but the Pirates do have a day off Monday. Pittsburgh has one thing they do need to be concerned about though, on Tuesday they visit the Cardinals for a 3 game series. If the Cardinals, who haven't been playing great either, sweep the Pirates they'll be tied with the Pirates. Worst case scenario, the Pirates will be tied for first place in the NL's toughest division. Even if the Pirates do lose 6 straight games the will still be in a good position.
Following the Cardinals Pittsburgh has series against the mediocre Diamondbacks, and then the terrible Padres, Giants and Brewers. Fellow Pirates fans I suggest that we not panic yet.
themusicaddict
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