Hello,
On Monday LA opened a four game series against MLB's lowest scoring team, the Miami Marlins. Miami won the first game in the series 6-2. This is the first time LA lost two games in a row since late June. In game two of the series it will be Chris Capuano (4-6, 4.66 ERA) vs. Jacob Turner (3-4, 2.89 ERA.)
Pitching for the Dodgers was Hyun-Jin Ryu, who had a decent game. He pitched 7.1 innings, allowed 6 hits and only 3 runs. But since the Dodgers only scored 2 runs, that third run was enough to hang him with the loss. Ryu still is 12-4 with a 2.95 ERA. When a pitcher only gives up 2 runs, he really can't be blame for the loss. Only giving up 3 runs is very good and should be enough for his team to win most of those games. I'm very glad LA signed Ryu, he's had a fantastic rookie season. Ryu should receive some consideration for Rookie Of The Year.
Of course, the Dodgers offense is who should be blamed for this loss. It's the pennant race, Dodgers batters should be stepping up now. However LA hasn't stepped up in the last 2 games. On Monday LA was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and only had 6 hits the entire game. Juan Uribe had half of LA's hits, he was 3 for 4 and is hitting .281 this season. Uribe has only 36 RBIs this the season, he did score a run. So far Juan Uribe has benefitted very much from his 3 year- $21 million contract with LA. Now finally in the third year of the deal, it looks like LA may finally start to benefit as well. If Uribe ends up being a World Series hero like he was for the Giants, all will be forgiven. Even if that happens I don't see Uribe back in Dodger blue next season.
For the Marlins Giancarlo Stanton was 2 for 4, although he's only hitting .241 this season. He did have his 15th homer in this injury plagued season, he also added his 38th RBI this season. I was surprised by his low batting average as it seems I'm always hearing his name on ESPN. I hear he's unhappy in Miami and I thought how good he would look in a Dodgers uniform. He's an outfielder so could the Dodgers find a place for him to play?
LA has lost 2 games in a row. Am I worried, I'm a fan so of course I'm worried. But realistically the Diamondbacks are toast, they aren't going to catch LA. Arizona only has a 19.8% chance of reaching the playoffs, which honestly feels high. The Dodgers lead Arizona by 7.5 games and will coast to the NL West title. The only division race that will be less suspenseful is the NL East.
The Pirates stepped up with a big win yesterday, beating the Padres in San Diego 3-1. Although the Pirates have only won 3 of 10, making Pirates fans uncomfortable, they're still in first place in the very tough NL Central. Pittsburgh has a 96.3% chance of reaching the playoffs and still lead the Cards by 1 game. The Reds also continue to stick around, they've won 7 of 10. Cincinnati is only 2.5 games behind Pittsburgh.
The Angels announced that Albert Pujols is out for the season. With him struggling with that foot injury this is a very wise move by the Angels. They're done this season and I think done for the next couple of seasons. Pujols is clearly on the downside of his career and will never be an elite player again. It's sad to see such a classy legend in the twilight of his career. Worse news for the Angels, they still owe $100 million to Josh Hamilton for 4 years. That's one of the worst contracts of recent years.
Another terrible contract and getting worse by the day is the contract that New York signed with Alex Rodriguez. His new lawyer is in full offensive mode, apparently trying to burn every bridge that Rodriguez still has standing. Rodriguez is fighting like a cornered animal, fighting a fight he almost surely can't win. I know Rodriguez loves being in the public eye. However speaking for at least 90% of America, Alex please just go away!
The Red Sox' Ryan Dempster was fined today for 5 games for intentionally throwing at ARod. Are you kidding? Dempster should be given a reward or at least no punishment. However I don't support hurting someone intentionally in anything, especially in a baseball game. If Dempster really wanted to send a message, he should have struck Rodriguez out three times. Instead Rodriguez earned some goodwill for the way he handled the situation and his funny post game comments. That didn't quite work out like you thought, did it Ryan?
themusicaddict
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