Dr Jeff Sports blog

July 1-4. Dodgers open a tedious 4-game trip to DC. This is a matchup of the last 2 WS champs.

Game 1- Dodgers and Angels both in rain outs back east in DC and NYC. but Dodger game went 5 innings, so we got a 6-2 rain shortened win. rain gods were our friend today. Interesting pitcher selection by Roberts due to rain predictions: went with Gonzo as an opener, but didn’t even let him finish the 1st inning (weird). Then came Gonso the Cat, who looked pretty good, but also got an early hook. Enter the Clever, who gave us a shutdown 5th and final inning.

The offense, down 2-1 in the 5th, was sparked by AJ’s leadoff solo jack (yet another solo) for the tie, then along came red hot Mad Max to bomb his 2nd career grand slam (18th HR, on track for a 3rd straight 36 HR season), to put up a big 5 in the 5th. Game over, as the rains washed up Washington.

Game 2- The Dodgers were fresh off a trip to the White House when they politely handed the Nats 3 runs in the 2nd. JT made yet another throw in the dirt that is usually scooped by Muncy, but it inexplicably scooted by, letting 2 runs score and setting up a third. Max has to knock that ball down! Against the other Mad Max, Sherzer, the Dodgers had little hope. But relief was on the way when Sherzer was pulled after 6. A succession of Nat relievers opened the flood gates in the 7th, when again, the Dodgers put up a 5 spot. But wait, there’s more … Dodgers scored twice more, and then 2 more on an AJ blast, for a total of 9 runs!

Urias lasted a quality 6, matching Sherzer with only 1 ER on 3 hits (Sherzer gave up 4 hits). Julio showed poise by shutting down the Nats after the nasty 3 runs in the 2nd (only 1 run was earned). Dodgers were extremely sloppy in the field. Not only was there the painful JT to Muncy miscue, but also Muncy completely missed a double play grounder, and then Belli dropped a fly ball — leading to the Nats final 2 runs. Good thing we had a 7-run cushion to cement our 7th straight win, 10-5.

The final highlight was the surprise season debut appearance of Brusdar Graterol, who gassed the Nats with 100 mph fastballs and confounded them with 83 mph curves.

Let’s send the Dodgers to the White House again.

Game 3- That’s 8 straight! But an odd night for the offense just scratching out 5 hits with no homers, but were able to plate 5 with a bit of luck.

Kershaw got careless with a hanger to Gomes for the Nats only protest. Then the rain in the 5th cancelled Kersh to deprive him of his 10th win. Our bullpen held tight, but with tension to the finish as Kenley got a rough start, letting 1st 2 batters and tying runs get on. Facing 1 bad pitch to lose the game, Kenley came up big again to close it out. Best performance was Graterol throwing smoke at 100-102 mph to pitch a clean inning. Worst performance was Joe Kelly nearly hitting 2 batters in a row (but walked one) when he could not control his wildly tailing 2-seamer. So Joe stuck with his curve and pitched out of the jam.

Game 4- That’s 9 straight and a 4-game sweep! Good all around game, as Dodgers survive a HBP hat trick, including 2 in the head. Nice job for the bullpen, as 7 different pitchers did well.

Dodgers offense was dulled by a strong SP Ross until the 7th yet again feasting on relievers, with 2 in the 7th and 2 more in the 9th. Dodgers could have easily had a few more, as they left bases loaded with no outs in the 9th, with both Belli and Taylor striking out. Belli is still the swing and miss king, swinging way under the ball on fastballs. I would not bat him high in the lineup, but put him at 6 or 7, as he is a big hole in the middle. Uncle Albert came through again with a PH RBI for the game winner — hitting it off the wall, and making it all the way to 1B (LOL). Muncy just missed his 2nd slam of the series by a foot — off the top of the CF wall at the deepest part of the park marked 402.

Rant: please coach Barnes how to catch without interference (twice this series).

June 28-29: A critical 2-game series. If we split, both teams are OK with that. A sweep would be great for Dodgers, but hurtful if we were swept. First time since 1962 (playoff) both teams had such high winning pct.

Game 1- Wow! Dodgers play solo jacks against Giants to win 3-2, despite getting outhit 10-5. Yes, Dodgers only got 2 singles besides the 3 homers, but held on for a nail biter of a win. AB with RISP: Dodgers 0-1, Giants 0-8! Bauer pitched his usual: only gave up 2 solos (careless belt high pitches), while being tough as nails with traffic — no runs. Treinen gave us a start, letting 1st 2 hitters on in the 8th. But Blake toughed it out. Jansen cleaned it up in the 9th for the big save, highlighted by his 3 slider K of a hot Posey.

Key play came in the 9th: leadoff single by Giants was overrun by Belli, causing the runner to try for 2. Belli’s throw beat the runner by plenty, but Taylor at 2B blew the tag (body stab instead of swipe), only to redeem both Belli and himself by staying with the tag when the runner came off the bag.

Game 2– For the short sweep! I was there in person, along with a mostly maskless crowd of 52,000+. Very fun game with a hold your breath 9th, as Dodgers and Kenley hold on for a 3-1 win, following last night’s 3-2 nailbiter. Max Muncy came through with a traditional home run on his bobble head night — I called it. A real pitcher’s duel between league’s top hurlers Buehler and Gausman. Each team had only 3 hits.

Buehler was great — allowed only 2 hits over 6 shutout innings. Well, should have been a shutout, but for a booted grounder by Lux in the 7th, which appeared to wear on Walker, as we all knew it was his last inning. Gavin is a bit unsteady on marginal balls. Then as we figured, that error cost a run, as Dodger killer Dugger lined a double on a full count, so runner at 1B was going. Kenley struggled to command his cutter. He hit the 1st batter and walked the 2nd. Looked grim. Then Jansen found it. Pop up. Pop up. K. Giants can kiss our asterisk as we sweep.

Rant: exiting the stadium was excruciating. First they closed off the usual stairs to the parking lot and forced us to bottleneck onto a rail-less, dimly lit stairway. Then there were no traffic monitors in the parking lot (K), where there built up a huge logjam of merging cars. Took us a half hour just to get out of lot K, then another 15 minutes to get onto the 110 freeway. Good traffic management should have made that only a 15 minute effort.

June 24-27. Slumping Dodgers open a 4-game series vs. hot Cubs.

Game 1- Oh no! No-no! Dodgers get 8 walks but NO runs or hits. A combined no-hitter, with closer Kimbrel finishing with 2 K’s. So it didn’t matter that Buehler was the 4th straight pitcher to give up a homer in the 1st inning. Dodgers lose 4-0. MLB stats: this is the 7th no-hitter in MLB so far this season, 1 shy of the record for a full season (set in 1884!). And the 2nd time in a week the Dodgers got shut out, after nearly 2 years.

Game 2- Dodgers win! Dodgers win! First time in 5 games, and first win over Cubs this season. Boy, we needed that 6-2 win.

Yet another 1st inning home run given up (4 in a row!), on a BP center cut pitch. But then Gonsolin went to work with his off speed pitches, especially his splitter/change, giving the Dodgers 4 good innings. Then the bullpen was just good enough.

Dodgers offense sputtered until the 8th, after a good start (1 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd). Dodgers left bases loaded in the 3rd, and again in the 5th, with 2 more LOB in the 6th. Zip in the 7th. But then in the 8th the Dodger bats woke up with a pair of 2-run homers by AJ and Muncy, to extend a lead to 6-2.

Game 3- A Belli bomb! Boy have we missed that. Our first walk off win of the year too: 3-2. Urias had a very strong performance with a career high 12 K’s over only 5 innings. The Dodgers again scored 2 early and then stalled, this time until the 9th.

Game 4- All K-K-Kershaw, with 13 K’s (12 on his slider). Kersh had his slider going great today, with pinpoint location. Unhittable pitch when he keeps it down. Kersh went a dominant 8 innings, with 1 run.

Dodger offense did the damage in a 6-run 2nd, with McKinstry slugging his 1st ever salami. Tack on another Belli bomb. Dodgers ride out this big inning for a 7-1 victory and series win (3/4).

June 21-23: Another important series, especially as a statement maker.

Game 1- Very ugly start for Urias. the worst was his meatball he inexplicably served up to Manny the Dodger hater/ beater. that put Dodgers down 4-0. no way should any pitcher throw a hittable pitch in the zone to Manny, when we all know he will chase pitches. Urias improved some for a few innings, but then the danger of the hanger surfaced to Cronenworth (another Dodger beater). Urias gone in 70 or so pitches after only 4+ innings.

On the offense side, Yu was very dominant with his unhittable slider. Yu got 7 straight K’s 1st time through our lineup, and 11 K’s in 6 innings. hard to watch guys having no clue, no chance to hit that slider. at least Yu made a mistake to Mookie, and Smitty tacked on another solo jack — to give us 2 runs on only 3 hits (yet again). All in all, Dodgers struck out 15 times with 27 swing and misses. Ironically, both teams hit 2 homers, but Padres’ accounted for 5 runs to our 2.

Game 2- So annoying to keep losing to the Padres! Especially when Manny has 4K’s, and Tatis is held. But 2 runs a game is not enough. And when are our pitchers gonna stop throwing cookies to Cronenworth (the new Dodger killer).

Blown opportunity in the 8th, with bases loaded and no outs, due to a great AB by Prince Albert going the other way. then both Smith and AJ tried to pull the pitch but rolled over hitting grounders to 3rd. JT should not have allowed himself to be tagged out for a DP; he should have stopped and made Manny chase him. mistakes cost games. Nice 9th inning rally attempt though, as Barnesy comes through with a pinch homer, followed by a CT3 single, then JT lines one to RF corner (great approach), which would have scored CT3 to tie the game. But Wil Myers snagged it (crap!). The end. Wait’l tomorrow. (Again.)

Game 3- Here we go again. All 3 games Dodgers gave up a 1st inning homer to Cronenworth. Kersh gave him a hanger. Bauer tossed him a high fastball right where he likes it. “Where do you want your pitch?” But then Bauer recovered his senses and command to shutdown Pads through 6. But a careless hanger in the 7th served up a 3rd solo jack to give the Pads the 3-2 lead. Roberts pulls Bauer only to have a disastrous 2-run 8th — Roberts also pulled Treinen and then Gonzalez too early, bringing in an unreliable Joe Kelly. Two runs to make it 5-3 and the sad sweep.

Offense stalled again: only 2 hits through 7. We were lucky to score 2 on those hits in the 5th (double, walk, single, error). Clutch JT drives in the tying run in the 8th to make it 3-3, after an interesting fly ball double to RF by Muncy (fun to watch Manny bounce onto the warning track chasing it). Painful game ending double play after it looked like Prince Albert came through again with a scorching liner with 2 men on, only to have the hated Manny snatch and fling for the show stopper.

June 18-20–

Game 1 was a frustrating win. I have a lot to get off my chest on this game (sorry).  Good thing we won, even if they slept through 7 innings, yet again getting only 3 hits for a win.

Dodgers continue to doddle on offense.  instead of the heralded stream of good AB’s, we got a stream of pathetic ones — one after the other.  our top 5 were 0-fers, save 2 walks by CT3.  So the Dodgers plodded through 7 more shutout innings — embarrassment.

and a child shall lead them (or at least wake them up):  newbie doobie Souza breaks the goose egg streak and the 0-0 tie.  momentum gathers as a second rookie Burns them by lashing a double.  that awakens the sleeping Dodgers:  Mookie breaks out with a 400 ft sac fly.  Bums get a 3rd run when the Snakes’ pitcher balks after stepping on his rattle.

Bauer had a nice comeback outing, although he was facing the most anemic team.  He got his usual lack of support, with his mates sleeping.  Bauer to his demonic credit, looked like he was toying with the Serpientes, using the occasion to again experiment with his pitches.  His usual masterful slider was a puzzle to him, and he struggled to locate his 4-seamer.  Late in the game, he discovered a command of his 2-seamer that was unhittable, and gave rise to 1 sword stash. Trevor was able to stay in the game through the 7th, which made him eligible for the win.

so now we’re up 3-0 in the 8th.  Can the bullpen hold?  You never know with these guys.  But Jimmy Nelson is sharp and holds the 8th.  Who will close?  Why Kenley of course — to face the middle of the lineup (4-6).  Good start, 0-2, but his 0-2 should be a chase pitch:  slider in the dirt. instead he wastes a very high 4-seamer.  got away with a hanging slider for out 2.  finishes the save with a nice 4-seam/2-seamer combo.

postgame:  touching interview of Souza being ever so humble and grateful.

More rants — 

1. “find the fence”:  nice sliding catch in RF by Souza in the 7th saw him crash into the wall when he did not have to:  he should have used the “find the fence” technique.  seems no big leaguers know that technique.  (I coach it.)

2. Pujols:  while a great addition, Doc should not bat Pujols 4th, since that spot comes up often with runners on and less than 2 outs.  Pujols is a DP case history — with all the grounders he hits while running snail speed.  Uncle Albert seems surprised by every curveball, even though that is all they throw him.  Go up there and look for it, big guy, and go boom.

Game 2- All Walker Buehler all the time. At least until the 8th inning, where Buehler entered with a no hitter. It was sad but a bit expected that the no-no was broken up by the first batter, on a pitch left just above the belt. But Roberts owes Buehler an apology for lifting him with 2 men on and bringing in his worst pitcher (a BP grade) who would surely surrender the 2 runners that got charged to Buehler. Buehler should have been given the dignity to leave with 0 ER’s not 2. I would have let him finish the 8th, or bring in Treinen or Gonzalez to finish it.

The offense was solid tonight, 1-8 (except AJ). Rant: when Matt Beaty crushed a 425 ft shot, he should have earned a home run. Ridiculous insult that the D’backs’ park placed the yellow line so high up in that distant part of the outfield. But even a triple’s OK.

Game 3- OMG. A yawner was turned into a nail biter after Roberts yet again goes to the garbage part of the pen and leaves Uceta in far too long (after too much damage). A 9-1 lead turns to a 9-8 win, after Gonzalez and Kenley restore order.

Gonsolin had a decent rebound but only went 3+ innings. Huge 3-run homer by Prince Albert powered the offense to a big early lead. AJ got 3 big hits. Some good AB’s by rookie Burns. Who knew we would need all 9 runs! But we did hold onto the sweep.

Happy Father’s Day, and solstice.

June 14-16. We took 2/3 from the Phils, but shoulda/coulda swept. First 2 games went well, with Dodger offense hitting the mark with 5/11 (runs/hits). But it seems Doc gave up on game 3 by playing a weak offense — JT sitting out again, replaced by yet another newbie Souza (whoza?), and with Barnes over Smith at catcher. First shutoff suffered by Dodgers in 2 years. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. Bright note: Dodgers pitchers have become good hitters, especially Urias! Maybe they are our best hope for pinch hitting.

1st blog on 6-13 series vs. Texas Rangers

Dodgers just won 5/6 over the MLB’s weakest teams, both on losing streaks.  It would have been nice to get the double sweep we fans all hoped for.  Here is a review of the Texas series:

game 1:  we smacked around the Rangers’ weak starter, then were fed a lot of cookies from the bottom of their pen.  so no need to gloat over the 12-1 demolishing.  we were sure to get our comeuppance in the next game.  all too often Dodgers (and others) can’t buy a hit in the game following a blowout.  sure enough.

game 2:  we got our comeuppance all right — a complete reversal the 12-1 win, including finishing off with a position player pitching the final inning.  humility.  concerns with Trevor Bauer having another less than stellar outing.  seemed his pitches had little movement compared to normal, especially his curve (slurve?).  last 2 outings seemed he stopped using that “sticky stuff” on his fingers and lost some spin rate.  

game 3:  a bit of a yawner until the agonizing 9th.  but let’s start with Skip Doc’s lineup.  why would we rather have Luke Raley in the lineup than JT (who is hot)?  stupid.  I would have McKinstry a staple at 2B, with CT3 in the OF (LF or CF).  both call ups Burns and Raley appear way over their heads at this level (as was DJ Peters).  OK, back to the game.  why waste Treinen in the 7th?  he should have started the 9th — where we need a shutdown inning.  Doc waits way too long to lift his lame choice of reliever.  Jansen almost blew the save, but gutted it out (thank you!).

Now bring on the Phillies!