Dodgers Turn to Kershaw to Stop Two-Game Skid Against Brew Crew

Yovani Gallardo-3-4 vs. Clayton Kershaw-4-2

*This lineup is ridic. Is Mattingly trying to lose? Loney batting second is the same thing that didn’t work last season. We all know that Loney is cooked. Then of course why Adam Kennedy the worst hitter on the planet in place of Jerry Hairston who is only hitting like .500 since he came off the DL is batting behind Abreu in the sixth spot. This lineup is silly*

Don Buntingly’s love for bunting continues to infuriate me, as my hatred for bunting grows larger. Buntingly’s decision to bunt last night during a Dodger ninth inning rally cost the team a chance to score. Jerry Hairston’s failed attempt to bunt cost him two strikes before he grounded into a double play nullifying the scoring rally, ending in a 2-1 loss. I wonder what would have happened had Hairston been allowed to swing away and work the count as a normal at-bat. Bunting is stupid, so stupid. Unless the pitcher is at the plate, it is just giving away an out, and there is no god damn reason to be bunting guys over from second base when hold onto your hats Dodger fans…Second base is already in scoring position! I swear it frustrates me so much I want to throw a boot through my television set. Clayton Kershaw will attempt to halt the Dodgers two game skid and prevent my footwear from flying through my boob toob. However at least Matt Kemp is back, and we learned what we already know last night, that Nathan Eovaldi is good. It is good to know that with Lilly out, his spot is in good hands with Eovaldi. It is obvious Eovaldi will be in the rotation at some point soon.

Thank you EephusBlue

The Dodgers will give the ball to Clayton Kershaw to try and stop their two game losing streak. Kersh has been excellent this season once again. The reigning NL Cy Young winner is 4-2 with a 1.97 ERA. Kershaw turned in a quality start in his last outing, but he still came out with a loss at home. The lousy Dodger offense could only muster one measly run for Kershaw, despite him providing seven solid innings. This season you could argue that Kershaw has been just as good as last year, despite his whiff per nine rate being down. This season Kershaw has a 7.5 whiff per nine rate, down from last season’s 9.6 rate. Although his walk rate is 2.0, and his hits per nine rate is even lower than it was during last season’s Cy Young year. His hits per nine rate is only 6.2 this year, compared to 6.7 last year. Kershaw has walked only 15 batters this year and whiffed 57. Kershaw is 2-2 against the Brewers in his career, and Milwaukee batters are hitting a combined .320 off of Kershaw. Is there any pitcher the Brewers don’t hit? Yes the Brewers are annoying. Ryan Braun is batting. 286 of Kershaw (4 for 14) with three RBIs. Corey Hart is 3 for 10 (.300). The only Brewer with a home run off of Kershaw is Cody Ransom.

Milwaukee will counter with Right hander Yovani Gallardo. The young right-hander is 0-3 with a 6.53 ERA lifetime against the Dodgers. The Boys in Blue have knocked Gallardo around in recent years. Gallardo is 3-4 with a 4.19 ERA on the season. Don’t let his numbers fool you. Before his eight runs allowed disaster outing in his last start, Gallardo had turned in five consecutive quality starts for the Brew Crew. The current Dodgers are a combined .232 against Gallardo. Matt Kemp is 5 for 15 (.333) and James Loney is 4 for 13 (.364) with three RBIs, however Ethier is hitting .200 (3 for 15), Jerry Hairston is 2 for 13 (.154), and nobody has homered off of Gallardo.

Milwaukee just received the bad news that catcher Jonathon Lucroy, who was hitting .345, will be out for at least six weeks after breaking his hand during a luggage incident with his wife. The Dodgers dodge a bullet since Lucroy had been tearing it up. Please note that Juan Rivera is due to rejoin the Dodgers in Denver on the next road trip on Friday night. The Dodgers are 32-17 and 5.5 games ahead of the Giants in the NL west.

Will Kershaw stop the Dodgers two game skid? Will my shoes stay on my feet, and not wind up lodged in my television screen? Tune in tonight at 7PM on Prime Ticket, and then join us after the game here for our daily Dodger postgame recap. For some reason it seems the Dodger offense has gone into a bit of a funk. Bison is back, so let’s break this funk. Please Kershaw help! Go Blue