Dodgers Hope To Tie For Wild Card In Critical Game Against Red Birds

Dodgers Lineup vs. Cardinals

M.ellis 4
Victorino 7
Kemp 8
Gonzalez 3
Ramirez 5
Ethier 9
Cruz 5
Ellis 2
Blanton 1

Jaime Garcia-4-7 vs. Joe Blanton-9-13

On Wednesday, the Dodgers did something that’s called Phantom infield practice. All of the Dodgers were on the field to pretend like they were doing infield practice with an imaginary ball. It was all the talk when the team was in Arizona. Maybe they should have done some extra batting practice, and or situational hitting drills. It is unclear if that helped the team or not. The only thing I can think of is that Don Mattingly wanted the team to practice working together as a team. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all? But you know what wasn’t a bad idea? Playing Luis Cruz. Cochito propelled the Dodgers to victory last night with a huge three-run bomb to put the Dodgers ahead for good. The win snapped the team’s four game losing streak. It was nice to see the Dodgers win for once, and feel that early season type magic again. Can the Dodgers do it again tonight?

Cochito Power!-Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

It won’t be easy. On the mound for the Cardinals is lefty Jaime Garcia. The 26 year old lefty has been a Jekyll and hide type of pitcher this season.  At home, Garcia is very stingy. Garcia’s home ERA is 2.63, while his road ERA balloons to 6.19. In his career, Garcia is 13-12 with a 4.69 ERA on the road. In his last start which was on the road in San Diego, he gave up four runs in three innings. As for Garcia’s numbers against the Dodgers, they heavily favor the boys in blue. I like what I’m seeing here. Garcia is 2-1 with a 6.91 ERA. The Dodgers are hitting .303 (20 for 66) against Garcia, with two home runs, and a .782 OPS. Shane Victorino has done well off of Garcia in the past. He is .286 (4 for 14). Matt Kemp is 4 for 8. Andre Ethier is 2 for 5, and Adrian Gonzalez is 2 for 3. A.J. Ellis, and Juan Rivera have hit the two home runs. Garcia against the league is 4-7 with a 4.41 ERA. Garcia’s hits per nine rate is 10.8, which is really bad. In his last three starts, Garcia is 1-2 with a 5.74 ERA.

Jamie Squire/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

The Dodgers will counter with righty Joe Blanton. (Bumton). Blanton is of course the worst pitcher I have seen in recent years, so the Dodger offense better bring their A-game tonight. Just take a look at Bumton’s numbers. He has allowed 28 runs in his 40 innings as a Dodger. That’s a 1-2 record, and a 6.25 ERA. All total this year, Bumton is 9-13 with a 4.98 ERA. You can almost guarantee he will allow four or five runs. Against the Cardinals he is 3-2 with a 4.28 ERA. In his last start he was his usual horrendous self. He allowed four runs in 5.1 innings against the Giants, in one of the most important games of the season. Interestingly, him and his wife, Mrs. Bumton, just had their third child. The child should grow up, and become a pitcher with a 5.25 ERA.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The numbers against Bumton look like batting practice stats. The Cardinals are batting .325 off of the bum. That’s 26 for 80, with four home runs, and a .932 OPS. Carlos Beltran is hitting .316 (6 for 19). Yadier Molina is batting .385 (5 for 13), with a home run. Matt Holiday is hitting .400 (4 for 10), with two home runs, and two doubles. Allen Craig has also homered off of Bumton.

Matt Holiday keeps on annoying us. He is hitting .340 in his career against the Dodgers, with 21 home runs and 75 RBI.

In other news, Clayton Kershaw is still questionable for tomorrow’s starts. Oh and the Dodgers have agreed to a contract extension with GM Ned Colletti. Stat boys heads explode in 3….2….1…. Jon Heyman reported[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/246993495506710528″] that the Dodgers had been in talks with Colletti for a multi-year deal now for a while. I have mixed feelings about this. Some of his moves have worked out, but the majority have been pretty bad. Especially when you take into account all of his terrible trades, and horrendous free agent signings. So however you feel about Uncle Neddy, he’s not going anywhere. So enjoy!

Forget about Colletti right now though, because this game is perhaps one of the most important games of the season. The 75-70 Dodgers remain one game back of the Cardinals for the second wild card, and will look to take the series lead tonight. A win can pull them to a tie. First pitch is at 6:10, and televised on Prime Ticket.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/246432511931084800″]

You know the Dodgers haven’t been playing well when people are talking more about the coola-coo making a comeback to Dodger Stadium, after years of being decommissioned then the Dodger’s play. Those coola-coos are always refreshing, and they’re also good luck! Can the Dodgers pull this off? Check back in with us to find out, and read our nightly Dodger recap. Can we please cook some birds for dinner tonight? Go Blue.