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Dodgers Hope To Rebound And Earn Series Split in Finale
By Scott Andes
Dodgers Lineup vs. Giants
Gordon 6M.Ellis 4Gonzalez 3Uribe 5Schumaker 8Hairston 7A.J. Ellis 2Buss 9Volquez 1Ryan Vogelsong-3-5 vs. Edinson Volquez-9-11
Don’t panic! At least not yet. Even though the Dodgers (86-62) had one of the worst home losses ever last night. And even though Volquez is pitching tonight. Don’t panic. The Dodgers are still 24 games above .500 with an 11.5 game lead in the division, and a magic number of 4 with 14 games to play. The Dodgers will close out their seven game home stand with the series finale against the Giants, as the Boys in Blue go for a series split. It’s too bad they won’t clinch at home. Although clinching in Arizona may be kind of cool. Make those bastards watch the Dodgers celebrate.
Last night was one of the worst if not the worst Dodger games I have ever seen. And keep in mind, I have seen some pretty bad games over the years. I’ve seen games where the Dodgers had to officially forfeit because the Dodger fans wouldn’t stop throwing baseballs onto the field. I’ve seen games where the Dodgers have made seven errors, and don’t forget about the game back in 1990 when the Dodgers blew an 11-2 lead to the Phillies in the ninth inning only to lose in extra innings 12-11. I would have even taken any game started by Joe Blanton over last night’s turdfest. That’s saying something too. This was the worst game ever.
Worst Game Ever
Yesterday afternoon, the Dodgers placed Alex Castellanos, and Nick Buss on the roster to offset some of the injuries that have cropped up in recent days again. This all happened while Stacie and I were at La Gran Fiesta, and believe me there was nothing Gran about it. I’ll go over all the injuries real quickly here since they change from day-to-day and I can hardly keep up with all of them.
Volquez-Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Hanley Ramirez is out with a sciatic nerve issue in his back. Basically his back is rusty and he won’t be able to play for a few days but is expected back next week. Andre Ethier’s ankle injury worries me more. Apparently he has shin splints, and left the clubhouse in a walking boot. I don’t even know what that is, but it doesn’t sound good. Ethier is our center fielder, and he can’t run, so who knows how long he’ll be out for. Carl Crawford has a rusty back again. Chris Capuano had another setback in the bullpen, and the team is saying that Matt Kemp could be back in a few days. Could. Sure, ok Dodgers. Got all that? Good. Now let’s move on here.
I guess we’ll see what the lineup looks like today, but don’t expect for Ethier, Hanley, or Crawford to be playing. The Dodgers have a good chance today because opposing starter Ryan Vogelsong has had a horrible year. He had broken his hand earlier in the year after being hit with a line drive, and then came back and was horrible. He was horrible before the injury too. He’s made just 16 starts this year, and is 3-5 with a 5.82 ERA. He’s given up over 11 hits per nine innings, and really has been quite atrocious for the Giants this season. The only time the Dodgers faced him in 2013 was back on May 4 at San Francisco when the Dodgers roughed him up for seven earned runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings.
Vogelsong-Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Vogelsong is 4-3 against the Dodgers with a 3.86 ERA in 18 games. But at Dodger Stadium he’s pitched well, with a 2-1 record, and 3.27 ERA in 22 frames.
PA
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
A.J. Ellis18
13
4
0
0
1
1
5
3
.308
.500
.538
Mark Ellis17
16
5
1
0
0
1
0
3
.313
.313
.375
Andre Ethier
17
16
4
2
0
0
0
1
2
.250
.294
.375
Dee Gordon16
15
5
0
0
0
0
1
0
.333
.375
.333
Hanley Ramirez
13
12
1
0
0
0
3
1
2
.083
.154
.083
Jerry Hairston9
6
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
.500
.625
.667
Clayton Kershaw9
9
1
0
0
0
1
0
4
.111
.111
.111
Juan Uribe9
9
4
0
0
0
1
0
1
.444
.444
.444
Skip Schumaker7
7
2
0
0
0
1
0
2
.286
.286
.286
Michael Young5
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.000
.000
.000
Carl Crawford
3
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
.333
.333
.333
Adrian Gonzalez3
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
Tim Federowicz2
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
.500
.500
.500
Nick Punto2
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1.000
1.000
1.000
J.P. Howell1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
.000
.000
.000
Total
131
118
32
4
0
1
8
9
20
.271
.333
.331
The Dodgers will counter with right hander Edinson Volquez. The sideways hat wearer was pretty decent in his last start against Arizona. He only gave up three earned runs in six innings. Volquez is 0-1 this year with two no-decisions against the Giants. Volquez is 2-2 with a 6.07 ERA versus the Giants, but he does have 49 whiffs in 46 innings pitched so there is that. Keep in mind that Pence is hitting .161, and Scutaro .133 against Volquez.
PA
AB
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
Hunter Pence36
31
5
2
1
1
6
5
15
.161
.278
Marco Scutaro21
15
2
0
0
0
0
4
2
.133
.381
Gregor Blanco16
15
4
0
0
0
1
1
8
.267
.313
Brandon Crawford16
16
2
0
0
0
0
0
6
.125
.125
Brandon Belt12
12
6
0
0
1
4
0
3
.500
.500
Pablo Sandoval11
11
6
3
0
0
3
0
1
.545
.545
Buster Posey10
8
5
2
0
0
1
1
1
.625
.600
Joaquin Arias7
5
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
.200
.286
Angel Pagan7
7
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
.143
.143
Madison Bumgarner5
4
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
.250
.250
Tim Lincecum4
1
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
.000
.750
Hector Sanchez4
4
2
0
0
0
1
0
0
.500
.500
Barry Zito4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
.333
.333
Tony Abreu3
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
.000
.333
Juan Perez2
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.000
1.000
Matt Cain1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.000
.000
Total
159
137
38
7
1
2
17
15
39
.277
.357
There is also some kind of issue with Yasiel Puig running over guys trying to catch every fly ball. Puig nearly ran over Mark Ellis in shallow center field on a pop fly last night that he ended up dropping in the first inning. Oh and Puig hurt his balls while diving for a catch in last night’s game. Puig is fine, and the Dodgers should take care of his little problem on fly balls internally.
That’s about all I have for the day guys. After today’s game, the Dodgers will hit the road for the final time in the regular season. The first leg takes them to their final series in Arizona. Beyond that they travel for series in San Diego, and San Francisco before coming back to play three games at home against Colorado. Last night’s game was beyond awful sure, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Giants are already eliminated from the Playoffs and buried in last place. And the Dodgers are just a hair away from claiming the division crown.
Although the Dodgers look like a really tired team right now. But you know who else is tired? We are. We’ve covered a lot of games. Everyone is tired. The season is long and can be brutal. The Dodgers need a full day of rest for the entire team. We’ll see you after the game. Let’s beat those annoying Giants. Go Blue! Defeat SF!
Game Time-1:10 PM
TV –Prime Ticket