Dodgers Face Nicasio In Game Two

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Dodgers Lineup Vs. Colorado-4-26-14

Gordon 2B

Puig RF

Hanley SS

Gonzalez 1B

Kemp CF

Ethier LF

Turner 3B

Butera C

Maholm P

Juan Nicasio-2-0 vs. Paul Maholm-0-2

Maybe the rain washed away all the losing? Yeahhhhhh, probably not.

The losses are starting to mount, as the Dodgers dropped another extra inning game at home last night. The club lost in 11 innings to the Rockies by a score of 5-4 on Friday night. Once again the club was not able to muster much of anything on offense through most of the game. Most of the time the lineup just strikes out nearly every at-bat.

Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports. Giants won 2-1.

The Dodgers have now played six extra inning games this month, which is a franchise record by the way. The club has lost five of the six. The club is also now 3-5 on this ten game home stand, and 5-8 overall at home. Don’t let their 13-11 record fool you because they are much much worse than their record indicates.

I’m sorry guys, but I just don’t see it this year. The club has sucked at every aspect of the game. One aspect in particular is their ability to hit at all at home. In contrast, Colorado is the best hitting team in the major leagues right now. They score runs effortlessly. Unlike the Dodgers, the Rockies are able to get runners on base, and hit with runners in scoring position.

The Dodgers have the worst defensive club in the majors, and their exhausted bullpen blows any and all leads they obtain.

The Dodgers even finally got a starting pitcher to go deep into the game. If anything Josh Beckett was not part of the problem last night. He threw eight effective frames, allowing just two earned runs on four hits and whiffed six, with just one walk. His solid outing allowed the average bullpen to rest. But it was not enough for the club to win, because they suck.

Tonight the Dodgers will send out Paul Maholm, to counter right hander Juan Nicasio.

Nicasio is the right hander who was hit in the head with a line drive and broke his neck. He had to have bolts or something inserted into his neck to keep it straight. It’s amazing not only that he wasn’t seriously paralyzed, but that he’s pitching again in the majors, and pitching well. His name sounds like a keyboard company too. Ever played the Nicasio?

Nicasio throws a very hard 98 MPH fastball, and has been with Colorado for the last four years or so. He has pitched well this year. He is 2-0 with a 4.30 ERA in four starts. He’s whiffed 20 and walked five in 23 frames. He’s always pitched well against the Dodgers too. The 27-year old Dominican right hander is 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA in eight starts against the Dodgers. At Dodger Stadium, he has pitched even better. He is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in five starts at Chavez Ravine. In those 29 frames, he’s allowed just nine earned runs at Dodger Stadium, with 30 whiffs and six walks.

Despite his success at Dodger Stadium, the current group of Dodgers is batting .321 (25 for 78) against Nicasio. Andre Ethier has done all of the heavy lifting. He’s batting .571 (8 for 14) with a double and a home run. Hanley is 6 for 11, and Kemp is hitting .308 against Nicasio.

PA

AB

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

Andre Ethier

18

14

8

1

0

1

4

4

2

.571

.667

.857

Juan Uribe

16

15

3

1

0

0

2

0

3

.200

.250

.267

Matt Kemp

14

13

4

0

1

2

4

1

4

.308

.357

.923

Dee Gordon

11

11

3

0

0

0

0

0

4

.273

.273

.273

Hanley Ramirez

11

11

6

2

0

0

1

0

0

.545

.545

.727

Adrian Gonzalez

7

7

1

0

0

1

2

0

1

.143

.143

.571

Scott Van Slyke

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

.000

.333

.000

Zack Greinke

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

.000

.000

.000

Yasiel Puig

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.000

.000

.000

Josh Beckett

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.000

.000

.000

Total

85

78

25

4

1

4

13

6

17

.321

.376

.551

The Dodgers will counter with left hander Paul Maholm. The veteran has been pretty bad this year, and I expect him to get lit up like a Christmas tree tonight. So far he’s 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA. He’s walked eight and struck out just six in over 17 innings. While he’s allowed 22 hits, and 11 earned runs. His strikeout per nine rate is a miniscule 3.1. Yes, Maholm is really bad.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

But the Dodgers will continue to go with him, because they love to play bums. Maholm has been atrocious against Colorado in the past. He is 1-8 with a 6.63 ERA in ten starts against Colorado. Naturally Cargo and Tulowitzki are each hitting over .400 against Maholm. This won’t be pretty folks.

PA

AB

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

Troy Tulowitzki

24

22

10

4

0

2

5

1

3

.455

.458

.909

Drew Stubbs

17

16

2

0

0

0

1

1

5

.125

.176

.125

Carlos Gonzalez

14

14

6

2

0

2

5

0

1

.429

.429

1.000

Justin Morneau

10

10

3

0

0

0

2

0

0

.300

.300

.300

Jorge De La Rosa

4

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

.000

Franklin Morales

3

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

.333

.333

.333

Matt Belisle

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

.000

.000

.000

Total

74

70

22

6

0

4

13

2

13

.314

.329

.571

I understand that the Dodgers are really bad right now, but if they’re going to lose, can they at least do it in regulation? I can’t take anymore of these four and a half hour marathon crapfests. But rest assured the club will continue to lose. We’ll be here to document all of the losing for you. Stacie will have a full recap of tonight’s loss, so check in over here after the game for that.

Game time- 6:10 PM

Go Blue!