Dodgers Face Another Old Friend, Mike Bolsinger vs. Dan Haren in Game Two

Scott Van Slyke was the hero last night. His beautiful three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth off Miami closer Steve Cishek gave the Dodgers yet another joyous come from behind victory. The Dodgers now have a five game lead in the NL West, and have won four in a row. Their mastery at home continues as well, as the club is 14-2 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers will put their four game win streak on the line against the Fish in game two.

Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight they are expected to give the ball to right hander Mike Bolsinger. The youngster was originally called up on April 23 to make a start against San Francisco. He did and pitched very well. In that game he threw 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on five hits, and struck out five. He got a no-decision, but looked very effective, reaching 95 on the gun and whiffing Buster Posey towards the end of the game.

Unfortunately for Bolsinger the Dodgers sent him back down to Oklahoma City where he has languished for the rest of the season, while ineffective and over the hill bums like Scott Baker were allowed to start in his place.

Dodgers Lineup vs. Marlins

Pederson CF

Rollins SS

Kendrick 2B

Gonzalez 1B

Guerrero 3B

Grandal C

Ethier RF

Van Slyke LF

Bolsinger P

Mike Bolsinger-0-0 vs. Dan Haren-4-1

Game Time – 7:10 PM

So with the clear awfulness of Baker, and Wieland, the Dodgers have decided to call up Bolsinger. He actually arrived in the clubhouse on Monday. The Dodgers will have to clear room for him on the roster, and I expect for outfielder Chris Heisey to be sent back down again. When the move is officially announced by the club, we will let you know.

As expected

Bolsinger was pitching fantastic in Oklahoma City. He posted a 1.42 ERA in two starts with 28 whiffs and 6 walks. Bolsinger has never faced the Marlins. Only three Fish have ever faced him. Ironically Dee Gordon has two hits in three at-bats against him. 

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Call to the Pen

Bolsinger will be countering former Dodger Dan Haren. The right hander has been pitching very well for the Marlins unfortunately. He’s posted a 4-1 record with a 2.68 ERA. He’s walked only 8 and struck out 24 batters. What jumps out at me the most is his 6.3 hits per nine rate. He’s allowed just 26 hits across 37 innings pitched.

Haren hasn’t faced the Dodgers in a while, but has many times during his days with the Angels, and Dbacks. Haren is 6-6 with a 3.49 ERA in 17 starts. At Dodger Stadium he is 9-7 with a 3.38 ERA. The good news is that the current Dodgers have hit him well. The Dodgers are batting .285 (51 for 179) with six home runs and 22 runs batted in. Andre Ethier is hitting .420 (21 for 50) with three home runs, and nine runs batted in against Haren. I’ve said it before, I can’t stand Haren, and hope he loses badly.

For the Marlins, the club has decided to demote Cishek (last night’s loser) from the closer role. According to sources, the Fish are interested in free agent reliever Rafael Soriano. The Marlins have lost 17 games this year, and 11 of them involved blown leads. Thank god we don’t have that problem anymore, last night’s Yimi Garcia blown save not withstanding of course.

Remember though, Yimi has been lights out since the beginning of the season. These guys can’t be perfect and they are going to give up a few runs every now and then. The Dodgers are expecting to activate Kenley Jansen on Saturday. I would expect for the club to option Sergio Santos down once again. As for Yasiel Puig, we still have not heard anything about his MRI results yet. When we do we will let you know.

Stat of the day – Today is Adam Liberatore’s birthday. The birthday boy has retired 27 out of 28 batters faced this season with ten whiffs and zero walks. He has an ERA of nada! Happy birthday Adam!

Before I sign out, check out Hyun-jin Ryu’s newest noodle commercial.

See you after the game! Go Blue!