Dodgers Pregame: Brett Anderson Looks to Clip Bird Feathers on Friday

Thursday night’s home opener was one of those forgettable games which could come back to haunt the Dodgers come September. Once again, the Dodgers were unable to muster much offense off of Michael Wacha, there was a costly error at third base from Justin Turner and Joc Pederson went an entire game without homering.

Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42) vs. Carlos Martinez (5-2, 3.13)

I’m of course joking about the homering part, because I realize that Joc can’t possibly hit one out every game. Or can he? Regardless of the lack of homeruns, the Dodgers did not play inspirational baseball last night, and they still have three more games against St. Louis before the D-backs slither into town.

Lineup: 

Pederson CF

Rollins SS

Gonzalez 1B

Grandal C

Ethier RF

Callaspo 3B

Schebler LF

Hernandez 2B

Anderson P

There is no rain in the forecast, but Brett Anderson will take the hill on Friday night. The right-hander will be making his 11th start as a Dodger which is the most since 2011 when he made 13 starts for Oakland. Anderson lost last time out against St. Louis at Busch Stadium. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and 3 walks on 102 pitches through 6 innings of work. The loss was more about the Dodgers lack of run support in the 3-1 defeat.

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Anderson will need to be wary of Jhonny Peralta who has hit two homeruns with 5 RBI in 12 at bats against him.

The rematch between Anderson will pit right-hander Carlos Martinez against him again. Martinez got the win at Busch after pitching a one-hitter through 7 dominant innings against the Dodgers. He struck out 8 and walked 3 on a season-high 108 pitches. A.J. Ellis is the only current Dodger to have hit a homerun against Martinez, and Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .091 with just 1 hit in 11 at bats against the young righty.

The Dodgers have their work cut out for them against the Cardinals, but they will need to somehow find success against the top teams in the league in order to compete in the playoffs if they should get there. One of the problems is that they are battling a plethora of injuries this season with the most recent being Howie Kendrick who has a banged up knee. Luckily the Dodgers have amassed a deep 40-man roster, and Kiké Hernandez can play second base if Howie’s knee isn’t feeling better soon.

Even though the Dodgers still have some weak spots in their roster (Carlos Frias is eating innings but not exactly who you want to be pitching in October), they are still in first place. It’s hard to complain about a ball club that’s in first place, yet it’s frustrating when the potential for this team is so much more.

The Dodgers have been winning without two of their starting pitchers (Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy), their bat flipping boy wonder Yasiel Puig and for the most part without their elite closer Kenley Jansen. Reinforcements are on the way, and Yasiel Puig along with Hector Olivera should be joining the Dodgers very soon.

Defeating the Cardinals and winning this series would do a lot for not only the Los Angeles fans but also perhaps give the team a much needed positive precursor to a potential rematch between these two teams in the 2015 postseason.

The Dodgers are 1-3 against the Cardinals so far this season.

*Update* The Dodgers have recalled outfielder Scott Schebler from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned Daniel Coulombe back to Triple-A. Schebler will be making his Major League debut and starting in left field for the Dodgers.

Go Blue!