Dodgers Lineup:

Hairston LF

Punto 2B

Kemp CF

Gonzalez 1B

Ramirez SS

Ethier RF

A.J. Ellis C

Uribe 3B

Ryu P

(Crawford scratched with tightness in right hamstring)

If you were one of the diehard Dodger fans who watched the entirety of that drubbing of a game last night, you got a little treat in the ninth inning when Skip Schumaker took the mound. By the ninth inning, the Rockies had all but buried the Dodgers with their potent offense which capitalized on a rusty Ted Lilly and a roughed up Josh Wall. Even though it was a blow out game, Don Mattingly still made some concerning decisions including leaving in Matt Kemp after he was hit in the face by Tyler Chatwood. Why not give Matty a rest for a few innings? Remember, Mattingly also left in Javy Guerra last season after he was pummeled in the face by a Brian McCann line drive. As a manager, you must make the decision to pull an injured player even if they insist they are okay. Someone I was talking to last night made an interesting point. Perhaps since Mattingly played injured during his career he may be more empathetic to a player who says they can play through it.

Apr 29, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Skip Schumaker pitches in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The Rockies defeated the Dodgers 12-2. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Skip Schumaker’s scoreless ninth inning was an entertaining  moment during what was an long and ugly game. This was the first time a Dodger position player has pitched since 2009 when Mark Loretta took the mound. Schumaker last pitched in 2011 against the Dodgers of all teams. He allowed a two-run homerun to Aaron Miles, who coincidently also pitched before in a MLB game. Schumaker allowed two singles, a walk, but was able to get out of the jam while touching 90-mph on the radar gun. Schumaker said after the game that he was excited to pitch on the same mound that Orel Hershiser had pitched from.  Hats off to Skip Schumaker, well done!

Hanley Ramirez will make his first start on the season for the Dodgers after returning from the disabled list. Last night Hanley struck out in one pinch-hit at-bat. The Dodgers will be looking to Hanley for that extra spark that they’ve been lacking in his absence. While Justin Sellers has filled in at short admirably, Luis Cruz has been just atrocious at the plate this season. Cruz could be headed to AAA if he continues to flounder.

Ted Lilly will undergo an MRI today, but it looks like he’ll be headed back to the DL. Matt Magill will remain with the team, and he will start the next time the Dodgers need him to. The Dodgers will also need to make a decision on Mark Ellis who has been day-to-day with a quad strain.

The Rockies, with a new manager, are playing a lot more aggressive and look to be a possible contender in the division. They are currently 16-10 and on top in the standings in the N.L. West. The Dodgers will need to win Tuesday’s game in order to finish the month of April at an even .500.

Hyun-jin Ryu has had a wonderful April for the Dodgers, and he has pitched at least six innings in each of his five starts. The Dodgers will need the Korean lefty to go deep into this game in order to spare the decimated bullpen. Ryu will take on the Rockies for the first time in his career. Last time out against the Mets in New York, Ryu pitched 7 solid innings while allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 8 strikeouts in the no-decision. Ryu has collected 34 strikeouts so far in 31 2/3 innings pitched. He has the most strikeouts for a rookie pitcher in the league currently.

In the southpaw showdown, the Rockies will have Jorge De La Rosa counter Ryu. He’s had trouble against the Dodgers in his career, and De La Rosa is 0

Hyun-jin Ryu leads the league in strikeouts amongst rookie pitchers with 34 Ks. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

-7 with a 6.22 ERA against the Boys in Blue. Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp have absolutely dominated him, and they each have three homeruns against him. De La Rosa picked up a loss last outing in Arizona after pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 7 hits. He only struck out one batter but walked three.

After the game, Ryu will meet Korean superstar PSY and present him with a jersey. It’s also Hanley Ramirez bobblehead night, and hopefully we will be seeing Hanley’s signature “I See You” during the game.

Tune into KCAL tonight at 7:10 p.m. as the Dodgers try to even up the series.

That’s how bad things got for the Dodgers last night. Starter Ted Lilly could only make it through the third inning before being removed. At the time it was already 5-0 Colorado after three frames. Lilly allowed five runs on eight hits before being lifted after three frames, and complaining of back pain, again.

I would rather watch Schumaker pitch than Guerrier, or Wall, or half the bullpen-Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Wall relieved for Lilly in the fourth inning, and picked up right where Lilly left off. Wall allowed seven runs on eight hits during his two atrocious innings. He was followed by scoreless innings from J.P. Howell, Matt Guerrier, and Paco Rodriguez. The Rockies scored 12 runs on 19 hits when the dust settled. And when it was 12-2 Colorado in the top of the ninth, Don Mattingly had to send out someone to the mound to get three more outs. That man was Skip Schumaker.

Schumaker had already started the game at second base. So he just moved from the keystone to the mound. It seemed like a seemless transition. It was almost like Skip was a natural pitcher.

Your mission Skip if you so choose to accept it, to pitch the top of the ninth. Hopefully not embarrass yourself, or the team. Come to think of it, he couldn’t embarrass himself anymore than the pitiful Dodger pitching staff has already in the month of April.

Schumaker actually isn’t half bad on the mound. You could say he’s better than half the current guys in the bullpen. Schumaker got into a bit of trouble, but was actually able to pitch a scoreless top of the ninth, leaving the bases loaded. That’s more than half the guys in the bullpen are able to do already. Maybe we should consider moving Schumaker into the bullpen? The Dodgers do need a long man.

Schumaker allowed two hits in the frame, but retired three batters to get out of the inning. Cargo singled up the middle. Ryan Wheeler flew out to left. The first out for Schumaker. Then Michael Cuddyer flew out to right field. It looked like it was going to be a very easy inning for Schumaker. Then Nolan Arenado singled, and Josh Rutledge walked to load up the bases. Schumaker then induced Jonathon Herrera to ground out to first, and he escapes the jam. The 50 Dodger fans still remaining at the Ravine should have given him a standing ovation.

Schumaker has an easy fluid pitching motion. He was throwing breaking balls, and his fastball actually got up to 90 MPH on the radar gun. As we all know, that’s faster than any pitch Ted Lilly has thrown in the last decade.

It’s something we’re not used to seeing from the bullpen. Scoreless frames, and stranding runners seems like a foreign concept to this mediocre pitching staff. Of course we remember two years ago when Schumaker pitched in a blowout game against the Dodgers, while he was playing with the Cardinals. He pitched an inning that time as well, and allowed a home run to Aaron Miles. I also found out that Schumaker actually pitched in high school. However there is no record of him ever pitching in the minors. Of course, Miles himself also pitched an inning in another game when he was playing with the Cardinals. This inspired a website to be created in honor of his pitching prowess called aaronmilesfastball.wordpress.com. Seriously. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried. The last time a position player took the mound for the Dodgers was Mark Loretta back in 2009. Perhaps it should happen more often. Hey they couldn’t do any worse than the current bullpeners.

You want to see something incredible? Take a look at these numbers from the Dodger relievers.

Matt Guerrier-4.82 ERA five runs eight hits 6 walks allowed in 9.1 innings.

J.P. Howell-4.82 ERA five runs eight hits 6 walks allowed in 9.1 innings.

Paco Rodriguez-4.32 ERA four runs five hits allowed in 8.1 innings.

Josh Wall-18.00 ERA 14 runs 17 hits six walks allowed in 7 innings.

Skip Schumaker 0.00 ERA, two hits allowed in a scoreless inning of relief.

Yes those numbers are correct. As you can see, Schumaker has been a more effective reliever that half of the Dodger bullpen. That shows you how bad the Dodger pitching staff has been.

Perhaps the Dodgers should make a move? Hey if Kenley can go from catcher to pitcher, why couldn’t Schumaker go from utility guy to relief pitcher? Skip Schumaker leads the Dodgers with an ERA of 0.00