Yasmani Grandal came through with an RBI double in the 6th inning, and Clayton Kershaw outdueled Stephen Strasberg with seven strong innings, as the Dodgers edged the Nationals 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Chavez Ravine.
Kershaw improved to 8-2 on the season, allowing just three hits while striking out nine batters. The only run he allowed was a solo homer by Ryan Zimmerman in the 2nd inning.
Pedro Baez came recorded the first two outs of the 8th inning, then Kenley Jansen recorded the final four outs of the game for his 10th save in 10 opportunities.
Strasberg was brilliant as well, despite falling to 7-2. He allowed three hits while striking out eight Dodgers in six innings of work. However, LA finally broke through against him in that 6th inning.
With two outs, Corey Seager hit a solo homer 422-feet over the center field wall. The next batter was Adrian Gonzales, who appeared to strikeout, but was able to reach 1st base safely on a pass ball. He would advance to 2nd on a wild pitch, setting the stage for Grandal to bring him home with a double into the left center field gap.
The Nationals had a great chance to tie the game in the 8th inning, but the Dodgers escaped with the lead.
Trea Turner lead off the inning with a triple. Ryan Raburn struck out, then Baez snagged a ball hit off the bat off Bryce Harper, catching Turner in a rundown. Jansen came in to retire Zimmerman on another comebacker.
In the 9th, Jansen worked around a lead off single from Daniel Murphy, who later stole 2nd base, to end the Nationals final threat.
Jansen is having a remarkable start to the season. He has now appeared in 23 games this season, pitching 24 1/3 innings. He has an ERA of 1.11, a WHIP of 0.66, 42 strikeouts, and has not walked a batter.
The Dodgers will now have an off day, then begin a 3-game set on Friday night against the Reds at the Ravine. Rich Hill (2-2, 4.15 ERA) gets the start for LA. Amir Garrett (3-4, 7.17 ERA) will go for Cincy.
Buck Farmer allowed just three hits in 6 2/3 innings, and Justin Upton hit a 3-run homer, as the Tigers shutout the Angels 4-0 on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
Farmer has not allowed a run in either of his two starts, and outdueled Alex Meyer, who also pitch well for the Halos.
Meyer allowed three hits in six strong innings of work, but fell to 2-3 on the season. He walked four and struck out nine, however, he allowed an unearned run in the third. A hit batter, a walk and an error loaded the bases with nobody out. Victor Martinez bounced into a double play, resulting in the first run of the game.
“I can’t walk that many guys, and it is something I need to fix,” Meyer said. “I thought I did a really good job of limiting hits, but I want to do both.”
Upton’s blast to left field added some insurance for the Tigers in the 8th, which was his 12th of the season.
The Halos got three singles on the night, and couldn’t even get a man to second base. They fell two games below .500 on the season.
The Angels and Tigers will play the rubber game of the 3-game set on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. JC Ramirez (5-4, 4.11 ERA) will be on the mound for the Halos. Michael Fulmer (6-3, 3.00 ERA) goes for Detroit.
The Kings re-signed forward Tyler Toffoli to a 3-year $13.3 million contract extension on Wednesday. Toffoli was scheduled to become a a restricted free agent come July 1st.
The 25-year-old forward will carry a very reasonable cap hit of $4.6 million for the next three seasons, after which he will still be able to return to free agency at the age of 28.
Toffoli has been one of the Kings most important offensive players over the past two seasons. He scored 16 goals and 34 points in 63 games this past season, in which he dealt with an injury. However, during the 2015-2016 season he scored a career-high in goals with 31, and in points with 58.
Toffoli also had 14 points in 26 playoff games during the Kings’ run to the Stanley Cup title in 2014.
Toffoli had postseason surgery on his left knee after struggling with injuries for half of the season, according to his agent, Pat Brisson. He is expected to be ready for training camp.
With Toffoli and Tanner Pearson signed to extensions, the Kings now have 18 players under contract for $67 million. The NHL salary cap is expected to come in between $73-$76 million, meaning the Kings have some flexibility for additional moves.
Max Scherzer pitched 7 strong innings to improve his record to 7-3, as the Nationals defeated the Dodgers 2-1 on Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine.
Scherzer allowed just one run on three hits while striking out 14 Dodgers, during a spectacular 105-pitch performance.
Oliver Perez pitched a scoreless 8th inning, while Koda Glover recorded his 8th save of the season after pitching the 9th inning.
Glover allowed a one out single to Chris Taylor, who stole 2nd after Logan Forsythe flied out. However, Yasiel Puig struck out swinging to end the game.
Puig and Glover exchanged words after the final out, but the war or words was quickly broken up by their teammates, some of whom poured out of the dugout.
Brandon McCarthy (5-3) took the loss despite pitching well. He also went 7 innings in an efficient 87-pitch effort. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 2. Pedro Baez, Grant Dayton, and Chris Hatcher combined to pitch the final two shutout innings, allowing just one hit in that stretch.
The Nationals two runs came on a pair of sac flys. Bryce Harper had one in the 1st inning to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead, and Daniel Murphy would add another in the 4th for the decisive run.
The Dodgers’ only run came on an RBI single from Adrian Gonzales in the 1st inning. That scored, Chase Utley, but it was only one of four hits on the night for LA.
The Boys In Blue left 7 men on base, and were just 1-10 with runners in scoring position on the evening.
The Dodgers will try to avoid the sweep on Wednesday afternoon in what will be a star-studded pitching matchup at the Ravine. Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.28 ERA) gets the ball for LA, while the Nationals counter with Stephen Strasberg (7-1, 2.91 ERA).
Kole Calhoun and CJ Cron hit home runs and the Angels hung on to beat the Tigers 5-3 on Tuesday night at Comerica Park.
Calhoun connected on a solo shot in the 1st inning, while Cron hit a 2-run blast in the 4th. Both came off of Tigers’ starter Daniel Norris. That gave the Halos a 3-0 lead.
Calhoun singled again in the 5th inning, scoring Andrelton Simmons after an error by Tigers’ center fielder Alex Presley. He also delivered a sac fly in the 7th.
“That’s a nice win against a hot team,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “We had some trouble closing out some innings, including the ninth, but we got it done.”
Jesse Chavez got the win, improving to 5-6 on the year. He pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits before he was pulled. After giving up a solo homer to Alex Avila and an RBI single to Justin Upton, he was pulled from the game and seen walking off the mound yelling several expletives. Blake Paker would come in to record the final out of the 6th to end the Tigers threat with J.D. Martinez stranded at 3rd.
Martinez would add a sac fly in the 8th inning to make it 5-3, but that’s as close as the Nationals would get.
Bud Norris pitched the 9th to record his 11th save of the season. It wasn’t before running into some trouble though. After recording the first two outs, Presley and Jose Iglesias singled, and both advanced to 2nd and 3rd after a wild pitch. Ian Kinsler walked to load the bases, but Norris would strike out Avila looking to end the game.
“That was a great job by Bud,” Scioscia said. “He didn’t get a couple calls, but he got back into the at-bat with some great pitches. He knew he was playing with fire if the next guy (Miguel Cabrera) got to the plate.”
Daniel Norris (3-3) took the loss, allowing four runs — three earned — five hits and three walks in six innings.
The second game of the series will be on Wednesday. The Halos will deploy Alex Meyer (2-2, 4.91 ERA), while the Tigers will go with Buck Farmer, who was just recalled from Triple-A.
Anthony Rendon homered and Bryce Harper had an RBI single for his first hit in 16 at-bats, as the Nationals beat the Dodgers 4-2 on Monday night at Chavez Ravine.
The loss snapped a 5-game win streak the Dodgers had against the Nationals at Dodger Stadium. It was also the 2nd straight loss for the Boys in Blue.
Gio Gonzales improved to 5-1 on the season, pitching 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. Gonzales walked 2 and struck out 5 in a 107-pitch performance.
Oliver Perez recorded the final out of the game for his 3rd career save. Perez struck out Yasmani Grandal with a man aboard to end the Dodgers’ final threat.
The Dodgers scored both their runs in the sixth. Chris Taylor doubled in one and Franklin Gutierrez had an RBI groundout.
Hyun-jin Ryu started for LA, falling to 2-6. He went a season-high seven innings, but allowed four runs and seven hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.
Rendon’s solo shot in the 2nd gave the Nationals a 1-0 lead. Matt Wieters delivered a 2-run single in the 4th, followed by Harper’s run-scoring single in the 5th.
The Dodgers and Nationals will do it again Tuesday night at the Ravine. Brandon McCarthy (5-2, 3.38 ERA) will try to get LA back in the win column. Max Scherzer (6-3, 2.56 ERA) will go for the Nats.
Remember after Thursday night when the Warriors destroyed the Cavs and you told yourself “it’s only one game”? After last night’s Warrior win, you’re probably telling yourself, “The Warriors just defended home court, it’s no big deal.” I said this was going to be a short series, and I’ve seen nothing to make me think differently. Lebron hasn’t been this upset since he found out Delonte West was sleeping with his mom. He knows the Cavs are in trouble. It doesn’t matter if Riley Curry is coaching the Warriors, or Steve Kerr. Adding Kevin Durant to this team was simply unfair. They are so good that the Cavs actually think giving up dunks and layups is a better strategy than giving up 3-pointers. Actually, the best thing about the first two games was the beef between Durant and Rihanna, as well as Jeff Van Gundy getting distracted by her on the broadcast.
Speaking of Durant, Doc Rivers suggested that there is something wrong with KD signing with the Warriors for “anybody that’s competitive.” I think what Doc really means is that it’s just tough that KD didn’t join the Clippers. Doc’s only championship came courtesy of a super team in Boston. The NBA has always had super teams like the Lakers, Celtics, and Bulls, yet nobody complained about it. The league isn’t in bad shape when there is a dynasty in place. In fact, it’s actually thrived. Great players want to win championships to cement their legacy. When they don’t win them they get crucified. Now that KD wants to win multiple titles and took less money to do so, he shouldn’t be criticized for it. If it was Doc who was coaching this super team, I’m sure he’d be telling you how great super teams are for the NBA.
There has been much discussion about Jerry West’s desire to return to the Lakers as a consultant, and finish his career where it started. West revealed last week that it’s not going to happen. Actually, West indicated this back in February, even before Magic Johnson was put in charge of basketball operations. So before you go blaming Magic for this, keep in mind that this has everything to do with a conversation that Jeanie Buss must have had with West prior to that. Given how great of a talent evaluator West is, and how important drafting is these days, I’m surprised LA couldn’t find a place for him. Speaking of evaluating talent, I don’t believe the rumors that the Lakers aren’t sold on drafting Lonzo Ball. Only by leaking that information will they be sure that he works out hard for them, and the same with other prospects coming in to work out for the team. It’s also a reminder to Lavar Ball to “Stay In Yo Lane.”
The Stanley Cup Final looked like it wasn’t going to be competitive after the Penguins routed the Predators in the first two games, but Nashville is starting to make things interesting again. However, anybody that watches this series has to be wondering: who the hell comes to a hockey game with a dead catfish in their pants, holds onto it for 2 hours, then throws it on the ice? I don’t think there’s a dry cleaners in the world that can get that fish stench out of your clothes.
Congratulations to 28-year-old Alex Faust, who was named the LA Kings new television play-by-play man. He’ll be joining long time analyst Jim Fox in the booth. It’s usually difficult to follow a legend like Bob Miller, but the Kings followed the Dodgers’ example of hiring a young and upcoming voice, when they hired Joe Davis. However, even though the Kings have both Faust and Fox in the booth, they might be “F’ed” on the ice.
For the last year I have said that the Rams need a better offensive line before I can judge whether or not Jared Goff can play. Now I’m not so sure anymore. Last week head coach Sean McVay suggested that Sean Mannion might actually give the Rams a better chance to win football games. In other words, McVay is suggesting that the trade to get Goff was a total disaster, and that the kid just can’t play. When the old coaching staff suggested this it wasn’t a big deal. However, now that McVay is suggesting it there could be a problem. If the Rams are bad this year and end up with a top pick in next year’s draft with a ton of quarterback talent, they better not pass up a QB just because they have so much money invested in Goff.
I fail to understand why the Dodgers won’t let their pitchers go more than five innings. It’s actually much worse than that now, as they’ve been pulling their starters after four innings. Do Dave Roberts and Andrew Friedman provide their starters with baby bottles and burp them in between innings as well? Using your bullpen for 6 innings a night is a sure way to burn them out come October, when the success of your bullpen is critical. I know the Dodgers have some frail guys in their rotation that are injury prone, but this is no recipe for success.
Congratulations to Albert Pujols, who hit home run #600 on Saturday night at the Big A. 15 years ago, this accomplishment would have been more celebrated. However, now that we know that we had an entire era of steroid users, fair or unfair, it’s hard to know just how real Pujols’ 600 home runs are. It’s sad that we have to ask ourselves this question, but in reality, most people are. When Arte Moreno signed Pujols, which also feels like 15 years ago, he envisioned that the chase for 600 home runs would sell out the Big A on a nightly basis. That wasn’t the case, and the decision to sign Pujols make you wonder whether Arte’s decision making is being driven by winning or by business and marketing.
Maybe Tiger Woods needs to party again to get his game back? If that’s the case, then he’s just one Perkins waitress away from being great again. Maybe Donald Trump will appoint him as the head of the Department of Transportation now. Tiger made a very poor decision to get behind the wheel after excessive use of prescription drugs. There’s no reason for someone like that to not have transportation in this day and age. However, let’s not forget how much the media sucks. Last week, tons of media members jumped the gun by reporting that Tiger got a DUI for having too much to drink. It turns out that alcohol wasn’t even involved at all. I’d love to see Tiger become great again, but when his DUI is the most athletic thing he’s done in years, it’s probably not likely to happen. I guess I’ll just have to resort to having fun with him like the media…..
Finally, the drama of The Bachelorette is in full effect after last week’s episode. DeMario was clearly the story of the last episode once his ex-girlfriend showed up. That girl definitely looked unstable, but he also looked like a liar by saying “who is this?” when she showed up. I’m sure he won’t get another chance, but I can’t be critical of a guy who just broke up with his girl days before the show, while the girl he’s chasing is still dating 25 guys. If Peter didn’t have that gap in his front teeth, I don’t think Rachel would like him. That connection is too strong. My orthodontist told me my character would be just fine after fixing the gap in my front teeth. That pickup basketball game that was played was the worst display of basketball I’ve seen since the first 3 rounds of the NBA playoffs. Even Ashton Kutcher is really confused as to why Lucas is still on the show, and even more confused as to what exactly “Whaaaboooom” is. Looking forward to more drama on tonight’s episode.
Miguel Sano hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning off of Ricky Nolasco, and the Twins got by the Angels 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Big A.
Sano’s homer came with one out in the top of the 6th, and on a 1-1 pitch with Robbie Grossman aboard. It was the decisive blow delivered by the Twins, who took three out of four games from the Angels during their weekend series.
Jason Casto also hit a solo homer in the 3rd inning for Minnesota off Nolasco, who fell to 2-6 on the season. He gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work.
After falling behind 1-0, the Angels tied things up in the 3rd when Andrelton Simmons hit into a double play, which allowed Eric Young Jr. to score. Ben Revere delivered an RBI single in the 4th inning to give the Halos a 2-1 lead.
Jose Berrios (4-1) got the win for Minnesota after giving up just 2 runs on 6 hits, and striking out 4. Brandon Kintzler came into record his 15th save of the season in the 9th inning. He worked around a one out single from Ben Revere to keep the Halos off the scoreboard.
The Angels fell to 29-31 on the season with the loss. They’ll now travel to Detroit to open a 3-game set with the Tigers on Tuesday. Jesse Chavez (4-6, 4.68 ERA) gets the ball for the Halos, while the Tigers counter with Daniel Norris (2-3, 4.47 ERA).
Zach Davies pitched a 3-hit shutout into the 7th inning, improving his record to 6-3, as the Brewers blanked the Dodgers 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Miller Park. The win helped Milwaukee avert a 3-game sweep.
The Brewers got solo home runs from Eric Thames and Domingo Santana. Eric Sogard delivered an RBI single as well.
Kenta Maeda lasted only 4 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits. He fell to 4-3 on the season, throwing 92 pitches, striking 7 and walking 3.
The Dodgers didn’t get a runner to second until Adrian Gonzalez and Cody Bellinger opened the seventh with singles that chased Davies. However, Yasmani Grandal bounced into a double play and Austin Barnes flied out.
Corey Knebel struck out the side around a walk for his fifth save.
The Dodgers return home to open a 3-game series on Monday with the Nationals. LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (2-5) taking the hill for LA. Gio Gonzales (4-1, 3.03 ERA) goes for the Nats.
Albert Pujols hit a grand slam home run in the 4th inning, which was his 600th career long ball, as the Angels defeated the Twins 7-2 on Saturday night at the Big A.
Pujols became the 9th player in major league history to join the 600 home run club. The 37-year-old clubbed a low pitch from former Angel Ervin Santana inside the left field foul pole, for his 14th career grand slam. That made it 7-1 Angels, which was all the scoring they would need on this historic night in Anaheim.
The future hall of famer credited his wife, Deidre, for helping him relax and meet the moment. She sent him a text of encouragement during the game. “I’m glad I listen to her one in a while,” Pujols said with a smile. “At a moment like this, I always start putting pressure on myself. Usually she’ll give me some encouragement. It was just a perfect time to check my phone, and I’m glad I did.”
The Angels also got home runs from Andrelton Simmons and Kole Calhoun in the 3rd inning. Matt Shoemaker improved to 5-3 on the season, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Max Kepler had an RBI single in the 3rd inning, and a solo home run in the 6th inning, which accounted for all of the Twins’ runs.
Santana (7-3) took the loss, giving up 7 runs on 7 hits, over 4 innings of work. He made 82 pitches on the night.
The series finale will be on Sunday afternoon at the Big A. Ricky Nolasco (2-5, 5.07 ERA) faces the Twins for the first time since they traded him last season. Jose Berrios (3-1, 2.70 ERA) makes his fifth start of the season for Minnesota.
