April 28, 2017

Kenta Maeda put together his best start in a while for the Dodgers, pitching 7 strong innings on Friday night, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies at the Ravine.

Maeda (2-2) had not gone past the 6th inning in any of this previous four starts this season.  However, he struck out a season-high eight and limited Philadelphia to five hits, a walk and two runs as Los Angeles snapped the Phillies’ six-game winning streak.

“It was a great day for me,” Maeda said through a translator. “I’ve had a string of bad outings and I felt the pressure going into the game. I knew I had to pitch well or something could happen. We have a lot of great pitchers.”

The only two runs of the game Maeda allowed came on a 3rd inning 2-run double from Freddy Galvez.  That extended his hit streak to 10 straight games.  The Dodgers tied the game at 2-2 after a wild pitch that scored Andrew Toles in the 3rd inning, followed by a Kike Hernandez RBI double in the 4th.

A Yasmani Grandal sacrifice fly in the 5th, and then a Justin Turner RBI double in the 6th extended the lead to 5-2.  Turner extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games — the longest active hitting streak in the majors — with a first-inning single.  He had 3 hits on the night.

Jerad Eickhoff (0-2) took the loss, and gave up nine hits and five runs.  The Phillies managed to get a run on a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning off the Dodgers bullpen but they wouldn’t get any closer.

Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the 9th inning for his 6th save of the season.

The Dodgers learned after the game that they might be getting 3 injures players back next week: 2nd baseman Logan Forsythe, center fielder Joc Pederson, and left fielder Franklin Gutierrez.  Outfielder Andre Ethier won’t be back until June at the earliest.

The Dodgers and Phillies will be back at it tomorrow night at the Ravine.  Brandon McCarthy (3-0; 2.25 ERA) will get the start for LA, and the Phillies will send Zach Eflin (0-0; 1.50 ERA) to the hill.

April 26, 2017

The Dodgers had a 3-0 lead on Wednesday night at AT&T Park, but gave it all back and lost to the Giants 4-3.

Hunter Pence hit a sacrifice fly with the bases-loaded in the 10th inning to complete the Giants rally.  San Francisco avoided matching their worst 22-game start in franchise history.

Gorkys Hernandez singled off of Ross Stripling to open the 10th, then stole 2nd base.  Connor Gillaspie walked, then Nick Hundley sacrificed, which allowed Hernandez to beat Adrian Gonzales’ throw to 3rd base.  That loaded the bases for Pence.

San Francisco didn’t record it’s first hit until the 6th inning.  Alex Wood pitched 6 shutout innings for LA, yielding only that 1 hit.

However, the Giants would start their rally against Sergio Romo in the 7th.  Christian Arroyo hit a 2-run shot to left center field to make it 3-2.

In the 8th, Mike Morse hit a pinch-hit home run against Pedro Baez, and the game was tied 3-3.  That set the stage for Pence’s heroics.

“Up 3-0, we’ve got to close it out,” Skipper Dave Roberts said. “I liked the guys in the spots that they were in for the last nine outs of the game. It just didn’t work out.”

All the Dodger offense came in the 6th inning.  Corey Seager hit a solo home run, Chase Utley provided an RBI single, and Andrew Toles hit into a fielder choice, scoring Yasmani Grandal.

The Dodgers will try to salvage a split of the four game series on Thursday afternoon at AT&T Park.  Julio Urias will make his 2017 debut for LA, and Matt Moore will go for San Francisco (1-3; 5.87 ERA).

April 25, 2017

As usual, Clayton Kershaw stopped the bleeding for the Dodgers.  This time, he gave another strong start in San Francisco, to guide the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the Giants.

Kershaw pitched 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 7.  The Dodger’s ace improved to 4-1 on the season while throwing 90 pitches.  Kenley Jansen earned his 5th save of the season, giving up 2 hits during his 4-out effort.

Ty Blach (0-1) took the loss for the Giants.  He was starting in place of the injured Madison Bumgarner, and pitched 5 innings, giving up both Dodger runs on two hits while striking out 2.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on an RBI single from Buster Posey.  That scored Blach, but Kershaw would get Brandon Crawford to ground out back to the mound, and that would minimize the damage.  The Giants didn’t reach 2nd base against Kershaw after the 3rd inning.

The Dodgers tied it up in the 4th on an RBI single by Yasiel Puig, which scored Justin Turner.  Adrian Gonzales followed by hitting into a fielder’s choice at 1st base, which scored Justin Turner.  That gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead and that’s all the offense they needed.

With Joc Pederson placed in the DL with a groin injury, the Dodgers recalled Cody Bellinger from Oklahoma, and started him in left field.  Bellinger is considered the best offense prospect in the Dodgers farm system.  He went 1-3 in his major league debut.

“I wanted it to be as soon as possible, but I didn’t really expect it,” Bellinger said. “I’m ready for the task at hand. We’ll see where it goes.”

Kershaw also pitched through a brief scare in his right leg.  At one point, Kershaw’s right foot bothered him as he broke out of the batter’s box on a ground out.

The Dodgers and Giants will go at it again on Wednesday nigh tat AT&T Park.  The Dodgers will give the ball to  Alex Wood (1-0, 3.29 ERA), while the Giants go with Johny Cueto (3-1, 5.25 ERA),

April 24, 2017

It doesn’t matter if its right-handed or left-handed pitching.  The Dodger offense can’t seem to hit either, and it happened again on Monday night in a 2-1 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park.

Matt Cain beat the Dodgers for the first time in 4 years, pitching a 2-hit shutout over 6 innings, and improving to 2-0 on the season.  Cain had not thrown six innings without allowing a run since July 7, 2015.  The last time Cain beat the Dodgers was on May 5, 2013.  Mark Melancon pitched the 9th to  picked up his 4th save of the season for San Francisco.

Joe Panic produced a 2nd inning sacrifice fly, and Hunter Pence added an insurance run with an RBI single in the 7th.

The Dodgers only run of the game came on a fielder’s choice that Chris Taylor hit into during the 8th inning.  Chase Utley scored on the play.

Hyun-Jin Ryu fell to 0-4 on the season, despite a strong start for the Dodgers.  Ryu went 6 innings, giving up just 1 run on 5 hits, and striking out 3.  He has lost his last six starts since Sept. 12, 2014, still seeking his first victory since August 31, 2014.

Sergio Romo pitched the 8th inning for LA, and the former Giant got a taste of the NL West rivalry from the Dodger side of things.  Fans chanted “Beat Ro-mo!” when he was on the mound.

The win snapped a four game losing streak for the Giants.  The Dodgers on the other hand have lost six straight games in San Francisco.

Game 2 of the series will be on Tuesday night, with Clayton Kershaw (3-1; 2.54 ERA) on the hill in attempt to stop the bleeding for the Dodgers.  Madison Bumgarner was supposed to start for the Giants, but after injuring his shoulder in a dirt bike accident and going to the DL, San Francisco will start Ty Blach.  He’ll be making his first start of the season.

April 23, 2017

Brandon McCarthy pitched seven strong innings and the Dodgers exploded for 6 runs in the 5th inning, as they defeated the D’Backs 6-2.  LA managed to salvage one game in their three game set with Arizona and avoided being swept.

McCarthy improved to 3-0, giving up 2 runs on five hits and striking out six in his seven innings of work.  The only two runs he allowed came on a 2-run shot from Paul Goldschmidt in the 1st inning.  The D’Backs could only muster two hits off McCarthy after that.

Shelby Miller took the loss for Arizona, falling to 2-2 on the year.  He made it through 4 shutout innings, and then the Dodger offense woke up in the 5th.  Miller walked the first two batters and then gave up an RBI double to Corey Seager, which made it 2-2.  McCarthy scored, as did Joc Pederson after an error by 2nd baseman Brandon Drury.  After throwing one more pitch, he was visited by the Arizona trainer, and left the mound after that.  There was no word on an injury.

Randall Delgado came in for the D’Backs and the Dodgers continued to do damage.  Adrian Gonzales doubled in Seager and Justin Turner, and suddenly, it was 4-2 LA.  The next batter was Yasmani Grandal, who capped the big inning with a 2-run shot to right center field.  It was his 3rd long ball of the season.

McCarthy and the bullpen took it from there.  Pedro Baez and Sergio Romo pitched the 8th and 9th inning, allowing just 2 hits over those two shutout innings.

The Diamondbacks lost at home for just the second time in ten games this season.  Meanwhile, the Dodgers improved to 9-10 on the year.  LA is in 3rd place in the NL West, 4 games back of the Rockies in the early going.

The Dodgers will now travel to San Francisco to take on the Giants for a four game set beginning Monday at AT&T Park.  Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-3; 5.87 ERA) will start the first game for the Dodgers, while the struggling Giants will counter with Matt Cain (1-0; 3.31 ERA).  San Francisco comes in with the worst record in the National League at 6-13.

April 22, 2017

Yasmany Tomas hit a pair of home runs for Arizona, and David Peralta hit a franchise record four doubles, as the Diamondbacks hammered the Dodgers 11-5 on Saturday night at Chase Field.

Kenta Maeda got roughed up in 5 innings of work, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits.  He struck out 5, but gave up 4 home runs on the night, falling to 1-2 on the season.

Robby Ray got the win for Arizona, improving to 2-0, despite laboring through 5 1/3rd innings.  He gave up all 5 Dodger runs on 9 hits, but struck out 6 and got plenty of run support.

The Dodgers got off to a quick start in the 1st after Kike Hernandez homered in the 1st inning to make it 1-0.  However, the D’Backs answered in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run homer from Jake Lamb, followed by a solo shot from Tomas.

An RBI single from Justin Turner in the 3rd cut the Arizona lead to 3-2, but in the 4th Chris Herrmann hit a 2-run shot to make it 5-2.  That would be all for Maeda, after throwing 83 pitches.  Tomas hit his 2nd homer of the game in the 5th to make it 6-2.

“I threw a lot of pitches at the heart of the plate and a lot of hitters took advantage of that,” Maeda said through a translator. “My wish was to go deep in the game knowing the bullpen was taxed. I just didn’t execute at all.”

The Dodgers rallied for 3 runs in the 6th, after an Austin Barnes RBI double, an Adrian Gonzales RBI infield hit, and a bases loaded walk to Chris Taylor.

The rally wasn’t enough though as the D’Backs would go on to add 5 more runs in the 7th and 8th inning, against Chris Hatcher and Ross Stripling.

Skipper Dave Roberts indicated that he was unsure of Maeda’s future status in the LA starting rotation after all of his recent troubles.

“We are going to talk through some things and see what is best for Kenta,” Roberts said.  Maeda has not lasted more than five innings in any of his four starts.

The Dodgers will try to avoid the sweep on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field.  Brandon McCarthy (2-0; 2.12 ERA) will be on the mound for LA, and the D’Backs will go with Shelby Miller (2-1; 3.50 ERA).

April 21, 2017

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks were locked up in a tight game on Friday night until the 8th inning. That’s when Arizona erupted for 9 runs resulting in a 13-5 D’Backs victory at Chase Field.

Paul Goldschmidt, Yasmani Tomas, and Chris Ianetta each drove in two runs during the late rally against the Dodger bullpen.  Arizona put together 6 hits and 5 walks in the 8th.

Chris Taylor’s home run gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead in the 7th, but things went south in the 8th inning.

Luis Avilan walked in the tying run, then Sergio Romo was called for a balk that brought home the go-ahead score.  It was the first balk of Romo’s career.  What followed was an avalanche of Arizona runs.

“It got called a balk regardless of what I think,” Romo said.  “It was a balk in a big situation.”

The Dodgers had gotten off to a strong start after Corey Seager hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning which gave LA a 2-0 lead.  A.J. Pollock hit a solo shot in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 2-1.  It remained a 1-run game until the 8th inning when the D’Backs blew it open.

Ross Stripling pitched a little more than an inning, and suffered the loss.  Archie Bradley got the win for the Diamondbacks.

Alex Wood got the start for LA, in place of the injured Rich Hill.  He last 4 2/3rd inning, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, and striking out 6 batters.

The 2nd game of the series will be tomorrow night at Chase Field.  Kenta Maeda will take the mound for the Dodgers, and he’ll go up against Robbie Ray.

April 19, 2017

The Dodgers encountered a critical early season matchup with the Rockies on Wednesday night at the Ravine, and came away with an important 4-2 victory behind ace Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw went 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, while striking out 10.  He improved to a 3-1 on the season, but his 97 pitch effort was not as typical as the Dodgers usually get from their ace.  It still required the use of three relievers to secure the win.  That included Luis Avilan, Sergio Romo, and Kenley Jansen, who earned his 4th save of the season.

The Dodgers started the night 3 full games behind Colorado in the NL West.  A loss would have been a big set back, even in this early in the season.  Skipper Dave Roberts acknowledged the importance of the win.

“April 19th , you don’t want to say you’re in a must-win mode, but I do believe, when your ace takes the mound it’s a must-win game,” he said.

Kershaw’s start was anything but smooth in the 1st inning.  He walked leadoff man Charlie Blackmon, then gave up back-to-back singles to DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado, so the Rockies had the bases loaded with nobody out.  However, Kershaw limited the damage by striking out two of the next three batters, while giving up a sacrifice fly in between.

Scott Van Slyke tied the game in the Dodger half of the 2nd inning, hitting a solo homer to center field.  It was his first home run of the year.

The Dodgers would tack on three more in the 5th inning.  Kike Hernandez hit an RBI double to left, scoring Chris Taylor.  Corey Seager followed with RBI single to right, scoring Kershaw.  Two batters later, Adrian Gonzales recorded an RBI fielders choice, which made it 4-1 after Hernandez crossed the plate.

The Rockies got one back in the 6th inning on an RBI single from Stephen Cardullo.  Kershaw shut down Colorado after that. Avilan, Romo, and Jansen combined to give up just 1 hit over the remaining three innings.

The Dodgers improved to 8-8 on the season.  They are 3-1 when Clayton Kershaw starts, and 5-7 when anybody else starts.

LA will now travel to Arizona to open a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Friday night.  Kenta Maeda (1-1) will get the start for the Dodgers, while the D’Backs go with Taijuan Walker (2-1).

April 18, 2017

Nolan Arenado hit a pair of home runs, and Trevor Story added another, as the Rockies held off a late Dodger rally to win 4-3 at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday night.

The Dodgers tried to rally in the 9th inning, but came up short.  Justin Turner had an RBI single, scoring Chase Utley.  Yasmani Grandal had a run-scoring single as well to pull the Dodgers within 1. However, Adrian Gonzales grounded out to short to end the game with runners at 1st and 2nd.

Despite giving up the two runs in the 9th, Greg Holland earned his 4th save.  Chris Ruslin earned the win in relief for the Rockies.  Kyle Freeland went 4 innings for Colorado, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run on 87 pitches.  Hyun-Jin Ryu took the loss for LA, falling to 0-3 on the season.  Ryu gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, in his 6 innings of work.

Arenado got the Rockies off to a strong start in the 1st inning with a 2-run shot to left field.  Story connected on a solo blast in the 4th.  Joc Pederson put the Dodgers on the board in the 4th, reaching on an infield single which scored Kike Hernandez.

However, Arenado and the Rockies answered in the 5th again, after he put another ball into the Pavilion.

The boys in blue fell to 7-8 on the season, and are 3 games back of the 1st place Rockies in the NL West.

The Dodgers are back at it tomorrow in the 2nd game of the series.  Clayton Kershaw will be on the hill for LA, and the Rockies will counter with Tyler Anderson.

April 17, 2017

Jake Lamb hit a solo homer in the 8th inning, and David Peralta added an RBI triple in the 9th, as the D’Backs beat the Dodgers 4-2 at the Ravine on Monday night.  Both teams split the four-game set with two wins apiece.

The Dodgers had a 2-0 lead in this one after a 2nd inning sacrifice fly from Logan Forsythe, and a solo homer from Enrique Hernandez in the 4th inning.  That was all the offense that LA could generate against Robbie Ray.  The Arizona lefty went six innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing the two runs on three hits and four walks, while striking out 10.

Brandon McCarthy started for the Dodgers, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out eight.  Neither starting pitcher got a decision.

J.J. Hoover got the win for the D’Backs and Fernando Rodney earned his 5th save of the season.  Chris Hatcher took the loss for LA.

Arizona tied the score at 2-2 in the 5th inning, when A.J. Pollock and David Peralta had back-to-back RBI singles.

The bullpen has been very reliable for LA, but unfortunately on this night this they were unable to hold down the opposition.

“They’ve been great,” skipper Dave Roberts said of his bullpen which has thrown 49-1/3 innings already this season (among the most in the majors). “Lamb’s an aggressive hitter. Hatch tried to stuff it in there, but it just leaked back over the plate.

The Dodgers will now begin a short series with the Rockies on Tuesday night at Dodgers Stadium.  Hyun-Jin Ryu will get the ball for the Dodgers, and the Rockies will go with Kyle Freeland.