May 27, 2017

Chase Utley drove in 3 runs and Chris Taylor belted a 2-run shot, as the Dodgers shut down the Cubs 5-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Ravine.

Brandon McCarthy pitched 6 shutout innings, yielding just 2 hits.  He improved his record to 5-1 on the season, with two of those wins coming against the Cubs.

Ross Stripling came out of the bullpen to give the Dodgers 3 innings of shutout relief.   He allowed just 1 hit.  He recorded his 2nd professional save.  His first since 2013 when he was in Double-A.

Utley gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the 4th inning with an RBI single that scored Kike Hernandez with two outs.

LA would pad their lead in the 4th on Taylor’s 2-run shot to left off John Lackey.

Later in the inning, Utley came through again with a 2-run single that scored Yasmani Grandal and Hernandez.

“We know what Chase can do, and that it would be just a matter of time before he got out of whatever he was in,” said Grandal. ”He’s been really good for like 40 years, right? It was nice to see the back-to-back homers (on Thursday and Friday night) and now these hits today.”

Lackey (4-5) was done after 5 innings.  He gave up 5 runs on 6 hits.  He walked 4 and struck out 5.

McCarthy had pain in his knee and left the game to have his knee examined after departing in the 5th.

Chicago has been shut out in three consecutive road games and held scoreless in four of its last six games away from Wrigley Field, scoring five runs in that span.

The Dodgers will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon at the Ravine. Both teams will throw their aces.  Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.01 ERA) for the Dodgers and Jon Lester (3-2, 3.19 ERA) goes for the Cubs.

May 26, 2017

Alex Wood threw 5 more shutout innings while improving his record to 6-0, as the Dodgers blanked the Cubs 4-0 on Friday night at the Ravine.

Wood allowed 2 hits while striking out 8 and walking 2.  He extended his career-high scoreless innings streak to 25 1/3, longest in the majors this season.

“I definitely feel confident now,” Wood said. “The consistency of my stuff has been there and that’s where my confidence is coming from.”

Pedro Baez and Chris Hatcher combined to throw four hitless innings after Wood departed.

Chase Utley connected on a solo homer off of Jake Arrieta in the 3rd inning to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.  Yasmani Grandal doubled in Corey Seager in the 4th, and Adrian Gonzales drilled a 2-run shot to center in the 6th.

Arrieta (5-4) took the loss, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits.  He struck out 9 and walked 1.  He departed after 6 innings and 95 pitches.

“I thought it was somewhat of a victory getting Wood out after five,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “He started out hot. His numbers were high, but then all of a sudden his velocity came back down. But their bullpen was that good.”

Game 2 of the series will be on Saturday night.  Brandon McCarthy (4-1, 3.76 ERA) is on the hill for the boys in blue, while the Cubs go with  John Lackey (4-4, 4.82 ERA).

May 25, 2017

The Dodgers are finding all kinds of creative ways to use their abundance of starting pitching.  On Thursday night they got 5 strong innings from Kenta Maeda and another 4 solid innings from Hyun-Jin Ryu to beat the Cardinals 7-3.  The Dodgers took two out of three from the Cardinals during their 3-game set.

Maeda (4-2) picked up the win after giving up just 3 runs on 7 hits.  He struck out 4 and walked 2, while throwing 78 pitches.  Maeda also delivered a 2-run single during a 3-run 4th inning that saw the Dodgers take the lead for good, after the Cardinals had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Ryu was convinced by skipper Dave Roberts to come out of the bullpen.  He reluctantly agreed, but pitched very well in his first stint.  He allowed just 2 hits while pitching 4 shutout innings.  That effort earned him his 1st career save.

The Cards got 3 in the 1st inning after Jedd Gyorko hit a 2-run double, followed by a Yadier Molina RBI single.

Michal Wacha (2-2) took the loss after giving up 6 runs on 7 hits.  He lasted only 4 innings before giving way to the St. Louis bullpen.

LA began their comeback in the 2nd inning when Chase Utley connected on a solo homer to right center field.  Yasiel Puig added an RBI single in the 4th, followed by Maeda’s 2 RBI.

A wild pitch from Brett Cecil in the 5th allowed another Dodger run, making it 5-3.  Adrian Gonzales and Chris Taylor would each provide an RBI double later on, which rounded out the scoring.

Up next for the Dodgers will be a 3-game weekend set with the Cubs at the Ravine beginning Friday night.  Alex Wood (5-0, 1.88 ERA) gets the ball for the boys in blue, while the Cubs counter with Jake Arrieta (5-3, 4.80 ERA).

May 24, 2017

Mike Leake gave up 1 run in 8 innings of work, as the Cardinals hammered the Dodgers 6-1 at Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night.

Leake (5-2) got the win after allowing just four hits, striking out five, while not walking a batter.  He has a National League-leading 1.91 ERA.

“He’s got a lot of movement on his ball,” Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger said. “He was hitting his spots. He has been effective all year, and he has got a good thing going. We just didn’t execute well tonight.”

Jedd Gyorkoa had three hits and scored a run in the 2-run second inning that gave the Cards the lead for good.

Rich Hill (1-2) took the loss in four innings of work.  He gave up 5 runs on 4 hits.   He walked 7 and struck out 4, while throwing 82 pitches.

“It was a bad outing. It was terrible,” Hill said. “I accept full responsibility for that. I just gave them the game. That is unacceptable.”

Kolten Wong delivered a 2-run single in the 2nd inning to give the Cardinals a quick 2-0 lead.  Gyorko added another 2-run single in the 5th, aided by a throwing error from Bellinger.  Yadier Molina would add a sac fly, and then connect on a solo homer in the 7th to make it 6-0.

The only Dodger run of the game came on a sacrifice fly by Bellinger in the 7th inning.  LA couldn’t get much going offensively.

Chris Taylor started in center field for the Dodgers, replacing the injured Joc Pederson.  Pederson collided with Yasiel Puig the night before, and is being monitored for concussion symptoms.

The Dodgers and Cardinals will be back at it on Thursday night in the rubber game of their 3 game set.  Kenta Maeda (3-2, 5.03 ERA) will be on the mound for LA, while Michael Wacha (2-1, 2.74 ERA) gets the ball for St. Louis.

May 23, 2017

Logan Forsythe delivered a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 13th inning, as the Dodgers outlasted the Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine.

With two outs in the 13th, Kike Hernandez walked, setting the stage for Forsythe.  The Dodger 2nd baseman drove a 1-1 pitch into the right field corner, which bounced off the wall, allowing Hernandez to come all the way around to score the winning run from 1st base.

The game was a great duel between Clayton Kershaw and Cardinals’ starter Lance Lynn, resulting in a 1-1 draw between both sides after 9 innings.  Neither pitcher received a decision.

Kershaw pitched 9 innings, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits.  However, he took a 1-0 lead into the 9th inning when Randal Grichuk lead-off with a single to center.  Grichuk advanced to second on a groundout from Tommy Pham, then scored on a wild pitch that Kershaw uncorked.  That was Kershaw’s only blemish in an otherwise brilliant performance.

The Dodgers’ ace threw 104 pitches.  He didn’t walk anybody and struck out 10.   It was the 53rd time that he has struck out 10 or more batters in a game.

The Dodgers’ only other run of the game came on a solo homer from Yasmani Grandal in the 1st inning.  That was one of only two hits that Lynn would allow on the night.  It just so happened that one of them went 418 feet.

Grandal has at least one extra-base hit in 10 of his last 13 games.  In one of those 3 games without, he had 1 at-bat as a pinch-hitter.  The homer was his 5th of the season.

Lynn was equally as brilliant as Kershaw.  The Cardinals’ ace went 8 innings, giving up just the 1 run on 2 hits.  He struck out 10 Dodgers and walked 2, while making 123 pitches.

With Kenley Jansen pitching the 10th inning, he retired the side in order, however, a scary moment occurred on the final out of the inning.  Yadier Molina hit a fly ball to deep right, which was chased down by both Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson.  Puig caught the ball but collided with Pederson, who took an elbow to the head.  Pederson also slid into the wall, cutting his forehead and then leaving the game after that.  He was replaced by Kike Hernandez.  Puig stayed in the game, despite grimacing and grabbing his side after the collision.

Forsythe’s heroics came on the night he returned to the lineup for the boys in blue after missing the last 30 games with a toe injury.  He started at 3rd in place of the injured Justin Turner, who was out of the lineup with a hamstring injury.  Forsythe batted lead-off and struck out 4 times and walked once before coming through in the 13th.  Yasiel Puig also returned to the lineup and started in right field after sitting out for two games with a back injury.  He was hitless in five at-bats.

Game 2 of the series will be on Wednesday night at the Ravine.  Rich Hill (1-1; 2.77 ERA) goes to the mound for LA, while Mike Leake (4-2; 2.03 ERA) gets the call for the Cardinals.