Back On Track

After the Dodgers winning streak came crashing to Earth on Friday night in a 16-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies (Skip Schumaker even got to pitch an inning, a scoreless one at that), the Dodgers got back on track last night in a 4-3 win. Once again, Hyun-Jin Ryu once again pitched well enough to win (7 IP, 2 Earned Runs) but two outfield errors (one by Puig and one by Kemp)in the top of the ninth allowed the Phillies to tie the game at 3 off of Kenley Jansen. The Dodgers got their second walk-off win of the season when Catcher A.J. Ellis singled in Hanley Ramirez from second base. The Dodgers have won 7 of 8 now and need to finish the rest of the first half of the season strong. Hanley Ramirez went 3 out of 4, including his 6th homerun of the season, to raise his batting average to .394. Matt Kemp had a very forgettable game as he struck out in 3 out of his 4 at bats and walked in his other one.

Six In A Row

The Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies last night 6-4 as Yasiel Puig came through in the clutch with a two out, two run single in the bottom of the 7th inning to plate the winning runs. Zach Greinke got the win pitching 7 innings, giving up 4 runs (2 homeruns), but with a little offensive support, pitched well enough to get the win (5-2). It wasn't his best effort of the year but he went deep into the game, kept them close, and allowed the Dodgers hitters to do their job. Kenley Jansen pitched the 9th for his 7th save and a new closer is born. The Dodgers only had 7 hits but they made them count. Andre Ethier also drove in two runs and Matt Kemp went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Clayton Kershaw Back In The Winning Groove

Clayton Kershaw (6-5) pitched 8 innings of one run baseball last night in the Dodgers 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants, striking out 7 and walking 1. He bested pitching rival Tim Lincecum (4-8) as the Dodgers scored three times in the bottom of the 6th to put them over the top. Kenley Jansen pitched the 9th for his 6th save. That gives the Dodgers a season best 5 game winning streak, a sweep of the Giants (I really love the sound of that), and momentum, something they have not had all year long. Yasiel Puig had a more Puig-like night going 3 for 4, Hanley Ramirez went 2 for 3 with an RBI and is now batting a robust .375. The Dodgers are now 35-42 and their offense is slowly improving as the players that have been missing start returning from the Disabled List. They have improved to 27th in runs scored (it is hard for me to write that is an improvement) and they have gotten themselves to within reach of moving up in the National League West standings, 6 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, the only team in the NL West with a winning record.

A Four Game Winning Streak

The Dodgers beat the Giants last night 6-5 and extend their winning streak to 4 games. A four game winning streak is great but more importantly, it has come against the National League West. Ex-closer Brandon League tried his best to blow a three-run lead in the ninth inning but Paco Rodriguez got the final two outs for his first save on the season. The last out came on the catch of the year by Matt Kemp, in his first game back from the Disabled List. Stephen Fife got the win (2-2) with 6 2/3 innings, giving up 3 runs. The offense was led by Mark Ellis (4th homerun) and Hanley Ramirez (5th Homerun). Yasiel Puig put up an 0 for 4 but you can't expect him to do it every game. Mark Saxon of ESPNLosangeles.com reports that this is the deepest and healthiest the Dodgers have been all season with the exception of Outfielder Carl Crawford who is still about two weeks from returning. As hot as Yasiel Puig has been, Crawford may have a hard time getting his job back.

Beating The Giants

The Dodgers beat the Giants and current Dodger killer Madison Bumgarner last night 3-1 behind the strong starting pitching of Hyun-Jin Ryu and and the hitting of Yasiel Puig. Ryu pitched 6 2/3 innings, only giving up one run but the win went to reliever Paco Rodriguez (2-2) and Puig hit a solo homer, his 7th, in the first and drove in the go ahead run in the eighth. Kenley Jansen got his fifth save on the season. There are reports off of Dodgers.com that Matt Kemp and Scott Van Slyke are on the mend and I see Van Slyke headed back to AAA Albuquerque thanks to the bat of Yasiel Puig. The Dodgers only have three true outfielders on the roster and I can't see them keeping five so Van Slyke is the odd man out. He also has options left whereas Skip Schumaker does not and Puig is the hottest hitter in baseball.

Road Woes

Any type of road woes in any sports is cured by winning. In spite of the Dodgers two game road winning streak, the Dodgers are tied for the second worst road record in baseball at 13-22. The Miami Marlins are the only team with a worse record at 11-27. The Dodgers got strong pitching from starters Zach Greinke yesterday and Chris Capuano today and some timely hitting in the 4-2 and 3-1 wins. The offense is still not there. Mark McGwire is the hitting coach and I was always curious about that choice. It has always been referred to as "the science of hitting" and a hitting coach has to have the ability to dissect a hitters swing and figure out what he can do to make the hitter comfortable and improve his swing. The principles might be the same but it is different for every player. Thinking and hitting do not go hand in hand. The Dodgers have been slumping across the board for just about the entire season with the exception of Yasiel Puig and I guess he has not been with the Dodgers long enough for the coaching to take his swing down yet.

Mattingly's Return To The Bronx

Don Mattingly returned to the Bronx for a short two games series with the New York Yankees and earned a split. The Dodgers won the second game 6-0 behind the combined 3 hit pitching of starter Chris Capuano (6 IP, 3 hits), Chris Withrow (a perfect two innings), and ex-closer Brandon League got in some work, pitching a shutout in the ninth. Rookie Outfielder Yasiel Puig continues to produce no matter where he bats in the lineup. He batted second in Game #2 last night and went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored and a solo homerun, his 5th. His average is still an unworldly .474 and he continues to light up the stats sheets. He also got hit by another pitch so major league pitchers are trying to back him off the plate.

The Targets Extend To The Minors

Evidently the Dodgers and their minor league affiliates have targets on their backs. Their AAA affiliate the Albuquerque Isotopes were involved in a basebrawl with the Memphis Redbirds yesterday when two Isotopes batters were plunked in back-to-back innings last night in the Isoptopes 13-10 win. In my opinion the Isotopes players have a right to defend themselves. Warnings were issued, ejections were made, but Justin Sellers still got one high and tight after Isotopes player Jeremy Moore hit a three-run homer. When warnings like that are issued, a pitcher loses his ability to pitch inside. There is no way to tell intent but if a pitch comes close to being inside, you run the risk of getting tossed from the game. I'm a baseball purist and pitching inside and beanballs have always been an accepted part of the game. Going head hunting is a different matter altogether because that signifies an intent to injure. I am sure suspensions will be handed down but I think baseball needs to take at the umpires not being able to control the game and letting situations like this escalate.

The Object Is To Win

I am sure Clayton Kershaw will be the first to tell you that the Dodgers getting the win over the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday is more important than him picking up the win to pad his own stats. He is 5-4 with a 1.84 ERA and could easily have 10 wins with any type of run or bullpen support. He pitched another great game yesterday (7 IP, 1 earned run, 8 K's, 3 BB) but the Dodgers bullpen let him down yet again. Newly appointed closer Kenley Jansen gave up a game tying homerun to Travis Snider in the bottom of the ninth to tie it at 3. The Dodgers were able to push across two runs in the top of the 11th inning. Brandon League came in to pitch the bottom of the 11th, promptly gave up two hits, but eventually closed the door to earn his 14th save. I believe Don Mattingly had to turn to him out of necessity because all of the other relievers were spent. A win is a win.

The Modern Day Don Drysdale

Zack Greinke does not mind pitching inside and the Dodgers have needed a pitcher like this for a long time. Greinke is a modern day Don Drysdale. Baseball legend has it that Drysdale used to keep a list tucked in his hat of hitters he needed to go after. After Greinke plunked Cody Ross, there is no doubt in my mind that there was an unspoken order from Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson to go after Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig, the hottest batter in the Dodgers lineup. Gibson is an old school baseball purist who believes in pitchers protecting their hitters thru retaliatory strikes. Gibson's hard line, no nonsense approach to the game was essential to the Dodgers beating the Oakland A's in the 1988 World Series. Luckily the Dodgers had Greinke on the mound. He nailed Diamondbacks Catcher Miguel Montero between the humbers after the Puig beaning and that was when the umpire should have put a stop to it. It ended when Ian Kennedy went head hunting (that seemed to be a common theme for Kennedy) on Greinke and then a brief baseball scrum ensued. No one got hurt, no serious punches were thrown, and ot ends up looking like a WWE cage match than the MMA. I do not like the fact that Kennedy did go head hunting on both Puig and Greinke because players can be seriously hurt and careers ended. Puig got hit in the face but was able to stay in the game. The Dodgers ultimate retaliation occurred in the bottom of the eighth inning when Dodgers Catcher Tim Federowicz hit a bases clearing double to nail down the Dodgers 5-3 win. Kenley Jansen (it's about time) came in to close the door for his third save of the season. A baseball fight can have a unifying effect on a team and Greinke proved himself a team player by protecting his batters.

The Trials And Tribulations Of A Closer

Brandon League may have blown his last save for the Dodgers. He gave up 4 runs in the top of the ninth inning last night against the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Dodgers lost 5-4. I hope Don Mattingly is not staking his managerial career on the resurgence of Brandon League. That was his fourth blown save and the Dodgers 11th overall as a team. I have a hard time believing that they cannot find someone to close the door. Kenley Jansen is the next likely candidate to have a shot at being the closer. The Dodgers lost their third in a row after a promising weekend start against the Atlanta Braves and they wasted another good performance by Clayton Kershaw. After another heartbreaking loss, I can only believe that Mattingly's job hangs in the balance.

Walking Off Happy

The Los Angeles Dodgers got their first walk off win of the year last night over the Atlanta Braves 2-1 in 10 innings. Skip Schumaker scored the winning run in the bottom of the tenth on a wild pitch. 60 games into the season the Dodgers get their first walk off win. That is more of a statement of disbelief than it is anything else. The starting pitching from Hyun-Jin Ryu was excellent (7 2/3 IP, 1 earned run), the relief pitching gave them an opportunity to win, and the batters are still not not knocking the cover off the ball but I am hoping this is a sign of things to come. Yasiel Puig continued his torrid start with his 4th Homerun in 5 games, a game tying shot to left field off of a curveball in the bottom of the sixth inning. I read the other day off of mlb.com via Facebook that Yasiel Puig was the first Dodger since 1916 to hit a grand slam 4 games into his career. I love stats like that. Baseball has a history like no other sport.

Yasiel Puig

Yasiel Puig has had quite a start to his major league career. He received his promotion from AA Chattanooga at the beginning of the week. It is very unusual for the Dodgers to promote a regular from AA with no major league experience and I couldn't begin to tell you the last time that happened. In 4 games he is 7 for 16 with 3 Homeruns and 9 RBI's, including an opposite field grand slam against the Atlanta Braves last night that slammed the door on that 5-0 victory. There were quite a few baseball people, including Puig himself, that thought he should have made the Dodgers coming out of Spring Training. Now, thanks to the Dodgers never ending battle against injuries, Puig is making the most of his chance. Scott Van Slyke is not doing too badly with his opportunities either as he has hit 6 Homeruns and has 16 RBI's in 57 at bats. Neither one of them will be able to keep up this pace but it is exciting to see them give the Dodgers the offensive spark they have been lacking all season.