Beatin' The Yankees

I love watching the Dodgers beat the Yankees. I don't even care if it is in Spring Training. I still remember how much grief I took in the 6th and 7th grades in 1977-78 when the Yankees beat the Dodgers in those two World Series. I got a small measure of revenge in 1981 when the Dodgers got their measure of revenge but it wasn't as sweet because it was a strike-shortened, tainted victory. Mark Ellis hit a "duck snort" (a phrase used by White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson) over Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Yankees. Andre Ethier singles and stole second base allowing for Ellis' heroics. The Dodgers are 10-1 since the All Star break. Zach Greinke went 7 innings and only gave up two runs but closer Kenley Jansen got the victory by pitching a scoreless ninth. Juan Uribe hit the only homer for the Dodgers, his 6th.

One More Rag Armed Reliever

The news came across today that the Dodgers have signed former San Francisco Giants and Amish Farmer look a like Brian Wilson to a one year contract. Maybe the Dodgers did not have enough rag armed relief pitchers with astronomic ERA's and needed one more to fill out the bullpen. Granted Brandon League, Carlos Marmol, and Brian Wilson were all top relievers within the past couple of years. It does not take much to lose it as a relief pitcher. Very few relievers can maintain stay on the top of their game as long as Mariano Rivera or in the past a Rollie Fingers, Lee Smith, or Bruce Sutter. I hope the Dodgers have pulled one off the scrap heap in Brian Wilson but I only see him pitching in middle relief at the most.

Yasiel Does It Again

Yasiel does have his redeeming qualities. Yesterday in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, Yasiel Puig struck out three times, was picked off of first base, and was caught stealing for the 5th time and walked once for good measure. In the bottom of the 11th inning, he launched a walk off home run, his 10th of the season, into the left field bleachers to give the Dodgers a 1-0 win and their 9th win in ten games since the All Star break. In his youthful exuberance from hitting the game winning home run, he slid into home plate to place an extra emphasis on the victory. In so doing, he broke the unwritten baseball code of showing up the other team. The Los Angeles Dodgers do play the Reds one more time in Cincinnati in early September and Yasiel had better be prepared to be ducking fastballs his first couple of at bats. The Dodgers got a great effort from starter Chris Capuano (6 2/3 innings, all three Reds hits) and and 4 Dodgers relievers combined to pitch 4 1/3 innings of hitless relief. Brandon League (6-3) pitched two scoreless innings to earn his third win in the last week and acquiring Carlos Marmol seems to have greatly improved League's pitching. The Cincinnati Teds had only had 3 hits in 11 innings and the Dodgers only had 5 so it is a good thing Puig hit that home run or they still might be playing.

Pitching Rules The Day

The Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds last night 4-1 behind the pitching of Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-3). He went 7 innings, gave up 2 hits, allowed one run (a second inning solo homer by Jay Bruce), and struck out 9 qhile walking only 1. Hanley Ramirez got the Dodgers scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI double and Skip Schumaker broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 5th inning with a two-run homer (his second home run in less than a week). Adrian Gonzalez added an insurance run in the 7th with an RBI single (his 65th RBI). The Dodgers relievers came in and pitched two innings of hitless relief(Ronald Belisario-2/3, Paco Rodriguez-1/3, and Kenley Jansen- 1 inning). Jansen earned his 14th save. You have to love the versatility of the Dodgers team. Skip Schumaker batted leadoff in this game and the Dodgers have become a team of interchangeable parts. Over a 162 game season, that is what it takes to win a pennant.

Back On Track

Any time the Dodgers need to recover from a loss, giving the ball to Clayton Kershaw is a good bet to get back on track. After a 5-2 loss to Matt Latos and the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night, Clayton Kershaw with some help from Hanley Ramirez, beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 last night. Kershaw went 8 innings, scattering 6 hits and giving up one run, and struck out 8. Ramirez hit a two run homer, his 11th, in the bottom of the sixth to provide all of the scoring Kershaw and the Dodgers would need. Kenley Jansen came on in the ninth, struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced, and earned his 13th save on the season. Yasiel Puig is starting to struggle a little bit now as he struck out 3 out of the 4 at bats he had last night. ESPN showed all three of his strike outs and the fristration he showed in the dugout after the last one as part of their baseball highlight package and that is really unfair to a young player. Almost all players show their frustration at some point and time but partly because of Puig's skill set and partly because of his rapidly growing bad reputation as a prima donna, every move he makes is magnified and broadcast for the world to see.

The Dodgers Bench

The Dodgers bench this season has been a good mixture of veterans who can play multiple positions and rookies who have been in the revolving door between Albuquerque, Chattanooga, and Los Angeles. I was most impressed with utility man Nick Punto. It seemed like every time the Dodgers scored an important run against the Toronto Blue Jays, Punto was at the top of the Dodgers dugout steps being the first player to congratulate the player that had just scored. He can play multiple positions with third base being his natural position but he gets the occasional start, he's a defensive replacement, and he can come off the bench as a pinch hitter from either side of the plate. Veterans Juan Uribe, Skip Schumaker (who hit his first home run of the season in the Toronto series) and Jerry Hairston, Jr., have performed the same functions. Several rookies and young players-Yasiel Puig, Scott Van Slyke, Tim Federowicz, Dee Gordon, and Justin Sellers- have made key contributions in between shuttle runs between Albuquerque and Los Angeles. Puig is the only one that seems to be here to stay. During the Toronto series, I was impressed to see Puig sitting between two veteran players, Uribe and Hanley Ramirez, when he was out of the lineup and he was cutting up with the two of them and didn't seem anywhere near the arrogant player that has been portrayed in the press. Now if they could just get him to lay off that pitch just off the plate with two strikes.

I Can't Wait To Get On The Road Again

I had to borrow from the lyrics of music icon Willie Nelson as the Dodgers won their 10th straight road game, their most since 1954, and two shy of the franchise record of 12 in a row set in 1924. They beat the Toronto Blue Jays last night 8-3 in 10 innings as Mark Ellis hit his 5th homerun, a two run homer in the top of the 10th and Yasiel Puig followed with his 9th homerun. The Dodgers tacked on two more runs on an Andre Ethier double to win going away. Ethier had 4 hits and Puig 3 to lead the Dodgers offense. Brandon League (5-3) got the win for the second game in a row. I hate to see the Dodgers leave Toronto. They scored 32 runs in 3 games and the ball seemed to jump out of the Rogers Centre. The Dodgers won the final two games in come from behind fashion.

Mounting A Comeback

The Dodgers trailed the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 after 6 innings last night but came roaring back to secure a 10-9 win in gaining their fifth victory in a row. Jerry Hairston, Jr., and Andre Ethier hit solo home runs for the Dodgers and Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer in the 8th inning that gave the Dodgers the lead. Chris Capuano had another subpar start for the Dodgers (4 1/3, 5 runs), Carlos Marmol, pitching in his first game as a Dodger, came in and poured gasoline on the fire (1 2/3, 3 runs), but Brandon League (2/3, 0 runs) pitched long enough to get the win (4-3). Kenley Jansen came in to nail down his 12th save but made it interesting by giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk in the 9th. Mark Ellis, Ethier, and Gonzalez all drove in 3 for the Dodgers. By adding Carlos Marmol to the roster, the Dodgers added another reliever that is very shaky on his best day. The Dodgers are in a pennant race now and I hope they are not betting the race on the chance that Marmol and Brandon League can regain their form from a couple of years ago.

North Of The Border

The Los Angeles Dodgers broke out the bats last night in a 14-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. They had three four run innings (2nd, 6th, and 7th) fueled by Catcher A.J. Ellis' career night at the plate. Ellis went 4 for 6 with one home run, 5 RBI's, and 3 runs scored. Skip Schumaker, playing rightfield, had his first homerun on the season in the 7th inning with two on and Carl Crawford had 2 RBI's. Hyun-Jin Ryu did not have his best game of the year and it was his first game action since July 10th. He went 5 1/3 innings and gave up 9 hits and 4 runs. That is the beauty of run support. You don't have to be at your best every game when your team is scoring a lot of runs. Ryu improved his record to 8-3. The Dodgers are 4-0 since the All-Star break and moved into sole posession of first place.

The Kershaw Leap

In Football there is the Lambeau Leap and in Baseball, there is now the Kershaw Leap. In the top of the fifth inning with the Dodgers holding a commanding 9-1 lead, one of the Washington Nationals hit a screaming line drive towards third base. Nick Punto, all 5'9" of him, leaped high into the air to snag the line drive. The replay showed Clayton Kershaw leaping high into the air at the same time Punto did like he was going to catch the line drive himself. His eyes were glued on Punto the entire time and it was like he was willing Punti to catch the ball. That kind of passion displayed by Kershaw was just a natural display of a desire to win in a game, for all practical purposes, that was already over. He dispalyed that same sort of passion when he struck out twice, swinging at bad pitches. The Dodgers scored 7 runs in the top of the second on the strength of a lead off solo home run by Matt Kemp his 5th, fresh off the Disabled List, and a three-run home run by Hanley Ramirez, his 10th, both off hanging sliders from Nationals' starter Jordan Zimmerman. Matt Kemp ended up 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's, but twisted his ankle making the final out of the top of the 9th. It was a meaningless play in what ended up being a 9-2 win and now Kemp is going to miss even more time. Clayton Kershaw (9-6) pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 hits (both long, solo home runs by ex-Dodger Jayson Werth) and struck out 9 with no walks. Kemp, Carl Crawford, and Mark Ellis all had three hits and Kemp and Ramirez had 3 RBI's a piece. The Dodgers handed Jordan Zimmerman his first home loss on the season.

Making Their Push Now

The Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals last night 3-1 in 10 innings and are only 1/2 game out of first place in the National League West. Zach Greinke pitched a great game, pitching out of trouble in several innings including a bases loaded, one out jam in the bottom of the first. He did not factor in the decision. He went 6 innings, gave up 1 earned run, and also went 2 for 2 at the plate. The Dodgers used 6 relievers to pitch the next 4 innins and the only reliever that did not get in the game was Brandon League. Chris Withrow (1-0) earned his first major league win by pitching a scoreless bottom of the ninth inning. Hanley Ramirez drove in Adrian Gonzalez with a double in the top of the tenth inning and he later scored on Andre Ethier's sacrifice to provide the final score. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless bottom of the tenth inning for his 11th save. Ramirez went 3 for 5 for the game. Yasiel Puig went 0 for 5 amd is now 0 for 9 with 5 strike outs since the All-Star break. Matt Kemp should be coming off the Disabled List within the next few games to give the Dodgers their full compliment of outfielders in a couple of months.

Getting The Second Half Off To A Good Start

The Dodgers got the second half of the season off to a good start on the road by beating the Washington Nationals 3-2 last night. Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer (his 9th) over the right centerfield fence in the top of the third inning off of Nationals ace Stephen Strasborg that drove in Adrian Gonzalez to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Ramirez may hit the hardest homeruns in the the major leagues because that ball left the field in a hurry. Andre Ethier hit his 6th homerun in the top of the ninth off of Nationals closer Rafael Soriano that barely cleared the rightfield fence to provide the winning margin. Kenley Jansen got the save with a scoreless bottom of the ninth, striking out two. Ricky Nolasco got his third start of his Dodgers tenure and he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, and Jose Dominguez (1), Paco Rodriguez (1 1/3), and Ronald Belisario (1/3), all came in and pitched scoreless relief in support of Nolasco. Belisario (4-5) got credit for the win. Yasiel Puig may have gone 0 for 4 in the game but he made the defensive plan making a running catch of a foul ball in the right field corner, crashing into the fence and holding on to the ball.

All Star Break Starts Early

The Dodgers offense started their All Star break about three games early as they only scored 2 runs in losing 2 of 3 to the Colorado Rockies. Ricky Nolasco (6-9) was pinned with the loss yesterday giving up all 3 runs in 5 innings. The Dodgers could only muster 6 hits (Schumaker and Van Slyke had 2 a piece) and Adrian Gonzalez had the only RBI, his 59th. Former Asheville Tourist Jhoulys Chacin (9-4) pitched 6 innings for the win.

Sometimes One Run Is All You Need

Hanley Ramirez drove in Skip Schumaker with a ground out to Shortstop in the top of the first inning yesterday and Starter Zach Greinke made it hold up. Greinke threw a two hit shutout, striking out 9 and walking 1, and improved his record to 8-2. The Dodgers could only muster four hits of their own against Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood (one of those by Zach Greinke and he also stole a base- a rarity for pitchers) as he pitched a complete game as well. The Dodgers will go into the All Star break with a .500 record at worst and considering they were 30-42 on June 22nd, that is a remarkable recovery considering the fact that Matt Kemp has only played a little over half a season, and not at full strength at that.

The Train Gets Derailed

The Train that has been the Los Angeles Dodgers got derailed a little bit last night. The Colrado Rockies shut the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw out 3-0 in which the Dodgers could only manage 4 hits. Kershaw had 10 strike outs in 7 innings but he gave up all three runs. His record dropped to 8-6 and his ERA "jumped" to 1.98.

Capuano Catches The Fever

Chris Capuano came through with a great start last night (6 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 0 runs, and 8 K's) to keep the Dodgers hot streak alive and well. He improved his record to 3-6. Mark Ellis provided almost all of the offense for the Dodgers going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI's from the leadoff position. Its seems like a different player is coming through for the Dodgers every night. The Dodgers are 16-3 since June 22, the best record in the majors over that span, and are 46-45 on the season.

Gutting Out A Sweep

The Dodgers gutted out a tough 14 inning win over the Arizona Diamondbacks last night, 7-5. Hanley Ramirez and A.J. Ellis both hit homeruns in the top of the 14th after Adrian Gonzalez was singled in by A.J. Ellis in the top of the 9th to tie the game at 5. Hyun-Jin Ryu did not have his best outing of the year, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings, but the Dodgers bullpen really held down the fort. They only gave up 2 hits in 9 innings in relief. This was highlighted by the best outing of Chris Withrow's young career, going 3 innings, only giving up 1 hit while striking out 3 and walking 2. Kenley Jansen (3-3) went the last two innings for the win. Hanley Ramirez was the hitting star for the Dodgers going 3 for 6 with 3 RBI's. The win also allowed the Dodgers to pull even at .500 with a 45-45 record. Chris Capuano stays in the rotation with Stephen Fife going to the 15 day Disabled List and he opens against the Colorado Rockies tonight.

A Successful Debut

Ricky Nolasco showed why the Dodgers gave up three pitching prospects for him last night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 4 hits and one run, and struck out 5 with no walks. Nolasco also went 2 for 2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. That gives Dodgers pitchers 5 straight hits. I wonder what the record is? Adrian Gonzalez carried the big bat with 3 RBI's giving him 57 on the season. With the big push on to get Yasiel Puig put on the National League All Star team, Adrian Gonzalez got overlooked and he has been the Dodgers Offensive MVP thus far this season. Andre Ethier and Skip Schumaker both had 2 hits and Andre Ethier has boosted his batting average up to .272 over the past couple of weeks.

Greinke On The Mound And At The Plate

Zach Greinke did the job on the mound and at the plate last night. His stat line read 7 innings pitched, 2 hits allowed, 7 strikeouts, and 2 walks. He also went 3 for 3 at the plate with a run scored, raising his season average to .370. Puig had 2 hits, Hanley Ramirez had 3 with an RBI, Ethier had 3 with an RBI, and A.J. Ellis had 2 more RBI's. It was an important series opening win versus the National League West leading Diamondbacks. Newly acquired Ricky Nolasco makes his Dodgers debut versus the Diamondbacks tonight and he is now in a pennant race. It will be interesting to see how he reacts.

Better Late Than Never

Clayton Kershaw (8-5) hung around long enough to get the win as Catcher A.J. Ellis hit a bases clearing double in the top of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants and to take two out of three. Kershaw pitched 8 innings, 1 earned run, and struck out 3. Kenley Jansen held down the ninth for his 9th save. Yasiel Puig had quite the game as he was the rave of ESPN's Baseball Tonight. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored and a stolen base and a stellar defensive play in right field. He is also up for the final vote (is this starting to sound like survivor?) to get on the National League All-Star team as is First Baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Clayton Kershaw is the lone Dodger representative.

Madison Bumgarner Owns The Dodgers

Madison Bumgarner beat the Dodgers again last night 4-2 but he had a lot of help from the Dodgers. They committed almost as many errors as they had hits (3 to 4) and only had Tim Federowicz's two run homer two show for run support behind Stephen Fife (3-3). Fife went 4 1/3 innings and only gave up one earned run but the errors helped to end his day early. Yasiel Puig had his worst game as a pro going 0 for 4 with 4 strikeouts. It will be interesting to see how he handles that and how he adjusts his next game out.

A Juan Uribe Sighting

Juan Uribe appeared as a major contributor on the stat sheet last night for the first time since he has been a Los Angeles Dodger. Seeing him stuffing the stat sheet is as about as rare as a Big Foot sighting or seeing my ex-wife cooking in the kitchen. Uribe had a double, a bases clearing triple that chased Giants starter Matt Cain, and his 5th homerun and totaled 7 RBI's. He fell a single short of the cycle, a rarity for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Only two others in Dodgers history- Wes Parker in 1970 and Orlando Hudson in 2009- have hit for the cycle. More importantly for me is that was the 4th win in a row over the San Francisco Giants and their 11th win in 13 games. Hyun-Jin Ryu went 6 2/3 IP and only gave up 2 runs and improved his record to 7-3. He also drove in a run. The bottom third of the Dodgers batting order Uribe, A.J. Ellis, and Ryu) accounted for 9 of the 10 Dodger RBI's. He had pitched in 5 straight games without a decision. Isn't run support a beautiful thing? The sudddenly brittle Matt Kemp hurt his shoulder in his first at bat of the game but finished the at bat, drawing a walk. He was removed after that for precautionary reasons and Carl Crawford, in his first game back from the Disabled List, finished the game for him. Since the game was not in doubt in the ninth inning, the Dodgers gave Brandon League an inning to work and he pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth.

Lit Up Again

I had to borrow this title from the rock group Buckcherry but in Coors Field, we are talking about a completely different kind of lit up. Chris Capuano got lit up for the second start in a row (4 1/3 IP, 5 runs), Brandon League came in and poured gasoline on the fire (1/3 IP, 2 runs) and the Dodgers never really in the game after holding a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. The Dodgers wasted a 4 hit, 2 RBI night by Adrian Gonzalez and 2 RBI by Matt Kemp. It is about time to call it quits on the Brandon League experiment. He lost his closers job about three weeks ago, His ERA has ballooned to 6.37 after yesterdays outing and it will be interesting to see what happens since the Dodgers claimed Carlos Marmol off of waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Marmol has always been an enigma as he has had great stuff, he just has had a hard time harnessing it. Maybe the Dodgers should have traded League for Marmol.

An Old Fashioned Coors Field Kind Of Game

The Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies last night 10-8 in what I would describe as an old fashioned Coors Field kind of game. The Dodgers grabbed a quick one run lead in the top of the first, that lasted until the bottom of the first when the Rockies tied it, the Dodgers got behind 4-1, went ahead 5-4, and were able to maintain a one to two run lead throughtout the game. The Dodgers hit two homeruns (Ramirez and Kemp) in the top of the ninth and they needed both runs as Jansen gave up one in the bottom of the ninth before he closed the deal for his 8th save. Zack Greinke (6-2) pitched the first five (giving up 5 runs) to get the win. The Dodgers hit 4 homeruns (Uribe, Gonzalez, Ramirez, and Kemp) and Yasiel Puig had an off day going 1 for 3 with an RBI but provided a scare when he had to leave the game in the late innings when he crashed into the outfield wall and bruised his hip. He is listed as day-to-day.

National League Player And Rookie Of The Month

Yasiel Puig was named the National League Player and Rookie of the Month today, the day after Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox referred to Puig being named to the National League All-Star team as "a big joke." All I have to say, is suck on that, Papelbon. I remember Omar Infante of the Atlanta Braves being named to the team and he barely had 150 at bats and not nearly the stats that Puig has. Don Mattingly said that he was not sure if Puig deserved to be an All-Star or not and after only 27 games and I don't believe he has been in the majors long enough, but you cannot deny he has had the hottest start to a career in major league baseball history. The last time a player had 44 hits in his first 100 career at bats was Earle Combs of the 1924-25 New York Yankees. That is 90 years worth of baseball history that he has covered.

Kershaw and Puig

Clayton Kershaw (7-5) pitched a shutout and Yasiel Puig (his 8th) homered in last nights 8-0 win over the Colorado Rockies. Kershaw's shutout was noteworthy because historically, he has not really pitched that well in Colorado. The Dodgers have gotten to the halfway point of the season winning 9 of 10, getting their key players back and running, contributions from rookies (Stephen Fife and Yasiel Puig), and some veterans are also getting hot (Adrian Gonzalez- 11 homeruns and 50 RBI's). With the win last night, the Dodgers climbed out of last place in the National League West for the first time in two months and are beating down the door to first. As Manager Don Mattingly pointed out, there are still a lot of games left but they are playing solid baseball right now, getting good starting pitching and some timely hits.

Fife Continues The Roll

Stephen Fife (3-2) pitched 7 shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday, Yasiel Puig went 4 for 5, falling a homerun short of the cycle, and stole two bases to help the Dodgers win their 7th out of 8 games. On one of the stolen bases, Puig overslid the second base bag and Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins tagged him out at least twice but the ump did not see it that way. The umps probably owed the Dodgers one at some point and time so I'll take it without complaint. Catcher A.J. Ellis went 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Matt Kemp went 2 for 4 with an RBI. 22 year old right-handed reliever Jose Dominguez, just called up from AAA Albuquerque, made his major league and pitched a scoreless 8th, striking out one.