The Dodger Record Books

Los Angeles Dodgers records are hard to break. Clayton Kershaw ran his scoreless innings streak to 36 with 8 more shutout innings in the Dodgers 9-0 win over the Colrado Rockies last night. The 36 inning scoreless streak is only the third longest in Dodger history behind Orel Hershiser's 59 and Don Drysdale's 58. Kershaw improved his record to 10-2 and his ERA to 1.85. He even went 2 for 4 at the plate and drove in his first run on the season. He was leaving nothing to chance. Yasiel Puig hit his 12th homerun and Scott Van Slyke hit his 8th in support of Kershaw. Dee Gordon, Andre Ethier, and A.J. Ellis all had 3 hits among the Dodgers 19 hits and Gordon stole his 41st base. The win gave the Dodgers a 1 1/2 game lead on the San Francisco Giants with the All-Star break getting close.

Kershaw

That is all my headline needs to say. Clayton Kershaw ran his scoreless string to 28 innings by shutting out the St. Louis Cardinals last night for 7 innings, striking out 13, and walking 2. He improved his record to 9-2. The Dodgers scored 6 runs in support of Kershaw this time around, the big blow being a two out, three-run homer by Andre Ethier (his 4th) off Shelby Miller in the 5th inning. More important than Kershaw's dominance, is the fact that the victory allowed the Dodgers to catch the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the National League West. The Dodgers have made up 9 1/2 games in three weeks and this was about the time the Dodgers started their incredible run last year.

They Win And They Lose

Even when the Dodgers win they, somehow manage to lose. The Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals last night 9-1 and during the course of their 6 run second inning, they lost utility man Jeff Turner to a hamstring injury and Hanley Ramirez to a calf injury although on which leg seems to be up for debate. Jeff Turner raised his average to .302 with 21 RBI's playing a variety of positions and has been invaluable since coming to the Dodgers late in Spring Training this year. He is likely headed for the Disabled List and Carlos Triunfel is on his way back to Los Angeles on the Albuquerque shuttle. I think Hanley Ramirez gets hurt stepping onto the field. I wonder if he gets hurt cashing his check? Dee Gordon continued his recent hot streak with 3 more hits raising his average to .297. Juan Uribe drove in a pair and six different Dodgers had RBI's after only scoring 2 runs in the previous two games against the Cardinals, one of those games was a 1-0 victory for the Dodgers. Zach Greinke went 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and one run, and he struck out 10 to improve his record to 10-4 on the season.

Managing Better With Less

I have been calling for Don Mattingly's job now for about a year and I feel I have had justifiable reasons. A bigger payroll than Wal-Mart, a ton of talent, and the best starting pitching in baseball are just a few of the reasons the Dodgers should be running away with the National League West. If I have noticed one thing about Don Mattingly's managerial style over the past couple of years it is that he seems to manage better when he has less talent on the field. When Mattingly has to make the pieces fit and somehow work, it brings out the best and more creative manager in him. The left side of the infield over the course of the past three weeks has been a combination of Jeff Turner, Miguel Rojas, Jamie Romak, and Carlos Triunfel with an occasional guest appearance thrown in by Hanley Ramirez and the Dodgers are 13-6. Outside of Hanley Ramirez,three rookies (I am not sure about Triunfel) and Mets castoff Turner, none of them a household name. Scott Van Slyke and Drew Butera have played key roles off the bench. Mattingly seems to have a better feel as to when to use the lesser players as starters and off the bench rather than roll the superstars out there and watch them play.

A Hit (By Pitch) And A Win

Los Angeles Dodgers Catcher A.J. Ellis took a Wade Davis cutter off the arm with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run in last nights 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. That is what Bob Uecker used to refer to as "taking one for the team." Whatever works. The offensive stars for the Dodgers were Second Baseman Dee Gordon, 4 for 5 with his MLB leading 9th triple, 2 runs scored, and his 40th stolen base, Yasiel Puig, 2 for 5 those being a triple and an RBI double, and Matt Kemp hit his 8th homerun. Dodgers starter Dan Haren did not make it long enough to pick up the win as he went 4 1/3, giving up all 4 KC runs, including 2 homeruns. Jamey Wright came in in relief and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings to get the win (3-2) and Brian Wilson pitched a scoreless 9th inning to get his first save in more than two years. Kenley jansen had pitched in 4 out of the last 5 games so he was unavailable. Scott Van Slyke, playing First base, snared a Lorenzo Cain line drive with one out and the tying run on second and doubled the runner off to end the game.

The Whiff And Poof Express

I borrowed the title for this blog from an old BC comic strip. The manager of their baseball team was asked to describe his lineup a la the "Murderer's Row" lineup of the 1927 New York Yankees. The manager referred to his lineup as the "Whiff And Poof Express" because of their hitting futility. I realize that the Dodgers are missing some key parts to their lineup but they only had 6 hits in last nights 2-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Jeff Turner led off the game with a triple (he's batting leadoff?) and was eventually driven in by Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers scored their only other run in the top of the Ninth inning when pinch hitter Andre Ethier drove in Adrian Gonzalez with a single for the final margin of 2-0. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw was not at his most dominant but he did stretch his scoreless streak to 21 innings by pitching 8 innings last night, striking out 8, walking 1, and giving up 6 hits. He improved his record to 8-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.24. Kenley Jansen pitched the Ninth inning for his 23rd Save.

Not A Happy Homecoming

Zach Greinke returned to his old stomping grounds in Kansas City last night and it did not go so well for Greinke and the Dodgers. Greinke was the losing pitcher in the 5-3 Royals win and he did not have one of his better efforts. He gave up all five Kansas City runs in 5 1/3 innings on 11 hits. He fell to 9-4 on the season. Hanley Ramirez drove in two runs from the Designated Hitter position and Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homerun, his 13th, in the 9th inning and that was the Dodgers offense. The Dodgers played the game with a patchwork left side of the infield with a combination of Rookie Miguel Rojas and Jeff Turner at Third Base and Carlos Triunfel and Miguel Rojas at Shortstop. Triunfel played parts of 2012 and 2013 with the Seattle Mariners before being picked up by the Dodgers off waivers earlier this season for organizational depth. Triunfel is now Major League depth. He did hit his first career homerun last week.