Dodgers On Deck: Dodgers vs Diamondbacks Series #14 Recap

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The Dodgers got themselves another series win, while still maintaining the best record in baseball. What do the Dodgers need to do to keep it up? Should they be scoring more? They’re poised for another World Series run, but can the hitting bring the elusive trophy back to L.A?

 

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Arizona Diamondback Series #14

 

Game 1 – Win 10-9

The start of the Dodgers and Diamondbacks series was a nail bitter for sure and a fantastic game to watch if you enjoy hitting and scoring. The hits came all game and in abundance for both teams. The teams ended the game with ten hits each and nineteen total runs scored.

Homeplate had a lot of traffic in the first game. The base paths got a fair bit of wear also.  This was in part to Walker Buehler’s short outing that saw him giving up two home runs, and five total runs in two and two thirds. The hardest part about this quick start was how hard it taxed the bullpen moving forward. Dave Roberts ended up using seven pitchers, one of which was Kenley Jansen, who recorded the win to get through a game where we got some free baseball in extra innings.

The total team pitching was spotty from start to finish. The Dodgers’ pitching line (10.0, 10 H, 5 ER, 9 R 7 SO’s 3 HR’s) did not make this an easy win, but did make it an exciting ending. Kenley Jansen’s victory did not come easy; getting taken deep once and allowing three hits, as well as three runs, made it a challenging but worthy outing for the veteran closer.

Gavin Lux (5 AB, 3 R, 3 H, 5 RBI’s, 2 SO, 1 BB)  hit two jacks, but probably the biggest one of the game for either team was in the tenth inning and added three more runs to the lead. The entire Dodgers team, except for Corey Seager, all recorded a hit in the first game.

The most fantastic or terrible part is the number of batters left on base. Yes, we can be happy with the win, but stranded runners can be very concerning for future games. This game could have been a merry go round if the hitters came up bigger with guys on base. It probably wouldn’t have even been a contest.

Dodgers fans, as I said in the last recap, do not need a reminder that no lead is safe, as the Diamondbacks got their turn and went on a scary run that saw them finish the game within one run after Los Angeles had built a four-run lead in the top of the inning. Arizona jumped on Jansen, and he let up the three runs, but a win is a win.

 

 

 

Game 2 – Win 6-4

The Dodgers grabbed another win, and another series win by taking this game. Clayton Kershaw (5.0,4 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) had a decent game even though the stat line didn’t show it; the eye test said he sure did. Kershaw gave up some hits but not any long balls, and seemed to have his excellent curveball also. Another game that gave the bullpen a workout with six pitchers used to record the games’ twenty-seven outs.

The home runs from Mookie Betts and Kike Hernandez happened to be the Dodgers only bombs of the game, and both came with no runners on base, unlike the last game. AJ Pollock had himself a solid game with three hits and one run batted in, unlike Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, who were chasing pitches all night and ended with three strikeouts and two strikeouts, respectively.

Max Muncy and Will Smith both showed some great vision at the plate with a combined five walks. The leaving runners on base issue would continue into game two, again having over twenty runners left stranded.

A team with this caliber of talent needs to address the issues at hand. LA used up the bullpen more than Doc would want and left twenty-plus runners on base in two games. The modern-day baseball game in which we look for launch angle and bombs may be the reason for all the runners abandoned and the death of small ball. Previously as we have seen in other sports as well as baseball, the postseason does not work the same way, and adjustments have to be made game to game.

 

 

Game 3 – Loss 5-2

The Dodgers had another game that they would look to make interesting in the last inning, but only because of the ejection of Max Muncy. After a borderline call at the knees, he chirped to the bench and continued on the field before Chris Taylor flied out to end the game. 

Scoring came early in the third inning and was scarce for the rest of the game that only saw the Dodgers bring two across the plate. The theme of the series has been leaving runners on base, and again the Dodgers left a fair bit of men on the base paths. Moral? The Dodgers have a big problem with runners left stranded in the last three games. 

Chris Taylor had a challenging game going 0-4 with two strikeouts and a walk. Will Smith’s bat found the ball four times on four plate appearances but did not drive in any runs in those situations. The team finished with the game with nine hits, seven strikeouts, and seven walks while scoring two runs.

Dustin May was hit in the foot by the first batter he faced and was removed from the game at Chase Field, where he was struck in the hand last year. Madison Bumgarner (5.0, 7H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO)  had a decent game, only giving up the two bombs and seven hits. Dodgers would take care of the bullpen in this loss only using four pitchers, and Gonsolin (5.0, 6H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) recorded the loss giving up six hits, three runs, and a homer, all while eating up a ton of innings.

 

 

Houston Astros Series Preview

 

Tomorrow, the Dodgers will start a short two-game series against the new rival Houston Astros. We all remember the meeting earlier in the year with our hero Joe Kelly. Hopefully this series brings just as much intensity with half the amount of absurd ejections. The Astros are coming off a losing sweep against the Oakland A’s, who punished them in four games, and the hope is LA can do the same in this short series.

 

 

Scheduled to pitch in game 1 Saturday, 9/12

Dodgers: LHP Julio Urias (3-0) / Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (3-3)

 

 

Schedule to pitch in game 2 Sunday, 9/13

Dodgers: TBD / Astros: RHP Zack Greinke (3-1)

 

 

Schedule to pitch in game  3

Dodgers: TBD / Astros: TBD

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks      Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks        Dodgers vs Diamondbacks       

-Rich Decristan – Franchise Sports Media

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