Bad Night in SF
Nothing comes easy when the Dodgers play the Giants. And I guess that is how it should be. LA goes to SF and we go into extra innings for Game 1 of a 3 game series. Things started out great for the Dodgers as they get a pair of one out singles from Seager and JT. After a Belli fly out, Muncy gets a three run jack in the first
Nothing comes easy when the Dodgers play the Giants. And I guess that is how it should be. LA goes to SF and we go into extra innings for Game 1 of a 3 game series. Things started out great for the Dodgers as they get a pair of one out singles from Seager and JT. After a Belli fly out, Muncy gets a three run jack in the first off Johnny Cueto and things looked up. But the Dodgers current #3, Julio Urias, cannot get through the first inning without giving up a three run jack of his own. After one inning, all knotted up 3-3. Dodgers pick up three more on a Seager HR (8), JT single, Belli double, wild pitch for a run, and a Joc double for a run to give the good guys a 6-3 lead.
Like his last outing, Urias just cannot consistently control the strike zone. He does not have one clean inning and leaves after giving up four runs in four plus innings, asking the bullpen to come to the rescue again. Tonight the bullpen did well most of the time, but not all of the time.
Floro inherits a runner on 2nd and nobody out in the 5th, and he gets out of the inning.
Jake McGee allows a single but leaves the game with a runner on third. Blake Treinen comes in and strands him. But Treinen had a little trouble of his own and left with a run in and the tying run on third. Enter Caleb Ferguson who promptly strikes out Panda. Ferguson allows a single in the 8th but K’s 2 more and gets a fly out to end the inning. That is three inherited runners, and none scored.
KJ who has been mostly solid all year comes in to close it out and gets the first out in a save opportunity before Brandon Belt gets his 2nd home run of the night to tie it up. We should have known this was not going to go well for LAD after that.
With a single and double, Belli continues to show life, but in the clutch, watches a strike three when all he needed to do was to make contact to get JT to 3rd. Yes, to a LHP. Belli does come back to get a single off a LHP in the 11th.
Thanks to the inability of Giants pitcher, Jarlin Garcia, and catcher Joey Bart, to be able to communicate on what pitch is coming, Bart gets crossed allowing JT to take third and then comes home on Bart’s errant throw into LF. Dodgers take a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the 10th and turn it over to Scott Alexander.
I am a diehard Corey Seager fan, but that run in the 10th is on him. Scott Alexander did exactly what he needed to do. Got a ground ball to the left side and Seager does not throw to 3rd to get the runner. Alexander got the hot hitting Crawford on a K for the 2nd out, but Dubon gets a hard hit grounder to third that JT could only make a diving stop and the run scored. Chalk that one up to Seager and not Alexander.
With a little bleeder by JT that he high steps out of a tag to get his 4th hit of the night, scores Will Smith giving the Dodger an 8-7. Unfortunately the Dodgers bullpen luck ran out with Dennis Santana giving up three in the 11th to give the Giants the win, including a 2 run walk off HR to Donovan Solano.
The Dodgers cannot continue to only get 3-4-5 innings out of the starters and expect the bullpen to pull though every time. If Julio Urias is considered the Dodgers #3, they are in trouble.
I like the bullpen, but they are not infallible. And I have not generally been a fan of the bullpen. There has been a lot of negativity directed towards Dylan Floro in the past, but he has been outstanding. Treinen is somewhere between the 2018 and 2019 version. Good but not overpowering. Caleb Ferguson is looking more and more like a lock down setup. KJ is still tough, but not the 2017 version. Jake McGee is a different pitcher for the Dodgers. But for a botched ground ball play by Seager, Scott Alexander should have got the save last night. He has for the most part been very effective. I think Dennis Santana is working himself back to the secondary site. Maybe it is time to let Mitch White take over that Santana role. Or perhaps it is time for Ross Stripling to return to that role and allow Tony Gonsolin an opportunity to take over in his starting role.
With Wood declared out for this weekend, Gonsolin will get a chance to show he belongs in the rotation either Saturday or Sunday. With Urias not convincing anyone that he can be that consistent #3 for 2020, I am guessing that AF will be working overtime on the phones this week looking for a solid #3. I think I would also make a call to Milwaukee to see what it would take for Josh Hader. The odds are infinitesimal that Milwaukee would make him available, but the question could be asked. The Dodgers proved again they cannot hit LHP, but then again outside of Cueto, they could not hit much off of anyone. Trevor Gott has been getting pummeled and yet he handles the Dodgers. LHP Suarez, Peralta, Baragar, Garcia, and Selman did their job.
I hate losing to the Giants. Kershaw vs Gausman in Game 2. Dodgers need to win the next two to continue to win every series. More important, if SF gets the #8 seed they have proven that they are more than capable of beating the Dodgers.
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Discussion (71)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Urias has had most of his troubles in the first inning. Of his 3.47 ERA, the vast majority of his runs allowed come in the 1st. So why in the world do we want put that in the bullpen?? If he sucks in his first inning, he’ll only get 1 inning as a reliever! He’s better off as a starter. No matter how frustrating he is, he’s much better than Wood or Stripling.
I would not start him in a Game3, AT THIS TIME. But let’s see 1) if we make a trade for a game 3 starter, and 2) how he does in his remaining 5-6 starts.
Having just won the WS, if I were the Nats, I would reload and trade whoever I could, except for Robles, Turner, Soto, Kaboom, and Company. I would trade Scherzer for a few top prospects.
The Dodgers have babied Urias so long that it’s time to let him work through this and grow. It’s not like the Dodgers aren’t going to be the #1 seed in the NL. Right now their top pitchers are Kershaw, Buehler, May, Urias, and Gonsolin. Label them 1 through 5 the way you see fit. Gonsolin should be in the rotation. Stripling in the pen and Santana in the minor league camp. There is a 28 man roster. Urias’ development isn’t going to kill this season or the bullpen. BTW, Brandon Belt is hot too.
Mark, I totally love and appreciate this post, once again your street smarts shine tru and tru. I too remember Hallady strugglng in the beginning . Later in his career how much I wished he was a Dodger.
If this was a normal schedule and the team was only 30 games into a 162 game season, there would be time to wait for Urias (or Strip) to get “right”. But there is now less than 30 games before the end of the regular season. I am far less patient than any of the Dodger field and executive management. I do not think anyone is saying (or thinking) that Urias will not be a good pitcher…but maybe not this year. It is time to see what Gonsolin can do in a regular starters role. Let him build up and go 6-7 innings. Same for May. Let them work out of trouble. There is no reason why Dodger pitchers cannot pitch 100+ pitches. Lucas Giolito can throw 102 pitches of no-hit ball.
Dodger starters:
Gonsolin – 14.2 IP – 3 starts – 4.7 innings per start
Kershaw – 24.0 IP – 4 starts – 6.0 innings per start
May – 29.0 IP – 6 starts – 4.8 innings per start
Urias – 27.0 IP – 6 starts – 4.5 innings per start
Buehler – 25.0 IP – 5 starts – 5.0 innings per start
Strip – 29.2 IP – 6 starts – 4.9 innings per start
Wood – 3.0 IP – 1 start – 3.0 innings per start
Overall that is less than 5.0 innings per start. The bullpen has been good but becuase of the lack of any kind of length in the starters, the bullpen has been severly taxed. Maybe last night was a fluke or maybe not. The starters need to start to get deeper into the games so that the bullpen does not get worn out by the playoffs. It is time to see if May or Gonsolin can take the next step. However, what happens if only one or both prove they cannot go longer than 5.0 IP. If the team goes out and gets a pitcher capable of going deeper into games as a #3, then May and Gonsolin can compete for the #4 spot in the rotation for the playoffs, and the other can go to the bullpen making a good bullpen even better. How good can the bullpen be with the addition of Urias, Strip, and either May or Gonsolin?
Just in case you guys haven’t read this or already know about this. Here is an article on the Dodgers bullpen guys and what they have changed to make them better.
Open on www.mlb.comhttps://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/dodgers-bullpen-impressive-start-to-2020-seasonMerrill Kelly of the D-Backs expected to miss the rest of the year with a nerve impingement in his shoulder. Strasburg underwent Carpel Tunnel surgery. Giants traded Rob Brantly to the Yankees. Kelvin Herrera released by the Cubs, Clevinger recalled by the Indians. Reds DFA’d Strop, Phils traded Austin Davis to the Pirates. Ian Anderson, the Braves rookie, held the Yanks hit less through 5. Now 4-1 Braves in the 6th. White Sox pounded the Pirates. 10-3 hitting 4 dingers in the process. For the Yasmani marching and chowder society he went 1-3 with a K and a walk, and is now hitting .231 with a .739 OPS,
The Brewers have also said they’re not playing tonight. Don’t know if it’ll trickle down to other teams yet.
Dodgers Giants game tonight about to be postponed/cancelled.
According to ESPN< which has the broadcast tonight, the game has been postponed. It does not show as such on MLB.com. Nor does it show that on the Dodger site. And it is less than 40 minutes until first pitch.
Tonight’s game has been cancelled, and it most likely won’t be made up by a doubleheader tomorrow or on the next off day for both teams.
We’ll have to settle for 44-15, and not 45-15
This is bound to get ugly and it will stop now. This site has done very well staying away from politics. But as long as I am moderating this site, this will end, NOW. I know who started it and it will not be tolerated. And if he thinks I am kidding just try me. Some people like to start things and others do not know how to stay away from the comments. For any of you who disagree with how I choose to run this site, you can always go to another site. Go to Fred’s site, I am sure he would love to talk politics with you. But politics will have no place on LA Dodger Talk as long as I am involved.
Thank you for your cooperation.
I am sad the game was cancelled as I was looking forward to seeing Kersh pitch. They cannot play a double header tomorrow because after the game, the Dodgers have to fly to Texas. To play they would most likely have to start the first game before noon. So, we will see them on Thursday with Kersh being pushed back. I wish all here a pleasant good evening.
I have taken down 30+ posts on the subject. I mean no disrespect to anyone as I am not going to take sides on this issue at LA Dodger Talk. I am closing comments for the night. There will be another article written by Harold that will be published in the AM. Please respect my wish to keep this site about the Dodgers and Baseball.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I hope everyone comes back to participate in LA Dodger Talk.