That was a nice sweep of the Cubbies, but you have to consider that they are not a very good team and they are also young and not very sharp in the fundamentals. Still, the Dodgers should have swept them… and they did!
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Dodgers have the following players on the Injured List:
- Caleb Ferguson – Not progressing as quickly as anticipated on returning from Tommy John Surgery. It’s going to take some time.
- Blake Treinen – His shoulder is still hurting. He will have an MRI, but he likely will not be back until after the All-Star Break… if he comes back.
- Victor Gonzalez – After looking the best he ever has, both physically and pitching-wise, he now has to have elbow surgery. What they find depends upon how long he will be out. It could be weeks or months.
- David Price – Still on the IL with COVID. He will likely die of a hangnail…
- Andrew Heaney – After an outstanding start, he was shelved with shoulder soreness but is back throwing and could be back in two or three weeks.
- Danny Duffy – Has not pitched for over a year but could be ready after the All-Star Break, but there are no guarantees. He could be an outstanding weapon… if healthy.
- Dustin May – He is due back in July or August, but in what capacity?
- Jimmy Nelson – It’s unlikely he will pitch until next year, like Tommy Kahnle.
- Mitch White – He is on the IL, but should be off soon and back to work as normal… between AAA and MLB.
There will be more injuries, some that will not be anticipated, but the Dodgers are poised to weather the storm. Robbie Erlin is up for a look-see right about now. He will have an opportunity and either seize it or move on. He is out of options. The Dodgers are being very deliberate with Tommy Kahnle, but look for him to assume Treinen’s set-up role soon, along with the Bazooka. Justin Bruihl did not do anything wrong and he will be back – they just want to see Erlin.
The Starting Rotation has been stellar, and Bickford, Vesia, Phillips, and Moronta have all had their moments in the bullpen. Daniel Hudson has settled in and is useful in a number of spots. All 5 have ERAs below 2.60. I would guess that we will be seeing Mitch White, Andre Jackson, and Michael Grove at some point in the near future as more sore arms, elbows, and shoulders surface. Ryan Pepiot could be called up, but they would have to clear a roster spot.
Dave Roberts is clearly being cautious with the Starters, so as to prevent injuries or strains… but invariably, it will happen. The depth will be taxed, and we will see the results. The Dodgers have had just six pitchers start games, and they have accounted for 15 of the Dodgers’ 19 wins. Impressive. Look at the starters’ ERA:
- Heaney 0.00
- Gonsolin 1.64
- Kershaw 1.80
- Urias 1.88
- Buehler 1.96
- Anderson 3.07
Pretty incredible. I was dead wrong about Clayton. Not only is his tank not empty, but he has a Supercharger! … and now the Dodgers look like they are starting to hit. Watch out!
Dodgers News & Notes
- Miguel Vargas was 1-3 with 2 RBI and 2 BB. He continues to take what they give him.
- Yadier Alvarez pitched on back-to-back days, albeit just one pitch yesterday where he induced a double-play.
- Shane Greene has only pitched 7 innings for OKC and has a 6.43 ERA, but he struck out three batters in 1.1 IP yesterday. He’s not on the 40-man.
- Bobby Miller pitched into the 5th inning Sunday and allowed 2 runs in the 5th before being removed. He allowed three hits and 3 ER while giving up 3 BBs and striking out 5. He pitched better than his line indicates because the runs scored after he was pulled.
- Busch and Amaya both had 2 Hits as Ward hit his 9th HR.
- Diego Cartaya was 1-4 with 2 Runs Scored, 3 RBI, and 1 BB. How long until Keith and Cartaya are promoted?
- All of the Dodger’s minor league teams have a winning record.
Happy Mother’s Day!
I have wished a Happy Mother’s Day to my wife and daughters (mothers to six granddaughters), but I wanted to just remember Dodger Blue Mom on your special day. You brightened this board and we miss you DBM. R.I.P.
Discussion (27)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Thanks so much, Mark, for the DBM tribute and for posting her picture. I would love to have met her. And I, too, miss her.
So just when it looked the offense was heating up, it cools down. Belli, after a 3-hit day, strikes out four times….But at least Rios homered to prevent the shutout. Hope he gets a start soon.
I sort of feel happy for the Pirates, just a little less than I’d be for the Reds if they ever win another game.
Meanwhile, as I write these words, the Halos are up 3-1 over the Rays on a Walsh HR that brought in Trout and Ohtani. Thor continues to pitch well, and Tim Wallach’s boy Chad is catching this one from Syndergard, who continues to throw well ……
Had to break away–and now the Halos up 11-3, with two HRs from Ohtani and one from Trout.
Nice.
Plus, Taylor Ward, the hottest batter in the game, has the night off. (Just resting, I hope.)
All just more reason for Freeway Series dreaming.
LOVE Dontrelle Willis with Joe. No blabber just really highly pertinent and insightful commenting. How refreshing .
Wow, that took a turn for the worse in a hurry. Move on, nothing to see here, you can’t win them all and all that.
Bellinger with 4 Ks. Heck, I could do that. He’s a better center fielder though.
One of those games.
Man, we are been hammered!
At the game at PNC (a beautiful MLB ballpark by the way).
Offense looks they got into town late from Chicago. Julio battled
but 11 hits to this Pirate team was not so good.
Not sure if the telecast fairly represents the Dodger fans in attendance. It’s got to be 2/3rds Dodger fans
So I guess that’s why they pull Julio after 6 innings!
Huge by Julio to keep us in this game! Some really quality pitches! 95 and dealing baby!
Just when you think Bellinger has turned a corner he does this! Yuk!
Justin Turner has put two balls in play — one at 105.9 mph, the other at 103.4 mph. He is 0 for 2 but it’s obviously a great indicator
Pirates sure are playing some pretty good defense.
Turned the game on a little late and can not make out who is calling the game with Joe Davis. Anyone know who it is?
Dodgers: Ryan Pepiot Could Make His Big League Debut This Week
Brook Smith
May 9
The Dodgers are set to kick off a series against the Pirates this afternoon. Coming off of 6 consecutive wins, they’ll look to keep it going against a Pittsburgh team that has won just 11 games through their first 27. They’ll look to Julio Urias to get things going against Jose Quintana today.
But the Dodgers are also going to need some help in their rotation. They’re playing their 5th game in 4 days, and are in the middle of playing 14 consecutive games without a break. So they will almost certainly look to the farm for some help this Wednesday.
One option is Robbie Erlin, who was their 27th man during the double-header on Saturday. Erlin is currently on the team’s 40-man roster and would not need a spot freed up. But the Dodgers could also be throwing a new name into the hat. Ryan Pepiot is traveling with the team on their practice squad, according to Juan Toribio.
#Dodgers have Ryan Pepiot on the taxi squad. They haven’t decided if he’ll start on Wednesday, but they might be leaning that way.
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) May 9, 2022
If they wanted to, the Dodgers could give Pepiot his first big league shot against a team that has not hit very well. Pittsburgh’s combined team wRC+ is just 92, the 9th worst in Major League Baseball. That could be a very soft landing spot for him to make his first appearance in the big leagues.
But for now, the Dodgers have not made a decision on that. Pepiot has pitched very well at OKC across his first 6 starts. He has thrown 26.2 innings and allowed 6 earned runs for a 2.05 ERA. Pep has also punched out 36 batters and issued 12 walks en route to a 2-0 record.
What a State California is.
Stayed in the lovely Santa Barbara last night, and now having a coffee in SLO on the way to Pebble Beach.
You guys are very lucky.
Dodgers (19-7)
Pirates (11-16)
SP Julio Urias L
2-1 1.88 ERA 19K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Trea Turner R
DH J. Turner R
LF Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
3B H. Alberto R
C A. Barnes R
2B Gavin Lux L
Clear-day
0% Rain
70° Wind 6 mph In
It’s all about being healthy and peaking in October. Last year we had the best team but the injury to Muncy and the stretch drive to catch the Giants wore us out. We had very little left for the Braves. Speaking of 300+ mil, is anyone upset now that we didn’t sign Seager? Tough to play baseball when your season is over after one month! Lovin Freddie
With Julio pitching tonight I’d like to call attention to Harold’s article MiLB bits and pieces in the Dodger Chronicles. He writes about CSW( called strikes + whiffs) and from 2020-2021 Julio is ranked 4th behind Corbin Burns, Gerrit Cole, and Jacob de Grom. Pretty elite company and checking this years era among these four Julio maybe edging to the top.
Morning guys. Hope you all had a nice MOMS day. Watched the game and Buehler was nails again, Bellinger made it look so easy in Center. Now we get the Pirates. A sweep would be so sweet,
What Badger said is the way modern baseball people look at the game.
Mike Trout bats 2nd.
Juan Soto bats 2nd.
… and on and on. Most algorithms show that your best hitter should hit #2 and there is no question that is Freeman.
After that, it is only logical that T-Turner hit #3 and he leads the team in RBIs.
Insofar as the L-R thing all I can say is “Duhhhh!” Of course, just about any manager with an IQ above plant life is going to try and arrange it that way. It makes it very difficult for the other team to bring in a specialist.
BTW, Freddie Freeman is a great baserunner!
Most importantly – it is working!
I was talking to Watford about Trea on Saturday. Mostly about his batting third. I really think Freddie should be batting third. A lot of Trea’s extra base hits are of the variety where he stretches a single into a double. Freddie’s are more like base clearing gappers. Trea and Mookie should be batting 1 and 2. I don’t really care which one bats leadoff and which one bats second. Let the rabbits get on base and let Freddie, Smith, Muncy drive them in.
It’s funny that TM wanted 25 games before judging Cody’s productivity. How many games does Doc need to figure out what to do about JT? I would like to see a little more Rios, at least against righties. Let him have a few games to see if he can start hitting with some regular playing time. Maybe JT needs a short trip to the IL for some extra batting practice.
I don’t think anyone believes Trea Turner is worth $300 million. Not even close.
In 7 years, 4 of which were his “prime” years, he was an All Star once. At best he’s a 4 WAR player about to enter the downside slope of his career. At worst he’s where he is right now, 0 WAR. It’s just not difficult to arbitrate his numbers
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/turnetr01.shtml
He’s a good fit here. But if he wants to go East, let him.
Not to nitpick but Anderson’s ERA is 2.78
DBM had a soft disposition and was a true Dodgers fan. I miss her.
I’m really disappointed that MLB seems to tweak the ball (and the rules) every season. I agree with Cassidy that the new ball, combined with the cool damp air at our home park is really suppressing homers. The one that Belli crushed to dead center when the pitcher asked the ump for a new ball, without even turning around to see if it went out was telling.
Lux has the tools to be Trea Turner. I don’t think Amaya is going to take the SS job next year. The way the Dodgers swing deals, I’m not even going to guess about next year so early in this season. They might need a second baseman and a third baseman next year the way things are going and the only prospect that’s currently at AAA is Vargas. Maybe Rios should get an outfielders glove, Vargas to 3B and CT3 to 2B. I guess there’s a chance that Busch pays 2B and Vargas plays 3B as early as next year, but Busch would need a promotion pretty soon. Amaya is really pushing his stock up, can it last? Is he really going to come out of nowhere and become the next Corey Seager?
I can only dream of what Amaya can become. A local Mexican kid from El Monte with a great eye at the plate and a ton of contact with newly discovered pop in his bat. He would instantly become a fan favorite, dare I say face of the franchise? We love our underdogs in LA. He would be huge!
Nice tribute to Dodger Blue Mom Mark. She was so sweet. Her presence is sorely missed here. Too many of us grumpy overly opinionated old farts here. Through our first 26 games what percentage of home runs are we down compared to last year and how does it compare to the league average. Seems like the dead ball and the return of the LA nighttime dew has just killed us. And no one more than Muncy. Between that and the severe shift against him it seems like Max is afraid to swing the bat. And B&P looks like you were right about TT. 28 dingers last year looks like an outlier and if I’m AF then I’m not giving 300+ mill to a guy who’s an average defender and hits .300 because he beats out 25 outs a year because of his speed. I’ll go with Lux next year at ss
Due to that doubleheader Dodgers need an additional starter in PIT.
How about giving Pepiot the nod?
Kid has been excellent at AAA so far.
Treinen would be a huge loss for the Dodgers, especially when looking ahead to postseason play.
So fingers crossed he will be back in time.
Go Dodgers!
Price is going to have step up and start earning the 16 million the Dodgers are paying him. He’s been a total bust and the only good thing that came out of the trade with the Red Sox was that we got Mookie Betts. Can’t wait till Price is no longer wearing Dodger blue.