No Holes So Far
Well, we are three games in. Last year’s team won 8 straight out of the gate. The sweep of the Tokyo series against the Cubs, then sweeping the Tigers and the Braves in LA. The biggest question mark heading into the season was the bullpen. So far, so good. The pen has been nails…
Well, we are three games in. Last year’s team won 8 straight out of the gate. The sweep of the Tokyo series against the Cubs, then sweeping the Tigers and the Braves in LA. The biggest question mark heading into the season was the bullpen. So far, so good. The pen has been nails and Diaz has 2 saves already. Also, all three of the wins have been of the comeback variety.
Tonight Sasaki makes his season debut, and if there is a huge question mark in the rotation, Roki is it. Consider the fact that he did not have a very good spring training. He was 1-0 with a 15.58 ERA in four games. He also pitched just 8.2 innings. He allowed 9 hits, walked 15 and struck out 12. He allowed 2 homers. Not exactly inspiring stuff. Those stats do not include the game he pitched on the back field at Camelback, where he was much more effective.
But the Dodgers made the choice to keep Roki and put him in the rotation over Ryan or Wrobleski, whom I believe they will initially use as a piggyback to Sasaki. Wrobo is the only lefty starter until Snell gets back, and when they go to a six man supposedly in May, he will most likely get that spot.
It is way too early to even suggest how the pen will play out, but Diaz has looked nasty and so has Tanner Scott. Blake Treinen got through his first inning relatively easy, and Vesia has looked just like his old self. I was not impressed with the work by Sheehan in his first game. Too many long at bats.
The competition gets tougher with Cleveland coming in. They are 2-2 so far, and it seems the problem has been their pitching. They have scored 13 runs and given up 22. It would be nice to see the Dodgers jump out to a lead.
Chase DeLauter has 4 homers already and is their best hitter so far. Jose Ramirez is hitting just .125. They do seem to strike out a lot with 48 Ks in four games. DeLauter has all of their homers. The Guardians staff has given up 8 homers. Cam Smith and former Dodger, Connor Brogdon have their two saves. Their starting staff has averaged less than 5 innings a start.
Sasaki will be followed by Ohtani and then Yamamoto. The Dodgers are still waiting for the big-4 to get rolling. Ohtani, Betts, Hernandez, and Tucker are all under .200 right now. Smith, .273, and Freeman, .250, have the highest BA of the regulars. They have hit 5 homers with Will Smith leading the team with 2.
LA is hitting .222 as a team, but the good news is that they have struck out just 15 times in three games and walked 11. Sooner or later, the big guns will be firing on all cylinders, and we could see separation from the rest of the West soon. Hard to believe they are already 3 games up on the Giants, who so far have scored just one run.
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Discussion (46)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What I saw last night is something I have seen for years. When a kid pitcher whom they have never seen before faces the Dodgers, they have trouble scoring runs, and it hasn’t mattered who was in the lineup. The one bad trend I see in all four games is falling behind. They haven’t scored before the fifth inning yet. Need to jump on opponents early. Rockies got their first win against the Jays and they crushed them.
I think they will stick with this setup for at least 20-25 games before making a move like that. I don’t disagree with it, but they need to let it play out.
The more the Merrier. Welcome.
Espinal will be gone when Kiki is activated.
Not a well played game overall by the Dodgers last night. IMO I would bat Tucker third and Mookie second and breakup the back to back lefties.
Maybe our hole is early offense.
I was disappointed to see Jeff’s blog shut down, but I think he served his time, and deserves to be paroled. Mark I’ve been following Bear, Badger, and Singing the Blue, from Dennis to Jeff, and now here, I hope you don’t mind another orphan hanging out here.
Looks like Lindsey, Ko and Davalan will be headed to Great Lakes
I think that’s the best Tanner Scott outing I’ve seen. Progress from Roki. Cleveland being aggressive hitters definitely helped.
Much improved from Roki. Still work to be done.
Who said Rushing can’t hit LH pitching!
Roki Sasaki showed amazing progress. He still throws too many non-competitive pitches, but he has shown great progress so far. He also looks much tougher mentally!
Shout out to Will Klein looking like a set-up man.
Yes Dalton should be playing minimum 2x a week, whether at catcher or 1b
According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya,Kike Hernandez is hitting in batting practice, a positive step forward for the defensive ace who has also been seen fielding ground balls and moving on the field over the past few weeks. After Hernandez’s session, Roberts was quite positive about where the player was at. “Taking grounders, the way he’s moving, the way he’s throwing, catching it, the swing, the ball coming off the bat, all that stuff, if I didn’t know any better, I would think he was in the lineup tonight,” Roberts said, adding that he would be “shocked” if he was not back by the end of his time on the 60-Day injured list”.
Rushing with a start against a lefty and Muncy too. Works for me.
From AI: Emil Morales is a 19-year-old shortstop and third baseman in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. Born in Spain and trained in the Dominican Republic, he was the “jewel” of the Dodgers’ 2024 international signing class. Signing & Early Career International Free Agent: The Dodgers signed Morales to a minor league contract on January 15, 2024, for a signing bonus of $1,897,500. Dominican Summer League (2024): In his professional debut, he was named the DSL MVP. He led the league in home runs (14), slugging percentage (.691), and OPS (1.169) across 46 games. Stateside Debut (2025): After transitioning to the Arizona Complex League (ACL), he topped the league in hits (70) and total bases (116). He finished the season at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, batting .339 with 5 home runs in 30 games. Scouting Profile Morales is widely regarded for his elite power potential and mature offensive approach. Attribute Grade (20-80 Scale) Scouting Notes Power 60 (Plus) Hits the ball exceptionally hard; potential for 25-30 HRs at the MLB level. Hit 50 (Average) Mature approach with good pitch recognition, though has questions against secondary pitches. Arm 55 (Above Average) Strong, accurate arm that fits well at either shortstop or third base. Fielding 45-50 Steady defender but lacks elite range; many scouts project a future move to third base as he matures. Prospect Rankings (as of early 2026) Morales has steadily climbed prospect boards and is consistently ranked among the Dodgers’ top young talents: MLB Pipeline: No. 92 overall prospect / No. 5 in the Dodgers system. Baseball America: No. 9 Dodgers prospect. The Athletic: No. 65 overall prospect. He is expected to begin the 2026 season with the Ontario Tower Buzzers (the Dodgers’ High-A affiliate), under the management of veteran John Shoemaker.
10:10 PM ET Guardians (2-2) Dodgers (3-0) SP Parker Messick L 0-0 .00 ERA SP Roki Sasaki R 0-0 .00 ERA Confirmed Lineup DH S. Ohtani L RF Kyle Tucker L SS Mookie Betts R LF T. Hernandez R 1B F. Freeman L CF Andy Pages R 3B Max Muncy L 2B Miguel Rojas R C D. Rushing L 69° Wind 7 mph Out
That Morales kid impressed me during spring training.
Class-A Ontario Tower Buzzers inaugural roster Isaac Ayon RHP 24 2024 draft (18th) Javier Bartolozzi RHP 21 2023 int’l FA Luis Carias RHP 21 2023 int’l FA Mason Estrada* RHP 22 2025 draft (7th) Will Gagnon* RHP 22 2024 draft (14th) Domingo Geronimo RHP 21 2022 int’l FA Jholbran Herder RHP 21 2022 int’l FA Jhonny Jimenez RHP 22 2021 int’l FA Cam Leiter* RHP 22 2025 draft (2nd) Jecsua Liborius RHP 21 2023 int’l FA Logan Lunceford* RHP 22 2025 draft (12th) Matt Lanzendorfer* LHP 24 2025 draft (15th) Accimias Morales RHP 21 2022 int’l FA Marlon Nieves RHP 21 2023 int’l FA Robby Porco* RHP 22 2025 draft (13th) Brady Smith RHP 21 2023 draft (3rd) Jesus Tillero RHP 20 2023 int’l FA Anson Aroz* C 23 2025 draft (19th) Conner O’Neal* C 23 2025 draft (9th) Chase Harlan 3B 19 2024 draft (3rd) Jose Hernández IF/OF 23 2019 int’l FA Mairoshendrick Martinus IF/OF 21 2022 int’l FA Emil Morales SS 19 2024 int’l FA Easton Shelton 1B 20 2023 undrafted FA Joendy Vargas IF 20 2023 int’l FA Jaron Elkins OF 21 2023 draft (8th) AJ Soldra* OF 22 2025 draft (16th) Brandon Tunink OF 20 2024 draft (8th) Landyn Vidourek OF 22 2025 draft (3rd) *making pro debut
Giants have DFAd Tyler Fitzgerald.