Still 10 Games

It may seem like last night’s loss added some games to the number of games the Dodgers have to win, but it’s still the same. What shocks me is how some people absolutely lose their minds in a game like that. If you look at the boxscore, Kershaw doesn’t look great, but it’s not bad: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s. If you watched the game, you know that he did not have great control early and hit two batters and you also know that he had some bad luck with weakly hit balls that found openings. No excuses – it’s just the way it was.

There were two keys to that game: Strasburg and the fact that Pollock, Bellinger, and Seager did not hit. Now, the fact that Strasburg was very good impacted the second issue: Pollock, Seager, and Bellinger were shut-down by him. Someone said, “This is a guy who has an ERA over 3.00.” But, in 33 starts he gave up 4 to 9 runs eight times. However, since September 5th he has not given up more than 2 runs in 6 games. He is a streaky pitcher in the middle of a hot streak. RVS is going to have to sit down with the hitters and devise a plan to get to him because most likely, they will have to beat him once to win this series.

As a point of comparison, in 28 starts, Clayton has given up 4 or more runs just 5 times. In 27 starts, Scherzer has given up 4 or more runs 4 times. The lack of hitting was the problem and the hitters were not being as patient as they should have been. A healthy Alex Verdugo would have helped a lot, but he’s not here. Going into game three, the Dodgers have to change up a little. The Dodgers hit .156 against Max Scherzer. AJ Pollock hits .167 against him and Cody Bellinger is at .091. Corey Seager is 0-6 against him. Matt Beaty has never faced him and could get the start in LF. The Nats are hitting .185 in the playoffs and the Dodgers are at .190.

Again, the Dodger hitting coaches has better get out the VR and analytics and figure out how to hit Mad Max or they will be down 2-1 going into game 4 – that’s not a good place to be. The hitters have to have a better game plan for Game 3. Still, good pitching has been known to stop good hitting.

Why pitch Clayton in Game 2? It’s really very simple: (1) The Nats hit Kershaw pretty good – he has difficulty with them; (2) He pitches better at home; and (3) Here’s the biggie – Ryu pitches at his very best on 6 days or more of rest. Ryu should be locked and loaded Sunday with plenty of rest. I have a problem on Sunday. One of our vendors invited me, my son and our VP of Operations to the Colts-Chiefs game at Arrowhead Sunday, so hopefully, they have the Dodger game on in their suite. I’ve never been to Arrowhead, but I’ll be there in Colts Blue on Sunday.

So far in this short postseason, the Dodgers are tied with the Astros for the best ERA at 2.00. The Nats have a 3.46 ERA. The Dodgers are 8th in Batting Average at .190 – only TB and the Nats are worse. The solution to the Dodgers’ problem is to “Just Hit Baby.” Someone is going to have to step up. Freese probably starts at 1B and Beaty in LF. Pollock and Lux need to sit. Freese can hit Scherzer and Muncy already does. The Dodgers need a couple of heroes to step up. It’s that simple… and so very, very hard!

I’m holding out for a hero!

The Dogs won 7-6 in 11 innings. Omar Estevez was 0-4 with an RBI and Jeren Kendall was 0-5 with 2 more K’s. No other Dodgers played.