Behind 6-0, the Dodgers come back to win! That in and of itself was amazing, but the sub-stories are what it is all about.
- No pitcher has ever entered the All-Star Break undefeated and with an ERA under 2.00. Tony Gonsolin is still perfect… thanks to the Dodger’s comeback, but his ERA is now 2.02! He coughed up a hairball, but did not get tagged with a loss.
- Behind 6 runs and coming back to win is amazing! This was the best win of the year…. and if it is not, it is in the running!
- What was the best play of the game? That was when Austin Barnes stumbled rounding 3B and Cody Bellinger opportunistically took second base on the play at 3B. That set up the Dodger’s win. He also had 2 hits. It would be nice if he could continue, but I’m from Missouri.
- The Bullpen was stellar – aside from Alex Vesia. Ferguson, Kimbrel and Phillips (who seemed unfazed to close out a game) were perfect!
- Why doesn’t Gavin Lux hit higher in the lineup? No one will tell you this, but Gavin is somewhat “mentally fragile.” I don’t mean that in a bad way – he has evidently beaten the YIPS , which is amazing, but they want to keep him from thinking he has to hit any differently. It has worked and Doc will probably leave him in the 9th spot the rest of the season. He will move when he (and they) think he is ready.
- Trea Turner – I would hate to think what the Dodgers lineup would look like without him. There are a lot of baseball people who do not have confidence that Gavin Lux can play SS at the MLB level… me included!
- Jake Reed – He was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers from the Mets. In case you forget, he is of the sidearm variety. That can be helpful for a pitching staff to have that. We will see what he does at OKC. He’s still 29 years old.
- Dustin May, Tommy Kahnle, Blake Treinen, Victor Gonzalez, Danny Duffy, Edwin Rios, and Andrew Heaney – All I know is that in the next few weeks, some of those players will be activated. The Dodgers do not need them all…. just a few!
- #2 in Runs in MLB– The Dodgers are second in runs scored behind the NY Spankees!
- Only Duke, Not Snider gave Doc Credit – For using Kimbrel in the 8th and Phillips in the 9th.
Future Dodgers Down on the Farm
- OKC won 8-1
- Miguel Vargas was 1-2 with 2 runs scored and 2 BB.
- Jacob Amaya was 2-3 with a BB.
- The big blow was a Grand Salami by James Outman (.220)
- Tulsa lost 3-1
- Brandon Lewis hit his 9th HR
- Gavin Stone got the loss as he pitched 4 innings, and allowed 2 ER. He wasled 3 and struck out 7.
- Great Lakes won 5-4
- Eddys Leonard was 2-5
- Jorbit Vivas hit his 7th HR.
- Diego Cartaya was 1-3 with 3 BB – they are not pitching to him
- Rancho Cucamonga lost 9-4
- Move on – Nothing to see here folks!
Discussion (21)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I’ve been hard on Kimbrel this year,but I’ve gotta give him credit for hanging in there and not getting frustrated the way Kenley most likely would have
It’s looking like a good job by Doc handling the bullpen today. He used his second best reliever in the seventh, best reliever in the eighth and probably using Kimbrell in the ninth. If he didn’t have Kimbrel he would’ve used his two best relievers in the last two innings. And I am OK with using Kimbrel in the ninth because Kimbrel has been good in the last 14 days and he has been one of the best closers in the game during his career. And that goes for no matter what happens in the ninth.
These guys on the mics are definitely Cardinal employed.
Almonte, Phillips and Anderson! Letting Seager walk and signing Freddie I think AF deserves a little something extra in his next paycheck. Not to mention the throw in from Washington in the Scherzer deal last year!
Tyler Anderson! Hands down the biggest surprise for the first half of the season, with Evan Phillips a close second. He has been outstanding and although he is signed for one year @ $8 million, he is line for a big payday next year.
Where would the Dodgers be without his performance? That’s why AF is the best GM (team president) in MLB and the combo of Pryor and McGuiness are most likely the best pitching coaches in MLB.
Game is over!
Don’t forget who told you all back in 2020 that Gavin Lux will be the last Dodger to ever wear #9!
Giants placed Jake McGee on release waivers.
I’m not freaking out about Bazooka. It seems like the Dodgers ship guys to the IL right before the break every year to give them a rest. Bazooka has led all relievers in games and IP. Doc used him for a 2 inning save his last time out. It could be that with just 3 games remaining before the break, it was a good time to rest him. He’ll be eligible to come back right after the Giants series, effectively missing just 6 games.
I don’t understand why Doc is given so much love for having Phillips pitch the 9th and Kimbrel in the 8th. My bet is that this isn’t permanent. Phillips has been used all year to face the best part of the opposing lineup, like how Treinen was used before he went down. Phillips picked up his second save in his career. Kimbrel has 15 this year. This could have backfired bigly and it probably didn’t affect the outcome of the game as Kimbrel was dealing.
If you asked me, it was an unnecessarily risky move. Kimbrel has a past of not doing well in non-save situations and Phillips has little experience pitching in a save situation. It was the wrong move that worked out right. A Mr. Magoo move.
The good news is we may have an option if Kimbrel continues to falter. But, in a one-run game, was that the best situation to find out what you have?
Got my new computer desk put together, surprising that it looks like the picture. SO back on my PC and able to do research for some posts again. I thought the Dodgers would have played earlier than they are because after the game, they need to fly back to LA.
The Dodgers recalled RHP Reyes Moronta and placed RHP Brusdar Graterol on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, backdated to July 11.
7:15 PM ET
Dodgers (57-30)
Cardinals (48-43)
SP Tyler Anderson L
9-1 3.15 ERA 91.1IP 77K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
DH J. Turner R
LF Jake Lamb L
3B Max Muncy L
CF C. Bellinger L
2B Gavin Lux L
Clear-day
0% Rain
93° Wind 5 mph R-L
07/13/22 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Jake Reed to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
07/13/22 Los Angeles Dodgers claimed RHP Jake Reed off waivers from New York Mets.
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Blake Treinen is throwing another bullpen session here at Busch Stadium. Pitching coaches, Mark Prior and Connor McGuiness are among the personnel watching. #Dodgers
I wonder how brilliant Doc would have been if Kimbrel had given up a run in the 8th? And Alberto seems like a great guy and a great teammate but let’s face it, his bat has been a train wreck. 61 OPS+. I wouldn’t platoon him with Muncy or Bellinger, much less Lux who’s hitting lefties pretty well.
For the record, I gave credit to Doc for using Kimbrel in the 8th and Phillips in the 9th. But I questioned if the decision was just a situational thing. Or a permanent/going forward thing.
Phillips is our best reliever this year according to stats, he deserves to be the closer if that is where he wants to be.
I think Kimbrel may be coming around/turning a corner. His stats in the last 14 days are really good.
Mark is right about Cartaya, they aren’t pitching to him. In his first 2 at bats last night 8 straight balls, none close. He needs more seasoning but he has a chance to be special. His size may require a position switch.
Wow! A great comeback and I missed it. Here in Jersey, I’m quite often up until after 1am following the games. For some reason I went to bed in the 7th inning last night. Oh well, it was a pleasant surprise when I woke up and checked the game results. It was also nice when I saw that the Rockies came back from a 3 run deficit twice to beat the Padres and give the Dodgers an 8.5 game lead.
Go Dodgers!
I sure would love to see Miguel Vargas as much as the next guy. He’s hitting 295/387/497/884 in AAA as of today and has a career minor league slash line of 312/385/483/868. The guy can flat-out hit.
Doc recently chimed in on the matter. He said that Vargas will get a call some time this year, “BUT” he needs regular playing time and isn’t going to come up to be on the bench. So, what does that mean?
1) The Dodgers will bring him up regardless of playing time in direct contrast to Doc’s quote.
2) Vargas will be called up if an injury occurs.
3) Vargas will be called up and will be forced into the lineup for 4-5 games a week even if he has to DH.
So, what’s the likelihood that Vargas is a good fit if and when he comes up? Over the last 30 days, the offense has shown signs of what was expected when the year began. Freddie is on fire. Lamb has been great in limited use. Turner looks reborn. Smith, T Turner and Lux have all been playing like All-Stars or borderline All-Stars. Even Muncy and Belli have been better than useless and Trayce Thompson has been playing like he should be in the lineup with a .261/.333/.478/.811. Mookie cooled off a little since the collision in the outfield, but basically, the entire team sans Muncy, Belli, and Mookie have an OPS over 800 in the last month or so.
So, where’s Vargas going to fit? He’s not gonna play CF. Maybe he can play LF, he has 81 innings with little range in a very small sample size. He can play 3B with a pretty decent amount of errors, so he better be damn good with the bat to get him on the field in “The Show”. Is it worth it to DH him and stunt his development as a fielder? Is he gonna be a better option over somebody that’s currently on the roster when he arrives for the first time?
The last prospect star hitter to come up with the big club was Gavin Lux. Their minor league numbers are eerily similar. The results have not been good for Lux until this year. Hell, Doogy was a pretty good minor league hitter and it took him a couple of years before he started producing with the big club.
Lux
.304 .381 .479 .860
Vargas
.312 .385 .483 .868
Vargas is a right-handed bat. So, he isn’t a natural replacement for Muncy this year. When we lost Seager, the Dodger’s need for left-handed power was quickly resolved with the addition of Freddie Freeman. I can’t imagine where we would be without him. I think this signals that Vargas probably isn’t going to be called up to replace a left-handed power bat especially as long as Jake Lamb, who plays the same positions as Vargas, continues to hit. That’s probably why we’re seeing such a long runway with Belli and Muncy.
I think we’re going to have to wait a little while before we see Vargas. Maybe he gets a stab at LF, but it won’t be a platoon. His most likely path to the majors is if JT gets injured, or if they really have to shuffle things around if TT gets injured. I just don’t see another fit with Jake Lamb on the roster.
* Give the guys credit for not saying screw it down by 6 early. It would be easy to coast and take the loss. The last 2 games show a lot of heart.
* I like Weinwright. I like him calling himself old school and wanting to go 7 or 8 innings
* There’s not a lot of SS playing better than Trea Turner. He hits .300 and is making all the plays defensively. He and Freeman can carry the mail.
* Mookie and TT are showing completely different approaches at the plate with 2 strikes. Mookie wants a strike and takes close pitches. He gets a lot of bad calls. TT hits anything close. He doesn’t mind hitting a ball off the plate to right field. He’s a good bad-ball hitter with 2 strikes.
* Jessica Mendoza asked the best question of the year when she asked why they continue to shift Freeman? The numbers must show it still works but left field looks like target practice for Freddie.
* How many guys have walked their way to the Big Leagues.? Lamb’s taking too many hittable pitches now.
* Alberto pinch hitting for Lux? Are we seeing early indications of a platoon at 2nd now?
* I think I would have pinch run McKinstry instead of Barnes. McKinstry has taken over for Price as Bigfoot.
* I have no doubt Phillips can close games. I like him in that role.
Really entertaining game to watch and a great win.
I’m not sure what’s more impressive. Coming back from 6 down, or coming back from 5 down twice in the same game. This team has more fight than Michael Vick’s dog kennel.
Evan Phillips is absolutely dominating this year, but Caleb Ferguson hasn’t even given up a hit yet this year. Kimbrel looked like his old self with his slowest four seamer checking in at 96.6! Those three were perfect for the last 3 innings against a team that ambushed Tony-G for 5 runs.
Okay, so Doc’s a genius because he used Kimbrel in the 8th and Phillips in the 9th? Phillips got his first save of the year and Kimbrel got his 15th a few days earlier. How about when he pinch hit Alberto for Lux against a lefty when Lux has way better numbers against lefties than Alberto, who struck out and left two men on base? Was that genius? Hanser was later forced to face a righty and pushed across the winning run, platoon splits be dammed! I’m wondering why Hanser didn’t start in the first place since Waino has reverse splits.
Freddie Freeman and Justin Turner have been two of the hottest hitters in baseball for the last 30 days. Justin is a notoriously slow starter. Is he back, for the rest of the season, vintage JT? Or is this just a hot streak with age catching up to him later? I think JT’s made an adjustment to hit more line drives and go with the pitch. He certainly looks like he’s playing that 16M option next year. JT loves the Dodgers and I certainly hope he keeps this up even if he’s blocking Miguel.
Cody sure had a couple of big hits when it counted most. The swing is still very ugly. This is someone who’s due to make an adjustment.
It was great having Alberto on the post-game interview. The guy is Juan Uribe all over again, and I loved Uribe. He’s a solid bench piece if he can get closer to his production from the last three years in the second half.
It was a fun entertaining game. I stepped away after it was 5-0 and did some stuff outside and came back in and watched it from the 7th inning on. Huge win. Good for Alberto, his biggest hit as a Dodger.
The Cardinals have a pretty good one two punch in Goldschmidt and Arrenado. I always pined for both those players in Dodger Blue since watching them over the years in Arizona/Colorado.
Wainwright has always been tough for us to solve over the years.
Man is it fun to watch Freddy Freeman. I always knew he was a good player but it sure makes a difference when you get to see them play every day instead of 2 series a year when he was a Brave. Saw a stat on the Cardinals broadcast last night that he was 10 for his last 12 at bats.
And the hero was, wait for it………….Hanser Alberto. The favorite whipping boy of some here. Game was fun to watch, from the 7th inning on.