There were a lot of “firsts” last night:
- The first walk-off win was the kind of thing that can galvanize a team.
- Mike Grove pitched his first great game, and (someone else said this), “Looked like Buehler.” Not bad for a guy who is just trade bait. Disclaimer: I don’t think that, and most baseball people don’t think that. Watch his interview after the game.
- Shelby Miller, who has been quite the find for the Dodgers, got his first win for the Dodgers by shutting down the Cubs in the Top of the 9th.
- This was the first time two rookies got hits and scored the winning runs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Trailing 1-0, James Outman singled to Right Center. Miguel Vargas then doubled past the Cubs third baseman to put runners on second and third. Next up was 85-Year-Old, David Peralta (well, a lot of you act like he is 85!), who did what he was supposed to do: Single to RF! Game over!
MLB.Com’s Juan Toribio said this about David Peralta:
“When the Dodgers signed David Peralta in early February, the outfielder knew the opportunities weren’t going to be the same as when he played with the D-backs and Rays. Peralta had grown into an above-average everyday player, but with the Dodgers’ depth in the outfield and James Outman’s hot start to the season, the Venezuelan veteran’s chances have been even more limited than expected. That is likely one of the reasons Peralta is off to a slow start at the plate. But all those struggles were quickly erased once Peralta snuck a two-run walk-off single into right field to lead the Dodgers to a much-needed 2-1 win over the Cubs on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.“
— Juan Toribio
David Peralta was brought to the Dodgers to only hit against RH Pitching. He is not a regular, but before long, you will be glad he is on this team. He is adjusting to a new role and adjusting to being pain-free after a long year of pain in 2022. He is healthy, in great shape, and is beloved by his teammates. Last night will be the first of many big hits for him.
Hopefully, the lesson from all of this is that there is a time to play “small ball,” and last night was a classic opportunity. Outman did not try and jack it out. Vargas went with the pitch, and Peralta did the same. Everyone stayed within themselves. The result was a win.
Alex Vesia looked better (progress is not linear), but not great. Yency Almonte is struggling with his release point, but Caleb Ferguson came in with the guts of a “cat burglar.” And, of course, Shelby Miller was unscored upon in his 6th consecutive game. Most fans would have voted Shelby Miller off the island after a spring training ERA of 6.43, where he gave up 11 hits in 7 IP.
They Needed This…
The Rookies
I would be remiss if I did not mention the impact that the Rookies are having on this team. Both Vargas and Outman are playing exceptional defense. Both are fast on the bases, and I can especially see the payoff that Vargas has gotten from working on his footwork and agility in the offseason. He has actually gotten much faster than when he was in the minors. They both act as if they belong, and both have a lot of room for growth… and the potential for it. I could see Vargas changing positions to accommodate another player, but to me, he looks like a natural at 2B. That running catch he made in RF in the 9th inning was anything but routine, be he made it look that way. Outman can play all three outfield positions extremely well.
Dodgers Minor League Notes
- Mike Busch played his 4th game at 3B last night and made a throwing error, but that is to be expected as he learns on the job.
- Victor Gonzalez (1.50 ERA) is ready. He faced four batters last night and struck out all four.
- BTW: OKC won.
- Andy Pages is now hitting .458 at AA with a 1.497 OPS. He is taking what they give him and has just 5 K’s in 24 ABs to go with 9 walks. He will be in AAA soon and in a Ravine near you before the season is over… if he keeps that up.
- River Ryan started for Tulsa and pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 ER and striking out 3.
- BTW: Tulsa won too.
Discussion (24)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Chicago has much better pitching than we have seen so far. How’d the team do against it?
16 for 95, 34 K’s, 3-15 WRISP.
Is this who we are, or just a subsample? Guess we’ll know soon enough.
The Dodgers aren’t hitting but at least the defense is outstanding.
The bottom of the lineup is a black hole besides Outman. That’s why they’re not scoring runs:
Martinez .246/.294/.475/.769
Vargas .222/.431/.333/.764
Taylor .135/.214/.459/.673
Heyward .182/.269/.591/.860
Peralta .200/.226/.233/.459
Rojas .143/.200/.179/.379
3 guys below .200 BA and 2 barely above and 1 below .250. 3 guys below .700 OPS, 2 of them way below. 2 below .800 and 1 above .800 and then there’s Barnes.
Dodgers lose 2 of 3 to the Cubs at home. In doing so, they scored 2 runs in all three games, This kind of offense works if your rotation is Koufax, Drysdale, Osteen, and Sutton and it’s 1966, but not so well in the current era.
BA of the Dodgers’ starting lineup – .267, .302, .246, .208, .240, .222, .261, .125 and .053. The bench BA was .200, .182 and .143. Yeah, it’s only 16 games and Smith is out, but geez. Out of 13 position players, 6 at or below the Mendoza line (I’m including the new backup catcher who hasn’t hit yet so his BA is 0.) One small moral victory – Austin Barnes finally got a hit today (his first).
9 more LOB today. Strangely, they are 8th hitting .272 RISP, and 5th OPS .871, but are 3rd in Ks RISP.
Dodgers have 5th highest K% (25%)., 2nd highest in HRs, 3rd highest in Ks, 29th in SB (vs most SB allowed).
Maybe the most important number – in 16 games, they have scored 2 runs or less 6 times and lost 5 of them. This is a real feast or famine team so far.
That was perhaps the worst strike zone of any MLB umpire including Angel Hernandez and Marty Foster. Having said that, could the team show some freaking life and get in the umpires face. Doc shook his head and raised his hand but he should have been face-to-face if for no other reason than to spark some life in the anemic squad.
Heyward was pissed but FF after a 4 K performance just walks off with a ho hum we’ll get’em another day kind of look. For God’s sake someone has to light a fire in this teams ass and get them going.
Umpires should not cost a team the game.
Three Called Strikes on Strike Two in the bottom of the ninth inning.
All were balls.
But they were called strikes.
He should never umpire again.
It’s still early, plenty of time for our guys to pick their ace up, or get him off the hook.
If Outman is a 4th or 5th outfielder and being platooned then why is he starting against a left-handed pitcher today and other days?
Probably because someone doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.
We must be the worst in the league in stolen base differential! My goodness!
All hail Doyers!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3tRVRf/
Anyone missing Anderson and Heaney? I’ll take Grove and Pepiot, at a fraction of the price!
Pee on tatis! I think I like machado better, which ain’t saying much! Gotta improve offensively to hang close! Hopefully Friedman does something big to improve team ! Here I go again! Reynolds! Hopefully Will gets better quickly, 7 days of Barnes?
Nice to see them get up off of the mat like that and get the win. Tatis is scorching the ball at AAA and will be back with the Padres in a little over a week.
Here’s the scoop on Will Smith from the Dodgers Media Staff:
DODGERS SIGN AUSTIN WYNNS
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed catcher Austin Wynns to a Major League contract and placed catcher Will Smith on the 7-day injured list with a concussion, retroactive April 13. In order to make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred right-handed pitcher Alex Reyes to the 60-day injured list.
Wynns, 32, appeared in one game for the Giants this season after hitting .259 (42-for-162) with three homers and 21 RBI for the Giants last season. He was designated for assignment on April 10 and has been in the Major Leagues parts of five seasons with Baltimore (2018-,19, 2021) and San Francisco (2022-23), hitting a combined .230 (109-for-474) with 12 homers and 51 RBI. The backstop has a career .991 fielding percentage while flagging down 28.6% of potential base stealers. In his minor league career, spanning nine seasons, he slashed .272/.348/.377 with 34 homers and 245 RBI. He was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2013 First Year Player Draft out of Fresno State University.
Smith, 28, has appeared in 11 games for the Dodgers, recording three homers and 12 RBI while slashing .333/.417/.641. He is tied for third on the team in homers while ranking second in RBI. The former Louisville Cardinal is in his fifth season with the Dodgers and has amassed 75 homers and 242 RBI in 369 career games. He was the Dodgers first round selection (32nd overall) in the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Louisville.
Three minor league names:
Thayron Liranzo
Luke Williams
Jerming Rosario
Ex Dodger right-hander Chris Martin has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. The moves comes after manager Alex Cora said Martin got imaging done on a sore biceps and shoulder.
Mark is your title referring to Eric, Bradley and you?
Saturday scores
Oklahoma City 5, Sugar Land 2
Tulsa 12, Midland 5
Dayton 6, Great Lakes 4
Rancho Cucamonga 12, Visalia 4
Sunday schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Yon Castro) at Dayton (Hunter Parks)
11 a.m.: Tulsa (Emmet Sheehan) at Midland (Royber Salinas)
12:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) vs. Sugar Land (J.P. France)
12:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Juan Morillo) at Visalia (Brock Jones)
Grove looked sharp last night! Syndergard wasn’t bad Friday. When gonsolin is ready might be a difficult decision ahead. Maybe grove assumes Jackson’s roll if Jackson struggles, but if he continues to pitch at or near the level of last night, he deserves to stay up!
It was written in the clouds that we would win. Couldn’t let Jackie down on his day. BTW what is the is the latest news on Will Smith? The only news I could find was that he was sick. Sick with what??
Verlander, scherzer anyone?
It is possible that the Dodgers could have four rookies in the lineup this season if you add Busch and Pages to the mix. Pages has lost 25 pounds and runs like a freaking Gazelle now… Well, maybe!
A daytime game today so less time for last night’s spark to wear off. Hope the top of our lineup feeds off the fresh faces and all start showing their capabilities. Sooner the better!
Two rookies and a washed up vet walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rookies why are they’re hanging out with an old guy. The first rookie says “we needed someone to drive us home”.