Weekend Update

As we head into the weekend, we’ll examine some of the current News and Notes as it relates to Dodgers Baseball…

The Dodgers are coming off a sweep of the Marlins and taking two of three to take the season series from the Brewers resulting in a 5-1 record during the 6-game home stand. The Dodgers outscored the Marlins 19-4 and outscored the Brewers 22-11. Next up, the Dodgers will be playing a four-game series against the Marlins in Miami before finishing the month and beginning the next with a three-game series in New York against the Mets. The Dodgers split against the Mets earlier in June this year, and a lot has changed since then. Walker Buehler gave up five runs and was taken out in the 3rd inning of game 3. Scherzer and DeGrom did not pitch for the Mets in the previous series.

The pitching matchups for the upcoming Marlins series are as follows:

• Friday – Anderson vs TBD at 3:40 PM PT
• Saturday – May vs. Alcantara at 3:10 PM PT
• Sunday – Urias vs. Cabrera at 9:05 AM PT
• Monday – Gonsolin vs. Lopez at 3:30 PM PT

It looks like Heaney, Anderson and May are currently lined up for the Mets series, but things can change if the Dodgers choose to promote a Starting Pitcher to continue the six-man rotation or not if the Dodgers choose to forgo the six-man rotation until Kershaw comes back after his scheduled sim game this weekend. The Mets will have the opportunity to line up Walker, deGrom, and Bassitt if they stick to their current rotation as scheduled.

Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

Offense

The Dodges have no less than seven players with an OPS above .900 in the last seven days. 

• Trayce Thompson leads the pack with a homer and two doubles, four runs scored, and 5 RBI in 12 ABs.
• Joey Gallo has three hits in his last 9 Abs with a double and triple, three walks, four runs, and a couple of RBI
• Austin Barnes has two hits in 7 ABs with a solo shot
• Cody Bellinger is 5 for his last 16 with two 2B and a HR, two runs, and 4 RBI to go along with three walks and just one K.
• Trea Turner is 9 for 22 with a whopping eight runs scored and a couple of doubles to go along with 2 RBI.
• Justin Turner is 8 for 21 with a homer and a double four runs and 5 RBI, and 2 SB to boot. Freddie Freeman has 10 hits in 24 ABs, 5 runs and 6 RBI, and a pair of doubles.

Going Cold…

• Max Muncy has slowed a little regression with just 4 hits in his last 18 ABs with 5 Ks.  He has one home run, 4 RBI and 1 Run in that span.
• Chris Taylor is still trying to get a feel for hitting with just 3 hits in his last 16 ABs with 8 Ks.  He has a double and 2 runs scored, and 0 RBI to show for it.

Pitching

The starting pitching has been red hot as a whole during the last week.  Six different pitchers started each of the six games played during that span. 

• Tyler Anderson went seven allowing one run on five hits, three walks, and 6 Ks
• Tony Gonsolin went five strong innings but was pulled with a big lead.
• Heaney went six, allowing two runs while racking up 10 Ks.
• May’s Debut could hardly go better – five innings of 1 hit ball and a couple of walks while racking up 9 Ks.
• Pepiot made what is possibly his last start of the season and went six innings and allowed two runs on four hits with 7Ks.
• Urias took a tough-luck loss while the Dodgers were shut out of that game.  He gave up two hits and one walk, and one run on a solo HR.

The bullpen has been mostly fantastic, with Graterol (2.1 innings), Martin (2.1), Phillips (2), Vesia (2), and Kimbrel (1) all scoreless in their outings this week.

On the other hand…

Bickford (3 innings) gave up three runs while vying for a spot on the OKC roster or the waiver wire.  Price, Alberto, and Ferguson were the only other relievers to give up a run(s), with Alberto and Ferguson surrendering their first runs of the season.

Injury Updates

• Gavin Lux is on the bench nursing a Lower Neck/Upper back injury and is expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday.
• Clayton Kershaw threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is expected to throw a 4-inning simulated game on Sunday.  If all goes to plan, he could be activated against the Mets, or against the Padres in the following series.
• Yency Almonte still isn’t throwing off a mound, and his injury is taking a lot longer to heal than initially expected.   
• Tommy Kahnle got his first taste of OKC rehab assignment last night, going one inning while surrendering two runs on two hits and a HR.  He is expected to be back in around two weeks.
• Blake Treinen has pitched in four OKC rehab games so far and gave up two unearned runs the last time out on two hits.  He is targeted for a Sept 2 return to the big league roster.
• Victor Gonzalez has pitched in 2 OKC rehab games so far, going an inning and picking up a strikeout in each.  He’s allowed a hit and retired all other batters he’s faced.
• Danny Duffy pitched a sim game so far in the Arizona complex league; he hasn’t yet been assigned to an affiliate to pitch in a Minor League rehab. 

Thoughts on the Upcoming Series and More…

We’re going to see a lot of really good pitching over the next six games starting with TBD and The Marlins, whoever that might be. Alcantara will be looking for revenge in a Must See TV game on Saturday against Dustin May, who allowed one hit in five innings against the Marlins last time. On Sunday, Edward Cabrera will look to continue his hot streak of four games without allowing a run. The good thing is that the Marlins can’t seem to score runs on any kind of consistent basis as they are bottom of the barrel in that department, with only the Pirates being worse in the NL. The Marlins will have to make a roster move to cover that TBD or go with the old “Bullpen Game” on Friday. We finally get a break against Pablo Lopez on Monday as his stats show he’s merely human.

Since the Mets are lined up for Walker, deGrom, and Bassitt the series would have a playoff preview feel to it if it weren’t for the Dodgers wasting two of their top pitchers on the Marlins series. The good news is the Mets are horrible against Left Handed Pitchers this year, checking in at 18th overall. They’ll have their work cut out for them against Anderson and Heaney. More good news is that the Dodgers are the top offense against righties this season, and they’ll need to be against Walker, deGrom and Bassitt.

It seems like the Dodgers are trying to get players some rest while still keeping the pedal to the metal. 2/3rds of the outfield is in a steady rotation of play time vs. bench time while Lux is resting, nursing an injury, and seems to be in a semi-platoon with Hanser Alberto of late. Muncy, JT, and Smith get the most DH time, while Barnes started 2 of 6 at catcher this past week. Mookie finally got a day off, but Trea and Freddie are Dodgers iron men while playing just about every inning. It seems that Doc talks about getting Trea and Freddie a day in most interviews lately; it just doesn’t seem ever to happen though.

The bullpen is about to get a shot in the arm, with Treinen, V-Gone, and Kahnle inching closer to a return. The only clear-cut weakness is Bickford, but Kimbrel might have been given the kiss of death this week when we heard that he’s no longer going to be exclusively closing games. His last two outings have been better, but maybe too little too late. He only pitched one game this past week, and it was a blowout and his first 1-2-3 inning that I can remember. The time before, he wiggled off the hook to notch a one-run save, but not before allowing two runners to reach. With Almonte nowhere in sight, do the Dodgers pivot and let Phillips take over the closer role with the best stuff in the pen and little experience in the 9th? This would require that Treinen, Graterol, and possibly Kahnle take those high-leverage situations that Phillips excelled in. Treinen has the most experience closing games other than Kimbrel.

I’m not sure how to get all the injured pitchers back onto the roster. Kershaw is a sure thing, and so is Treinen barring a setback. V-Gone, Kahnle, and Almonte are not sure things to return in my mind, but Doc says they’ll all be back at some point. Kershaw will return when the rosters expand and will take the 14th pitcher’s spot. Treinen will take Bickford’s, but a corresponding 40-man spot will need to be created when he does. The same thing goes for Kahnle, V-Gone, and possibly Duffy. I just can’t see four guys getting the DFA before the season ends. The good news is that players who are DFAs in September will not be allowed on the post-season roster for their new team.

Kimbrell will have time to prove he’s worthy of a spot until Kahnle and/or Almonte are ready. There’s a risk in adding Kahnle/Almonte, not knowing if they’ll be more effective than Kimbrel. With four DFAs required to get all the injured pitchers on the roster and the uncertainty they bring with them by coming off an injury, it might just be better to let sleeping dogs lie, don’t stir the pot, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, leave well enough alone.