Jansen and Dodgers winding into shape

Phil Gurnee ♦ May 10, 2018 ♦ Leave a comment

Kenley Jansen still isn’t striking out anyone, but he is getting weak contact and is no longer walking anyone which bodes well for future Dodger fortunes.

Date   Inngs              Dec   IP  H ER BB SO HR
May1                  8-GF(8)  1.0  1  0  1  1  0
May2    9-GF             S(4)  1.0  1  1  1  0  0
May3    9-GF             S(5)  1.0  0  0  0  0  0
May8                     9-10  2.0  1  0  0  1  0
May9    9-GF             S(6)  1.0  0  0  0  0  0
             

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/10/2018.

Also boding well for the Dodgers was the return of Yasiel Puig who quickly made an impact with two of his three hits being key to keeping a rally going. Scott Alexander was another key part of the cavalry getting four key outs to bridge the gap for an ineffective J.T. Chargois to Kenley Jansen.  For the first time this year, Scott Alexander looked like the guy the Dodgers traded for this past winter.

Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe should both be joining the team next week along with Clayton Kershaw.  Seager is never coming back and Ryu won’t be available until after the all-star break so unless the Dodgers make a deal, this is the team that will be tasked with hunting down the League leading Arizona Diamondbacks.

With all that due to happen soon, the potent three Dodger catcher offense will take a seat, hopefully never to be seen again. They had their highlight of the season in the bottom of the six with the score tied at 1. Starting catcher Yasmani Grandal starting the inning off with a single.  After Bellinger struck out, back up catcher playing second base Austin Barnes plopped a single into left-center field. Puig followed with a single to left putting the go-ahead run on 3rd base with one out and the third-string catcher playing 3rd base Kyle Farmer up. All the Dodgers needed was a fly ball, and Farmer delivered just that driving in Grandal. The Dodgers had their first lead since May 5th.

With eight games back the Dodgers are in a world of hurt. They will have to have a hot streak at some point this year. I don’t expect the Diamondbacks to fold, as they have stayed the National League’s best team even though they have suffered many key injuries and their best hitter has been in a season-long slump.  In a few days, they will get back their all-star 3rd baseman. They just got back their starting right fielder. Their best pitcher should be rejoining them soon.

In a week the Dodgers will have no more excuses, and the road to the postseason in 2018 will be tougher than any road they have had in the Dave Roberts era. The ride will be bumpy, but it could be worth it if they can pull this off.