Three game set with Nationals not really a preview of NLCS
While the Dodgers have been throwing two of the pitchers expected to start in the postseason, Alex Wood and Rich Hill, the Nationals were not so accommodating throwing Edwin Jackson and Alex Cole, neither of whom will be pitching in the National rotation come October.
The Nationals are also missing possibly the best player in the NL in Bryce Harper. Still, it is always good to win two games on the road against the team trying to catch you for the best record in baseball. With those two victories against the Nationals, the Dodgers have put some extra length between them and the Nationals making it virtually impossible to blow the best record in the NL with so few games remaining.
Tonight the Dodgers get to see the hottest pitcher in baseball in Steven Strasburg. Strasburg came off the DL on August 19th and gave up two runs in six innings. Both those runs came in his first inning of work, and those were the last runs he has given up in his last 34 innings.
Facing him will be Hyun-Jin Ryu who can’t compete with Strasburg on stuff but given that this is a Sunday Night matchup can match him on domination. Ryu has pitched twice on Sunday Night TV and both times was excellent. He has yet to give up a run on Sunday Night TV and his two best games scores of the year were by far on Sunday Night.
Ryu will try to make his case to be the fourth starter in the October rotation, and you can’t ask for a better audition than against the team you might be facing in October. Whatever happens tonight Ryu has come a long way from the pitcher that no one was counting on April 1st, 2017. Among a season of surprises, his production has to rank at least 3rd behind Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor.
| Date | DayofWeek | Opp | Rslt | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | GSc |
| 7/30/2017 | Sunday Night | SFG | W,3-2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 73 |
| 8/6/2017 | Sunday Night | NYM | W,8-0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 83 |
Chase Utley joins the 400/200/100 club for 2nd baseman
With his two doubles today, Chase Utley now has 400 doubles in his career. Many second baseman have had 400 doubles, but not many have had
400 doubles
200 home runs
100 stolen bases
who have played at least 75% of their games at second base.
Player WAR/pos HR 2B SB From To PA OPS Pos Joe Morgan 100.4 268 449 689 1963 1984 11329 .819 *4H/7D58 Lou Whitaker 74.8 244 420 143 1977 1995 9967 .789 *4H/D Ryne Sandberg 67.7 282 403 344 1981 1997 9282 .795 *45/H6D Roberto Alomar 66.7 210 504 474 1988 2004 10400 .814 *4/HD6 Chase Utley 65.3 258 400 150 2003 2017 7651 .828 *4H/3D5
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/16/2017.
All HOF except Sweet Lou Whitaker and Chase who is still adding to his numbers. You can see why Sweet Lou is one of my favorites when people ask who is the best player not in the HOF?
Each of those players also has a world series ring except Ryne Sandberg.
If we lower the percentage threshold to 65% the great Roger Hornsby and Craig Biggio join the list.
Even at 50% nothing changes, which is far as I’ll go.
Catching Piazza, Catching Frank Robinson
A few minutes ago Cody Bellinger hit his 38th home run to catch Frank Robinson for the NL rookie record for home runs. Frank Robinson hit his 38th home run on Sept 11th and would not hit another home run the rest of the year. Hopefully, the same fate does not await Cody Bellinger. This record has stood for over 1/2 a century with some of the greatest home run hitters in baseball history taking a swing at it and coming up empty.
Next up, 40 and beyond
Player HR Year Age Tm Lg PA OPS Cody Bellinger 38 2017 21 LAD NL 489 .960 Frank Robinson (RoY-1st) 38 1956 20 CIN NL 667 .936 Wally Berger 38 1930 24 BSN NL 628 .990 Albert Pujols (RoY-1st) 37 2001 21 STL NL 676 1.013 Mike Piazza (RoY-1st) 35 1993 24 LAD NL 602 .932 Ryan Braun (RoY-1st) 34 2007 23 MIL NL 492 1.004 Earl Williams (RoY-1st) 33 1971 22 ATL NL 550 .815 Chris Young (RoY-4th) 32 2007 23 ARI NL 624 .763 Jim Ray Hart (RoY-2nd) 31 1964 22 SFG NL 625 .840 Willie Montanez (RoY-2nd) 30 1971 23 PHI NL 683 .798
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/16/2017.
Good thing the Phillies waited until August 10th to bring up Rhys Hoskins who has hit an astounding 18 home runs in his first 150 plate appearances. Cody had twelve after his first 150 plate appearances.
What a long strange trip it has been for Edwin Jackson
Once upon a time in Sept of 2003, Edwin Jackson shocked the baseball world by outpitching prime Randy Johnson on his 20th birthday. I started this article with the headline once I saw that Edwin Jackson was pitching tonight and was ready to research a fun story.
My first search was the big game just mentioned, and to my surprise, Edwin Jackson has already had a few articles written about him. I guess I should not have been surprised since he is pitching for the Washington Nationals these days and not the San Diego Padres. What made me laugh was that one article had the headline.
“If he stays healthy, he’s going to pitch up here a long time,” Brown said.
Brown was right. Jackson has pitched in the major leagues for a long time. Only one other player who appeared in his debut is still in the majors—that would be Adrian Beltre—and four players who appeared in that game have since gotten jobs as big league managers. But Jackson’s career has not necessarily gone the way his teammates might have expected after that auspicious debut. He has been traded six times. He has pitched for twelve teams. On Tuesday, he will start for the Washington Nationals in Anaheim. This will be his second stint with the Nationals and his second team of the 2017 season.
Don’t forget about the World Champions
From May – August 26th the season has been about the Dodgers with the Cubs barely keeping in contact of the postseason. The Dodgers are trying to fight off the Nationals for the best record in the NL but the team that no one should be sleeping on are the Cubs.
The offense is in high gear and it wasn’t just the Mets they beat up on.
39 runs in the past three games against the Met pitching but five times they have scored at least 14 runs since August 26th.
Kyle Schwarber is now doing what we expected him to do. He is not just a Sept darling he’s has been mashing since he came back from the minor leagues. Note to Joc, that is what you are supposed to do when you are a major league hitter and go back to AAA. Find your swing, return, and mash.
They are doing this with their two best hitters Rizzo and Bryant just paddling along, not quite doing their share of the rowing.
Player Split Year OPS PA HR BA OBP SLG Rene Rivera Sept/Oct 2017 1.084 21 1 .368 .400 .684 Albert Almora Sept/Oct 2017 1.042 24 2 .333 .333 .708 Kyle Schwarber Sept/Oct 2017 1.029 29 2 .346 .414 .615 Javier Baez Sept/Oct 2017 .896 43 2 .308 .357 .538 Ben Zobrist Sept/Oct 2017 .889 45 0 .333 .444 .444 Anthony Rizzo Sept/Oct 2017 .845 51 1 .286 .392 .452 Kris Bryant Sept/Oct 2017 .792 56 1 .239 .357 .435 Jason Heyward Sept/Oct 2017 .769 47 2 .262 .340 .429 Ian Happ Sept/Oct 2017 .731 44 2 .231 .295 .436 Alex Avila Sept/Oct 2017 .693 21 0 .188 .381 .313 Jon Jay Sept/Oct 2017 .536 36 0 .219 .286 .250 Victor Caratini Sept/Oct 2017 .425 10 0 .125 .300 .125 Tommy La Stella Sept/Oct 2017 .259 16 0 .071 .188 .071
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2017.
Dodgers need the return of the four horsemen
Sure, this is obvious.
One of the horsemen was back but hardly anyone noticed because the team kept losing. The second one joined him this week and it directly resulted in two victories for the Dodgers. If they hope to have any chance in October it would behoove the other two horsemen to join Bellinger/Turner and make a charge to break through the thorny walls of October that have eluded many other stacked Dodger teams in the 21st century.
For most of this summer, the Dodgers had four qualified MVP candidates. They were so good it was ridiculous out productive the first four hitters were night after night. That all ended on August 27th, but for the Dodgers to have a shot in October they need the four horsemen to provide something close to the kind of production they had provided from April 1st – August 27th.
This is what the four have done in Sept.
Player Split Year HR PA BA OBP SLG OPS Cody Bellinger Sept/Oct 2017 3 56 .286 .375 .612 .987 Justin Turner Sept/Oct 2017 2 51 .318 .412 .591 1.003 Chris Taylor Sept/Oct 2017 1 53 .226 .226 .321 .547 Corey Seager Sept/Oct 2017 0 31 .222 .290 .296 .587
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/15/2017.
Turner has been quietly hitting, and I say quietly because he was doing this while the team was losing, while the Bellinger break out this week resulted in the only two wins since the Dreamers were put on a see-saw.
The Dodgers can probably beat bad teams with just two of the horsemen making hay, but to beat the October teams, I think they will need the Chris Taylor engine to reignite and Corey Seager to overcome his elbow issues and provide the production he has provided for most of his major league career.
We should be legitimately worried about Chris Taylor, not because he’s hitting .226 in Sept but because his OBP is also .226 which means he still hasn’t taken a walk in Sept. Maybe my wishing for Lorenzo Cain wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
The curious case of Gilberto Reyes
With 19-year-old Keibert Reyes being promoted to AA this week to help Tulsa with their postseason run I was curious if any Dodger catching prospect had ever made it to AA while still a teenager.
I headed to Baseball Reference and sorted every catcher and their rookie season with the Dodgers to find out the age they debuted with the Dodgers.
The one name that stood out was Gilberto Reyes. He would never exhaust his rookie status with the Dodgers. He made his debut at age 19 in 1983 and he wasn’t just a September call-up. His debut date was June 11th, 1983. He would be on the roster from June 11th – July 27th and start eight games. He went back to the minors and did come back in Sept but played very little. The Dodger catchers in 1983 were Steve Yeager, the infamous Jack Fimple, Mike Scioscia, Gil Reyes, and Dave Sax.
According to David Young of TrueblueLA, Reyes got the call because of an injury to Mike Scioscia. Not only was Gilberto Reyes the youngest catcher to ever play for the Los Angeles Dodgers but he also got a ring in 1988 and never played a game in the postseason. Dave knew an interesting story when he saw it.
“I remember what happened to Gilberto Reyes. Scioscia injured his back [in Game 4 of the World Series] and we had gotten permission from [then-Commissioner] Peter Ueberroth to bring Reyes to Oakland. I had him fly in from the Dominican. He flies out–he got there the night of what proved to be the final game. He walks into the clubhouse about the time they started popping champagne bottles. The guy has flown in all the way from the Dominican Republic to get soaked in champagne.”
Year Age Tm PA OPS OPS+ 1983 19 LAD 32 .413 15 1984 20 LAD 5 .000 -100 1985 21 LAD 3 .667 107 1987 23 LAD 0 1988 24 LAD 9 .222 -35 1989 25 MON 5 .400 15 1991 27 MON 229 .546 56 7 Yr 7 Yr 7 Yr 283 .510 46 162 162 162 376 .510 46
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/13/2017.
For a catcher who debuted at age 19 he had a very unsubstantial major league career and would end his career with only 283 major league plate appearances. Bill Plaschke doing what he does best, writing about sad stories, and Gilberto Reyes was one of them.
Kevin Pasley debuted with Dodgers at the age of 20 but would only play in one game without getting any plate appearances, and that was in 1973. He also would end up with an unremarkable major league career, getting only 132 major league plate appearances.
This leaves Mike Scioscia as the man to follow. Which we will do next.
Rk Name Age Year Tm PA BA OBP SLG OPS Pos 1 Gil Reyes 19 1983 LAD 32 .161 .188 .226 .413 *2 2 Kevin Pasley 20 1974 LAD 0 /*2 3 Gil Reyes 20 1984 LAD 5 .000 .000 .000 .000 /*H*2 4 Mike Scioscia 21 1980 LAD 152 .254 .313 .328 .641 *2/H 5 Gil Reyes 21 1985 LAD 3 .000 .667 .000 .667 /*2H 6 Dioner Navarro 21 2005 LAD 199 .273 .354 .375 .729 *2 7 Darrin Fletcher 22 1989 LAD 9 .500 .556 .875 1.431 /*2H
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Generated 9/13/2017.
Dodgers don’t lose twelve in a row
and if Clayton Kershaw doesn’t get hurt they might win three more games this season.
Levity kids, levity.
Anyway, Clayton was not at his best last night but the offense woke up just enough to break the Dodgers eleven game losing streak.
If you want more levity the Dodgers are 0 – 15 since August 26th in games that Kershaw did not start.
Date Opp W/L R RA W-L GB Win Saturday Aug 26 boxscore MIL L 0 3 91-37 up20.0 Davies Sunday Aug 27 boxscore MIL L 2 3 91-38 up19.0 Nelson Tuesday Aug 29 boxscore ARI L 6 7 91-39 up18.0 Godley Wednesday Aug 30 boxscore ARI L 4 6 91-40 up17.0 Ray Thursday Aug 31 boxscore ARI L 1 8 91-41 up16.0 Greinke Saturday Sep 2 (1) boxscore SDP L-wo 5 6 92-42 up14.5 Hand Saturday Sep 2 (2) boxscore SDP L 2 7 92-43 up14.5 Baumann Sunday Sep 3 boxscore SDP L 4 6 92-44 up13.5 Chacin Monday Sep 4 boxscore ARI L 0 13 92-45 up12.5 Ray Tuesday Sep 5 boxscore ARI L 1 3 92-46 up11.5 Hernandez Wednesday Sep 6 boxscore ARI L 1 3 92-47 up10.5 Walker Friday Sep 8 boxscore COL L 4 5 92-49 up10.0 Rusin Saturday Sep 9 boxscore COL L 5 6 92-50 up10.0 Bettis Sunday Sep 10 boxscore COL L 1 8 92-51 up 9.0 Chatwood Monday Sep 11 boxscore SFG L 6 8 92-52 up 9.0 Law
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/13/2017.
But today is a new day and the Dodgers have a one game winning streak. Much of that can be attributed to a brilliant defensive fourth inning. After a lead off double by Todd Hundley, Justin Turner fields a tough bounce down the 3rd base line but throws errantly to 1st base. Cody Bellinger makes like Michael Jordan and goes vertical and horizontal to catch the errant throw and while several feet in the air, manages to tag Austin Slater so instead of 1st and 2nd with no outs, the Giants have one out and a runner on second. Calixte flies out to RF, and the Puig cannon fires one of best throws. It landed perfectly in the glove of Justin Turner on the bag. The runner never even attempted to advance to 3rd, but the throw itself was a thing of beauty.
You can’t teach this kind of accuracy.
Yasiel. Puig.
Unreal. 💯 pic.twitter.com/cfupgJvcnl
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 13, 2017
Tomlinson would single to CF but Chris Taylor charged, threw his own bullet to Grandal and Hundley was so far out, he simply stopped running.
They didn’t make it easy and it is a testament to the struggle of the team that the two games they have won since Aug 27th have been 1 – 0 and 5 – 3. Don’t think the ship is righted yet, this was just one victory against the worse team in the National League, but it was a win they desperately needed.
Second half stats and Sept stats
Staring at an eleven game losing streak I was curious about the team stats for the second half and just sept.
Second Half Stats:
Puig has squeezed himself into the top four passing Bellinger, Seager, and Turner.
Player Split Year OPS GS PA 2B HR BA OBP SLG Chris Taylor 2nd Half 2017 .915 49 226 15 9 .314 .363 .552 Yasiel Puig 2nd Half 2017 .907 45 191 10 9 .272 .382 .525 Cody Bellinger 2nd Half 2017 .898 43 182 7 11 .276 .352 .546 Corey Seager 2nd Half 2017 .846 42 194 9 6 .324 .371 .475 Austin Barnes 2nd Half 2017 .834 18 94 3 1 .321 .436 .397 Justin Turner 2nd Half 2017 .821 49 214 12 9 .265 .346 .476 Yasmani Grandal 2nd Half 2017 .708 37 156 6 8 .213 .282 .426 Chase Utley 2nd Half 2017 .690 19 89 5 2 .238 .315 .375 Enrique Hernandez 2nd Half 2017 .664 19 99 3 3 .213 .293 .371 Logan Forsythe 2nd Half 2017 .636 42 178 7 2 .203 .343 .294 Adrian Gonzalez 2nd Half 2017 .574 14 61 5 1 .207 .230 .345 Joc Pederson 2nd Half 2017 .547 26 100 6 2 .149 .260 .287 Curtis Granderson 2nd Half 2017 .534 20 86 0 4 .111 .256 .278
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/12/2017.
Sept Stats:
You can see part of the problem. Two of the players who carried the team all year, Corey Seager and Chris Taylor are both struggling. Since they normally hit 1 and 2, that is leaving precious few base runners for the best hitter in Sept, Justin Turner. In Sept, once you get past Puig in the five spot, the bottom of the lineup are simply out makers.
Player Split Year OPS GS PA 2B HR BA OBP SLG Justin Turner Sept/Oct 2017 .985 10 41 4 2 .324 .390 .595 Andre Ethier Sept/Oct 2017 .833 3 15 0 1 .286 .333 .500 Yasiel Puig Sept/Oct 2017 .813 9 38 4 1 .265 .342 .471 Cody Bellinger Sept/Oct 2017 .771 11 46 3 2 .233 .283 .488 Austin Barnes Sept/Oct 2017 .763 4 20 0 0 .313 .450 .313 Alex Verdugo Sept/Oct 2017 .653 4 18 0 1 .188 .278 .375 Enrique Hernandez Sept/Oct 2017 .647 2 17 1 0 .294 .294 .353 Adrian Gonzalez Sept/Oct 2017 .636 3 11 1 0 .273 .273 .364 Logan Forsythe Sept/Oct 2017 .606 8 33 1 1 .200 .273 .333 Corey Seager Sept/Oct 2017 .586 4 21 1 0 .250 .286 .300 Chris Taylor Sept/Oct 2017 .581 9 43 2 1 .233 .233 .349 Joc Pederson Sept/Oct 2017 .408 4 13 0 0 .100 .308 .100 Yasmani Grandal Sept/Oct 2017 .341 8 32 0 1 .038 .188 .154 Curtis Granderson Sept/Oct 2017 .297 9 35 0 0 .097 .200 .097 Chase Utley Sept/Oct 2017 .277 5 15 0 0 .077 .200 .077
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Generated 9/12/2017.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 