Ty Blach? Really?
Evidently, I had the wrong impression of Ty Blach. My impression was that the fill-in starter for the Giants was a journeyman left-hander who would get schooled by the Dodgers. The 26-year-old pitcher had been pressed into the Giant rotation when Madison Bumgarner decided his recreational needs were greater than the needs of this team. He had little major league track record success and couldn’t even beat out Matt Cain this spring for the last stating job in the rotation.
Not only was I wrong about Ty Blach but I was also wrong about Matt Cain. The Dodger offense has been so anemic in San Francisco it was like they were facing the old Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner.
Against these two starters the Dodgers have managed:
13 2/3 IP / 10 Hits / 2 Earned Runs / 5 walks / 9 Strikeouts
Ty Blach has now made five starts in place of Bumgarner and other than the one start against the Reds where he was crushed he has been very good.
The Dodgers have now lost three in a row after getting within 1/2 a game of the Rockies and are now three full games behind the Rockies and are also now in 3rd place.
Might be time for Joc / Justin / Seager / Puig to put on some hitting shoes. Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor can’t be expected to carry this team. Those May stats I posted on Monday morning have just gotten worse for those four.
Been a while since I have seen a runner on 3rd thrown out at home on a ground ball to a 2nd baseman playing back.
Can Rich Hill break DL losing streak?
So far in 2017, each pitcher that has started for the Dodgers after being on the 10-day DL have lost their first start.
Strangely enough, it started with Rich Hill who had made only start in 2017 before he found his way on the 10-Day-DL. He came back to start on 4/16 and lost 3 – 1 getting all of nine outs while giving up two runs.
Ryu was next in line. He came off the DL just in time to get his second start at Coors. Ryu lost 10 – 7 on 5/11 giving up five earned runs in four innings.
Brandon McCarthy was the 3rd pitcher to give it a shot. He came off the DL yesterday and lost to the Giants 8 – 4 on 5/15 giving up six earned runs in five innings. He wasn’t hit hard but that is baseball.
Ryu and McCarthy had both been coming off superlative starts before hitting the DL.
Hill, on the other hand, is a different blister beast. Hill will need to answer some questions:
- Can he pitch long enough to be effective in the rotation given his blister problems?
- If he alters how he throws the curve so as to minimize the effect on the blister can he also be effective?
- If he throws fewer curves so as to minimize the effect on the blister can he also be effective?
Each starter besides Kershaw is trying to make their case to stay in the rotation. Is this good or bad? To much pressure or maybe the pressure will keep everyone at a high level?
I don’t know but so far, McCarthy and Ryu have both made a case for pitching out of the bullpen. Hopefully, Rich Hill does not make the same case.
Checking in on Mitch White
A few blurbs from national media on Mitch White after his superlative game list night in which he pitching seven innings for the first time in his professional career.
Starting off with Baseball Prospectus:
Mitchell White, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers (High-A Rancho Cucamonga): 7 IP, ER, 3 H, 8 K
White’s been on a hard pitch count so far, so he hadn’t so much as seen the sixth inning, let alone the seventh. He did last night on account of supreme efficiency, as he recorded 21 outs on just 67 pitches. Visalia has a poor lineup, but White was on point from the jump, surrendering just one hit through six. When that cutter’s cutting he’s as tough as you’ll see at High A, and he’s now given up just seven earned runs in six non-at-Lancaster starts.
Mitchell White, rhp, Dodgers. After a couple of rough outings, White has gotten back in stride. On Monday, the Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect tied a career high with eight strikeouts in seven strong innings as high Class A Rancho Cucamonga beat Visalia 2-1. Fifty-five of Mitchell’s 67 pitches went for strikes—an astonishing 82 percent rate—and he walked none after walking six in his past eight innings.
Font for fifteen
Wilmer Font struck out fifteen hitters tonight en route to the most dominant game I think the Oklahoma Dodgers have ever had. This is what I know about Wilmer Font.
- He’s a pitcher in AAA for the Oklahoma Dodgers
- I have never heard he’s a prospect
- His name gives some Dodger bloggers much fun on twitter
- His first name sounds like someone who owns an old truck and may be missing some teeth
I suspect after tonight I’ll learn quite a bit more when I get deluged with Wilmer Font information.
Oklahoma City coach Matt Herges was almost brought to tears by @Dodgers righty Wilmer Font’s record-setting outing. https://t.co/11e1Jy4MKm pic.twitter.com/G1OuBf1xb8
— MiLB.com (@MiLB) May 16, 2017
As expected Baseball America checked in today:
Wilmer Font, rhp, Dodgers. The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Font has a career walk rate of 4.19 batters per nine innings. In the past two years, however Font has found his command. That was on full display Monday when Font took a perfect game into the seventh and set a Triple-A Oklahoma City record with 15 strikeouts in a 6-4 win over Sacramento (Giants). Font ended up allowing just two hits and a run and he walked just one. In his past four starts, Font has struck out 37 and walked just two and for the season he has struck out 63 and walked nine in 42 innings. Font has a fastball he can push to the upper-90s, but an improved splitter has been the key to his success.
Trayce Thompson hit a home run and is showing signs of life. A few days ago Thompson and Ike Davis were both hitting below .100, and they are both now between .150 and .190 so things are looking up for the hitters who were in dreadful slumps to start the season.
Kyle Farmer fresh off his Texas League POTW went zero for five and Andy Sopko couldn’t get out of the first inning.
Mitch White showed Yadier Alvarez what a top pitching prospect line is supposed to look like. 7 IP, 3 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 0 Walks, 8 K’s. The twenty-one outs by White were six more than he had ever gotten in a game before.
OTDIB – May 16th – The Shaggy one drives in eight
On this date in baseball May 16th
May 16th, 2008 – Ex-Dodger Jayson Werth drives in eight runs
Jayson Werth ties the Phillies’ single-game RBI record when he drives in eight runs in Philadelphia’s 10-3 win over Toronto. The 28 year-old center fielder, who equals the franchise mark shared Kitty Bransfeld (1910), Gavvy Cravath (1915), Willie Jones (1958), and Mike Schmidt (1976), accomplishes the feat with three home runs in team’s 10-3 victory over Toronto in the friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park.
When the clean-cut Jayson Werth patrolled left field for the Dodgers my wife swooned over him. When he was cut loose by Ned and ended up a Phillie he grew one of the early beards that now dominate baseball and she hates beards thus ending her relationship with the shaggy one. Werth was one of Depo’s best moves, and one of Ned’s worst.
May 16th, 2000 – Cubs fan starts a brouhaha by stealing a Dodger hat
After a fan steals Los Angeles’ catcher Chad Kreuter’s hat and hits him in the back of the head, many Dodgers, including coaches John Shelby and Rick Dempsey, go into the stands and start fighting with the Wrigley Field faithful. When the melee ends, several fans are arrested as the game is delayed nearly ten minutes, and there is litter all over the field.
May 16th, 1970 – Manny Mota foul ball kills first MLB fan hit by batted ball
During a game against the Giants at Dodger Stadium, Alan Fish, sitting with friends from the Poinsettia Playground in the second row seats along the first base line, is struck in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Manny Mota. The 14 year-old boy will die four days later to become the first fatality as a result of a batted ball in major league history.
Damn, this must have happened just days before I moved to Los Angeles. I have zero recollection of this but it had to have been a big deal at the time. Every time I go to a game and I’m with someone I comment on how shocked I am that more fans aren’t seriously hurt at baseball games.
Updated May Stats
Record: 22 – 16
Position: 2nd place, 1.5 games back of the Colorado Rockies
Dodgers in May so far:
Hitters:
Rk Player Split Year OPS PA R H HR RBI BB SO OBP SLG 1 Brett Eibner May 2017 1.500 6 2 2 1 2 1 1 .500 1.000 2 Franklin Gutierrez May 2017 1.189 13 4 4 1 2 2 4 .462 .727 3 Cody Bellinger May 2017 1.157 54 14 16 5 17 6 16 .407 .750 4 Austin Barnes May 2017 1.143 18 3 5 0 3 4 2 .500 .643 5 Scott Van Slyke May 2017 1.133 6 1 1 1 1 1 0 .333 .800 6 Yasmani Grandal May 2017 1.088 37 4 15 1 10 2 6 .459 .629 7 Chase Utley May 2017 .918 29 1 8 0 5 3 8 .379 .538 8 Enrique Hernandez May 2017 .900 21 4 4 0 4 4 5 .400 .500 9 Chris Taylor May 2017 .852 47 10 11 1 7 10 11 .447 .405 10 Andrew Toles May 2017 .825 26 5 9 0 2 1 4 .385 .440 11 Yasiel Puig May 2017 .717 48 9 13 2 7 1 12 .292 .426 12 Corey Seager May 2017 .664 53 8 10 1 4 5 9 .302 .362 13 Justin Turner May 2017 .658 51 6 11 0 5 6 10 .373 .286 14 Joc Pederson May 2017 .643 35 5 7 0 3 3 6 .343 .300 16 Adrian Gonzalez May 2017 .444 9 0 2 0 1 0 3 .222 .222
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/15/2017.
Bellinger, Grandal, Taylor and Chase are leading the way with nice contributions from bench players Barnes / Hernandez. Seager, Turner, Puig and Joc are are slumbering. Adrian is resting. Toles is done.
Pitchers:
Player Split SO W L ERA GS IP H ER HR SO9 SO/W Clayton Kershaw May 18 2 1 2.66 3 20.1 20 6 3 8.0 3.60 Alex Wood May 29 3 0 2.25 3 16.0 14 4 0 16.3 9.67 Julio Urias May 7 0 1 4.11 3 15.1 12 7 1 4.1 1.00 Kenta Maeda May 13 1 0 2.03 2 13.1 8 3 1 8.8 4.33 Josh Fields May 7 0 0 0.00 0 7.1 4 0 0 8.6 3.50 Ross Stripling May 11 0 0 2.70 0 6.2 6 2 0 14.9 5.50 Chris Hatcher May 8 0 0 3.38 0 5.1 8 2 1 13.5 Pedro Baez May 4 0 0 1.69 0 5.1 4 1 1 6.8 1.33 Kenley Jansen May 11 1 0 0.00 0 5.0 3 0 0 19.8 Sergio Romo May 5 1 0 4.50 0 4.0 2 2 1 11.3 5.00 Hyun-Jin Ryu May 4 0 1 11.25 1 4.0 8 5 0 9.0 0.67 Grant Dayton May 3 0 1 9.00 0 3.0 3 3 0 9.0 1.50 Luis Avilan May 4 0 0 0.00 0 2.1 3 0 0 15.4 2.00 Adam Liberatore May 1 0 0 0.00 0 1.0 0 0 0 9.0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/15/2017.
Wood has been so good I’m left wondering if he can give Clayton a good run for pitcher of the month in May.
OTDIB – May 15th – Piazza goes fishing
May 15th, 2015 – King Felix strikes out 2,000th hitter
Mariner right-hander Felix Hernandez becomes the fourth-youngest hurler to record his 2,000th career strikeout when he whiffs Sam Fuld in fifth inning of the team’s 4-3 victory against Oakland at Safeco Field. Bert Blyleven, Walter Johnson, and Sam McDowell are the only three pitchers to reach the milestone faster than King Felix.
Pitchers 29 and younger with 2,000 strikeouts in major league history:
Player SO From To Age G W L W-L% IP ERA+ Walter Johnson 2305 1907 1917 19-29 466 254 164 .608 3474.1 166 Sam McDowell 2281 1961 1972 18-29 364 132 117 .530 2274.0 115 Bert Blyleven 2250 1970 1980 19-29 387 156 141 .525 2841.1 126 Felix Hernandez 2142 2005 2015 19-29 334 143 101 .586 2262.1 128 Don Drysdale 2111 1956 1966 19-29 437 177 134 .569 2848.1 122 Nolan Ryan 2085 1966 1976 19-29 294 122 116 .513 1935.0 109 Sandy Koufax 2079 1955 1965 19-29 356 138 78 .639 2001.1 125 Bob Feller 2000 1936 1948 17-29 348 177 98 .644 2471.0 134
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/15/2017.
May 15th, 1998 – The trade that shook the Dodger fan world
On the day the Marlins trade Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich, and Manuel Barrios to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile, the team hangs on to beat the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, 8-7. In the first inning, the Fish connect for nine consecutive hits, a franchise record, and score seven runs, all without the help of their recently departed teammates.
Mike Piazza hit the ball harder than any Dodger I’ve ever seen. As with many Dodger fans of the 1990’s he was Dodger baseball.
May 15th, 1976 – Before Fernando there was the Bird
In his first major league start, rookie right-hander Mark Fidrych throws a complete game two-hitter in the Tigers’ 2–1 victory over Cleveland. ‘The Bird’, who holds the Tribe hitless for the first six innings, amuses his teammates and delights the Detroit fans with his unorthodox antics, which includes talking to the ball.
The Bird made watching baseball fun. I took to him right away. A baseball story made for Hollywood, not sure why they never took this story to the big screen.
May 15th, 1956 – the hated Barber joins the Dodgers
Sal Maglie, obtained on waivers by Cleveland last season from the Giants, is shipped to the Dodgers for a hundred dollars after impressing Brooklyn in an exhibition game. The ‘Barber’ will post a 13-5 record along with a 2.89 ERA for the eventual NL Champs, finishing second to teammate Don Newcombe in the balloting for both the Cy Young and MVP awards
OTDIB – May 14th – Chad Billingsley gets screwed
May 14th, 2011 Chad Billingsley didn’t have the best luck in his Dodger career and never was that more in play than on this day.
For the first time since 1914, the Dodgers are defeated after allowing just one hit, losing to the visiting Diamondbacks,1-0. Chad Billingsley, the hard-luck loser, gives up a leadoff double in the second to Stephen Drew, who scores the game’s only run when shortstop Jamey Carroll fails to cover the bag in an attempted pick-off play.
The game above was one the best games ever pitched by Chad who had five game scores over 80 in his Dodger career. I watched Chad lose another game 1 – 0, it was Justin Upton’s debut for the Diamondbacks at the age of 19. He didn’t do anything but a solo home run by the Diamondback catcher was his undoing.
Date Opp Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc 2012-04-06 SDP W 6-0 8.1 3 0 1 11 87 2011-04-17 STL W 2-1 8.0 3 0 2 11 85 2008-07-30 SFG W 4-0 9.0 5 0 0 8 85 2011-05-14 ARI L 0-1 8.0 1 0 2 8 84 2007-07-01 SDP W 5-0 7.0 3 0 0 9 80
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/15/2017.
May 14th, 1981 – Fernando extends FernandoMania one more game
1981 With a 3-2 win over Montreal in front of the largest Dodger Stadium crowd in seven years, rookie sensation Fernando Valenzuela improves his record to 8-0. The 20 year-old southpaw, who has started the season with five shutouts and a minuscule ERA of 0.50, gets the victory when right fielder Pedro Guerrero hits a lead-off game-ending home run off Steve Ratzer in the bottom of the ninth inning at Chavez Ravine.
Fernandomania……….you simply had to be there to understand one of the greatest extended moments in LAD history
LAD Strikeout Leaderboard for AT&T Park
I think I’ll make this a regular thing. Before each series, I’ll post the top Game scores and Strikeouts for that park so we can see if anyone can crack them in the upcoming series. On Saturday, Alex Wood was able to crack the top strikeout games at Coors and jumped over Clayton Kershaw to notch 2nd place behind Ramon Martinez.
As expected Clayton dominates the AT&T strikeouts in a game by a LAD pitcher. I’m going to post three leaderboards in this column. The AT&T high K games, the Candlestick high K games, and the Pre 1958 high K games.
AT&T
Player Date Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc Clayton Kershaw 2016-06-10 W 3-2 8.0 5 2 0 13 77 Clayton Kershaw 2015-09-29 W 8-0 9.0 1 0 1 13 97 Clayton Kershaw 2011-07-20 W 1-0 8.0 3 0 1 12 87 Zack Greinke 2014-07-25 W 8-1 7.0 4 0 1 10 78 Odalis Perez 2004-04-16 W 3-2 8.0 2 0 1 10 87 Chan Ho Park 2001-06-25 L 2-5 7.0 4 3 1 10 66
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/14/2017.
Candlestick:
Player Date Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc Fernando Valenzuela 1987-04-22 W 5-3 8.0 7 2 1 12 69 Don Sutton 1979-04-22 W 9-2 9.0 6 1 0 12 81 Don Drysdale 1965-06-28 L 0-5 8.0 5 1 2 12 70 Hideo Nomo 1995-08-05 W 3-0 9.0 1 0 3 11 93 Fernando Valenzuela 1984-08-10 L 1-4 7.0 8 4 3 11 53 Sandy Koufax 1966-06-10 W 6-1 9.0 4 1 2 11 84 Sandy Koufax 1965-05-09 L 3-6 7.0 6 5 4 11 52 Orel Hershiser 1989-04-10 W 7-4 8.0 6 3 5 10 63 Tim Leary 1988-07-27 L 1-2 9.0 5 1 3 10 78 Fernando Valenzuela 1986-04-23 W 6-4 9.0 8 3 3 10 64 Fernando Valenzuela 1984-04-30 W 1-0 9.0 4 0 3 10 86 Fernando Valenzuela 1983-04-20 L 2-3 9.0 7 3 4 10 67 Fernando Valenzuela 1981-04-14 W 7-1 9.0 4 1 2 10 83 Sandy Koufax 1965-06-29 W 9-3 9.0 8 3 1 10 68 Sandy Koufax 1964-06-25 L 1-2 9.0 6 1 5 10 76
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/14/2017.
Wow, kind of expected Sandy to dominate this list more than Fernando.
Pre-California:
Player Date Tm Opp Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc Dazzy Vance 1923-05-02 BRO NYG L 6-7 10.0 15 6 4 15 49 Ralph Branca 1947-05-27 BRO NYG W 7-3 9.0 7 3 4 10 67
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/14/2017.
I love those crazy old games back in the Dazzy Vance days when I was just a toddler. 10 innings, 15 hits, how many pitches do you think the poor guy threw?
I had to say Pre-California because the LAD faced the Mets at the old Polo grounds and Koufax had some huge K games against the Mets at the Polo Grounds. But in this instance, I wanted to only see games against the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Kind of shocked to see only two games where the Dodgers struck out at least ten in a game at the Polo Grounds. I guess pitch to contact was the modus operandi given the massive dimensions of the outfield.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 