Results tagged ‘ Interleague Play ’
Mariners Top Dodgers, Dodgers Finish Interleague Play With Split Record
Mariners 4 – Dodgers 2 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
For the first time all season the Dodgers lost 2 series in a row. Kuroda didn’t give a quality start but he still left the Dodgers plenty of time to bail him out of the 4-0 jam they were in after just a few innings. The Dodgers at the plate really doomed Kuroda like they doomed Milton who was in a similar boat the game before. Neither starter had their best but neither were routed either.
Ethier, who hit 3 home runs in game 1, went 0-7 in the next 2 games. Apparently the Dodgers can only beat the Mariners when Ethier hits 3 home runs in a game and drives in 6 runs. All joking aside, this is starting to look like another rough patch. They faced a similar rough patch right after Manny was suspended but he’ll be back in just a few days.
So the Dodgers will try and get well with some division play to wrap up the month. They have dominated the Rockies all year but this is a slightly different, hotter Rockies team under new management. I’ll have more on this later.
Hernandez Silences Dodgers, Mariners Even Series
Mariners 5 – Dodgers 1 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
Eric Milton would have had to been perfect Saturday night in order to protect the Dodgers precious 1 run lead. Instead he had already given up 4 runs before the Dodgers squeaked out 1 unearned run against Felix Hernandez. The problem was more about hitting and less about pitching for the Dodgers so this is a good first start for Milton on his return. Hopefully the Dodgers will get similar results out of Milton next time around.
The Dodgers have been scoring a lot of runs lately but the matchup just wasn’t in their favor and around the 4th inning Hernandez settled in and the Dodgers stopped being patient at the plate. This allowed Hernandez to pitch 8 innings and derail the Dodgers hopes of winning the series early.
Instead now they face another rubber match this afternoon. The matchup between Kuroda and Olson today seems to favor the Dodgers but the series can fall either way depending on who has command and which team cashes in on any chances to score.
If the Dodgers win today they’ll finish 10-8 in Interleague play. Otherwise they’ll finish with a 9-9 split which isn’t much to complain about anyway.
The Dodgers missed a chance to gain ground on San Francisco who lost last night as well. The Dodgers remain 8 games ahead of the Giants with the Rockies still catching up. The Rockies won their 2nd in a row and 8th out of 10 and now are only 1/2 game behind the Giants and 8.5 overall.
Ethier’s 3 Homers Blast Dodgers To Win In Game 1 Against Mariners
Mariners 2 – Dodgers 8 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
Matt Kemp went 3 for 4 with a triple and 1 run scored, but no RBIs. It’s pretty hard to knock in runs when the guy batting before you hits 3 home runs in the game. That’s exactly what Ethier did with a 3 run, 2 run, and solo home run in the game for 6 RBI on the night. Those 6 runs were the difference in the game and the Dodgers keep their 2 game losing streak record intact with the win.
Kershaw had a 2nd good performance in a row allowing just 2 runs to score separately in different innings. His scoreless inning streak stretched to the 4th before he gave up a single run.
Dodgers fans have to ask themselves when the last time they saw the Dodgers winning a game that wasn’t down to the wire. I took a look and you have to go back to May 31 against the Cubs when the Dodgers won 8-2 in Chicago. In the 12 games won between May 31 and June 26 the Dodgers topped the other team by 3 runs twice, by 2 runs 4 times, and by 1 run 6 times. So thanks to Ethier the Dodgers had a more relaxed evening with very little pressure by the Mariners.
Meanwhile in the West the Giants lost to the Brewers, the Rockies beat the A’s, and Arizona and San Diego both lost again. The Dodgers moved back up a whole game to make their 48-26 record lead the 2nd place Giants by 8 games and the 3rd place Rockies by 9.5 games.
Tomorrow the Dodgers send out Eric Milton to try and prove himself as the Dodgers 5th starter. It could be a rough game though as the Dodgers will face off against the Mariner’s best pitcher, Hernandez.
Mariners @Dodgers – Tossup
The last series of Interleague play for the Dodgers may be their toughest yet, surprisingly. The Dodgers have won 10 more games than the Mariners but these two teams are remarkably similar lately by the numbers with a slight advantage going to the Seattle team that is playing as well as the Dodgers despite being in a better division than LA.
The Mariners have won 1 more game than the Dodgers over the last 20 games. While the last few matchups showed a clear advantage to the Dodgers in the way of bullpens, this Mariners team has a shockingly low 1.60 ERA over the last 25 days versus the Dodgers more typical 2.98 ERA. The Mariners hit and pitch as good if not better than the Dodgers so it will really come down to which team can get the key hits and cash in any mistakes from the other team.
Dodgers And Mariners By The Numbers – Last 25 Days
AVG Runs Scored: 3.71 Dodgers, 3.95 Mariners
AVG Runs Allowed: 3.86 Dodgers, 3.10 Mariners
Starters ERA: 3.98 Dodgers, 3.44 Mariners
Bullpen ERA: 2.98 Dodgers, 1.60 Mariners
Team ERA: 3.47 Dodgers, 2.80 Mariners
Game 1 – Jason Vargas, LHP (3-2, 3.24) vs. Clayton Kershaw, LHP (4-5, 3.76)
Kershaw’s last two starts were exactly what the Dodgers want to see from him. They don’t need perfection but if he can keep his pitch count low and go anywhere past 5 innings while keeping the Dodgers in the game then he’s exactly what the doctor ordered. It also helps that he hasn’t allowed a run in his last 12 2/3 innings pitched. Kershaw has dominated at home with his 1.91 ERA so he’ll look to extend that scoreless inning streak.
Vargas had his best outing of the year his last time out totally dominating the D-backs. Still, the D-backs are a struggling team and Vargas hasn’t been that good in several starts prior. It’s possible the Dodgers can get to Vargas early because there won’t be much advantage to get to the bullpen in a hurry in game 1 unless you want to consider wearing out the bullpen for game 2 and 3. Vargas has been lit up so far away from home this season so the Dodgers will look to take advantage.
Game 2 – Felix Hernandez, RHP (7-3, 2.74) vs. Eric Milton, LHP (2-0, 2.89)
This will be Milton’s first time out since coming off the DL. You just have to hope Milton performs his 5th starter role as best he can, giving the Dodgers 5+ and keeping the score close. The Dodgers bullpen is more than willing to back Milton up, specifically Jeff Weaver who pitched in Game 3 against the chicago White Sox but will rest in Game 1 of this series.
Hernandez is probably the ace of this Mariners staff. His low ERA and his long, low scoring outings could make this a rough game for the Dodgers. The Dodgers will look to win game 1 of this series because it can’t get any easier in game 2 if they are in the middle of a 3 game losing streak. Given that Hernandez pitches better on the road than at home this could spell disaster for the Dodgers.
Game 3 – Garrett Olson, LHP (2-2, 4.95) vs. Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (2-3, 3.44)
Kuroda is coming off a couple of good starts after having a few hard luck outings right off the DL. He pitched just 1 out short of a complete game against the White Sox and had them thoroughly frustrated. He may not go as deep in the game 2nd time around but he was looking very much like the Kuroda the Dodgers have grown to love and he’ll look to repeat that.
Olson gave up 6 runs in 5.1 innings his last time out and the time before that he was pitching out of the bullpen, so it is hard to tell what kind of starter he’ll come out as this time around. The Dodgers will have the advantage if Kuroda is on his game, so if this one is a rubber game they’ll look like favorites to win the series.
Prediction
These 3 games have the potential to be very close but there are question marks on all 3 Dodgers starters. Kershaw and Kuroda are coming off great starts but that hasn’t been the norm overall in the last 3 or 4. Milton is returning from the DL so how he bounces back from that is anyone’s guess. Still, given that the Dodgers play so well at home this year (25-10) and the Mariners not so well on the road (16-20) and that Kershaw and Kuroda both threw well in their last starts, I’m going to predict the Dodgers take 2 out of 3 in the series.
Dodgers Drop Rubber Game, Series
Dodgers 5 – White Sox 6 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
The Dodgers dropped the 3rd game and lost the series but they have to be feeling pretty positive about several aspects from the game. The cards are stacked against the away team in extra innings and the White Sox bullpen was throwing well. Still, the Dodgers lost the battle of the bullpens after going 7 scoreless innings. This is the kind of work the Dodgers have come to expect lately from the bullpen and it’s the reason they’ve been so successful even when their bats are struggling.
Chad Billingsley had a pretty good start and silenced the White Sox for a good portion of the game. While the White Sox aren’t much with RISP, they have proven they can hit a couple of home runs. For the 2nd day in a row home runs messed up the hard work the Dodgers had been doing and kept Billingsley from getting his 10th win of the season.
The Dodgers headed home last night to finish up Interleague play this weekend against the Mariners who are playing good lately, winning 7 out of the last 10.
The Dodgers hold a 1 game edge in their Interleague standings so they will be looking to win this last series and keep that winning record for the first time in several years.
Dodgers Drop Game 2, Look To Billingsley In Game 3
Dodgers 7 – White Sox 10 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
The Dodgers mini winning streak of 3 games was snapped when neither Randy Wolf nor the Dodgers bullpen could keep the White Sox in the park. On a night when the Dodgers had some good hitting they were still short changed by a 6 home run onslaught by Chicago.
Other than Randy Wolf having his worst night of the season and Cory Wade not looking too good, the Dodgers scored 7 runs and cashed in on some White Sox mistakes. This is what we want to see from the Dodgers hitting, even on a night with bad pitching. The Dodgers will put this game out of their head and focus on getting the job done in the day game finale.
The Dodgers will test their recent success record in rubber matches to see if they can keep their series winning streak alive. The Dodgers have won the last five 3 game series’ they’ve played and they’ve split each 2 and 4 game series to make it 8 consecutive series’ without a loss. The last 3 series wins have been in rubber games and they are 7-3 overall this season in that situation.
Chad Billingsley will take the mound looking to make it 9 in a row for the Dodgers. He’ll face off against Clayton Richard who has gone an average of about 4 innings a piece in his last 4 starts and has given up 3+ runs a couple of times in that stretch. The Dodgers should try to be patient and hopefully get him out of there early so they can pound the White Sox bullpen like they did last night. Scoring 4 runs late in the game is pretty good unless you’re trailing 10-3, so hopefully the Dodgers pitchers will have more success this time out and keep the game close.
Elsewhere around the division the Giants won their 2nd in a row and cashed in on the Dodgers loss. The Rockies lost their 2nd in a row, starting to cool a little maybe. San Diego and Arizona lost again and are both 3-7 over their last 10 games.
Dodgers @White Sox – Tossup
The Dodgers are coming off of 3 straight interleague series wins against tough teams from the AL West so they have to be feeling pretty confident coming into this series in Chicaco against the White Sox.
The White Sox aren’t having much good luck so far this year. They are starting a youth movement much like the stages the Dodgers were in 1 or 2 seasons ago but their goal of building for the future but still contending this year isn’t really working out just yet.
The White Sox are 3 games under .500 in what appears to be the weakest division so far in the American League if not all of baseball. For instance the 2nd place Twins would be in 4th or 5th place in most other divisions. Still, this is a White Sox team with the potential to win games even if so far this year they haven’t done it as much as they’d like.
Dodgers And White Sox By The Numbers – Last 25 Days
AVG Runs Scored: 3.45 Dodgers, 4.39 White Sox
AVG Runs Allowed: 3.60 Dodgers, 4.09 White Sox
Starters ERA: 3.82 Dodgers, 3.52 White Sox
Bullpen ERA: 2.68 Dodgers, 3.88 White Sox
Team ERA: 3.26 Dodgers, 3.51 White Sox
Game 1 – Hiroki Kuroda, RHP (1-3, 3.86) vs. John Danks, LHP (5-5, 4.48)
Kuroda hasn’t won a game since he came back from the DL and he’s struggled a bit lately. His last start he gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. He’ll come into this game trying to get the Dodgers off on the right foot and get himself a win for a change.
John Danks hasn’t had the best season so far but his last outing was a thing of beauty. Danks pitched 7 innings of 1 run 5 hit ball and just 99 pitches. The White Sox are hoping for that Danks to show up and not the 5 inning, 5 runs Danks that has showed up a couple of times this year.
Game 2 – Randy Wolf, LHP (3-2, 3.29) vs. Gavin Floyd, RHP (4-5, 4.65)
Randy Wolf is another pitcher looking for elusive wins. In Wolf’s case it’s because of his high number of no-decisions due to Dodgers hitting not backing him up at the right times. Randy Wolf is still holding left handed batters to an amazing .091 AVG so that could be trouble for the few lefties that the White Sox will run out there including Pierzynski and Thome.
Floyd looks like he goes deep into the innings nearly every time out. This could doom the Dodgers in this game because the Dodgers with Wolf on the mound seem to love to strike late in the game.
Game 3 – Chad Billingsley, RHP (9-3, 2.83) vs. Clayton Richard, LHP (2-1, 4.03)
If the Dodgers are looking at another rubber game like the last 3 series then they have a pretty good match set up. Billingsley has had good success lately but he’s still looking for that 10th win after a couple of good games in a row went as no-decisions. Billingsley has kept right handed hitting to just a .200 AVG so far this year so that could prove tricky to the White Sox who are heavily right handed at the plate.
Richard hasn’t gone more than 5 innings in his last 4 starts with the last time out being only 3 innings and 3 earned runs. The Dodgers may look to get to the White Sox bullpen in a big way this game and try and take home a series win.
Prediction
The White Sox and Dodgers are pretty close lately stats wise but when you are scoring only as many runs as you are giving up and you have a struggling bullpen you’re going to lose a lot of games. The Dodgers and White Sox bullpens are another drastic difference like the last few teams the Dodgers have faced. Given that the Dodgers have 2 of their best starters going and they’ve had a lot of success lately, I’m going to predict the Dodgers take 2 out of 3.
Graph of Bullpen Matchup
Dodgers Win Another Rubber Game, Another Series
Dodgers 5-Angels 3 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
The Dodgers won their 14th series of the season with a win over the Angels at the Big A. This is a significant win for the Dodgers who have had a considerable lack of success in Anaheim in recent history. In 23 series so far this year the Dodgers have won 14, lost 4, and split 5. Not bad.
At this point even the doubters have to believe this Dodgers team is the real deal. They have played most of the top teams around the league and have won or split the series. Aside from destroying the NL West, the Dodgers have beaten the Phillies, Marlins and Mets in the NL East. They’ve split a series with the Cubs in the central. Now they’ve beaten the Rangers, A’s and the Angels in the AL West. The only two top teams in the NL that the Dodgers have yet to face are the Cardinals and the Brewers.
The Rockies and Giants stayed hot with wins today but it didn’t matter. The Dodgers keep getting the wins when it matters and the Giants have gained just 1 game over the last few weeks. The Rockies are a different story. They’ve won 16 out of the last 17 games and they’ve gained 5 1/2 games. They still sit in danger of passing the Giants and taking over 2nd place. Giants are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rockies and 8 games behind the Dodgers.
The Dodgers get a day off which they’ll use to travel to Chicago for a 3 game series against the White Sox before returning home to face the Mariners and the red hot Rockies.
Angels Continue Dominating Dodgers, Win Game 1 At The Big A
Dodgers 4-Angels 5 | Box Score | MLB | LA Times | ESPN
For a while I thought the Dodgers were going to slip away with a win despite missing so many scoring opportunities. The Dodgers went a disappointing 0-for-9 with RISP and left 11 men on base. Key home runs had given them a 4-1 lead but it was not to be. So for the 4th time in as many games the Dodgers won or lost by a 1-run margin. This time it was the latter.
The loss sets the stage for the Weaver Brothers matchup in Game 2 which should be the most interesting game of the series by far. The Dodgers will try to even the series and the Angels will try to take the series win early.
This was the Angel’s 7th win in a row, and their 11th win over the Dodgers in the last 13 games in Anaheim. Having gone 9-1 against the NL West, the Angels are feasting on the division. The only loss is against the LA so the Dodgers will try to do some more damage any way they can with 2 games left in the series.
Dodgers @Angels – Tossup
The Dodgers may not have won a series in Anaheim in recent memory but they’ll take their 44-23 record along the freeway anyway to try and reverse course on their 2-10 record leading back to 2005.
It won’t be easy though. The Angels are hot with a 6 game winning streak, trying to retake a division lead they’ve lost to the Rangers for a while this season. The Dodgers helped the Angels out by taking 2 of 3 from Texas while the Angels were sweeping the Padres in 3 games.
The Dodgers lost 2 of 3 last time they played the Angels so they’ll be looking to at least return that favor. It won’t be easy though. The Angels have two of their best starters going while the Dodgers have only one, Billingsley.
In a lot of ways this is a repeat matchup of the Rangers vs Dodgers series. The Angels have better hitting and the Dodgers have better pitching, specially the Dodgers bullpen versus the Angels bullpen, a difference of 3.30 earned runs.
Dodgers And Angels By The Numbers – Last 25 Days
AVG Runs Scored: 3.43 Dodgers, 5.15 Angels
AVG Runs Allowed: 3.33 Dodgers, 4.35 Angels
Starters ERA: 3.82 Dodgers, 4.15 Angels
Bullpen ERA: 2.38 Dodgers, 5.68 Angels
Team ERA: 3.14 Dodgers, 4.35 Angels
Game 1 – Chad Billingsley, RHP (9-3, 2.72) vs. Joe Saunders, LHP (7-4, 3.66)
Billingsley has been pretty good in his last few starts. He’s won the last 3 games he pitched. He’ll be the Dodgers best starter that the Angels will face so he’ll try and get the Dodgers off on the right foot for the series.
Saunders is coming off a series of struggling starts with mixed results. His ERA is good though and he’s proven he can pitch deep into games. He pitched 8 innings last time out though so the Dodgers may be hoping this guy tires early this time around so they can get to the Angels weak bullpen.
Game 2 – Jeff Weaver, RHP (3-1, 3.72) vs. Jered Weaver, RHP (7-2, 2.08)
This will be the matchup the whole country is watching this weekend. It will be brother against brother. Jeff Weaver has been very effective this year, pitching well both out of the starting gate and coming in for long relief. He’s not looking to score any starting pitcher roll consistently so he’ll be of the mindset just to go out there and do the best he can and return to long relief the next time out probably.
Jered Weaver is having another successful year. He’s won his last 4 starts and allowed 2 runs or fewer in his last 5. Weaver pitches well against righties but this will be mute against the Dodgers who are heavily weighted to lefty or switch hitter.
Game 3 – Clayton Kershaw, LHP (3-5, 4.13) vs. John Lackey, RHP (2-2, 6.10)
Kershaw bounced back from a couple of shaky outings to go 5.2 scoreless his last time out. He’ll try to keep going and work on keeping his pitch count per inning low, a constant struggle so far in his career.
Lackey has struggled lately and seems to be hit or miss in his starts. He’s got an even win loss record and a high ERA but he’ll look to lower that against a Dodgers team that still isn’t completely out of it’s hitting funk.
Prediction
I mentioned already this is like the Rangers series in a lot of ways. The Dodgers to win games will need to keep the game close, protect any leads they get, and try and get to the bullpen as soon as possible. The Angels bullpen is a big weak spot. If the Angels can silence the Dodgers at the plate and go deep in the game they can overcome the bullpen problem and come out on top.
Still, this hot Angels team has been cleaning up against weaker teams like the Padres on this 6 game streak so the Dodgers may be able to derail that if they play good early on. It could go either way. Despite this being an away series in a park the Dodgers have trouble in against a team that has already beaten them this year once in a series, I have to predict the Dodgers can take 2 out of 3 against the Angels.
Graph Comparison of Bullpens
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