Results tagged ‘ Pittsburgh ’
Prediction: Pirates @ Dodgers – Advantage Dodgers
Dodgers flew home last night having lost 4 in a row and 7 of the last 10. Record wise the Dodgers are tied with Atlanta for the worst team in the National League. This is clearly not where the Dodgers wanted to be but they can turn that around with a good home stand.
The good news is the the Pirates are 9-12 while the Dodgers are 8-13. The end result may be similar but the stats tell a dramatically different story. The Dodgers will kick off this 4 game series with a clear advantage as far as runs scored and pitching goes.
The trick for the Dodgers will be which team shows up. At times this season they have had strong hitting, brilliant pitching, and even decent defense. It sounds obvious of course, but how the Dodgers do in the series will depend greatly on which of those three pieces the Dodgers possess. They can typically get by with 2 of the 3 but most of the time lately they’ve only had 1 of the 3 or none of the 3.
Prediction
I think the Dodgers will bounce back nicely from the last disastrous road trip. They can easily win 2 of 4 and even 3 of 4 depending on how they conserve their bullpen over the first few games. If the hitting breaks out in Game 1 we may see it get tough for the Pirates in the series because the Dodgers will be looking to turn things around in a big way. It all starts one game at a time.
Game 3 Shows Why Dodgers Bench May Be One Of The Best In Baseball
Yesterday for Game 3 the Dodgers sat many of their regulars for one reason or another and gave every bench player a start. They didn’t disappoint. Every position player got 1 or more hits in the game and the Dodgers rolled over the Pirates 10-2 to avoid a sweep and get the Dodgers their first win of the year.
The Dodgers were 7-12 with RISP and only left 6 men on base after collecting 16 hits and 2 walks while also reaching on a couple of errors. Let’s hope we have more of this and less of what we’ve seen in Game 1 and Game 2 of the season.
I am very impressed with the bench. Here is how the bench is doing so far this year:
- Anderson: 2-5 with 2 RBI and 1 walk
- Ausmus: 1-4
- Belliard: 3-7 with 4 RBI and 2 runs
- Carroll: 2-6
- Johnson: 1-4 with 2 runs
The Dodgers bench is certainly better than last year and it may be one of the best in baseball. It really adds a layer of excitement to the Dodgers depth this season knowing that if some one goes down with an injury at virtually any position then there is a viable candidate that can perform there and be an impact player.
Now, the pitching for the Dodgers certainly didn’t disappoint yesterday either. I can’t finish this post without mentioning Billingsley allowed just 1 run and struck out 7 in 5.1 innings. This is exactly the start he needed to get himself off on the right foot.
Dodgers Drop Game 2, Trail Giants By 2.5
The Giants are off to a good start going 3-0. The Dodgers, not so much. After losing in the 10th in Game 2 the Dodgers will try to salvage a win and prevent a sweep. You may remember that the Dodgers were not swept in a 3 or 4 game series ever last year but did drop a 2 game series against the Padres the final week of the season.
Like Game 1, Game 2 had some positive things to think about even with the loss. The Dodgers bullpen shined most of the night preventing the Pirates from scoring until the 10th when they won 4-3.
The Dodgers had decent hitting but after this game there is a lot of room for improvement. The Dodgers were 2-12 with RISP and left 12 men on base. Most of those were left by James Loney who has yet to get a hit and has only reached base on 1 walk in his 10 plate appearances in the 2 games. I don’t expect this to continue for long though so look for Loney to break out in Game 3 possibly in a big way.
The Dodgers have shuffled the lineup for today’s game apparently so we’ll get to see some more of the bench in the game as Manny and Blake rest. The bench so far has 3 hits in 5 at-bats.
Pirates Destroy The Dodgers, NL West Clinch On Hold Again
It was a thoroughly forgettable get away game for the Dodgers. The Pirates managed 5 unearned runs against Kuroda early on and they never looked back. This was possibly the most lopsided loss of the season for LA. Key base running mistakes early on seemed to set the pace for a day where they failed to do anything at the plate.
Their hardest hit came in the 9th on a triple by Orlando Hudson that was sacrificed in a batter later to break up the shutout and chase the Pirates starter just about 8.2 innings too late. It was a strange call by the Pirates manager but it didn’t matter too much in the scope of things. The game mercifully ended 1 batter later and that was that for the Dodgers versus the Pirates this season.
The Dodgers weren’t exactly fielding their A Team though so the important thing will be to just get out of town as quickly as possible and try to play better ball tomorrow night in San Diego. There will be a lot more fans there anyway.
A champagne celebration seems like a bad idea on a travel day anyway, right? Let’s get this Dodgers team back to California where they can celebrate the end of this season with the fans that love them.
Dodgers Lose, Rockies Win. LA Resets Again For Tomorrow
It was a decent but shortened outing by Kershaw that was followed by strong bullpen work. The Dodgers struggled at the plate some more but they cashed in late game mistakes by the Pirates and took a 5-2 lead.
Up 3 runs, Broxton still got in a major pickle in the 9th. Two former Dodgers, Delwyn Young and Andy LaRoche, were right in the thick of that trouble. Big Jon hadn’t allowed an earned run to score in his last 20 innings but blew the save big time and the game went to the Pirates 6-5.
Despite the loss, Kershaw’s return to starting looks pretty good and I think he made his case for starting a home game in the NLDS.
The Rockies took care of the Cardinals in their game and they really needed that win in a big way. The Braves won their game and would have been just 1.5 games out of the Wildcard race had the Rockies fallen.
So like the other night with the Braves, the Dodgers reset against the Rockies and will try to clinch it with a win tomorrow afternoon.
The Rockies are off tomorrow. It’s good news for those Dodgers fans looking for a clinch to happen in San Diego. If the Dodgers can’t win then they’ll for sure not have clinched before they head back to California.
I won’t be rooting for the Dodgers to lose tomorrow because they still have the Cardinals and Phillies to contend with for home field advantage. That being said, I won’t feel too bad if the Dodgers lose because there are going to be a heck of a lot of Dodgers fans in town for that 2 game series in San Diego.
Braves Win, Dodgers Lose…LA Resets For Tomorrow
Errors cost the Dodgers bigtime for the 2nd time in 3 games. Jon Garland got his first loss as a Dodger despite going 6 innings and not allowing an earned run. Two errors and some other questionable business in the field let 3 unearned runs cross the plate and the Dodgers didn’t have an answer for it all game long.
Despite the loss though, Garland keeps putting in his bid for a start in the playoffs. If I had to choose a lineup today it would be Wolf, Kuroda, Kershaw and Garland but not necessarily in that order.
The Braves won so the Dodgers loss just means they’ll try again tomorrow to clinch a playoff spot. Hopefully the Dodgers will be a bit better with the gloves in that game than they were tonight or else figure out a way to score some runs.
The Rockies walked off against the Cardinals just now so they took advantage of the Dodgers loss and cut the lead to just 5 again. The Phillies lost as well so the Dodgers didn’t lose ground in the race for NL best.
The Dodgers, Rockies, and Cardinals have 8 games left. The Phillies have 9. You can count those on your fingers. The season is quickly coming to a close.
Dodgers Take Rubber Game, Win A Close One
While the Giants were getting under way out West and the Padres were tying up the game against the Rockies, the Dodgers were busy trying to catch a break in a surprisingly close Game 3 against the Nationals.
Padilla had possibly his worst start as a Dodger but it wasn’t quite so bad and he left winning 6-4. That didn’t last long though as the Nationals plated 2 against Belisario in the 7th. The Dodgers finally got the lead back on a Furcal solo shot in the 8th and then Sherrill and Broxton gave the Nats the old one-two punch.
The Dodgers have now won the last 5 series, going 11-4 in that stretch. The loss tonight pushes the Nationals to the century mark. They have lost 100 games and won only 52. In the battle for 1st round draft pick, the Nationals are ahead of the Pirates by a nose.
The story of the series has to be Furcal who was absolutely feasting on Nationals pitching. Furcal in the 3 games went 10-14 with 5 runs scored, 5 runs driven in, and even 1 walk. Raffy has struggled for the most part this year but is heating up at just the right time.
The Dodgers had another night where they stranded a lot of men and failed to hit with RISP, but they still got the win and at this point that’s all that matters. They’ll pack up and head to Pittsburgh to finish off the season series with the Pirates before they fly to San Diego.
The win tonight twists the knife in Atlanta and San Francisco. The Dodgers would have to go 0-9 and the Giants and Braves 10-0 just to tie the Dodgers. The Braves are off tonight so they can’t be eliminated from competing with the Dodgers in the Wildcard, but that’s not the case for the Giants who now teeter on the edge of NL West elimination.
Dodgers Clean House, Get Ready To Host Giants
Sweeping out the lame duck Pirates today, the Dodgers keep at least a 5.0 game lead over the Rockies and a 7.5 game lead over the Giants. The Dodgers don’t really care how it goes between the Rockies and Giants tonight now that they’ve won today because one of the teams takes a hit either way things turn out.
Personally I hope the Giants win it so the Dodgers can lead the NL West by 6 games again, a very comfortable lead with just 15 games left. This game is huge for the Giants. If they win the Rockies lead is cut to just 1.5 games. If they lose the Rockies push the Giants back 3.5 games.
So just like that the Dodgers are 7-3 in their last 10, 13-7 in their last 20. They are winning games at a 2 to 1 rate going 10-5 in the month of September.
If the Giants win tonight they’ll come to town hot like the Dodgers and it should be a very good series. The Dodgers have taken care of the Giants two series in a row now but even if the series goes the way the Giants want they can’t do much damage after this hot streak the Dodgers have been on.
There are only 6 more home games left this season.
Ethier Jacks His 30th Home Run, 6th Walkoff Of The Year
An error looked to prove costly in the 13th for the Dodgers as a tired Casey Blake’s throw missed the target letting a runner on base that would eventually score to make it 4-3 Pirates. But can you believe it? Andre Ethier worked his walkoff magic for the 6th time this year jacking his 30th home run with Furcal on 1st.
I had a feeling the Dodgers would win this one before the first pitch but I just ended up feeling stupid for thinking that most of the game while the Dodgers caught just enough breaks to keep it interesting but could never get the lead.
So the Dodgers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat an incredible two times in this game. They did it once in the 9th when Ethier doubled to lead off the inning but were down to their last strike before Kemp’s clutch hit drove in Ethier to tie it. What seems like a day later Ethier was at it again.
Meanwhile, the Giants had already routed the Rockies for a 2nd day in a row and the Rockies losing streak was extended to 4 games. With the Dodgers victories last night and tonight that kept the Giants at 7.5 games while the Rockies went to meet them in the middle, a somewhat comfortable 5 games behind the Dodgers but just 2.5 over the Giants.
The Dodgers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 9-5 this month. The Dodgers real magic number is down to 12 with 16 games left to go, but here is my split prediction as it stands tonight:
Dodgers: 8-8 finishing 95-67
- Rockies: 14-2 (.875) to reach 96 wins: +12
- Giants: 17-0 (1.000) to reach 96 wins: +17
- Marlins: Elim (Need 19 wins with 17 left)
- Braves: Elim (Need 20 wins with 18 left)
- Cubs: Elim (Need 21 wins with 19 left)
Dodgers took what was a quick game to 9 innings and made it run so late that it’s almost a double header with the noon start to finish off the series. The Dodgers look for a sweep, their 3rd try for a sweep in 3 series having fallen the other 2 tries.
It was incredibly satisfying to stay up until 2:30 AM East Coast time to see this Dodgers victory. What an amazing game, what an amazing year. I love LA.
The Dodgers Are Still Cruising Toward A Playoff Birth
With the Wildcard being what it is in the NL, the Dodgers could be popping the cork on a playoff birth long before the fate of the NL West is decided. The Dodgers have just 24 games left to play. Here are the teams other than the Dodgers and the Rockies working for a playoff spot:
- Giants: 19-6 (.760) to reach 94 wins: +13
- Marlins: 22-3 (.880) to reach 94 wins: +19
- Braves: 24-1 (.960) to reach 94 wins: +23
- Cubs: 26-1 (.962) to reach 94 wins: +25
Since the Dodgers and Rockies can both make the playoffs then LA doesn’t need to worry too much about Colorado. They just need to worry about the Giants. Unless you look for the Marlins to go 22-3 or the Cubs and Braves to only lose only 1 more game from here on out then the Giants are essentially the only threat left.
This is one possible way the Giants schedule would need to look with their 6 available losses in order to overcome the Dodgers 12-12 split over the next 24 games:
- Padres: 2-1
- Dodgers: 2-1
- Rockies: 2-1
- @Dodgers: 2-1
- @D-backs: 2-1
- Cubs: 3-1
- D-backs: 3-0
- @Padres: 3-0
That’s not much breathing room, is it? Even if they win the next 5 series in a row they would still be left needing to go 9-1 over the last 10 games under these conditions. Any series loss from here on out is just going to compound the pressure. Heaven forbid they get swept in any series, then they’d really be in trouble. They play some tough teams still including a 9 game set against the Dodgers and Rockies and Dodgers.
So I think it’s pretty safe to say baring a complete meltdown by the Dodgers that a playoff spot awaits LA. The big question is can the Dodgers clinch a playoff spot at home? Unfortunately that would be very tough.
The Dodgers are essential 6 wins ahead right now. A win yesterday would have helped a lot but they just didn’t get it. So, even if the Giants could go 0-12 in the next 12 games then the Dodgers would need to go 8-4, which is a good record for the Dodgers in their current condition. If the Giants went 2-10 then LA would need to go 10-2. If the Giants went 4-8 which is probably the best the Dodgers could hope for, the Dodgers would need 12-0 to clinch.
So you can see how unlikely it is that the Dodgers clinch at home against the Giants. Too bad, though. Most likely both the Dodgers and Giants will come pretty close to splitting the remaining games.
The Dodgers finish the last 12 games of the season with a 9 game road trip followed by a 3 game home stand. Most likely they will clinch somewhere on East Coast time. If the Dodgers go 10-9 in the next 19 games while the Giants go 9-10 then the Dodgers will clinch against the Pirates in Pittsburgh in one of the 4 games. If I had to put my money down it would be in this series in the 1st or 2nd game.
I don’t know when the division will be decided. It would be interesting to see it come down to the last series in LA against Colorado but if both teams have clinched by then, then the series may just be a bunch of 2nd stringers while the regulars rest. I find it highly unlikely that the Dodgers will go into this home series still trying to clinch at least a Wildcard spot.
The only thing that would make the series matter if both teams have clinched is the prospect of home field advantage. The Dodgers are dead even with the Cardinals but they are way head of the Phillies. If the Dodgers are the Wildcard it won’t matter but if they are the division winner then trying to win more games than the Cardinals will be important. How home field advantage will come down may not be known until the final game of the season.
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