Pitchers break, even Dodger pitchers

Andrew Heaney, David Price and Blake Treinen went on the injured list last week for the Dodgers and it exposed the biggest weakness on this team.

It has little pitching depth.

It has more than most teams. When Clayton Kershaw is the No. 3 starter, the pitching staff is in good condition.

But losing Heaney moved Tyler Anderson into an emergency start, his first of the season, and it didn’t go as well as it could have.

Anderson started the game Saturday night against those pesky San Diego Padres, and while he didn’t pitch poorly, he left the game in the fifth inning with the Dodgers trailing 2-0.

That had more to do with Padres starter Yu Darvish pitching his best game of the season than Anderson struggling against the Padres.

Still, if Heaney starts that game, what is the likelihood the Dodgers and Padres are playing a scoreless tie in the eighth inning?

It doesn’t do well to dwell on what might have been.

But it still presents a pitching problem for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are down to four quality starting pitchers: Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin and Kershaw. Even Gonsolin has proved to be good for five innings at best. 

It looks like bullpen games are in the near future again for the Dodgers, and if history is an indication, that isn’t always the best path to follow.

Despite the pitching woes, the Dodgers compiled the best record in baseball, 8-2 at one point, and won seven games in a row.

They won Friday night’s game against the Padres, 6-1, and extended their winning streak against the Padres to 10 games.

That all came to an end Saturday, when the Dodgers lost to the Padres, 3-2 in 10 innings.

It was another extra-inning loss, an annoying habit the Dodgers had a hard time shaking last season.

While the Dodgers pitchers took a beating last week, some of the struggling Dodgers hitters were showing signs of life.

Mookie Betts and Max Muncy are off to slow starts. After Sunday's game, Betts was hitting .196 with 16 strikeouts in 14 games. Muncy was hitting .140 with 13 strikeouts in 15 games. They both broke out in Friday night’s game against the Padres though. 

Betts was 2-for-3 with two home runs and scored three runs. Muncy was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. They are not completely out of their slumps, but it looks like they are heading in the right direction.

The Dodgers ended the week with a 10-2 win over the Padres on Sunday. Kershaw improved to 3-0. Bellinger hit two home runs and drove in four runs.

For those keeping score at home, Bellinger leads the Dodgers with four home runs, is second on the team with eight RBIs and is hitting .273 after 15 games.

Dodger starters power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Julio Urias
3. Walker Buehler
4. Tony Gonsolin
5. Tyler Anderson

The Dodgers (11-4) are off to Arizona for a three-game series against the lowly Diamondbacks starting on Monday and then head home for a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers starting on Friday.

Dodgers are almost perfect in the second week of the season

The start of the Dodgers season has been almost perfect.

After dropping two of three games to the surprising Colorado Rockies, the Dodgers have won six games in a row and outscored their opponents, 40-9.

The Dodgers shut down the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 9-1, on Sunday and Andrew Heaney is quickly becoming a Dodger folk hero, striking out 11 batters in six innings in his second quality start of the season.

The Dodgers are coming up with clutch hits.

The Dodger starters are looking more impressive with each outing.

The Dodger relievers are shutting down opposing bats late in games.

Even Cody Beillinger looks like he is finding his pre-pandemic form.

The Dodgers are finding a rhythm early.

Clayton Kershaw came close to finding a perfect rhythm against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

He was perfect for seven innings against the Twins. He struck out 13 Twins batters. He was pulled and denied a chance to throw the first perfect game in the majors since 2012, the first perfect game for the Dodgers since 1965. Kershaw had a chance to make history. Instead, he won a meaningless game in April, perhaps saving himself for a deep playoff run and another World Series championship.

It’s not that Kershaw has anything more to prove. His legacy as a Dodger great and baseball legend are set. He is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, a National League MVP, and eight-time All Star and a World Series champion.

But adding a perfect game would have put him on another level.

Sandy Koufax pitched his only perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 9, 1965. It was the fourth no-hitter of his career. It might have been the most perfect game ever played.

The Dodgers won the game, 1-0. In the fifth inning, Lou Johnson scored the only run of the game when he walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice, stole third base and scored when the throw sailed over the head of third baseman Ron Santo and into left field.

Johnson also had the only hit of the game, a bloop single in the seventh inning. 

Cubs starter Bob Hendley pitched a one-hitter and lost. Both pitchers had no-hitters in the seventh inning. 

Koufax struck out 14 – and struck out the final six Cubs batters in the game – still the most strikeouts in a perfect game, and went on to lead the Dodgers to a World Series title.

Kershaw had 13 strikeouts in his seven perfect innings. He had two more innings to add to his strikeout total. 

Who knows if Kershaw will have another chance at a perfect game. There have only been 23 in the history of Major League Baseball. It’s unlikely the opportunity will present itself again for Kershaw.

When October rolls around, Kershaw’s near-perfect outing will be a distant memory.

If the Dodgers win another World Series with a healthy Kershaw in the rotation, it will be worth it.

But if not, what a waste of an opportunity.

Next up for the Dodgers (7-2) are the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium, then the Dodgers travel to San Diego for a three-game weekend series against the Padres.

Dodgers have a rocky start to the season

The Dodgers are officially off to a rocky start.

The Dodgers dropped two of three games to the Rockies in Colorado at Coors Field to start the season.

The Dodgers were supposed to have one of the best lineups ever assembled in the history of baseball. Instead of opening the season with an explosion of runs, the Dodgers struggled to score and hit in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league.

It was hard to watch.

The Dodgers scored 11 runs in the three games at Coors Field. That’s impressive enough, almost four runs a game. It’s not record-breaking, but should be enough to win games.

They also gave up 15 runs. 

Ouch!

The starting pitching for the Dodgers looks like it is going to be problematic.

Walker Buehler looked good on opening day. The Dodger pitching strategy worked out perfectly. Buehler for five innings. Four relievers closed out the game. Brusdar Graterol pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Blake Treinen pitched a perfect seventh inning. Daniel Hudson might have been the most impressive pitcher out of the bullpen, striking out the side in the eighth inning.

Closer Craig Kimbrel was the only reliever to have any problems. He gave up a run and made a 5-2 game interesting in the ninth inning.

Still, the Dodgers won, 5-3. Kimbrel settled down, got the final three outs of the game and the Dodgers looked like they had the perfect script for success moving forward.

Tony Gonsolin started the second game of the season. It was a bit of a surprise move. Julio Urias was supposed to be the No. 2 starter in the rotation. But Dave Roberts and the front office decided to give Gonsolin the ball in Game 2, and it didn’t go quite as planned.

He lasted only three innings, gave up a run on five hits, and the Dodgers struggled to give him any run support.

Connor Joe hit a tie-breaking home run off Treinen in the eighth inning and the Rockies won Game 2 of the series, 3-2. The Dodgers left five runners on base and were 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position. 

It wasn’t a horrible offensive performance, but the supposed best-hitting team in baseball has to do better than that.

In the series finale on Sunday, the Dodgers lost 9-4 and struggled at the plate again. They left seven runners on base and were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Again, not good enough.

Urias started and struggled. He gave up six runs (three earned) on six hits in two innings. He left the game in the third inning by putting the Dodgers in a  6-0 hole. He walked two and gave up a two-run home run to CJ Cronn. 

It was not the best way to start the season.

But it’s not all bad. Chris Taylor is hitting .571 after three games and was 2-for-3 with an RBI in Sunday’s loss to the Rockies. Gavin Lux is hitting .375 after the first three games of the season. They were the No. 8 and 9 hitters in the lineup on Sunday, too.

Next up for the Dodgers (1-2) are the Minnesota Twins on the road on Tuesday for a two-game series  before heading home for a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. 

Wishes come true for Dodger fans

Plenty of Dodger fans wished Kenley Jansen was not the closer last year. For the past couple of years, Jansen was blamed for blowing crucial games, against the San Francisco Giants and in the playoffs, and a favorite target for fans who were frustrated with the Dodgers recent playoff failures.

In the Dodgers World Series run of 2020, manager Dave Roberts turned to Julio Urias in the ninth inning more often than Jansen. It was clear even Roberts’ confidence in Jansen was shaky at best.

But now, the Dodgers need Urias to be the best No. 2 starter in baseball and not the most reliable arm out of the bullpen.

Even though statistically speaking Jansen was one of the best closers in baseball over the past few seasons, he was not a fan favorite among the Chavez Ravine faithful. He was openly booed at times during the season last year. His time to walk away from the Dodgers was long overdue.

Jansen left the Dodgers for the Atlanta Braves and a huge hole in the bullpen.

The Dodgers filled that hole by trading for closer Craig Kimbrel. Now the question is, how good is the Dodgers bullpen?

It might be the best in baseball.

The Dodgers, by adding Freddie Freeman, put together one of the best lineups in the history of baseball. It is expected to rival the 1927 New York Yankees, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, the 1997 Cleveland Indians. The Dodgers led the National League with almost 5.1 runs per game. They are poised to certainly average more than that this year, the only question is by how much.

But the bullpen had lots of question marks with Jansen. Did adding Kimbrel answer any of those questions?

The short answer is yes. The Dodgers bullpen will most likely throw out Brusdar Graterol in the seventh inning, Blake Treinen in the eighth inning and Kimbrel in the ninth. If the Dodgers have a lead after six innings, it is probably game over. Opposing teams are going to have a hard time scoring runs late in games against the Dodgers.

Dodger fans who complained about Jansen finally got their wish. Now they’ll see if Jansen deserved all the grief.

Pollock traded for Kimbrel

The Dodgers traded outfielder AJ Pollock to the Chicago White Sox for Kimbrel. It was perhaps a high price to pay, but one the Dodgers could afford.

The Dodgers have an abundance of outfielders, including MVPs Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger. Losing Pollock leaves a huge role to fill on the team, but the Dodgers have plenty of options.

First, it gives Chris Taylor a place to play regularly. One of the benefits of having Taylor on the team is he is versatile. He can play outfield, he can play second base, shortstop, and DH from time to time now. 

Second, it gives Gavin Lux a chance to play more. He has been working on his outfield skills in the off-season and spring training. He will almost certainly have chances to play in left field during the season.

Jake Lamb has become a pleasant surprise in spring training. His bat deserves a spot on the team and left field is a perfect place for him to play on a regular basis.

And finally, Zach McKinstry has played some games in left field in spring training. He showed he can play in the big leagues last year. He might not be an everyday player, but his bat off the bench could prove to be valuable.

Opening Day

The Dodgers season starts on Thursday in Colorado against the Rockies. Walker Buehler is set to start on Opening Day. 

The Dodgers were 4-7-4 in spring training as of Saturday. The biggest question hanging over the Dodgers as Opening Day approaches is who will be the No. 4 starter. That’s not a bad position to be in with the season set to start in less than a week.