After the Dodgers scored 4 runs in the 9th to almost get that come from behind victory in Game 2. The Dodgers unloaded on Kyle Wright and the Braves for 11 runs in the 1st inning. After last night’s game, Dave Roberts said that “I definitely think that’s some momentum we can take into tomorrow.” Boy did they. The Dodgers unloaded on Kyle Wright and the Braves for 11 runs in the 1st inning. Those 11 runs set a MLB record for runs scored in any inning of a postseason game.
I have been against the philosophy of getting deep into counts just to drive the pitch count up. I prefer the Corey Seager philosophy… be aggressive and go at the first pitch. Mookie does just that and hits a ground ball down the 3rd base line that Johan Comargo made a dazzling play and throw to first that the umpire, Dan Iassogna, called Betts out. The Dodgers asked for a replay, and the play was overturned , with Mookie credited with an infield single. Next pitch was a Corey Seager run scoring double when Austin Riley slipped in left field allowing Mookie to score from first. JT followed with a pop out, unable to move Seager to third. Then Max hit a hard ground ball but right to Ozzie Albies for out #2. It started to look like a game many of us have seen all to often in post season play, an inability to get a runner home in scoring position.
Will Smith changed the script, and lined a double into CF scoring Seager and the Dodgers were up 2-0. After hustling last night in the 9th to beat Albies’ throw to 1B after misplaying it twice, Smith continued his hustle to get to 2B just ahead of Pache’s throw. Belli followed that with a walk, and then Joc steps up and unloads for a 3-run HR and many of us are starting to breathe a little easier.
But the Boys in Blue were not done. On the very next pitch 3B Edwin Rios crushes a ball over the CF wall for a 6-0 lead. CT3 follows with a walk on a 3-2 pitch and Kyle Wright is gone, and former Dodger, LHRP Grant Dayton, comes into the game. The first batter he faces was leadoff hitter Mookie Betts, and he walks him on five pitches. Next batter is Corey Seager, and as he so often does he does not waste time looking for that perfect pitch, and lines the first pitch into CF to score CT3 for a 7-0 game.
JT follows the single with a little trickery of his own by sticking his foot out to get hit. It was not noticed by the plate umpire, crew chief Jim Reynolds, who originally believed it was a wild pitch. Braves manager Brian Snitker questioned the call, and it was ruled a HBP. Snitker still was not happy that JT got to go to 1B when he not only did not attempt to get out of the way, but purposely stuck his foot out to get hit. That proved to be a big bonus for LAD as the next batter, Max Muncy, absolutely tattoos a 3-2 pitch for a Grand Slam. Dodgers 11-0 after half an inning.
The bottom of the 1st started like so many of Julio Urias’ starts with a pair of walks to Acuna and Freeman. Urias got Ozuna on strikes and got d’Arnaud and Albies to end the inning. Unfortunately, Urias expended 28 pitches in the inning with an 11-0 lead.
The Dodgers scored in the 2nd on a Cody Bellinger. And scored another 3 in the 3rd on a Corey Seager solo HR (2nd in NLCS and 3rd in Postseason). Seager’s blast was 442. The Dodgers parlayed a JT single, Max Muncy double, Will Smith RBI ground out, and a Cody Bellinger single to score the other two, taking a 15-0 lead.
Christian Pache got a long HR to lead off the 3rd, and that would end the scoring until the Braves got two in the 9th.
Huascar Ynoa came in to relieve Dayton with two outs in the 3rd, and shut down the Dodger bats for 4.0 innings. He pitched well. It might have been interesting if the game was not so out of reach when Ynoa was pitching. After throwing 92 pitches in Game 3, I doubt that Ynoa will pitch again in the series. But if he does, I would bet the Dodgers may have learned something about him.
With 101 pitches, Urias became the first Dodger hurler to exceed 100 pitches in 2020. CK threw 99 twice, but did not exceed 100. Urias was done after 5.0 IP, got the win, and is now 3-0 in the playoffs. Kenley Jansen came in to relieve Julio. KJ was certainly not dominant, but he did throw strikes and got out of the inning on10 pitches and no base runners. That is what he is supposed to do. He is no longer the KJ of 2017. Unless it is another 15-0 game, KJ will not pitch in Game 4, and probably will not pitch in a meaningful spot for the remainder of the playoffs.
Baez followed with a perfect inning and 2 K’s. Wood followed with a shutout inning of his own, allowing a single and getting 2K’s. Contrary to what some may believe, Wood has not been hit hard in the NLCS. He gave up an infield single and then a fly ball double down the right field line by RHH Dansby Swanson, with the OF playing Swanson to pull. To his credit, Mookie took the blame for that ball dropping in. He was quoted as saying…”I need to…do my job”. Mookie said he would catch that fly almost any other night, but he was just to unfamiliar with the wall, and he did not look to see where he was at, but admitted he had room and should have caught it. I do not think anyone is going to hold Mookie to blame, but his point was that Wood made a good pitch and should have got the batter out to end the inning.
I personally was glad to see Adam Kolarek pitch the 9th against 6 RHH. He was hit hard but he got through it against some good RH bats. Kolarek was brilliant during the season, with a 0.95 ERA and 0.789 WHIP in 19.0 IP. He also allowed only one HR all season long until Albies hit it out against him in the 9th of Game 2. Should he have pitched to 6 RHH? Why not in a 15-1 game? What did it hurt? The Dodgers count on him, and he is going to need to face RHH in the series. I just would not let it be Ozzie Albies.
For all of those who doubted why Joc Pederson was on an October roster, hopefully he has proven why he belongs. When it comes to October, Joc comes alive. He got the key 3-run HR in the 1st inning and ended up with 4 hits. I wonder if Eric would allow him to be in the lineup against RHP Bryse Wilson. Or the other player Eric did not want to see in the playoffs, Kike’ Hernandez, who walked and singled against a RHP. He was responsible for the sole run in Game 1. Kike’ is another who seems to wake up in October.
Along with Joc, Corey Seager was again a hitting star with 3 hits. For the NLCS, Seager is 6-12 with 2 doubles, 2 HRs, 5 runs scored, and 7 RBI’s. It looks like Corey has come out to play this October. He has also made several very good defensive plays. I know I do not get a vote, but there is only one SS I want for LAD, and that is Corey Seager.
Max looks like he is coming to life. Even Belli is having a productive post season…comparatively speaking.
The Dodgers were 5-13 WRISP, and 11 2-out RBI’s. The Dodger hitters slugged 5 HRs and allowed only 1.
- Offensive stars – Joc, Corey, and Max.
- Pitching star – Julio Urias
Game 4 – Clayton Kershaw vs Bryse Wilson; 5:08 PM PT, Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas.
Houston beat Tampa Bay to extend the ALCS to at least 5 games. Pitchers TBD.
It ain’t over til it’s over! 538 has us with a 55% chance of making the WS, and FanGraphs a 40% chance, after yesterday’s game.
We are just such a better road team!
Hahaha!
Greet win and focus today. Needed this one for my blood pressure and fandom.
Robert’s is hard to stomach as listening to him post game would make you believe we won the series, but likely his Pollyanna approach works in the clubhouse so what do I know. It does rub me the wrong way but I guess that is a personal issue as he seems to be well liked by the people who matter. Don’t get it, don’t care for his managing or personality and still think if we get bounced in the NLCS, he should get bounced too. However I know he has another year left at least regardless of outcome.
Tomorrow is a must win, obvious statement of the year but we have to jump on them early. Ideally it is a close game where they have to expend some of their relief staff, especially, Matzek, Greene, Martin and Smith. O Day , Melancon and Minter do not worry me as much. Would like to force them to come back with Fried on short rest which I believe will happen regardless of the outcome tomorrow. Dayton, Wright and Tomlin done for the series due to horrible ineffectiveness. Ynoa threw 92 pitches today, so maybe could return for a game 7, but would love to see him then and would take my chances a second time. Seeing the facts above who are the Braves getting their next 81 outs from?? I don’t know, this Wilson toMorrow will likely give them 12 outs at most. Win tomorrow and where they get the next 54 becomes terrifying for them.
They will have to use Fried. I do not recall us facing many opposing pitchers on short rest in the last 8 years of the playoffs. There were times teams had chances to throw pitcher’s on short rest at us in game 4’s, Degrom in 2015 and Sherzer in 2016 but both teams elected to save them for game 5’s. One plan worked the other did not. I do recall in 2017 facing Robbie Ray on short rest, and beating him soundly after he completely dominated us throughout the regular season. Ray is not Fried but 2017 was his career year and he was dominant that year for the most part and their staff ace despite the presence of Greinke.
Hope my all time favorite Dodger can wake up with a sound back, and get it done!
Barring an injury meltdown, by Clayton (which I doubt), the Braves thin staff may average giving up 10 runs a game the rest of the way.l! They ain’t built for 7 straight days – the Dodgers are! This is where the Dodgers want the Braves. I am excited as last nights game was the first one I was really conscious of. I’ll be watching the rest. I’m almost 100% healthy and should be home by the weekend.
Thanks for the well wishes. I’ll be around – just not much until after surgery. I got this!
Glad you are on the mend, Mark! We’ve been concerned, and besides that, we wouldn’t want you to miss the fun!
Mark,
Wishing you the best!
FYI, I read in the Guardian yesterday that the first U.S. man had been identified as getting Covid infected twice. It was someone in Ohio, IIRC. I thought of you immediately and wondered how statistics are really done accurately.
You also mentioned that you had antibodies showing up in your tests. Do you think now that this would not preclude someone from getting infected? Is it possible that your first infection laid dormant and surfaced again? What do your docs think?
Last night’s game might have been the right medication to carry you through the remainder of your illness! We all hope to see another one.
It was a reinfect. 100% traceable. They would have given me Regeneron if not for that but Remdesivir was the bomb! I also am taking dexamethasone, along with a vitamin regemin.
I consider myself 100% cured. I don’t care about being a statistic. My plan is to keep living.
Of course, but it’s interesting to know if the media is reporting accurately. There are probably many reinfections going on throughout the world which tells us that antibodies are not conclusive for immunity in the case of this virus.
Glad to hear the meds are working for you.
I’m hesitant to post here but I think it’s important. Jeff, scientific based statistics on the effectiveness of the various treatments of Covid 19 are available if you know where to look. It remains an ongoing and evolving battle to get a handle on it, but progress in treatment is being made.
Mark, you’re in my prayers along with your employees who also caught the virus. I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well. I’m sure that watching the Dodgers win this series in your own home will be nice.
So glad to hear from you, Mark. Please continue to get well.
Glad you’ll be going home soon.
Very happy that you are bouncing back Mark.
I liked Walter Alston and wasn’t ready for such a rah rah guy like Lasorda. Roberts is a lot like Lasorda. It takes some effort to get used to him but if I just let him be him and appreciate that winning takes a lot more than making tactical decisions that get the fewest second guesser complaints. Players do not want to hear their Manager rip them after the game is over.
Welcome back, Bumsrap.
Thank you DBM. Just going to drop in from time to time and in this case wanted to add my energy to Mark’s efforts to recover from Covid and his upcoming heart surgery.
Nice one Mark – sure that one made you feel a little better.
We got the momentum now…..
I give Urias a pass on the first inning. He had warmed up, and then sat for the 45 minutes it took the Braves to get out of the first inning. It looked for a minute like same old story, and then Smith flipped the script. Joc hit his homer the opposite way. I missed Rios blast, potty break. Taylor was the only starter who did not get a hit. And they did this despite having 12 K’s during the game. 11 of the 12 came from the 5 hole down. With Smith, Rios and Taylor striking out 3 times each and Bellinger once. Barnes was the other K. Beaty got hit twice and Turner once, and they also sent Muncy sprawling on a pitch at his feet. Smoltz and Buck, who I cannot stand kept talking about Seager getting a shot at the cycle. But I was glad Roberts gave him a break. I also think anyone who thinks they threw in the towel when they were down 7-0 yesterday does not know these players very well. They are a tight knit team with a ton of fight in them and the skill to come back on anyone. They just fell a little short. I have a lot of faith that they will even the series tomorrow. Kersh is going to be nails.
Urias did his job and the bats came alive, now it’s up to Kershaw, win and it becomes a new series, lose and the Dodgers are down 3 games to 1 and in big trouble. His back has me worried.
We did what some of us have been expecting to do since the series started. We hit. I didn’t expect a record performance but I did expect them to start hitting. If we remain offensive, the Braves won’t keep up. We are the better team.
Can’t stress about what you cannot control. I guarantee you that if his back is not feeling good he will not pitch. Spasms are better than a tight back. I have them myself once in a while. They usually are fine after a few days. Tightness usually means something worse back there. Kersh has had these kind of things on and off for a few years now. They are not going to put him in a position where they could lose him moving forward. If he can’t go, May can.
Great article, AC. I do not expect another 16-hit game, but it would be a pleasant surprise. I do think they will win today supporting Clayton’s performance. And I agreeSeager is the offensive star and is my pick for MVP. Keep it up, Corey.
Swings at strikes and don’t chase. Don’t give away AB’s. I think that is the Dodgers hitting philosophy.
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Kolarek should never face Albies again. I was one of the few that stayed behind Joc and said he has shown up in October.
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I said last year that Seager and Bellinger had to show up for the Dodgers to win it all. Mookie can take some pressure off Belli this year. Seager has to hit for them to win. I hope it continues.
Wow! What a great game for a Dodgers fan. It couldn’t have been much more enjoyable. I also think that the Dodgers are set up well to come back and win this series. That seems funny to say when they’re down 2 games to 1 but I believe they will do it. I think Corey is going to keep hitting well, along with others hopefully.
Jeff, you mentioned that the 11 runs the Dodgers scored in the 1st was a major league playoff record. More impressive to me was the fact that the last 10 runs of that inning were scored with 2 outs. That is probably a Dodgers record in any MLB game and maybe a ML record as well. Does anyone know the answer to that?
I would imagine that Mr Bryse Wilson didn’t sleep too well last night.
I think Corey Seager has erased his playoff demons a little. What was interesting about last night was although they piled up all those runs, they did it without any booming hits off the bat of Mookie. Yes, he beat out the infield single to start everything and the offense is going to run through him, but after his hit and a walk in the first inning, he did not do anything. Of course he was pulled early, a decision I agree with. If Mookie gets hot the next couple of games, the Atl is definitely in trouble. I expect a good outing out of Kersh today. And guys like Floro, Graterol, McGee are rested enough to back him up.
And Gonzalez who is a hell.of a lot better than.mcgee from.what I have seen
Well, then you have not been watching much. McGee has been one of the better lefty’s out of the pen all year. He like all relievers has had a couple of hiccups. His ERA for the post season is skewed because he gave up one run on a homer in a game they were already going to lose. Blake Trienen had set that bad scenario up by allowing 2 runs to score and having a man on. Roberts brought in McGee with 1 out and a runner on to face dArnaud. McGee got him, but Albies hit a 2strike pitch out. So he made one bad pitch. His next outing was much better.
Roberts is going to have to have the courage to pull Kershaw if he is not effective and is giving up a crooked number early. They cannot afford to get in too deep a hole. They have to keep the game close and give the offense time to counter punch. Of course, since they are hitting first, and this is most likely a bull pen day for the Braves, scoring first and scoring often takes the pressure off. I trust Kersh to pitch on of his better games today. Kershaw is 5-0 career wise against the Braves. He has never pitched in the new stadium in Texas. Atl has only hit 2 HR’s off of Kersh in 10 career starts. Barnes will be behind the plate today, which probably puts Smith in the DH role, maybe. They might want some LH pop in the DH role. Seager, Pederson, and Barnes are the only Dodgers OPSing over 1.000 in the post season. Another plus with Kersh there is that he is one of the best in the league at holding runners and not allowing stolen bases.
Smith better learn to hit a breaking ball quickly because that’s all he’s gonna get for a while. I’d rather have Rios’s bat in there today
If you ask me, I would play Pollock in LF and let Joc DH (or vice versa). I think Will Smith could benefit from a day off. But, I’m sure nobody is asking me.
Scott – I agree somewhat.
I would do the same as you but let Smith catch Kershaw, therefore giving all our best hitters as many ABs as possible. Nothing against Barnes, who has done well, I just wanna get as much firepower in there as possible.
Barnes has been Kersh’s personal catcher ala AJ Ellis for most of the season, and Barnes has hit well in the playoffs. You want Kersh as comfortable as possible out there. And a day after striking out 3 times after his double can do nothing but help Smith. And he is always available to come off of the bench. You are going to need Barnes at some point.
White Sox have recieved permission to talk to LaRussa. ESPN reports this could be one of the most important starts of Kershaw’s career. I would tend to agree. CK gets them even with a gem, and it goes a long way to removing some of that post season stigma.
You’re right Bear. Huge night for Kersh. Win or go home tonight! Bring the lumber boys!
Fun game yesterday, though it was over after one inning, at which point I didn’t want to see us score 20 runs. From my memory, virtually every time in recent years that the Dodgers have had one of these scoring bonanzas, they don’t score much in the next game. But this may be different. In any case, it was one game, you cannot horde the runs.
Obviously, this is the crucial game. We are substantial favorites, over 2-1, to win this. If we do not, we are going to really have a tough time, facing Fried and Anderson in potential games six and seven. We still will, but tying the series at 2-2 gives us a pretty good chance to win it, not down 1-3. So it’s up to Kershaw, and then the bullpen. And we’ve got to keep hitting. If Kershaw goes out after five or so, I wonder what the bullpen usage will be. Probably they consider Treinen or Graterol as the closer. Baez is always iffy any time he is put in, so is Kelly. The best hope is to pile up some early runs, giving us enough margin to hold on even if our relievers start giving up walks and homeruns. I think we are still underdogs in the series, though the oddsmakers now have us a slight favorite. The Breves are good, we have seen that, we just need to be better. They were sure jumping around during Game 2, as if it were a party for them. Hopefully we will not see more of that.
I still don’t like Muncy batting fourth, grand slam with the score 7-0 or not. He has struggled all year. Bellinger is now doing better, so is Smith. Why is Muncy fourth simply, because they want this right-left procession for the late inning relievers to face? Well, maybe he will come through in a big moment. He had better, because the Braves will pitch around Turner to get to him, if they can. I would prefer that we treat the lineup traditionally, our best power hitter, at least with regard to the matchup against the starting pitcher, bats fourth.
He hit the homer off of a lefty. His double also came off of a lefty. He is hitting 4th simply because Roberts likes him in that spot, it will not change anytime soon.
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/clayton-kershaw-game-4-nlcs-starter
Interesting that Atlanta hits breaking balls better than anyone, and that they are the best in MLB against 1st pitch strikes – both of which Kershaw is known for.
His record against Atlanta is excellent though.
5-0 in his career. Only allowed 2 homers in 10 games. They might be a good breaking ball hitting team, but few have a curve as good as CK’s and his slider is above average. They also have a lot of young hitters in that line up except for Freeman, Ozuna and a couple others. Kersh keeps the ball down, and Atl will not be that successful against him. When his pitchers are center cut is when most of the damage is done.
AC, just wanted to say that I really like the titles you use for your articles. Good choices.
Just don’t give Freeman anything low and inside! And Ozuna looked pretty weak against Julio’s breaking stuff last night. If a Kersh can command the slider and curve like he did against the Brewers he’ll be fine. If not then it will be a struggle
Cassidy, Freeman is just like most strong left handed swings. Forever you can’t make a mistake in “the loop zone” They punish down and in. It’s a risk for a righty throwing a back foot breaking ball to a lefty because if you miss location and leave it in the Loop Zone, it’s in the seats. That’s why lefties don’t throw down and in change ups to lefty hitters. They just drop the head on that location.
Win or go home. Really? Last I knew the Dodgers are down 2 games to 1 in the series.
They have a huge advantage in game 5 starting pitchers as Atlanta doesn’t have one. Buehler vs. Fried in game 6 is a 50/50 game. And Gonsolin vs. Anderson will be for the series. Thats assuming the Dodgers lose game 4.
So going into game 6, I believe both teams will be viewing the last 2 games as 50/50 games. Ideally you would prefer to be the team up 3 – 2 going into game 6 but this series has just begun and is probably going 7.
Continuing my thought, today’s winner will be the team up 3 games to 2 going into game 6.
What could change the dynamics of game 6 and 7 would be if the Braves lose game 4 to Kersh/Dodgers, they might consider bringing Fried back for game 5 on short rest in hopes he can out pitch May and win game 5. Then go with a non-starter in game 6 against Buehler and save Anderson for game 7 vs. Gonsolin.
I would tend to lean that way if I’m the Braves.
Mark, its really good to see your voice. I’m so glad you are doing well. This reinfection interests me. I didn’t think that was possible. We were worried about you.
Thoughts on last night:
* WOW
* When you think you have baseball figured out, it’s just like golf. Enjoy it for that day because you really don’t.
* Is Ian Anderson that much better than Kyle Wright (7 ER) and Grant Dayton (8 ER)?
* I’m completely in agreement with Jeff about hitting early in counts on the first good pitch. With the way bullpens are now used, running up pitch counts is becoming less and less useful. As I mentioned yesterday, especially when you get a “Green Light Special”. Don’t take it and don’t miss it.
* Is Seager hot enough for ya. His balance at the plate and timing right now is perfect. “See 1st fat pitch-hit ball”
* I’m a very loyal guy. I will stick by people, especially friends, through thick and thin – for years. But don’t stab me in the back. I have a bad habit of being vindictive, to a fault, when that happens – forever. That’s how I feel about the Astros and their cheating. It’s unforgivable and the players got away with it and smugly. Every player I hold accountable. I rooted like hell yesterday for the Rays to put them away. I once love Altuve. Now I can’t stand the little cheater. I love it that he has the throwing yips.
* The yips have effected many good players and is amazing how “stinking thinking’s” can effect one’s mechanics, in this case throwing the baseball. It took a couple of bad throws and the press all over it to make it worse. The announcers can’t shut up about it. Altuve looks like he’s throwing pies. He’s tentative and you can see his lack of confidence and extra time on every throw. When he takes that time, he’s hearing the demons. “Don’t throw it away” which leads to guess what? He throws like a knuckleballer, shoving the ball out of his hand with no slings in the throw. I hope that continues and he soon has the whole winter to think about it.
* Like everyone, I hope CK can get some quality innings. I really like this match up now with our pitching set up right and the Braves searching for innings. I really like our chances.
Good comments, phil. My key word for the Cheetohs and Altuve is “Karma”. It’s definition is “the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence viewed as deciding their fate in future existences”. Decide their fate Tampa Bay, seek and destroy their chances.
Today’s line up. Betts, Seager, Turner, Muncy, Pederson, Bellinger, Rios, Hernandez, Barnes. Kershaw, Rios is the DH. Oh yeah, the Braves pitcher has been hammered by LH bats this season.
Not sure I like that lineup. Too many all or nothing type hitters for me. Where’s AJP?
Betts, Seager, Turner, Smith. I think everyone else is all or nothing.
Starter is a RHP. So Pollock is siting and Joc had 4 hits last night, so Dave is going with the hot hand.
Taylor, Pollock and Smith are struggling right now. I like Rios and Joctober in there right now against a righty and maybe a little Kike magic! There will be a time later in the game for them against a lefty reliever
Jeff
I absolutely love our offense. While others were complaining about Muncy, Bellinger and Joc during the regular season I refrained because I know what they can do. It seemed like I was the only one not complaining about that trio.
So as far as Joc is concerned I have no problem with him starting or whatever. I even like Barnes as the back up catcher as long as Doc doesn’t consider him as the primary catcher because I’m high on Will Smith.
Hernandez is the guy that I don’t like starting because everyone else is a better option than him.
I know other people will disagree with this but I believe Doc gave up on game 2 too early and I hope that doesn’t come back to bite us.
Why don’t they close the roof?
Did anyone notice that after the great run explosion, we failed to score in the next 6 innings? Not 1 run was scored for the rest of the game. In a sense, this is more of the same all or nothing that the Dodgers seem to operate in. The first two innings of game 4 are also scoreless bringing the total of consecutive scoreless innings to 8.
Not going to be a fun game with the wind blowing the way it is.
The Dodgers need to start hitting. This game could slip away from them if they don’t start getting on base. CK is good, but he is giving up too much already even though the game is tied 1-1. He’s being hit and that does not bode well for the Dodgers. He is going to need the bats to support him. Get some men on base!
Swing all or nothing. Score all or nothing!
So far, the Dodgers are taking the nothing option.
This team really isn’t built for the post season with better pitching , it is built for the regular season with more weak than strong pitching. Feast or famine is the rule of the day with this team.
We have yet to hit good pitching and clobbered bad pitching. This does not bode well for the rest of the series, somebody prove otherwise. Look who we scored every run of this series besides the 1 we got off Fried and 1 off Melancon. Beating up Dayton, Wright and Tomlin means very little
Wow this is unbelievable for a veteran team to have this kind of showing against a rookie in a win or go home game. Championship mettle??
Kershaw just got out pitched by a rookie.
CK is slowly losing this game. Without run support, our chances get slimmer and slimmer. Pull CK!!
There is a poster on another Dodger board who constantly calls Roberts a dummy.
Now Roberts isn’t a dummy, but he really puts his faith into the wrong players hands in the most important of games.
It’s mind-boggling and I’m more and more certain it won’t end well regardless of this game’s outcome.
You’re right. Roberts put his faith in the wrong players: Betts, Seager, Turner, Muncy, Bellinger, Joc, Rios, etc., who together have scored 1 run in the last 12 innings.
This wasn’t Kershaw’s fault, although he certainly could have pitched a little better. This was the fault of the offense.
No, this was on the offense and the pitcher management.
No, it is on the quality of the players, both pitching and hitting. When a team on the whole cannot score through many innings of play, it shows the quality of the batters. When a pitcher loses his command, it shows the quality of the pitcher. CK is an HOFer, but he is on the downside even though he can still pitch well, at times. You need a surplus of effective pitchers to win a WS who can pitch through all situations.
Ownership need to rethink their committment to players like Muncy, Bellinger, Kike, Pederson, & others, no matter how many HRs they hit. They’ve gone in the wrong direction.
this is why he is not ready to assume the closer spot. I’m talking about Graterol. This post got mixed up and was a response to Eric.
Jeff,
What’s the weather like on the planet you live on?
It’s rainy season here in Thailand. I love it.
Well I can tell you that Graterol sucks against the left side of the plate and tonight he just sucks period.
I told you guys about our bullpen.
This isn’t on the bullpen, dingbat.
Ignore him. up until this game Graterol had not allowed one inherited runner to score. This is on the offense. Not scoring means that the pitchers have to be perfect.
Do you think we are anywhere near perfect?
No. I do not. My point is simply that no offense puts more pressure on the pitchers.
You’re not looking at individual pitchers stats if you did you would understand what I’m talking about.
The stats for the playoffs said he had not allowed an inherited runner to score. That is not sucking against any side of the plate. Simple point is, he got hit tonight. End of story. And understanding you is almost impossible since what you post rarely makes any sense at all.
Playoff stats is what you’re talking about. Haven’t you ever heard of a small sample you’re talking about a small sample I’m talking about a full season sample. You’re idiotic when it comes to stats.
I make perfect sense but because you’re idiotic when it comes to stats you don’t understand me
You’re an idiot when it comes to stats that’s not on me that’s on you. Mr. if you don’t have good defense nothing else matters. As I write this another homerun given Up by our bullpen this time Floro. You may have watched baseball for 65+ years but you’re pretty stupid at stats.
Name calling now? That is a stupid thing to stoop to. You do not know me, and you never will. I would have a war of wits with you, but I hate to fight an unarmed man Oh and one other thing, I would not try calling me stupid to my face. Hide behind your computer because that is the only place you are safe.
You told me that I don’t make any sense that’s as bad as name-calling. I’ve always had a problem with you here I never have a problem with anybody else. Plus I’m just being honest you’re stupid at stats. You’re still living in the 1900s. And you’re going to wanting to fight me. Nice
I told you couple days ago you might want to check your bad attitude and ego but you didn’t listen.
You have a problem with me? WOW. You do not even know me. All the stats I read moron are from baseball reference, so you must think they are stupid. I do not try to analyze them, I just read and post them. And I did not say I was going to fight you, All I said is that I would not try that to my face. I was born in the 1900’s moron. The game was different there, but I am not living in the past. I just remember the history. So, you post what you like. I do not care. You are of little consequence to me. And your lack of baseball knowledge is your problem. Full season as an example, i get that. The problem and what you do not seem to understand is that playoff baseball is a different animal. The pressure is different, and each player reacts to that differently. If you take the full season stats, the Dodgers had the best pitching in the game period. The bullpen won most of the games. On paper, they had the best team going in. They did not perform up to that hype. Oh by the way, I do not have an attitude. And any checking to be done is my business, not yours. Never tell me what to do. You have not earned that right
Ego bad attitude and stupidity again. It’s actually getting funny listening to you.
By the way keep trying to tell me it’s not the bullpen when the bullpen continues to give up more and more runs.
By the way the Dodgers set an all time post season record yesterday scoring the most amount of runs in a half an inning.
I’ve owned your lunch twice now.
The first time with your stupid comment if you don’t have a good defense nothing else matters.
Try to make yourself a little smarter (if that’s possible) by looking at large sample size individual stats
And what’s up with your stupid a.k.a. name in parentheses. LOL you’re ridiculous.
I did not put that aka on there. I signed in under my own name. Bear is my nickname and I have had it for years. I am not sure who added the aka. You do not own me, and you with your little ego trip thinking you have is ridiculous, You are nothing more than a minor irritant like a bug bite or something. I am not the only one on here who thinks many of your comments are way off base. But that is beside the point. No matter what anyone says you are going to go on believing that you have all the right answers to the teams problems starting with the bullpen, Roberts handling of same and him playing Kike when so many others can do the job better. Enjoy it. I really do not care what you think of me or what you think of my posts. I will be on here writing story’s and having a great time doing it.
So now you talk shit about me behind my back with other people. Nice.
Here’s some numbers if you can understand them.
Total runs scored in this series.
Dodgers 25
Braves 26
This series should be tied 2-2. Doc through away game 2.
Dodgers team relief pitching ERA in this series 7.47
Do you understand?
Oops I spelled threw wrong.
7 earned in 6 innings is pitching suckage. 3 earned in 1 inning by a bullpen is copious pitching suckage. 1 hit in 6 against a rookie is offensive offense. This is, so far, a team failure.
3 innings to go. It ain’t over yet but the fat lady is warming up her pipes.
Agreed. A total team loss.
So where’s the small ball? Now it’s a bit late in the game to take that approach but it would be better than the current plan. Not a good game. Hey Dodgers, lets at least get a runner or two on the base paths to perhaps start a rally.
Dodgers once again shrink on the big stage. Rookie pitcher and we have one base hit. JT is done, bring him back as a veteran leader a la Utley, but 3b is Rios’ to lose. Enrique….gone, Barnes…gone we’ll take Ruiz.
Bochy or Scisocia for Roberts….do it Freidman
I wasn’t talking to the Braves!
In retrospect we were overrated this year. We beat no one, pounded horrible pitching but never touched good pitching. The pen had more holes then we realized, our manager was as bad as they get and the offense was all or nothing and not clutch. On to year 33, shake it up Friedman please!!
This is a very poor comment, on nearly every point it throws against the wall.
But what can you do.
Not read the comment
I wish we had a “ignore posts you will not like” option.
Nothing to really argue about. Getting beat by a better team. Amazing we have gone through the season without loosing three in a row and we’re bordering on being eliminated.
I love my Dodgers but this storyline is really getting to be a drag. Now we have to read about underperforming, choking, Kershaw not winning the big one, yadda, yadda, yadda. That’s sports!
Bye, bye, Dodgers. It was an entertaining season, but when it really matters, you are not the team of destiny. You are built for power, but power alone is not enough. The HR is very entertaining, but ultimately a tease. The Yankees got a taste of this, too. We can’t even blame Doc for this. Can we conclude its the players, yet? Even Mookie has caught this bug.
We need to change the structure of this team. AF is the only one who can do this and since he is responsible for bringing the talent to the team, he has missed some important elements. It seems if you can hit a HR, you can make the club. Forget about the little things. Power is the name of this team’s game and that has to change.
Every year the “best” team in baseball shows up in October and can’t pitch and can’t hit. This series illustrates exactly who the Dodgers are offensively. Crush crummy and mediocre pitching and get dominated by good pitching! It’s time for the Dodger braintrust yo move on from the all or nothing approach and get some gamers and grinders! This group just won’t get it done! And don’t blame Roberts. Everyone he brings in gets crushed!
You can’t win scoring one run and only having one hit. Them not getting to a guy with a ERA over 4 would be so effective is the direct reason for this loss. You are trying to make the pitchers have to be perfect. The Braves have outplayed them. That is the big truth of this series. They gave the Braves life, and the Braves took advantage. Oh yeah, those of you who want to put this on Roberts, he is not the one hitting or pitching. Not his fault if a little bleeder changes the whole script of the game. Not on him since his players so far in this game have not performed to the level we as fans, or the organization have come to expect. They now have to take this one game, one pitch at a time. The Braves are still going to have to have a bullpen game tomorrow. And May will be pitching. Chance of coming back and winning are slim. But it still is not over.
Best bullpen in baseball? Really? Certainly not the best in the playoffs.
How in the hell does Tampa Bay do it with no name players
They got ballers.
The Dodgers need to can this launch bulshit and just put the bat on the ball
It is not just the Dodgers who use that philosophy. It is all through baseball. Blame the new metrics and the way hitting is taught now.
Six of the seven farthest and hardest hit balls today came from Dodger hitters. Five were outs, including that Pollock flyout at the warning track.
Big deal.
LOL
Even if they lose tonight, I’m not giving up. I have seen enough baseball to know the Dodgers are capable of winning three in a row against the Braves. Will they have to play well? Yes. Are they capable of playing well? Yes.
I am super-disappointed Clayton pitched so poorly in the sixth, It was really bad. No command. No poise at a key moment — but you could see it coming, as he was behind hitters all game and just trying to grit it out and hope they hit some balls at people… but we know the October baseball gods NEVER smile on Clayton. I feel really bad for him.
As I am typing, Dodgers have two on and no outs — they are not done fighting. I’m telling you, as conditioned as I am to expect them to lose, it’s baseball, and you never know what’s gonna happen next. Go Dodgers.
The sixth inning Clayton gave up an infield hit with an error followed by a groundball that somehow made it to the wall because of the Dodgers outfield positioning. I was surprised he pitched to Ozuna.
~
Joc’s ball earlier is gone everywhere else. Not sure about AJ’s but the Dodgers have lost about 10 HR’s in this stupid park the last two series.
Wind knocked AJ’s down. Joc’s would have cleared the wall most everywhere.
This series would no doubt look different if they were playing in their own parks. Would that have changed outcomes? Maybe. But I doubt it.
This is a beautiful park to play baseball in. Complaining about the park is not going to satisfy anyone, Hawkeye. Do we really need to make excuses for this team?
I think you are confusing excuses with observations.
I made a comment after AJ’s ball that over TWO series the Dodgers have lost about ten dingers. I didn’t say the lost the series because of it. I wasn’t happy this park was chosen though when they picked it. Nor have I thrown in the towel. However, I don’t find anything particularly special or beautiful about this park.
Kershaw has shown that he’s a no-show when the season’s on the line.
Everybody feels bad, so I certainly don’t want to write too much about this now. And the series is not over, at least officially. But I will say that there is something wrong here. Oh, we’re good, we win a lot of games. But there is something wrong, when we again flame out like this. Many things, perhaps. The easiest target is Roberts, simply because you can’t completely rebuild the team. Is it not fair to say that Roberts does not get the most out of the team? I can’t measure that game by game, but we are less than the sum of our parts, we were last year, too. Some of that has to fall on Roberts. I have seen some managers whose teams were better than they looked. It came from knowing the right reliever to put in, knowing what players can be improved and which can’t, and how to best employ them. Roberts’ teams the last two years have greatly underachieved in the playoffs. And isn’t winning titles the goal here? Maybe not for the ownership, but that would be very sad.
Are there worse managers than Roberts? Definitely. I think he is better than Russell, Hoffman, Tracy and Mattingly. So? Would we possibly end up with a worse manager than Roberts? Very possibly, but it’s worth the risk, because we aren’t winning titles with him, that should be obvious. Nothing is going to change here, this is not luck. So you change managers, spend money to hire the best one you can find, and that is a start. There are personnel changes which also need to be made, but there are constraints on that. I just don’t want for us to have to go into next season with the same manager saying the same things, because they and he are not good enough to win titles here. And if some people don’t agree, that’s fine, but without drastically overhauling the entire roster, what is there to make you think that somehow we are going to win a title next season, going on in the same way? I will say that any major franchise in baseball, the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, would fire the manager after this season. You don’t get points for being immensely loyal to them, or valuing continuity over taking a risk to gain improvement. The ownership owes more to the fans than this.
Even if they win this series, I agree with this.
Total team meltdown!
This f*d up season needs to be over. Good riddance to it. Sixty game bullsh*t season with a bunch of crappy rookie umps . Can’t even play the playoffs at the friendly beautiful Dodger stadium.
Won’t argue that.
You know what would be the cherry on top of this cow pie sundae? If the flippin asstros make it farther than we do.
That said, we look to be set up for a classic come from behind series victory.
You Sir are a true Dodger Fan.
Never give up.
A change in managers may be possible and what manager knows these kid’s better than the minor league manager that manage them
Not likely with Roberts inking a new deal last offseason. And you cannot blame him when his players do not get the job done. Their 400 million dollar man has contributed nothing this series. For them to even have a chance of winning another game, Betts has to be better. You are not winning anything when your leader has a series as bad as Betts has had. I agree this year needs to be over. What we see on the field in 2021 is going to be a lot different when it trots on the field next year.
If they decide they’ve seen enough with the Dodgers money his contact shouldn’t matter.
How do you know this, bear?
How do I know what? Roberts contract is common knowledge. And it is for 4 years. Betts has 2 hits in the 4 games, none of them for extra bases. And no RBI’s either. Not what one would expect from a player of his stature. And I believe there will be some roster adjustments this winter. All of us are pretty sure Joc will be gone along with Kike, A bunch of the relief corps are on one year deals. Wood, Baez, Trienen, McGee could all be gone. Floro is arbitration eligible. They have to decide if they are going to resign Turner, and what to do about Jansen. Price will be back. Where does AF go from here? The backlash is going to be something to see. All you need to do is look at other Dodger blogs. And twitter is not too happy either. I just believe that he cannot, especially after the expectations placed on this team this year, stand back and not do anything. There will have to be some tweaks. And the calls for Roberts and AF’s heads are going to be loud and noisy. Granted. The series is not over yet, No team has ever come back from 3-1 except the Red Sox when Roberts was there. I am sure he is going to use that speech in some way to inspire the boys for tomorrows game. But it all hinges on getting to the Braves pitching early, and our own guys shutting down the Braves. As a team, the Dodgers are perfectly capable of winning 3 straight games. We will see if they are resilient, or if they just roll over and play dead.
The now traditional October choke job by the Dodgers. Nothing else to be said. Great team April through September.
Why would they have Buehler pitch in the 9th? Wouldn’t you want him fresh for tomorrow in case we need to hold the game?
Buehler is going to pitch game six if they get there. No way they would pitch him tomorrow. I know we are all pretty pissed off about now. Me, I am just totally dissapointed, but they have dissapointed me before. I can live with it.
It’s like when somebody dies. You think about all the good times you had. Not the bad times. These guys provided me with a lot of fun the last 3 years and good times watching them. Yeah, there should have been a world series but so what.
Well I think the bullpen will look different but otherwise it will be the same team minus Joc and Kike.
I think they might shake it up a little more than that. It all depends on what AF feels needs to be addressed.
Like I said yesterday, managers of any organization are hired for and expected to get their “team” to perform at their best. So if you’re organization isn’t meeting it’s goals you can change your team if you think you have the wrong people or change the person managing them. That’s how life works.
Now, if the goal is to make the playoffs every year, we have the right guy. If the goal is to win it all, we better try something different. I think 8 years of this is a large enough sample size, don’t you?
Oh, and by the way, no one is a bigger Dodger fan then I am and I’m hoping we can still pull this off. I sure hope so but I’ve seen this movie before.
Yes we have. But I still do not think they are going to change managers, Not AF’s style, especially right after extending him Roberts has done the job he was hired to do, When the players fail as bad as they have in this series, well, I do not see where Dave is at fault. I have not seen a move he has made that was a blunder and led to this kind of blowout. That is just bad execution on the players part. But I guess we will see. I would rather lose a game like this than a 2-1 heart breaker. They have been out of this since the 6 run sixth.
We’re seeing what a real MVP looks like in this series!
Well we’ve had the better team for 2 innings this series!
8 to tie, 9 to take the lead!
I didn’t click on the ‘POST COMMENT’ box pointing examples of how I see this as the manager designing this loss but it’s how I fell. There is something wrong when it’s the other team playing ‘Dodger baseball’. I could be wrong but it is really appearing this way this moment.
That was painful! See u tomorrow!
Kershaw will get the loss, and his post season legacy will again be maligned, but this was a team gag. I don’t blame Roberts. These players, most of them anyway, have proven over and over they are not prime time athletes.
We are now facing elimination games for three straight days. Character is about to be revealed.
Managing people isn’t just about making decisions. It’s about getting the most out of your people. It’s about motivating them to perform at their best when it’s needed. It’s about getting them to be successful in challenging situations. In business, sports, war or life in general.
War? Stop it.
I don’t blame Roberts for this failure. These guys are all professionals and most of them are veterans. They knew exactly what needed to be done and they blew it. There will be many who will call for his firing because somebody has to be held accountable and you can’t fire the players. But I think Bear is right and this management group won’t fire him.
How sad that they are beating us so easily, the bullpen a disaster in all defeats, if tomorrow the bullpen does not improve it will be a season that went down the drain, a sadness.
May, Buehler, Gonsolin and Urías can do it, but we need the bullpen and the offense to work.
it’s a point of reference Badger. Sorry if it offended you.
He is a combat vet, a Marine. He saw enough of war and this is nothing like war.
We need more Joe Kelly!
Won’t say too much for now, but it seems like we ran into the hottest team in the league for the 5th straight post season. We typically play well with our back are against the wall. First trip to San Diego against a red hot Padres team, and we came way winning the series and securing first place in the division. Our offense was really flat entering the toughest stretch of the schedule starting with a home series against Houston and ending against Oakland. By the end of it, our offense was awake again. If we can pull this off, we’ll have definitely earned it. Going to take a team effort and some unsung heroes. Maybe we should start by bunting again. In two of our losses a combined 7 hits. Yeesh.
I don’t have a clue how this is going to turn out. Just given our starting pitching for the rest of this series, I have confidence that we can prevail. And facing some of their pitchers for a second time might also work in our favor.
Also, if we are going to break this 32 year old drought it probably won’t come easy.
Disappointing more than anything. I expected more and got much less. But tonight I have more serious things on my mind, My son’s mother is in serious condition in Oklahoma. Most likely kidney failure. Nothing to do with Covid. She has had the condition for years and my son gave her a kidney a few years ago. So I am still waiting for him to let me know how she is. Baseball right now is more of a release than anything else. And no matter how it turns out, I am going to enjoy it while I can, If the Cheetos can win a elimination game, so can the Dodgers.,