Of course, the Big Dodger in the Sky is what is invisible to most people, but to us True Dodger Believers, we see it! Nothing is impossible with the Big Dodger in the Sky! Last night had to be one of the most amazing comebacks… EVER! Down three runs in the 9th inning, the Dodgers came back to tie the game, and then Shohei hit his 12th HR – a 3-run Blast to ice the game. Tanner Scott came in and slammed the door for his 9th save.
Game Observations
- Remember when the Dodgers tried to trade for Eduardo Rodriguez and he refused the trade? Yeah, the Dodgers remembered too and beat him like a rented mule. What goes around comes around.
- Roki Sasaki is trying to figure out how to add more MPH to his 98 to 99 MPH pitches. Instead, he needs to learn how to pitch. He exhibits extreme character immaturity and needs to go to OKC to mature a little. Send him down.
- In a night when everyone was taking batting practice, James Outman looked pathetic with 3 more K’s. Yes, he runs into one occasionally, but he is Joey Gallo Revisited and is a liability.
- With the kind of offense Ohtani is putting up, I would not use him as a starting pitcher. No way, no how! Relief maybe! No way I let him start! It is going to take too much away from his offensive game.
- I said it a couple of weeks ago, and I’ll say it again: Banda is in trouble. They are figuring out his new stuff!
X-CITES
Minor League Notes
- LH Lucas Wepf got his 2nd win last night with 1.2 IP in relief. He dropped his ERA to 3.00 after a bad start.
- Josue DePaula continues to rake at GL. He was 2-4 gain with his 8th double (.296 BA/.924 OPS)
- Hope was 2-4 (.288 BA/.881 OPS). He has been playing a lot of CF, but he’s not an MLB CF’er! Of course, neither was Pages.
- Mike Sirota hit his 5th HR – a 2-Run Blast for RC (.344/1.064) -He needs to move up already!
- Eduardo Quintero was 2-4 at RB (.303/.988 OPS) – He’s 19 and looking like a star.
- Joendry Vargas is playing 3B in the Arizona Complex League (.286/1.000)
- Jake Gelof (.313/1.025) is playing there too. The Dodgers also have Noah Miller playing there.
Quintero has an idea at the plate. Intelligent hitter. Sirota is all hustle all the time with a solid foundational base of askills. Hope is simply harnessing his raw abilities into on-field success. De Paula is a prodigy. Haven’t seen enough of Lindsey to form an opinion but these four could be the future. All OFers too.
Some nice prospects out there…but still likely two or three season away.
From what I’ve read, Lindsay is the most likely of the SS prospects to stick at the position. Both Morales and Jeondry Vargas are more likely to move to 3B or ???.
Lindsey could also move to CF
Friday scores
Albuquerque 4, Oklahoma City 3
Tulsa 6, Amarillo 4
Dayton 9, Great Lakes 4
Visalia 6, Rancho Cucamonga 5
ACL Dodgers 10 , ACL Royals 9
Hyun-Seok Jang strikes out 7, Nick Frasso K’s 5
Saturday schedule
Albuquerque (TBD) at Oklahoma City (Justin Wrobleski), 4:05 PM PST
Great Lakes (Luke Fox) at Dayton (Wade Miley), 4:05 PM PST
Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) at Amarillo (Dylan Ray), 5:05 PM PST
Rancho Cucamonga (Aidan Foeller) at Visalia (Wilkin Paredes), 6:30 PM PST
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Regsiter:
When Evan Phillips went on the injured on Wednesday, Roberts expected that Phillips would be back after the minimum 15 days, but that won’t be the case. Roberts revealed on Friday that the MRI showed no structural damage, but that the team intends to handle Phillips’ recovery cautiously, and it will be a few weeks before he returns to throwing.
“It’s inflammation in his elbow so it’s just going to take some time,” Roberts said. “We’re going to take some time with Evan because as we said from the outset he’s so valuable going forward we have to be mindful and cautious with the buildup.”
Man what a comeback! … i completely agree Mark! Sasaki needs a trip to AAA.. the dbacks were laying off the off speed pitches and crushing the fastball. Now i’m just throwing something out there for thought , so call me stupid if you want. The cardinals ain’t going anywhere. Why not offer them a package starting with Bobby Miller and a couple more prospects for Sonny Gray? He’s still a good starter and most of all he’s durable! Snell? Glasnow? Sasaki? Can the Dodgers count on them to make it thru the season? And no, i’m not suggesting they expand the deal to include Arenado. BUT, the conversation could happen. Not saying it will, but it’s a thought if Max continues to slump. Even Max is talking about it. …Man i wish Kike was an everyday player!! But we all know his best position is utility. .. in my opinion Conforto should be playing instead of Outman . That way they can determine if they need to get rid of both of them! Hopefully Dustin May can miss some bats tonight!!!
Interesting idea about Sonny Gray, but I expect that the Cards may value his durability more than the Dodgers would.
Hell, the front office almost seems averse to durability. Of all the big name starters on the market, Burnes has been the most durable. But AF opted for Snell, a guy who didn’t have a complete game until his no-hitter last season. And while there was hope that Glasnow’s most recent surgery would make him durable… well, he’s still earning the injury-prone reputation. (When Burnes, Cease and Glasnow were on the trading block, I wanted them in that order: Burnes, Cease and Glasnow.)
We are all waiting for the difficult decisions when every starter is healthy. How to accommodate Shohei, Snell, Kershaw, Glasnow, Yamamoto, May, Gonsolin and Sasaki?
And today the Dodgers were reminded just how good Burnes is, as he outpitched May in a tight game.
But I tend to think Burnes outpitched both Snell and Glasnow, who are both on the IL. I say this because I believe the Dodgers twice had a good shot at Burnes but failed to swing the deal. Instead, they landed Glasnow and later signed Snell. The price for Burnes would have been higher–because you pay for the durability.
Speaking of which…
It puzzles me some fans are fearful that Shohei, the Ruthian unicorn, would want to resume his Ruthian unicorn ways.
At his best, Shohei is a Top Ten starter and a Top Five Batter. He signed the $700-million contract to be both. Remember, before he won the MVP for the Dodgers as a DH, he won MVP twice for the lowly Angels as the 21st century Babe Ruth–and was runnerup to Judge in 2022.
That was his best season on the mound. As a pitcher, he compiled a 6.1 WAR over 166 IP, with 219 Ks and an ERA of 2.33 and a WHIP of 1.01. His record–for a mediocre team–was 15-9. Perhaps he would have won 20 for the Dodgers.
Most Dodger fans, I suspect, will be thrilled to see Shohei on the bump.
He wasn’t signed just to DH.
NO strikeouts or swing and misses by Sasaki in 4 innings pitched last night.
While Outman still strikes out too much, he are neglecting how he played a vital role in this win during his most important AB.
He stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the 3rd inning. The D’backs needed a K, but Outman hit a sharp grounder to Naylor. He rushed the throw home for an error, enabling both Pages and Kike to score. (Credit also to Pages for a great jump.)
By putting the ball in play–by not striking out–Outman essentially put two runs on the board.
With Outman on first, Taylor laid down his beautiful bunt for a single, loading the bases for Shohei.
And Shohei struck out.
Probably just wanted to save the drama for later.
I expect Outman will likely be sent down when either Edman or Teo returns. And unless somebody else gets hurt, Kim will be sent down later.
Taylor’s at bats are painful, l but that bunt was a classic. Doc’s efforts to get by on the cheap with ineffective relievers cost the Blue 8! Unanswered runs.! Max need s a new glove (or something).
In further defense of Outman…
It wasn’t until I watched the highlights that I saw that he narrowly missed another HR on a drive that hooked before the right field foul pole. Just missed being a hero–and of course somebody here judges him as a zero.
So that near-HR went down as strike two. And yes, Outman eventually struck out.
Just a reminder that baseball is a game of milliseconds and millimeters.
“Roki Sasaki is trying to figure out how to add more MPH to his 98 to 99 MPH pitches. Instead, he needs to learn how to pitch. He exhibits extreme character immaturity and needs to go to OKC to mature a little”
I was thinking similar. He throws plenty hard enough. But he’s mostly a thrower and not yet a pitcher. Hopefully he learns before his skills diminish. Needs to set up batters and when that does not work as it sometimes won’t,know how to pivot to an alternate approach. Prior will bring him around if anyone can.
You have a young pitcher learning a new language and a new culture. Sasaki has a throne of press and fans in the United States and Asia, then you change his routine that he has used probably since he started pitching. I believe he was put in a spot that would have been difficult. Every manger and front office will tell you when they. Have a lineup posted that they are either giving a guy a rest but the more popular verbiage is “I wanted to put the team in the best position to win. I’m the last person to criticize management but as a fan I have the right to state my opinion. My opinion is they put Sasaki in a position that failing was in a lot higher degree than it needed to be especially this early in the season. I’m sure he was consulted as a rookie and an Asian where people are brought up to honor their elders, no way does Sasaki say no.
A learning curve was to be reasonably expected. Sasaki is 23 years old and possesses an incredible ceiling. The bigger concern is Glasnow and Snell. Both of these front line starters are suppose to be doing the heavy lifting. Instead, we’re having to rely on a 23 year old rookie and a couple of pitchers returning from injury.
Sasaki is gonna be alright. I’m more concern about Glasnow’s random injuries, it seems like there is always some nagging injury bothering him. In terms of Snell, we knew up front he was going to be spending time on the IL.
In terms of Ohtani, I tend to agree with Mark. I’ve felt that way for sometime. While Ohtani is a gifted pitcher, the risk of losing him to some random injury, which tends to be highly possible in the max effort approach of today’s pitching philosophy, is too great. In terms of value, his offensive contribution far outweighs his output on the bump.
I’m lukewarm with the masters thought concerning Ohtani and pitching. I’d definitely keep building up his arm. If we get a real need for starting pitching, which I hope doesn’t happen, with guys coming back. Ohtani would be a good option. If our pitching staff stays upright, the management should have several conversations with Ohtani and get his inner feelings. It might do everyone well during the regular season, not the playoffs, to have Ohtani pitch once a week and get Smith off his feet for two games a week or give Freeman a break from the field and keep his bat in the lineup.
Just my very unprofessional opinion
8:10 PM ET
Dodgers (26-13)
Diamondbacks (20-19)
SP Dustin May R
1-2 4.36 ERA
SP Corbin Burnes R
1-1 3.58 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF Andy Pages R
3B Max Muncy L
2B E. Hernandez R
LF M. Conforto L
CF Hyeseong Kim L
C A. Barnes R
In Domed Stadium
Kim > Outman
While neither Edman nor Hernández are expected to return in the immediate future, both will be taking live at-bats next week, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
The Dodgers will bring in minor-league pitchers to throw live batting practice to Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman during next week’s homestand.
RP Lou Trivino reached a minor league deal with the Dodgers. Veteran reliever elected free agency yesterday after being waived by the Giants
05/10/25 Chicago White Sox claimed RHP Yoendrys Gómez off waivers from Los Angeles Dodgers.
Awesome comeback. How would you like to be Gurriel? Grand Slam last night, El bencho today. Kim is playing CF and batting 8th with Barnes catching. Kike is playing second, and Pages is batting cleanup.
I didn’t realize this, but it was his brother that made the racist gesture directed at Darvish during the 2017 WS.
As one of the comments on one of the Xeets above said, “revenge is a dish best served cold.” I personally like to think Shohei was throwing Gurriel’s HR pimp routine back at him, and I’m all for it.
Fuck yeah. Taking out the trash
Good detail, Patch…
I suspect the Asian players may not appreciate the Gurriel brothers. Shohei had a chance to show Lourdes up and took it.
Shohei, after deferments, will still be the highest paid player in the game. For that kind of money, he needs to start.
Not only that, he needs to be the closer in between starts and be the starting left fielder. Conforto’s not a good defender, and Shohei would be an improvement there.
…
…
Actually had a discussion with my nephew, who’s very smart and a Dodger fan, about this subject last year. My proposal was to use Shohei as a playoff-specific high leverage reliever. Have him on a slow ramp up throwing program during the first half, and start to integrate him into games and stretch him out after after the ASB. He wouldn’t necessarily be a closer in the playoffs, but would be available for any truly high leverage situation, including closing.
Could you imagine bringing in Shohei in a key moment of game 7 of the WS? The drama would be epic. Remember him facing Trout for the final out of the WBC?
I think he definitely wants to be starter, because that’s his ticket to getting recognized as the greatest player in MLB history when he’s done. I don’t blame him, but Mark’s right. The Dodgers would be one Tommy John away from losing the best offensive player in the NL, and most marketable star in baseball. My nephew made the observation during our discussion that, during his two-way time with the Angels, he just looked exhausted.
No, he’s too valuable as a hitter, and the Dodgers have seemingly already planned out their revolving door of starting pitchers going on and coming off the IL. No need to include him in that.
I still remember, a little bit here, but more so on Jeff’s site, some commenters actually in despair when the Dodgers signed Shohei. You woulda thought it was 9/11 or something. One or two were nearly that hysterical.
As Bluto would say (channeling that dude from Succession, which I can’t watch), “These aren’t serious people.”
Personally, this is the best time in history to be a Dodger fan, as games like the one last night illustrate. Enjoy while it lasts. Shohei is special.
BANG!
Ohtani cannot be a reliever!
Not only is it going cause damage to the team’s lineup, but how do you expect him to get ready to come in? Is he supposed to run to the bullpen and hope that his number isn’t called in the lineup? It’s more.
Snell (shoulder) is expected to play catch Sunday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
“Snell was previously expected to resume throwing Friday, but manager Dave Roberts indicated that the hurler came down with an illness that “set him back a couple days.” Snell hasn’t thrown at all since late April and received a cortisone injection in the hope that it would help with the inflammation in his left shoulder. The left-handed pitcher is likely several weeks away from returning to the Dodgers’ rotation”.
This guy . . .
Some are amazed that the Dodgers won last night, a comeback of a movie, one of the best comebacks in history!
Seriously? In a 25-run game? That doesn’t mean anything… How many did they score tonight? Nothing… If they score 4 tonight, I’ll believe it, but it won’t happen anymore, it’s over!
Another pathetic game.
Dude
I know, right?
And the Padres scored 21 runs.
It irritates me that the Padres have a better team than the Dodgers. Tatis is a good player. He might be better than Shohei.
Take another bong hit dude. Sheesh
What?
I’m just agreeing with Jorge that the Padres are worthy of respect and admiration.
I know the Padres are Jorge’s favorite team
And Tatis is better than Ohtani, please pass the spleef!
The Dodgers are doomed.
They got shut out while the Padres scored 21 runs against a juggernaut of a team.
They might as well quit playing.
Let me explain something.
Every team (well, maybe except the White Sox and Rockies) will win 55 games. Every team will lose 55 games (some of them badly). It’s the other 52 that determines your fate.
Chill!
Word
I subscribe to this mantra:
Personally, this is the best time in history to be a Dodger fan, as games like the one last night illustrate. Enjoy while it lasts. Shohei is special.
Good detail, Patch…
I suspect the Asian players may not appreciate the Gurriel brothers. Shohei had a chance to show Lourdes up and took it.
I suspect a lot of players and fans of all races don’t really appreciate the Gurriel Brothers.
I don’t.
Don’t underestimate the Padres! They’re on a mission after what happened to them in the playoffs losing out to the Dodgers after being up 2 to 1.
D’Backs will give us more trouble, and possibly SF.
Padres finish 4th in the West.
“Josue De Paula is tearing up the High-A Midwest League. After his two-homer, four RBI game in Saturday’s Great Lakes Loons 13-5 win over the Dayton Dragons, his .981 OPS is .059 points better than any other player in the league. MLB Pipelines’ 35th-best overall prospect has been on fire in May, hitting .412 with an OPS of 1.281 in nine games. For a 19-year-old especially, De Paula demonstrates advanced hitting characteristics, including pitch selectivity, contact, and usage of the entire field. De Paula now has 291 at-bats at the High-A level, with a 60/73 strikeout/walk ratio. His emerging power and ability to drive the ball to the opposite field can be seen in both his home runs”.
Saturday scores
Oklahoma City 2, Albuquerque 1
Amarillo 5, Tulsa 1
Great Lakes 13, Dayton 5
Rancho Cucamonga 6, Visalia 2
Sunday schedule
Great Lakes (Sean Linan) at Dayton (Gabriel Aguilera), 10:05 AM PST
Tulsa (Jackson Ferris) at Amarillo (Avery Short), 11:05 AM PST
Albuquerque (Anthony Molina) at Oklahoma City (Clayton Kershaw), 12:05 PM PST
Rancho Cucamonga (Logan Tabeling) at Visalia (Grayson Hitt), 2:00 PM PST
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
This will probably be Kershaw’s last rehab start today before he joins the Dodgers after May 17th when the 60 Day IL expires.
Mark, if you would be so kind to post today’s lineup. I’m taking my lovely wife, my beautiful daughter and daugher inlaw,my son,my two grandsons and my daughter’s boyfiend to everone’s favorite Italian restaurant Luce’s and won’t be available at the time of posting.
I’ll try. It’s a busy day at the Timmons household. Mother’s Day and the pool is open. It’s 80+ degrees, so everyone will be here. My wife has been smoking a huge brisket. My ex-mother-in-law died last night, and my son is coming to town. She was 90 and called me her adopted son. She was a member of our family. This is my son when he was one year old (He’s 38 now) with his deceased mother and now his deceased grandmother. Life is tragic at times and magic at other times. Happy Mother’s Day.
The clothes and jewelery are of a kind.
May their memory be blessings.
Dustin May was very good last night. center field was the issue. was he playing too shallow, or was it just bad routes? No matter, May was good! Burnes was a little better. BUT, the dodgers were playing with 3 of their starters out. So dback fans , don’t get too giddy about your success against the dodgers just yet. … Starting to see some life from Conforto. Still believe he gets going. Max? still takes too many First pitch strikes right down the middle for my taste! But he’s been better lately too. … Was it me or was Barnes ‘s awful throwing down to second? Nowhere close. … Catman today vs. Gallen. another tough matchup. hopefully they. get to him early. .. Hurry back Teo and Tommy!
Because I have basically nothing going on in my life I get small pleasures from doing mindless things. On game day before games I like to go through the starters of each team and see how many starters have been in the Dodgers organization. Sometimes there are a surprising number. I believe there are four pitchers today. After the games after going through the Dodgers box score several times and the minor league box scores, I check out other teams box scores and see how many and how well position players did that day. I have to admit that for the past two seasons I’ve been watching Roberts Jr. closely to see if I can understand why people want to give up three or four top prospects for someone who is definitely suspect at best. Can’t remember if it was on this site but some poster, I’m sure in an altered state) predicted that Roberts Jr. will have better numbers than Lux by season’s end. If people who have nothing to do would look at my previous posts, I’ve stated on a number of occasions that we should have hung on to lux for at least one more season. All indicators were pointing up. Sat out a season came back slow and the had a really good second half. Just think what his trade value would be today. I think the return could turnout okay but the old saying in bird in the hand is…,
John,
You are not alone. I have a similar routine that has me looking at how ex-dodgers are doing in MLB and AAA league teams. For me it is fascinating looking at guys that the Dodgers either DFA, traded, or let walk in FA and follow how they are doing.
John – totally concur.
You don’t trade away a former no 1 MLB prospect for such an average return. Lux was trending the right way, was young and cheap!
Strange decision
What exactly are we missing with Lux right now? Edman and Pages have 2B/CF covered and we weren’t willing to play Lux in LF
I don’t know maybe his.289 average or his 18 RBI’s. If you read the post clearly, the statement wasn’t that he shouldn’t be traded. He was traded when his stock was rising and all indications were that they were continue to rise. Nothing personal Brian but you wouldn’t be my top choice to handle my financial portfolio.
Haha I dont work with small clients
You have much to learn Grasshopper!
Happy Mothers Day to my Beautiful Wife:
Report on MLBTR that the Mets are looking into Robert Jr. even with his diminished production. Kris Bryant placed on the 60-day IL. Has to be one of the worst free agent contracts in MLB history. Today’s lineup. Ohtani DH, Betts SS, Freeman 1B, Smith C, Muncy 3B, Pages RF, Conforto LF, Kim 2B, Outman CF, Gonsolin P. Rockies pitchers gave up 19 runs in the first 5 innings yesterday to the Padres. They are 6-33 for a reason. Fans in Colorado want Monfort to sell the team. Does not get any better today as Pivetta, 5-1 2.01 faces Marquez, 0-6 9.90. IMHO, Dodgers should drop Ohtani to # 3 in the batting order to give him more RBI chances. He would still get an at bat in every first inning. Betts OBP as a leadoff hitter is better than Ohtani’s. Put Freddie in the 2 hole and hit Will 4th until Teo gets back. When Teo gets back, he puts a power bat behind Ohtani, pitchers will not be able to pitch around him.
You never know!! Marquez best game of the year. Pivetta his worst
Congrats to Bud Black. Best thing that ever happened to him
Rockies beat the Padres under their new manager. LA wins, 8-1 and are back in first place. Mike Sirota hit two homers in the Quakes big win. Mookie and Freddie go deep, Mookie a three hit day and Freddie four. Freeman right now is the best player on the Dodgers.
A Catman throwing goose eggs on Mother’s Day. What a treat. No worries about Roki, send him down to reset and replace him with the GOAT!
Yamamoto
Kershaw
Gonsolin
May
They all got the Knack
Conforto got 2 knocks so who’s your whipping boy now? We are now fully immersed in Dream Season 2.0. Enjoy the ride. We are on the brink of history enjoying a dynasty that might never be rivaled in baseball lore. It’s truly masterful what AF and the boys have accomplished. Thank you! Now about defending that crown….let’s do it!
Book em
Rack him!
DODGER MINOR LEAGUE STANDINGS 5/12/25
Oklahoma City AAA 25-14 1st place 4 games ahead
Tulsa AA 14-19 last place 5 games behind
Great Lakes A+ 17-16 5th place 4 games behind
Rancho Cucamongo A 23-10 1st place 8 games ahead
ACL Dodgers Rookie 4-2 2nd place 0.5 games behind
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
Latest On Blake Snell
“Blake Snell is set to meet with Dodgers team doctors on Monday as the parties try to determine the next step in his recovery from left shoulder soreness. Snell’s shoulder is still bothering him, to the point that plans to resume playing catch earlier this week were put on hold until Snell received a check-up from the medical staff”.