Casey Blake scored the only run of the game on a double by Russell Martin in the eighth inning as the Dodgers beat the Mets 1-0.
Clayton Kershaw pitched eight strong innings as he struck out three and gave up seven hits to lower his ERA to 2.96. Kenley Jensen, a former catcher, pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his first save in the major leagues. The Dodgers beat the Mets three games out of four on the homestand, to finish the homestand at 4-3.
The Dodgers are now 53-46 on the season and six games out of first place in the National League West. The Dodgers will face the San Diego Padres this week in San Diego starting on Tuesday evening.
The questions facing the Dodgers as the trade deadline approaches on July 31 is another outfielder and a starting pitcher. According to the Los Angeles Times, General Manager Ned Colletti stated the Dodgers are “buyers” for starting pitching and an outfielder; however, it does not appear likely the Dodgers will trade for Houston Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt, given the high salary the Dodgers would have to incur.
The Dodgers appear to be searching for a second or third starter to supplement the current pitching staff, and also the team may attempt to land another relief pitcher. This week will provde interesting for the club, and it may give an indication of how the divorce proceeding are going for Frank and Jamie McCourt.
James Loney hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 13th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Mets 3-2 on Saturday.
Loney’s seventh home run provided reliever George Sherrill with his first victory of the year. Sherrill, who has been struggling all year, is now 1-1.
The Dodgers have beaten the Mets two games out of three on the homestand, with a final game against the Metropolitans on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Clayton Kershaw takes his 9-5 record on the mound against R.A. Dickey, who is 6-4 with a 2.73 ERA on the 2010 campaign.
Sherrill was the ninth pitcher used by Joe Torre in the game. Jonathan Broxton escaped the ninth inning by striking out David Wright with runners on second and third. The home run by Loney was his first walk-off home run of his career.
The Dodgers can salvage their homestand with a win on Sunday. The possible win can help the Dodgers to a winning record on the homestand at 4-3.
Kirk Gibson, arguably most remembered for one of baseball’s most memorable home runs in World Series history was named interim manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks after AJ Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes were fired from their respective positions.
Gibson, a veteran of 17 seasons playing for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates, has been a bench coach for the Tigers, and the Diamondbacks, and for the last season, has been a hitting coach for the Diamondbacks.
Arguably the most famous event of Gibson’s career occurred during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Gibson, bothered by two bad knees, came up as a pinch hitter with two outs and Mike Davis on first base. Dennis Eckersley, the Oakland A’s closer, who had not allowed a home run for over two months, made several outside pitches to Gibson, prompting him to foul off several pitches. Eckersley made a slider pitch on a 3-2 count to Gibson, which Gibson knew from a scouting report Eckersley would do on a full count, and Gibson hit the pitch over the 360 sign in right field.
See the video here for the full call from the NBC national broadcast from Game 1 with Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola.
Gibson should bring a new dynamic to the Arizona ballclub, emphasizing a more intense approach. According to the Detroit Free Press, Gibson said that in his six years as a coach, he has learned a lot he’d apply as a manager.
“I understand now how important relationships with the players are as a coach, and even more so as a manager,” Gibson said. “I’ve always possessed good team qualities. I’ve always wanted to do well for the team.
“But if you don’t have relationships, the players will tune you out. If you don’t have relationships, it’s hard to motivate.
“As a player I was very rough and very forceful, and I was probably that way when I started coaching. I didn’t understand how the game had evolved and changed. It’s important to understand that.”
Good luck to Kirk, as he inherits an Arizona ballclub in last place in the National League West. His first game as manager will be against, who else, the team he provided the greatest memory in its franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yesterday, the Dodgers were swept by the Anaheim, er, California, er LA Angels of Anaheim with Jared Weaver pitching a quality game, even to the point of striking out his own brother Jeff Weaver.
The Dodgers are now 2-4 in interleague play in 2010, having been swept by the Angels and taking 2 of 3 games from the Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers will be on the road this week against Cincinnati and, this weekend, against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park.
Next week, the Dodgers will return to Southern California to face the Angels in Anaheim and then back to Dodger Stadium for three games against the New York Yankees.
The Red Sox series will be interesting as it will mark a visit by Manny Ramirez. Ramirez has not been playing well since coming off the disabled list in May. His average has dropped from .385 to .285 and has only five home runs for the 2010 campaign. Will he start to heat up as a designated hitter, which Joe Torre plans to use Manny?
The Dodgers are one game back of the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West. With the Red Sox series, besides the sideshow of Manny against his old club, the Dodgers will turn to a legend who will travel to Boston to call the June 19 game. Vin Scully will be making an appearance east of Colorado to call the action.
Well, admittedly, we at Dodgerblogs have been rather quiet lately. After a HORRIBLE month of April, the Boys seem to have turned the corner. May has been a spectacular month so far, carrying them from the cellar of the NL West to the threshold of the division lead. April saw the Dodger limp to a 9-14 record. In stark contrast, the Dodgers have gone 14-4 during the current month, bringing their season record to 23-18 and just one game behind divisional leader Padres.
Tonight is the start of interleague play, where the Dodgers test their May surge against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers lead the AL Central with a record of 24-17, going 7-3 over their last ten games. Of course, the Dodgers remain the hottest team in baseball. After having their 9 game winning streak snapped by the Friars on Wednesday night, the Dodgers, behind the stellar pitching of Clayton Kershaw, came back to defeat their rivals from the south on Thursday night.
Tonight the Dodgers send Chad Billingsley to the mound to face Dontrelle Willis. And it is Empire Strikes Back Night to boot! Dodgerblogs will be sitting in the All You Can Eat Pavilion cheering on the Boys to another victory!
After an abysmal first week roadtrip that found the Dodgers with a 2-4 record with losing series to both the Pirates (a team that is on nobody’s post-season prediction list) and the Marlins, the Dodgers look to be righting their ship, by winning back to back series against the Diamondbacks and the Giants at home. Manny Ramirez closed out the ever-exciting series with the Giants with a two run blast in the eighth inning to win the game and the series. The Dodgers are back to .500, but there are still reasons to be concerned.
Let’s take a look at the numbers…
First the areas of concern: Pitching, pitching and pitching!
Team ERA: 5.30 (worst in the NL West)
Blown Saves: 2 (in 3 opportunities)
Starting Rotation
Padilla: 8.04 ERA
Billingsley: 5.73 ERA
Haeger: 7.20 ERA
Kershaw: 3.18 ERA (thanks in large part to a stellar performance against the Giants on Sunday.)
Kuroda: 1.20 ERA (now there’s something to cheer about!)
The relievers aren’t giving much relief these days either. Russ Ortiz was FINALLY dumped from the lineup after giving up 8 earned runs in 6 innings pitched. Sherrill has been equally pathetic with 6 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Ramon Ortiz (the Ortiz that is still on the pitching staff, for now) has given up 6 earned runs in 7 innings pitched.
There are actually a few things to cheer about regarding pitching. Jonathan Broxton notched his first save against the Giants and continues to dominate with no runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched so far. Troncoso is sitting at a 2.84 ERA and looks to be an important middle reliever.
In other pitching news, as noted above, the Dodgers dumped Russ Ortiz (don’t let the door hit you on the ass…) and have recalled RHP Jon Link from the Isotopes. Link pitched a few innings in Glendale this spring, not giving up a run in his appearances. Of course, Spring Training is a LONG way from Regular Season play. So we’ll have to keep an eye on Link as he gets his chance to shine. Also, Hong Chih Kuo is expected to return to the team after being on the DL for the starting two weeks of the season.
And now for the good news!
Hitting, hitting and hitting!
When it comes to hitting, Dodger bats are solid top to bottom. The team batting average ranks at the top of the NL with a .303 average, second only to the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Of the starters, Ethier, Belliard, Ramirez, Furcal, Kemp, Blake and Loney all sit above the .300 mark. And Russell Martin (who struggled throughout the 2009 campaign) is close behind at .290. When it comes to hitting, the Dodgers are rock solid!
Clearly, if the Dodgers can correct their early season pitching problems and maintain their offensive dominance, the early season doldrums will be only a faint memory. The season is a long adventure. So sit back and enjoy the ride.
Well, all good things must come to an end. We are sitting at the airport awaiting our respective flights to California. Mike and Dave had a great trip to Spring Training once again. Six games in five days. What a trip… and boy are we tired!
In three Dodger games, the boys came through in two games, beating the Brewers on Thursday and the Reds on Sunday. In between we saw the Giants beat the A’s in a Thursday night game. Then on Saturday we watched the Cubs and Padres skate to a 2-2 tie in ten innings. Today we went over to Surprise and saw the Texas Rangers beat the Colorado Rockies 7-6 in an exciting afternoon game (two home runs and a successful suicide squeeze by the Rockies).
Surprise Stadium from the Right Field lawn.
We were able to notch three new parks in our belts: Scottsdale, Goodyear and Surprise. Of the three, Scottsdale is definitely the park that comes up a bit short (and that’s not just because that is the home of the Giants!).
Look for our podcast in the next couple days recounting our trip to the Valley of the Sun.
Now, we don’t usually talk about tabloid news, but this video is priceless. Jamie McCourt, Frank McCourt’s soon-to-be ex-wife came up to Dodger Stadium over the weekend to clean out her office. Only problem was that the front gate security guard wouldn’t let her and her attorney, David Bois, through. They weren’t even allowed up to the Dodger Souvenir Shop (which is open to the public!).
Below is the TMZ video. Leave it to TMZ to add a few humorous images at the end.
After an abysmal first week roadtrip that found the Dodgers with a 2-4 record with losing series to both the Pirates (a team that is on nobody’s post-season prediction list) and the Marlins, the Dodgers look to be righting their ship, by winning back to back series against the Diamondbacks and the Giants at home. Manny Ramirez closed out the ever-exciting series with the Giants with a two run blast in the eighth inning to win the game and the series. The Dodgers are back to .500, but there are still reasons to be concerned.
