Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
After trouncing the Pirates last night, the Dodgers now have the challenge of facing one of the most successful pitchers in baseball so far this year. Iván Nova (2.14 ERA, 2.48 FIP, 0.881 WHIP) was the National League Pitcher of the Month for April and has, by at least a few measures, been the best starter in the league thus far. His FIP and WHIP lead the NL, and his two shutouts (in six starts) lead all of baseball. He’s also walked just one batter in 42 innings pitched.
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Pirates
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Dodgers
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7:10 p.m.
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Los Angeles
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3B
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Harrison |
LF
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Toles | |
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SS
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Mercer |
SS
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Seager | |
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CF
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McCutchen |
3B
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Turner | |
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LF
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Polanco |
1B
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Bellinger | |
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RF
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Osuna |
CF
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Pederson | |
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C
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Cervelli |
C
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Grandal | |
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LF
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Bostick | 2B | Taylor | |
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2B
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Ngoepe |
RF
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Puig | |
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P
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Nova (R)
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P
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Urías (L) |
Nova, a Ray Searage reclamation project who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, was traded from the Yankees to the Pirates at the deadline last year. In 21 games (15 starts) with the Yankees in 2016, he posted a 4.90 ERA, 5.10 FIP and a 1.356 WHIP. In his subsequent 11 starts with the Pirates to close out 2016, he had a 3.06 ERA, a 2.62 FIP and a 1.098 WHIP. Clearly, his success has continued into the 2017 season. As MLB.com’s Pirates reporter Adam Berry has noted, Nova has more complete game shutouts (5) in 17 starts as a Pirate than he has walks (4).
Nova doesn’t strike out a ton of guys, as reflected by his 5.79 K/9. But he throws a lot of strikes, and he tends to get the ball put in play quickly — his average of 3.29 pitches per plate appearance is the lowest in baseball. His BABIP to this point is low, suggesting he’ll experience some regression in terms of hits allowed, but he’s nonetheless found a pretty good recipe for success and efficiency.
Meanwhile, Julio Urías (0.84 ERA, 4.31 FIP, 1.500 WHIP) is making his third start of the season. In 10.2 IP, he’s only allowed one run; however, he’s also walked eight batters, versus just five strikeouts. This will be his first time this season facing a team who is not the San Francisco Giants.
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In rotation news, Hyun-Jin Ryu will start on Friday:
Hyun-jin Ryu gets the start on Thursday in Denver. First day he's eligible to come off DL. Clayton Kershaw Friday
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 9, 2017
That will be Ryu’s sixth start of the season, and his second at Coors Field. Don’t expect to see Logan Forsythe there, though:
Forsythe won't be active in Colorado or SF.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 9, 2017
Guess this means we’ll be seeing more of Chris Taylor, then … although not tomorrow:
Roberts also said that Chris Taylor has earned his increased playing time, but that Chase Utley will start at 2B Wednesday to keep him fresh
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 9, 2017
It’ll also be a while before we see Adrián González again:
Adrian Gonzalez is on "the slow program," Dave Roberts said. He could be down a while.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) May 9, 2017
Which, hey, more Cody Bellinger at first base.
