Dodgers @ Rockies June 27, 2019: Buehler takes on the Senior Chubs

We don’t have to talk about yesterday’s game. The Dodgers lost. The Lakers got a max slot though. The Rockies’ Rookie-ball affiliate tweeted (and deleted) a response to a Twitter petition to change their name to the Humpback Chubs. It’s been a day.

Dodgers
Rockies
5:40 p.m.
Denver
1B
Pederson
RF
Blackmon
CF
Verdugo
CF
Dahl
3B
Turner
3B
Arenado
RF
Bellinger
1B
Murphy
2B
Muncy
LF
Tapia
LF
Beaty
2B
McMahon
SS
Taylor C Wolters
C
Barnes
P
Lambert (R)
P
Buehler (R)
SS
Hampson

Walker Buehler makes his second consecutive start against the Rockies today. His last one went pretty decently, as Buehler threw a career-high 111 pitches in a complete game. Buehler allowed homers to Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, but struck out 16 batters and allowed only one other hit. Buehler was as dominant as we’ve seen him and continued his stellar month of June. It took Buehler a bit to get in rhythm after not doing much in the Spring, but in 31 June innings Buehler has allowed 13 hits, three runs and one walk while striking out 42 batters. He’s lowered his ERA from 4.03 on May 29 to 2.96, and on the season has struck out exactly 100 batters with only 13 walks issued.

Buehler had a solid start at Coors Field in April. In his second start of the season, Buehler tossed five innings and allowed one run. He only threw 79 pitches since he wasn’t built up, but has thrown over 90 pitches in every start since April 17 and cracked 100 four times, including in three of his four June starts.

Peter Lambert is making his fifth career start and his second straight against the Dodgers. He was solid in his first start against the Dodgers, allowing three runs in five innings. It was a nice bounceback game after his previous outing, in which he allowed eight runs in three innings against the Mets. Lambert is the fourth-ranked Rockies prospect on MLB Pipeline. He throws a fastball more than half of the time, averaging 93.1 MPH on it. His changeup currently has a 40 percent whiff rate, and he mixes in a curveball and a slider. Lambert is also no easy out, as he has five hits in eight plate appearances including two hits against Hyun-Jin Ryu last week.

Joc Pederson gets another start at first base today despite committing two errors yesterday. The Dodgers still have like a 70 game lead in the division, so it’s still worth an experiment. Matt Beaty starts in left and Austin Barnes starts behind the plate, freeing up Russell Martin for the eighth inning tonight.

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Here’s more context for the Chubs.

My parents worked very hard to put me through school so I could write about boners on the Internet.

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The Dodgers made roster moves.

After his debut didn’t go so well last night, Tony Gonsolin was optioned back to Triple A. Caleb Ferguson joins him, as old friend Zac Rosscup is back. The Dodgers acquired Rosscup from the Rockies last July, released him in November, and after stints with Toronto and Seattle, he’s back in LA. Edwin Rios also gets the call, and his first appearance will be his Major League debut. Rios was Dustin’s 14th-ranked Dodger prospect at the beginning of the season, and his power could be real fun to watch in Colorado. A.J. Pollock was moved to the 60-Day IL to make a 40-man roster spot for Rosscup, but this shouldn’t change his return timetable.

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Thoughts and prayers for Joe Davis.

I went a day without coffee back in March and it was the worst day of my life.

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Kenley Jansen is hydrated.

Hopefully his heart issues don’t act up during this four-game weekend series. Or the Dodgers could just win every game by 10 and ease everyone’s stress.

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The Dodgers made some promotions within their minor leagues, including two notable prospects getting the call to Triple-A.

Gavin Lux (Dustin’s fourth-ranked Dodger prospect) and DJ Peters (Dustin’s 13th-ranked prospect) are now at Triple-A OKC. They could be names to watch out for when September call-ups come around, although neither are on the 40-man.

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The reason this thread is a few minutes late is that Cody Bellinger is an All-Star starter.

This will be Bellinger’s second All-Star appearance and his first time being voted in as a starter. Joc Pederson did not receive enough electoral college votes or something (I refuse to learn the new All-Star voting rules), as Christian Yelich and Ronald Acuna Jr. are the other starters in the outfield.

Bellinger hasn’t played center field in 2019 after logging nearly 500 innings there last season. Bellinger was not the leading vote-getter, as Yelich led the National League and Mike Trout led baseball in votes.

About Alex Campos

I've been writing about the Dodgers since I graduated from Long Beach State, where I covered the Dirtbags in my senior year. I'm either very good or very bad at puns.