Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Who needs Matt Kemp anyway? (This is a sarcastic statement) Andre Ethier had two hits (a triple and a home run) and four RBI to help lead the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory over the Reds on Tuesday night.
Zack Greinke brought his A-game for almost eight innings. He struck out 11 Reds in 7 2/3 innings. He ran into some trouble in the eighth inning, and his outing culminated with a 2-run home run allowed to Devin Mesoraco. Still, he was pretty brilliant — eight hits, three runs, zero walks and those 11 strikeouts.
Greinke gave up three earned runs or more for the first time in 23 starts, breaking his “streak” of 22 games — a streak he even questioned himself.
Kenley Jansen had one of his easiest outings of the season, as he struck out two batters and made just nine pitches. More of that, please.
Speaking of Kemp, he got a seemingly obligatory pinch-hit appearance after Scott Van Slyke replaced Carl Crawford in left field. Crawford rolled his left ankle chasing down a double into the left field corner. It looked pretty bad, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him end up on the disabled list. This means a few things:
1. Van Slyke is, surely, starting in left field tomorrow
2. Kemp earns a promotion to the team’s fourth outfielder
3. Joc Pederson is not going to be recalled if Crawford lands on the DL
And, just because a recap isn’t complete without it: Yasiel Puig went 1-for-2 with a walk and hit-by-pitch. He’s a full-fledged on-base machine.
The Reds (22-28) and Dodgers (29-24) concludes their 3-game series on Wednesday night as Homer Bailey (4-3, 5.34 ERA) takes on Clayton Kershaw (3-1, 3.49). First pitch is at 7:10 Pacific time.
