Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
While Dan Haren has no chance of matching, or even coming close to, duplicating what Clayton Kershaw did the other night, but he can go a long way in helping the Dodgers continue their solid play of late.
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Dodgers
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Padres
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7:10 pm PT
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San Diego, CA
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2B
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Gordon
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RF
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Denorfia
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SS
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Ramirez
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SS
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Cabrera
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RF
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Puig
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LF
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Smith
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1B
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Gonzalez
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C
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Grandal
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LF
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Kemp
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1B
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Medica
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CF
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Ethier
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CF
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Maybin
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3B
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Turner
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3B
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Amarista
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C
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Ellis
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2B
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Peterson
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P
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Haren (R)
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P
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Kennedy (R)
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The Dodgers have won nine of their last 13 games, have trimmed 5 1/2 games off the Giants’ lead in the NL West and this could finally be the roll fans were waiting for this team to get on.
While the Padres will miss Kershaw and Zack Greinke, that might not matter. The Dodgers have the best rotation in the league and the Padres have scored 27 runs in 17 games this month. That isn’t a typo. They are historically bad offensively, which bodes well for the Blue in this series.
Justin Turner returns to the lineup after not starting since June 12. In each of his last five starts, he’s produced multi-hit games (hat tip to Eric Stephen). But Turner’s return to the starting lineup might be short-lived (and for the best). Juan Uribe is playing six innings at third base in Rancho Cucamonga tonight. He went 2-for-4 as the Quakes’ DH last night in his first rehab game. If all continues to go well, he should be back Monday.
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When you get a chance, go check out the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers’ roster. There is a ton of talent there, including the Dodgers’ first two picks this year (Grant Holmes and Alex Verdugo), plus a ton of international signings from the last year-plus. I’ll do a “who to watch” post (like I did with the Ogden Raptors) this weekend.
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