Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Man, this game was dumb. So dumb, in fact, that I’m not even sure which storyline deserves top billing.
Is it…
- Clayton Kershaw allowing 13 baserunners and six runs (five earned)?
- The Dodgers managing one hit in Archie Bradley‘s major league debut, and two overall?
- Or Justin Turner and Juan Uribe both getting hurt within about 5 minutes of one another?
It’s the last one, of course. It’s not the first one because I think that of all pitchers on the planet, Kershaw has earned the opportunity to have an off night. It’s also because last year he had a lousy start in Arizona and things turned out just fine, and mostly because it’s April 11 and it’s almost literally insane to actually be worried about this.
It’s not the second one because, well, Bradley is a highly-touted prospect who certainly has talent and he was fortunate enough to face a Dodger lineup that didn’t have Yasiel Puig or Yasmani Grandal. Entering the day, the Dodgers had the third-best offense in the game — I hate myself for even saying that considering, hey, April 11 — and look, these things are going to happen from time to time. (If you’re immediately thinking “the Dodgers never hit against pitchers they’re seeing for the first time,” stop. The stats don’t support that.)
It’s probably the last one, because it’s the most entertaining — not that injuries are funny, but the sequence was a throw up your hands because life is silly reminder of the absurdity of the world — and the one that potentially has the longest actual impact. After Turner was spiked on an A.J. Pollock steal attempt in the third inning, the very next play went to Uribe, who had come in cold off the bench. Uribe ranged far too his left and made a nice play, but almost immediately started grabbing at his left hamstring. He stayed in to finish the inning, but was pinch-hit for by Alex Guerrero, who then made his first major league appearance at third.
I’m not worried about Kershaw. I’m not worried about the offense. I am a little worried about Uribe, who had three bouts with right hamstring injuries in 2014 and had several issues with the left one with the Giants between 2008-2010. The Dodgers claim that they’re both day-to-day, and maybe they are. But Uribe is 36 and hasn’t been particularly durable, especially with leg injuries, so the conservative route seems the right one here. I’m not sure if that means a DL stint is coming or not, though it’s worth noting that Enrique Hernandez stayed in Oklahoma City’s game even after Turner and Uribe went down. I’m not sure if it means more playing time for Guerrero at third, which would be absolutely fascinating.
What I am sure of is that this was a really terrible game that wasn’t fun to watch and ultimately doesn’t mean all that much. Unless Uribe really is seriously injured, of course. That’s not just bad for the roster; it’s bad because we’d have to remember this game existed.
