Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic don’t – OH GOD PLEASE BE OKAY ZACK GREINKE.
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D’Backs
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Dodgers
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7:10 p.m.
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Los Angeles
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RF
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Inciarte
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2B
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Utley
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SS
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Owings
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3B
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Seager
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CF
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Pollock
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1B
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Gonzalez
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1B
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Goldschmidt
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RF
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Ethier
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LF
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Peralta
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C
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Grandal
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C
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Saltalamacchia
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LF
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Van Slyke
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3B
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Lamb
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CF
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Pederson
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Drury
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SS
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Rollins
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P
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Anderson (R)
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P
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Frias (R)
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Tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks was scheduled to be started by Cy Young Frontrunner Zack Greinke. Instead, it’s Carlos Frias. Losing Greinke or Clayton Kershaw is basically the nightmare scenario, one that would put as big a dent in the Dodgers’ postseason hopes as is possible. So when you see Greinke get scratched before a start, yeah that’s cause for concern.
At least it’s not an arm issue. Greinke was scratched with calf soreness. Readers with long memories will recall that Greinke missed the start of last season after hurting his calf in his first spring training game, though part of that was because the start of the regular season was on a different continent. The team is also doing its best to calm everybody down, saying that Greinke will make his next start. Greinke said that the calf issue was worse last year, which is also good news. He does not seem to be the person to lie about these sorts of things.
In other, less serious news, Carl Crawford can now be added to the ever-growing pile of Dodgers with minor-to-moderate injuries. Crawford is not starting against the right-handed Chase Anderson because he has “a shoulder issue,” which is nebulous. That’s not great, because Crawford has been good while healthy – he’s hitting .290/.333/.462 since the beginning of August. That’s a 118 wRC+, right in line with the 119 he posted last season (though the recent sample has more BABIP luck). Crawford gets a lot of unfair criticism because of his contract, and it’s fascinating to see how quickly people forget how that contract is how the Dodgers got the near-universally beloved Adrian Gonzalez in the first place.
Jimmy Rollins is back in the lineup today for the first time in almost three weeks. Corey Seager is still starting, however, substituting for the injured Justin Turner. Scott Van Slyke will get a rare start against a right-handed starter, substituting for Crawford.
The pile of injury updates before every game are getting old. Will somebody just get better already? Especially when the games still (theoretically) matter.
