Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
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Dodgers
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Yankees
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4:05 PM PST
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New York
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2B
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Utley
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LF
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Gardner | |
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SS
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Seager
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CF
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Ellsbury | |
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3B
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Turner
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C
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Sanchez | |
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DH
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González
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2B
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Castro | |
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C
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Grandal |
DH
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McCann | |
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RF
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Reddick |
3B
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Headley | |
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1B
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Kendrick | 1B | Austin | |
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CF
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Pederson |
RF
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Judge | |
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LF
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Toles
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SS
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Torreyes
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P
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De León (R)
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P
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Mitchell |
The Dodgers are at Yankee Stadium for their final interleague series of the year. It’s the first time the Dodgers and Yankees have faced off in the Bronx since June of 2013, when the teams split a two-game series.
The 2016 Yankees are an intriguing team. They were exactly .500 in the first half of the season and were sellers at the deadline, trading away elite relievers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman for big prospect returns. But in spite of that, the Yankees played well in the second half. Now, with 20 games remaining in 2016, they’re two games back of a Wild Card spot, and only four games out of first place in what’s turned out to be a very competitive American League East. The Yankees are a team with a lot on the line, and they’re playing like it, having won seven of their last 10 games.
It will be up to Jose De León, making his second major league start, to try and slow down the Pinstripers. De León, who debuted on September 4, started his career off on the right foot, striking out nine batters in six innings as the Dodgers beat the Padres, 7-4. A setback in Scott Kazmir‘s recovery now gets De León at least one more start this year.
Bryan Mitchell, a 25-year-old right hander, is on the mound for the Yankees. Like De León, this is Mitchell’s second start of the season, although Mitchell has a bit more big league experience. Mitchell debuted in 2014, and made 20 appearances for the Yankees in 2015, mostly in relief. In August of 2015, Mitchell had his nose broken by a comebacker, but pitched again just 11 days later. He was supposed to start this season in the majors, but wound up requiring toe surgery and thus was out for most of the year. After six minor league starts, Mitchell rejoined the big club and, on September 7, pitched five scoreless innings against Toronto, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out two.
Mitchell throws a four-pitch mix, with a fastball that averages about 96 MPH and can reach 98 MPH. He has a very good curveball and also throws a cutter and a changeup, though he’s struggled with the latter to the point of almost eliminating it from his arsenal.
Mitchell will face a lineup of mostly lefties, save for Justin Turner and Howie Kendrick. With Adrian González serving as the designated hitter, Kendrick gets the start at first base — and, apparently, it’s the sixth time this season he’s started there. He’s played 47 and two-thirds innings at first this year, which is a lot more than I would’ve guessed, personally. His last start at first base was on June 1, and his last appearance there was on July 17, when he played one inning. Prior to this season, Kendrick hadn’t played at first base since 2012.
There wasn’t much in the way of Dodger news today, besides a rotation update.
[table id=5 /]Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda will start 1st 2 games in AZ for #Dodgers. That TBD guy goes Sat and Sun again.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 12, 2016
