Dodgers @ D’backs April 23, 2017: Bad series has been bad

(Via)

This series has sucked. Excuse my bluntness, but man, the Dodgers have been awful. Credit to the Diamondbacks, which has been the first team to figure out the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Dodgers
D’backs
1:10 p.m.
Phoenix
CF
Pederson
CF
Hazelbaker
SS
Seager
RF
Peralta
3B
Turner
1B
Goldschmidt
1B
Gonzalez
3B
Lamb
C
Grandal
2B
Drury
LF
Toles
LF
Descalso
RF
Puig C Iannetta
2B
Utley
SS
Ahmed
P
McCarthy (R)
P
Miller (R)

Ross Stripling has faltered slightly the last couple nights (but still owns a 0.54 FIP), while Luis Avilan and Sergio Romo were uncharacteristically bad on Friday night. Chris Hatcher has been thrown into situations this week that he has no business being in. On the whole, he’s been fine, but when he’s asked to throw more than one inning in non-low-leverage situations, he is exposed. Reinforcements are on the way, thankfully.

The lineup looks solid. It’s a little perplexing why Adrian Gonzalez is hitting as high as he is and Yasiel Puig is hitting behind Andrew Toles, but at least the “A” team is in there. If Chris Taylor could break through and get some starts at second base, that might be good for Chase Utley, who is 1-for-24 so far this season.

—–

Some news:

About time. The Dodger bullpen has been, painfully, in need of another arm for almost a week. Adam Liberatore has thrown just 5 2/3 innings for Oklahoma City, and with Grant Dayton due back later this week and Alex Wood looking like a rotation fixture, having another left-handed option (especially when Romo is a righty-only reliever) makes a ton of sense. Having a guy like Brett Eibner on this roster was more of a luxury than necessity.

There is no doubt Kenta Maeda has been bad this season. That’s what happens when one’s command/control goes to hell. Giving him an extra day of rest might be worthwhile. What’s even more worthwhile is the fact the Dodgers are going to stop wasting Julio Urias‘ precious innings in Triple-A.

Before last night’s start, Maeda had a roughly 55 percent fastball usage rate (4- and 2-seamer). That was up from almost 43 percent last season. His slider usage rate decreased by almost half. So, naturally, he threw 30 fastballs and 32 sliders last night. Still, perhaps Maeda has gotten inside his own head in the name of velocity. I might look at this more in depth later this week.

Franklin Gutierrez is getting closer to coming back, right?

That’s just perfect. The severity isn’t known, but I’m sure if it were really bad, we’d have heard something by now.

Damn. Trayce Thompson has a ton of talent, but it’s clear he’s not back to full strength after fracturing two vertebrae in his back last season.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.