Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers have enjoyed strong results against the Reds in the last week and a half, and weather permitting they will attempt to sweep the season series this afternoon. The matchup seems to be in their favor.
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Dodgers
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Reds
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10:10 AM PST
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Cincinnati
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CF
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Pederson |
CF
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Hamilton | |
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SS
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Seager |
3B
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Gennett | |
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3B
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Turner |
1B
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Votto | |
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1B
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Bellinger |
LF
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Duvall | |
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RF
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Puig |
RF
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Schebler | |
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2B
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Forsythe |
3B
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Suarez | |
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C
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Barnes | SS | Alcantara | |
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LF
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Hernandez |
C
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Barnhart | |
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P
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Maeda (R)
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P
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Arroyo (R) |
Bronson Arroyo, a former Dodger (technically), is starting for the Reds. Let’s not sugarcoat this: Arroyo is on pace to have one of the worst pitching seasons in history. Arroyo has given up 22 dingers in 68 innings pitched, which has resulted in an ERA of 7.01 and a FIP of 7.03. DRA, Baseball Prospectus’ ERA estimator, thinks he’s been lucky to be just that bad; the estimate for him is above 10. The only reason why Arroyo is still pitching in the major leagues is that the Reds have absolutely no incentive to try to win, and at least he is averaging over 5 innings per start so far. Still, even not knowing anybody in the Reds’ farm system, there must be somebody they can give those innings to, right? Right?
Dave Roberts put it best:
Roberts said he’s “baffled” that former teammate Arroyo is still pitching.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) June 18, 2017
The Dodgers have shuffled their lineup for Arroyo, moving Joc Pederson up to the leadoff spot. Pederson has had a few great swings this weekend and seems primed to get out of his season-long funk, which would be excellent news for the Dodgers. Yasmani Grandal gets today off due to the day game after the night game; Austin Barnes gets the chance to tee off on Arroyo instead. Chris Taylor also gets the day off, though if the game is close he’ll probably see at least a pinch hit appearance late.
Brock Stewart has been activated from the minors to be the long man out of the bullpen today. With Ross Stripling optioned, before today the best option to turn to for length in the bullpen was … Chris Hatcher? Yeah, it makes sense to give somebody else that shot. Stewart has pitched just 8-2/3 innings in the minors this season after missing all of April and most of May with shoulder problems. A positive sign is that he has struck out 14 batters and walked one in that stretch. Stewart may not be up for long because the organization still sees him as a starter, but look for him to get some time on the mound today if Kenta Maeda falters or if the threat of rain cuts Maeda’s outing short.
