A’s @ Dodgers April 11, 2018: A winning streak, maybe?

(Via)

The Dodgers have won two games in a row. With a chance for three in a row, I’m reminded of what the late, great Lou Brown (James Gammon) would say.

Athletics
Dodgers
7:10 PM
Los Angeles
SS
Semien
CF
Taylor
1B
Canha
LF
Pederson
2B
Lowrie
SS
Seager
LF
Davis
RF
Kemp
3B
 Chapman
1B
Bellinger
RF
Piscotty
C
Grandal
C
Lucroy 2B Utley
CF
Thompson
3B
Forsythe
P
Mengden (R)
P
Wood (L)

That’s right. The Dodgers are going for their first winning streak of the season. They’ll send Alex Wood to the hill to face off against Daniel Mengden.

The lineup looks a bit different today. Yasiel Puig is getting his first day off of the season, which means former right fielder Matt Kemp slides over there to take his spot. That should be … interesting. Joc Pederson draws the start in left field and hits in the favorable No. 2 spot. Boy it’d be nice to see him get going, or at least hit the ball hard. Chase Utley, tied for the team lead in home runs, is in at second base, and Yasmani Grandal is back in for Austin Barnes. With as much flexibility and (allegedly) quality players on the roster, the lineup is sure to look different almost every night. Deal with it.

Wood looks to bounce back from a so-so start against the D’backs. Yeah, it was technically a quality start (6 IP, 3 ER), but it never felt like he was fully comfortable. On the plus side, in his 14 innings, he has yet to walk a hitter. So, expect a nice four-walk performance tonight just because I mentioned it.

——

If you hadn’t heard, Dodger Stadium has been awarded the 2020 MLB All-Star Game. The official announcement came down today, as did the official hats (at least for now).

There is so much wrong here. Good thing they have two years to fix it. (Right?)

Yay, Yimi Garcia! Perhaps the Vengeance Tour can actually begin.

If you like looking ahead to the weekend, as I know we all do. Birthday boy (today) Kenta Maeda will make his first start since March 31, because, well, reasons. And Clayton Kershaw — a god — takes on Zack Godley — not a god but has a god-like name — on Sunday of all days. Should be one hell of a game.

——

Walker Buehler started for Oklahoma City tonight and did Walker Buehler things.

Best curveball in the farm system on full display. At press time, Buehler has thrown four shutout innings and allowed two hits, walked one and struck out six. He’ll be here before you know it.

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.