Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Following the All-Star break, the 19-game stretch from hell was looming large for the Dodgers. The 10-game road trip portion of that stretch is now over and the Dodgers have survived. Now they return home for four against the Brewers and three against the Astros (the end of the 19-game stretch noted above is two on the road against the surging A’s). The series against the Brewers begins with a match-up between Kenta Maeda and Freddy Peralta.
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Brewers
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Dodgers
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1:10 PM
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Los Angeles
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RF
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Yelich |
LF
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Pederson | |
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3B
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Moustakas |
3B
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Machado | |
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CF
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Cain |
1B
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Muncy | |
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2B
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Shaw |
C
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Grandal | |
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LF
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Braun |
1B
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Bellinger | |
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1B
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Thames |
SS
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Taylor | |
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C
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Piña | 2B | Utley | |
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SS
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Arcia |
RF
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Puig | |
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P
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Peralta (R)
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P
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Maeda (R)
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Maeda was touched up for four runs against the Phillies in his last time out, but generally pitched well despite the ugly line. Had the Dodgers featured a deeper stable of relievers, he would have escaped with better results. Maeda’s outing in Citizens Bank Park was otherwise up to the lofty standards he has set for himself in his recent five-start run. So many changeups.
Peralta has struck out nearly one-third of the batters he has faced this year, and is somehow making an unusual arsenal work. Peralta throws 77% four-seam fastballs that average in the low 90s, and 20% curves that average in the upper 70s. He’s mainly a two-pitch pitcher, a spin/deception guy with lots of strikeouts. The package sounds vaguely like a young Rich Hill with a lot more fastball reliance. Peralta’s main problem in his first eight starts has been the walks, but the stuff looks pretty nasty if he can spot it.
The Brewers have a slightly different look than they did when the Dodgers faced them a week and a half ago, as they have since traded for Mike Moustakas, who is batting second. To make room at third base, Travis Shaw has moved to second, where he is still very inexperienced.
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Earlier today, Dustin wondered what the Dodgers were going to do with Stripling as his workload continued to climb. Now we have that answer:
The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed RHP Ross Stripling on the 10-day disabled list with right first toe inflammation and recalled RHP Dylan Floro from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 31, 2018
“Toe inflammation” sounds exactly like a fake DL stint that comes from managing a pitcher’s workload, though in a way it would be nicer if it wasn’t. It would be nice if Stripling’s big command drop was actually due to an injury that could be healed with rest. The Dodgers have stated that they believe this is short-term at any rate.
