Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (72-39) took the opening game of this four game series against the Padres (50-58) last night by a score of 8-2. Clayton Kershaw had a quality start and Will Smith decided to hit another grand slam. Eric Lauer will start for the Padres against Dustin May, who is making his major league debut.
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Padres
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Dodgers
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7:10 P.M.
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Los Angeles
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SS
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Tatis Jr. |
1B
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White | |
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CF
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Myers |
2B
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Muncy | |
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3B
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Machado |
3B
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Turner | |
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1B
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Hosmer |
RF
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Bellinger | |
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RF
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Renfroe |
SS
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Seager | |
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LF
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Naylor |
C
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Smith | |
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C
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Mejia | LF | Verdugo | |
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2B
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Urias |
CF
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Negrón | |
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P
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Lauer (R) |
P
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May (R) |
Tyler White will start once again at first, while Kristopher Negron moves to center field as A.J. Pollock rests. Pollock reported feeling minor groin tightness last night but will likely only miss a game or two. Alex Verdugo will start in left field tonight as Matt Beaty is dealing with back tightness. Verdugo was scratched last night with left knee soreness so basically stay healthy everyone.
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As Dustin May hasn’t thrown a pitch in the MLB, here’s a look at Lauer among 100 starters that have thrown at least 90 innings.
Lauer has been decent, logging important innings for the Padres. He isn’t overpowering by any means, but he’s still a solid back end starter. He sits 90-92 with his fastball, mixing in a high 80’s cutter and a mid 70’s curve. The left-hander actually features reverse splits, with a 4.68 FIP and 1.68 WHIP against left-handed batters compared to 3.87 and 1.31 against right-handed batters. The same was true last season, so there’s likely some truth to that. He last faced the Dodgers on July 5, allowing just one run on four hits over six innings. Hopefully they can muster more than that tonight to support May.
Dustin May makes his MLB debut tonight as a 6′ 6″ 21 year-old with wild red hair, earning himself the nickname “Gingergaard”. In 79.1 innings in Double-A this season, he had a 3.74 ERA with a 3.16 FIP and 1.15 WHIP. After his promotion to Oklahoma City, he featured a 2.30 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 27.1 innings in Triple-A. He sits 94-97 with his primary sinker, paired with a strong curveball and low 90’s cutter. He’s got very impressive stuff, and he already manages to mix everything in very efficiently while controlling his walks well at such a young age. He generates above-average ground ball rates due to that powerful sinker, which should bode well for him in the major leagues. With home runs at an all time high, pitchers that can keep the ball out of the air provide more value than usual. Hopefully the Dodgers offense and defense can back him up tonight.
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If you like Will Smith and you like the Dodgers or just shirts in general, you should buy this one!
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Kyle Garlick is up as Hyun-Jin Ryu goes on the IL with neck discomfort. It’s been reported that he expects to only miss his next start and that it’s more precautionary than anything. Garlick also adds more outfield depth as all those guys seem to be a little dinged up currently.
Tony Gonsolin will take Ryu’s start on Monday, looking to show he belongs on the MLB roster.
First pitch is at 7:10 PT on SNLA.
