Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
No, you had completely given up on last nights game and just started watching Giannis videos instead. The Dodgers got what was arguably their biggest win of the season, coming back from a 6-1 deficit capped off by a walkoff three-run bomb. They were three outs away from being three games back of the Giants, and now find themselves with a chance to move into a tie for first and a chance to take over first place after tomorrow’s series-finale.
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| 7:10 PM | Los Angeles | ||
| CF | Slater | SS | Taylor |
| 3B | Flores | 2B | Muncy (L) |
| RF | Yastrzemski (L) | RF | Beaty (L) |
| 1B | Ruf (L) | C | Smith |
| 2B | Solano | CF | Bellinger (L) |
| SS | Estrada | LF | Pollock |
| LF | Wade Jr. (L) | 1B | Pujols |
| C | Casali | 3B | McKinstry (L) |
| P | Webb (R) | P | Urias (L) |
Julio Urias makes his 20th start of the season for the Dodgers tonight. He’s won an NL-high 12 of those 19 games (and the Dodgers have won 15 of the 19 overall), and Urias is making his first start at home in nearly a month. His last three outings have come on the road. He’s allowed six earned runs in 18 2/3 innings over that span, but four of those came last time out in Colorado in the first game after the All-Star break.
Urias saw the Giants twice back in May. On May 23 in San Francisco, Urias struck out 10 over six innings and allowed only three hits and two runs. He didn’t match that success in his next start, against the Giants in LA. Urias allowed a season high seven runs (six earned) and 11 hits in only five innings.
Logan Webb gets the ball for the Giants. It’ll be Webb’s 12th start and 13th appearance overall. Webb has a 3.54 ERA and 3.14 FIP in 56 innings this season and has fought through some injuries. Webb started against the Dodgers on May 29 and allowed two runs (one earned) and one hit in five innings. It was Webb’s first start after hitting the IL on May 17 with a shoulder issue. After the start, he was placed back on the IL and didn’t appear again until July 9. In two starts since returning from the IL, Webb has thrown 45 and 60 pitches, so don’t expect him to work too deep tonight. He’s been effective, allowing six hits and a run over seven innings against the Nationals and Cardinals.
Webb throws a sinker 31.6 percent of the time, which is his most-used pitch this season. It works for him, as his 59.2 percent ground ball rate is the second-highest among pitchers with 50+ innings pitched (Framber Valdez is running a 70.5 percent ground ball rate??). Webb has also done a good job generating weak contact, as his 22.7 percent soft contact rate is the sixth-highest among pitchers with 50+ innings.
Mookie Betts is once again not in the lineup as he’s nursing a hip. Justin Turner and Max Muncy both left yesterday’s game after getting hit by Alex Wood pitches. Turner remains out of the lineup, but Muncy is in there at second. Buster Posey sits for the Giants, with Curt Casali starting behind the plate.
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Josiah Gray was a mixed-bag in his debut yesterday. Gray struck out seven and only walked one in four innings (good), but also allowed three dongs (less good).
Gray will remain in the rotation for at least one more start, as he’ll start the final game of the homestand Sunday against Colorado (currently lined up to be against Jon Gray, I will start workshopping 50 Shades of Gray puns for a thread title).
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The Dodgers made a trade today.
The Dodgers grabbed Billy McKinney from the Mets. The 26-year-old left-handed outfielder/first baseman will be on his fifth team in four Major League seasons and has been a piece in a couple decently-big trades. He was drafted by Oakland and traded with Addison Russell and Dan Straily to the Cubs for Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija. He was then traded by the Cubs to the Yankees along with Gleyber Torres and Adam Warren for Aroldis Chapman. He debuted with the Yankees and was traded to Toronto for J.A. Happ. Toronto waived him and he was picked up by Milwaukee, who traded him to the Mets in May. McKinney has a .225/.280/.430 triple slash line over 613 Major League plate appearances.
Carlos Rincon heads to the Mets. Rincon has a .263/.343/.470 triple slash line in 256 plate appearances at Double A Tulsa. He wasn’t listed on Dustin’s top-50 prospects list before the season. McKinney is out of options, and is expected to be active for tomorrow’s game.
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There was another roster move today.
Sheldon Neuse is up from the taxi squad, giving them an extra bench bat with Turner and Betts being sidelined. Darien Nunez started last night’s game, and has been sent down.
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Clayton Kershaw is still progressing and played catch again today. On Monday, Dave Roberts said it was a possibility for Corey Seager to be active and in the lineup on Wednesday. It is Wednesday and he is not either of those things. Betts is still listed as day-to-day but could end up on the IL, and most likely will within minutes of me posting this thread.
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First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM PDT and will be shown on Sportsnet LA.
