Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers did not have a good weekend after traveling to Arizona on the heels of a successful 4-2 homestand to open the season. The first game of the series went well enough, as the Dodgers won 5-2 as Dustin May looked dominant once again. Then things went south, as the Dodgers lost the next three games. They scored 17 runs in those three games, which would normally be enough for a win or two. However, the pitching staff kinda shit the bed. Clayton Kershaw was solid on Friday, but allowed back-to-back homers to open the sixth and put the Dodgers behind, where they stayed. Entering Saturday, the Dodgers had allowed 21 runs on the season. They allowed 23 runs combined on Saturday and Sunday, which *Checks Notes* seems bad.
Their first road test of the season did not go well, and now they travel north to face a 4-5 Giants team. The Giants opened the season losing two of three against the Yankees before taking two of three against the White Sox. They hosted the Royals over the weekend for their first series at home, and dropped two of three.
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|---|---|---|---|
| 6:45 PM | San Francisco | ||
| 2B | Betts | 2B | Estrada |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | 1B | Flores |
| C | Smith | RF | Yastrzemski (L) |
| 3B | Muncy (L) | DH | Davis |
| DH | Martinez | 3B | Villar |
| RF | Heyward (L) | SS | Crawford (L) |
| CF | Outman (L) | C | Bart |
| LF | Peralta (L) | LF | Ramos |
| SS | Taylor | CF | Johnson (S) |
| P | Urias (L) | P | Webb (R) |
Julio Urias makes his third start of the season. He allowed a run in the first and second innings of his Opening Day start, and has been close to flawless since. Those are the only runs he’s allowed this season, as he’s coming off six shutout innings against the Rockies. He’s gone six innings in both starts and he struck out six with no walks in each outing. Urias saw the Giants five times in 2022 and was pretty dominant. Three of his five starts against the Giants were shutouts, and in the two non-shutouts he allowed three earned runs in 12 innings and struck out 18 batters.
Urias broke out a new pitch in his debut, prompting Brim to write about it. He threw nine cutters in the first start and threw 11 against the Rockies (per Baseball Savant). He’s ended eight at bats on the pitch, with four strikeouts and four batted balls with an average exit velocity of only 79.1 MPH. Seems good so far.
Logan Webb gets his third start of the season for the Giants. Webb has had a slow start to the season, as he’s allowed four runs in each of his two starts. His start in New York was weird, as he allowed four runs, four hits and two walks in six innings but also struck out a career-high 12 batters. He followed that up allowing four runs and nine hits in five innings in Chicago, and only struck out four.
Webb struggled against the Dodgers in 2022. In four starts, Webb allowed 13 earned runs (14 total) and struck out only 12 while walking seven in 21 innings. He pitched well in his two starts at Dodger Stadium, allowing three earned runs in 12 innings. However, the Dodgers tagged him in San Francisco, as they scored 10 runs in nine innings and struck out only four times.
Webb’s bread and butter has been his sinker, and so far in 2023 he’s still searching for it. It’s obviously very early, but he’s lost some spin rate (1835 spin rate on 68 sinkers this season, 1881 spin rate last season). Sinkers are made to get hit in the dirt, and the launch angle on his sinker hasn’t been a positive number since 2019. This season, his sinker is getting hit with an average launch angle of 22 degrees.
The Dodgers are Miguel-less in the lineup again, as both Miguel Rojas and Miguel Vargas sit today. Mookie Betts starts at second and the outfield of David Peralta/James Outman/Jason Heyward starts against Webb.
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The Dodgers were hoping for some reinforcements in late April for the pitching staff. That seems to be delayed now.
Tony Gonsolin threw to hitters at least once more before going out on a rehab assignment to build up for a starter workload. Ryan Pepiot hasn’t thrown since suffering an oblique injury towards the end of Spring Training. Michael Grove has struggled in the fifth spot, so it might be time to rip off the Gavin Stone Band-Aid.
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First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 PM PT and will be shown on SportsNet LA.
