Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers escaped the series opener at Coors, as they nearly blew an 8-3 lead but hung on for a 9-7 win. The Dodgers have won all four games they’ve played against the Rockies this season, but three of them have been by two or fewer runs despite the Rockies’ -204 run differential on the season. Despite using a bullpen game in each of the last two games, the Dodgers have won both and now look for a three-game win streak and to become the second team in baseball with 50 wins (the Tigers got their 50th win yesterday).
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| 5:40 PM | Denver | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | DH | T. Freeman |
| SS | Betts | C | Goodman |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | LF | Beck |
| 3B | Muncy (L) | 3B | McMahon (L) |
| RF | T. Hernández | 2B | Estrada |
| CF | Pages | 1B | Toglia (S) |
| 2B | Edman (S) | RF | Moniak (L) |
| LF | Conforto (L) | SS | Arcia |
| C | Rushing (L) | CF | Hilliard (L) |
| P | Yamamoto (R) | P | Dollander (R) |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto gets the start looking to end his rough stretch. Yamamoto dominated the Diamondbacks on May 20, throwing 110 pitches over seven one-hit innings. Since then, he’s posted a 4.37 ERA and walked 12 batters in 26 2/3 innings (he walked 18 in 58 innings over his first 10 starts). The Dodgers have lost each of Yamamoto’s four starts in June and have only scored nine total runs, maxing out at three runs in a game. Last time out, Yamamoto allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Padres but the offense got shit on by Ryan Bergert and most of the Padre bullpen. They did manage three runs in the ninth, but Jack Little had a rough Major League debut and the Dodgers lost 5-3. Yama missed the Rockies earlier this season, but did face them three times last season. He allowed seven hits and one run over six innings in his first start against the in June (in LA), and faced them back-to-back starts in late September. He struggled in the first of those in LA, allowing four runs and five hits in three innings. He made his Coors debut a week later and allowed two runs over five innings to wrap up his regular season.
The Dodgers get their first look at Chase Dollander, who entered the season as Pipeline’s No. 25 prospect in baseball and the top Rockies prospect. It’s been a rough rookie season for Dollander, with a 6.19 ERA/6.03 FIP in 56 2/3 innings over 12 starts. He’s coming off a solid start in Washington, where he allowed two runs and six hits over six innings. He’s only struck out 48 batters in 56 2/3 innings (which, somehow, his 19 percent strikeout rate is the highest among Rockies’ starters with 50+ innings pitched). He’s definitely been a bit of a Coors victim, with a 4.25 ERA on the road and a 9.58 in his five home starts. He’s allowed four or more runs in four of his five starts at home, but did hold Atlanta to a run and two hits over 5 2/3 at home.
MLB Pipeline gave Dollander a 65 on his fastball and a 60 on his slider. He does boast one of the highest-velocity fastballs in the game (averaging 97.6 MPH, he’s thrown it 49.7 percent of the time), but it’s gotten hit pretty hard. 11 of the 13 homers he’s allowed have come off the heater, and the .298 average and .625 slugging off it are in line with the expected numbers (.295 and .618). There might be some pitch type disparity between what Pipeline was scouting and what Savant is tracking, but per Savant Dollander’s only thrown a slider four times this season. He’s thrown a curve 21.7 percent , cutter 11.9 percent, change 9.7 percent and sinker 6.5 percent of the time.
Dalton Rushing gets the start behind the plate with Will Smith getting the day off before a noon game tomorrow. Michael Conforto gets the start in left after a double and a homer last night.
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Emmet Sheehan had a day.
Sheehan struck out 13 of the 18 batters he faced in Sacramento over six perfect innings in his first start since making his season-debut in LA. Barring an IL move, Sheehan can return Fourth of July weekend against the Astros which as far as I can tell is a series that would feature two Dodger bullpen games.
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First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 PM PT and will be shown on SportsNet LA.
