Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (51-32) dropped the first game of this three game set against the Giants (40-43) last night by a score of 5-3. Landon Knack was solid, giving up just one run in 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.08 in 30.1 innings pitched. San Francisco’s ace, Logan Webb, unfortunately was great as well, allowing just two runs over seven innings. The Dodgers battled back to tie the game against Camilo Doval in the ninth which was nice to see, but it wasn’t enough. Blake Treinen came in for the bottom of the ninth and gave up a two-run walk-off homer to Brett Wisely. Tyler Glasnow will be on the mound today as the team tries to even up the series against the left-handed Erik Miller, serving as an opener to a bullpen game for San Francisco.
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| 4:15 P.M. | San Francisco | ||
| DH | Ohtani (L) | DH | Soler |
| C | Smith | 1B | Wade Jr. (L) |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | CF | Ramos |
| LF | T. Hernández | C | Bailey (S) |
| CF | Pages | 3B | Chapman |
| RF | Heyward (L) | LF | Conforto (L) |
| SS | Rojas | RF | Matos |
| 2B | Lux (L) | 2B | Wisely (L) |
| 3B | Biggio (L) | SS | Ahmed |
| P | Glasnow (R) | P | Miller (L) |
Funny enough, both teams run out the exact same lineups as yesterday. Despite a lefty starting, it’s likely the Giants go to predominantly right-handed relievers after him, resulting in the Dodgers running out their normal platoon against right-handed pitchers. This naturally features Jason Heyward in right field, Gavin Lux at second, and Cavan Biggio at third. They combined for one hit in ten plate appearances last night, so hopefully they can improve on that.
Here’s how the offenses compare.
Speaking of the bottom of the order, Biggio has a .460 OPS and 48 wRC+ as a Dodger, with a 36.4% strikeout rate. Surely he’s better than Miguel Vargas though! Biggio has 13 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances, while Vargas has five strikeouts to four walks in 37 plate appearances. Maybe I’m biased or just unaware of the severity at which he’s a liability as an infielder, but I feel they should really just let Vargas get everyday playing time for a couple weeks. Second base, third base, left field, wherever they can find the at-bats. Biggio was DFA’d for a reason. Lux has a .600 OPS in June and a .573 OPS on the year. Kiké Hernández has a .623 OPS in June and .572 on the year.
I don’t mean to keep pushing the same agenda, but it really is a bit aggravating the way they’re handling their best hitting prospect, who is obviously a difference maker at the plate. We watch the bottom of the order pop up, hit weak grounders to second base, and strikeout looking every game. Surely they’ll change how they deploy him in time … right?
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Here’s how Glasnow and Miller compare. Glasnow’s ranks are among 71 qualified starting pitchers.
Glasnow picked up his eighth win of the year in his last outing against the Angels, allowing just one run on two hits with ten strikeouts over seven innings. He did so on just 74 pitches, and while he could’ve kept going, the Dodgers held a five run lead and chose to instead look out for their ace and head to the bullpen. He’s been in excellent form as of late, with the exception of his five run start in New York. It should’ve been four earned runs at the most, but a ball off Andy Pages‘ glove and two infield deflections led to three extra runs.
He has just a 2.42 ERA in June with 40 strikeouts to four walks. Since his stinker against the Nationals back in the middle of April, he owns a 2.54 ERA, 2.26 FIP, and a 0.83 WHIP over his last eleven starts and 71.0 innings with 101 strikeouts to just 16 walks. He leads baseball in strikeouts with 135, with one less start (prior to this outing) than his closest competitors. He’s pacing for 300 strikeouts, but the Dodgers only care that he has enough left in the tank for October. In terms of his Cy Young hopes, he’s obviously in line to challenge for it, but the competition is tough. Ranger Suarez (2.01 ERA) will likely come back to earth, but fellow Phillies Cristopher Sanchez (2.41 ERA), and Zack Wheeler (2.73) have also been great. Chris Sale (2.79) is looking like his former Cy Young self, while Gavin Stone (2.73) has the lowest ERA on the Dodgers.
I’m not sure who the Giants will go to after Miller, but they’ve had quite a few effective relievers. Aside from their closer Doval, Ryan Walker has been excellent with a 2.18 ERA over 41.1 innings with a 34.4% strikeout rate. Tyler Rogers pitched last night, but his twin Taylor Rogers (2.23 ERA) will also be available tonight. The 6’11 Sean Hjelle has also been great for them with a 2.33 ERA in 38.2 innings. Outside of those few, the rest of the bullpen has ranged from bad to terrible, resulting in a pen with a 4.25 ERA, 21st in baseball. They’ve got the high leverage innings covered, but might be susceptible in a game like this. It’s no surprise they chose to have their bullpen game against Glasnow, as it’s an unfavorable matchup regardless, and they’ll look to have a more even matchup against James Paxton tomorrow.
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Not a ton of noteworthy stuff going on today. Giants legend Orlando Cepeda passed away yesterday, just a couple weeks after losing Willie Mays. Pretty sad stuff.
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First pitch is at 4:15 p.m. PDT on FOX.
