Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers, coming off a poor series against the Cubs last weekend, took three of four games from the Angels in the Freeway Series with a 7-0 victory in Anaheim on Thursday night.
Hyun-Jin Ryu did his best Dan Haren impression by not allowing a hit until the fifth inning. He’s really falling in love with the slider he learned from Clayton Kershaw, and he used it to neutralize a strong Angels’ lineup. His final line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 12/2 GO/AO, 100 pitches, 58 strikes. Ryu has been pretty good since getting shelled in Detroit on July 8, posting a 2.42 ERA, .224 BAA, 1.0 BB/9 and a 9.7 K/9. He seems to have figured things out after a rough stretch from June 11 to July 8 (4.72 ERA).
Oh, and it doesn’t hurt Ryu was helped out in the sixth inning by his buddy Yasiel Puig. The game was 4-0 with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on second and third. Josh Hamilton hit a ball that would have likely been a home run in the daytime.
I don’t know about you, but that looks like a legitimate center fielder to me. Sorry, Joc Pederson, hope you like Miami because you’re getting traded for Giancarlo Stanton this winter. Puig also had two hits at the plate. Hanley Ramirez had three hits and drove in the first two runs of the game, while Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and drove in a couple runs in the eighth inning. The Dodgers also drew six walks in all, including four off the struggling C.J. Wilson. Seriously, he’s been Dan Haren-bad of late.
With the Giants’ loss, the Dodgers (66-50) move 3 1/2 games ahead in the National League West and two games ahead of the Nationals for the best record in the league. They’re also two games ahead of the Brewers in the NL, and they travel to Milwaukee for a weekend series. Newly acquired Roberto Hernandez Fausto Carmona or whatever (6-8, 3.87 ERA) takes on Kyle Lohse (11-6, 3.40). First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. Pacific time.
