Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Brewers, again? Last week’s trip to Milwaukee was something of a speed bump on what’s otherwise been a pretty productive August for the Dodgers; only four teams have more wins this month. Of course, one is the Padres. Baseball never ceases to amaze.
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Brewers
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Dodgers
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7:10 p.m. PT
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Los Angeles, Ca.
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CF
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Gomez
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2B
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Gordon
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C
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Lucroy
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CF
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Puig
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RF
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Braun
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1B
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Gonzalez
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3B
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Ramirez
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RF
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Kemp
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2B
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Gennett
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LF
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Crawford
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3B
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Davis
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3B
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Uribe
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1B
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Reynolds
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C
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Ellis
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SS
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Segura
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SS
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Rojas
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P
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Nelson (R)
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P
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Greinke (R)
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Anyway, the Dodgers have 39 games left. They need to not lose a 5.5 game lead over San Francisco in that time. Let’s be honest with ourselves and say that is far from impossible — just look at what’s happened in the AL Central lately — but it’s also not particularly likely. The Dodgers are playing well. The Giants aren’t. Time isn’t on the side of the Giants to turn around not only one but both of those things. Again, though, they still have six more head-to-head meetings. It’s not over. It just feels that way.
Nothing particularly interesting in the lineup tonight. Without Hanley Ramirez, this is the new normal, and it’s really not that bad. Miguel Rojas is an atrocious hitter, of course, but he certainly brings the defense. Zack Greinke will attempt to break his “can’t beat former teams” thing, which is also not a thing I care about even a little.
The Brewers counter with sinkerballer rookie Jimmy Nelson, who pitched six reasonably effective innings against the Dodgers last Sunday in Wisconsin.
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Injury news! Hyun-jin Ryu landed on the disabled list thanks to his strained glute, which isn’t unexpected. As we’ve discussed, absolutely better safe than sorry at this point. Kevin Correia will get at least one more start, likely on Tuesday; Pedro Baez was recalled for about the 12th time to take Ryu’s roster spot. Also, Paul Maholm had his knee surgery today, and rehab will start next week. He’s a free agent, and I’d be very surprised if we ever saw him in Dodger blue again.
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In minor news — like, so minor that it wasn’t even worth a post of its own — the Dodgers picked up veteran righty Justin Germano from Texas for “future considerations,” which generally means “we’ll probably never hear what and completely forget about it anyway.” Germano, 32 earlier this month, was a 13th-round pick in 2000 by the Padres, and has bounced around ever since, including major league stops in San Diego, Cincinnati, San Diego (again), Cleveland, Boston, Chicago (Cubs), Toronto, and Texas. He’s seen just three major league games in the last two years, and he’s spent 2014 getting knocked around in Triple-A for the Rangers. He’ll report to Albuquerque and try to avoid the same fate. Good luck with that, I guess.
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