Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Prior to today’s game, Dave Roberts noted that we would see early on whether or not Scott Kazmir felt “good physically as far his fastball command and locating that changeup.” Both Roberts and Kazmir agreed that this was the case, and the results — 6+ IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K — were there to back them up.
“His fastball command was good, he kept the change down,” said Roberts. “He threw the ball really well. It was good to see.”
One of the scariest moments of the game was Corey Seager being hit on the right wrist. Seager went down for a few seconds, writhing with pain, before being examined by the trainer and taking his base.
Roberts assured reporters that Seager is fine, outside of a little bruising, and that the team would perform an X-ray as a precautionary measure. Seager later reported, with a bit of accidental — yet snappy — wordplay, that, “The X-rays were negative, so that’s a positive.” When asked if we’d see him in the lineup Friday, Seager confirmed, “Yup, that’s right.”
That sixth inning ended with a baserunning malfunction that turns out to have been a failed double steal attempt, Roberts explained.
I asked Seager if that play was something they’d worked on before, and whether or not he was expecting Roberts to call for it. “We’ve run that play a few times,” Seager answered. “It’s one of those things where you’re trying to steal a run right there, and unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had to attempt at one of those, so it’s kind of uncomfortable for me,” Josh Reddick said. “But I’ve gotta make the adjustment and be better at that. Once I see him throw the ball to second, I gotta be able to go. It’s just a matter of learning and adapting and adjusting to that kind of play … I’ll get my work in on that, and I won’t make that mistake again.”
Failed double steal attempt aside, it wasn’t a bad day for Reddick at the plate, as he notched his first multi-hit game as a Dodger. Reddick, now 4-for-32 with a pair of walks in his young Dodger career, doesn’t feel the need to press, as he’s “had good at bats, aside from a few” and is “hitting the ball pretty well, just right at some guys” (both Statcast and the eye test verify this).
“It can be really frustrating,” Reddick said, but the Dodgers having a good week overall “makes it that much easier to deal with, and I’m not gonna be the one that shows my personal frustrations, especially when the team’s winning.”
