Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers take on the Cardinals in a matinee, looking to take three of four from St. Louis. Last night’s loss was annoying (and even more so when you think about it), but if it takes a home run in the bottom of the eighth to lose to Carlos Martinez, then I’ll roll the dice on that every time.
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Dodgers
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Cardinals
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10:45 a.m.
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St. Louis
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CF
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Taylor |
CF
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Fowler | |
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SS
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Seager |
1B
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Carpenter | |
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LF
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Bellinger |
RF
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Piscotty | |
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1B
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Gonzalez |
3B
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Gyorko | |
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2B
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Utley |
C
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Molina | |
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3B
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Hernandez |
LF
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Pham | |
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C
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Barnes | 2B | DeJong | |
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RF
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Puig |
SS
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Diaz | |
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P
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McCarthy (R)
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P
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Wainwright (R) |
Brandon McCarthy gets the call against Adam Wainwright today. McCarthy is making his first start since shutting out the Cubs over six innings. He also left that game after six because of a sore knee, but as promised, he’s making his next start. With the bullpen, save Ross Stripling, getting a day off yesterday, it should be plenty rested if McCarthy struggles or his knee doesn’t allow him to go deep into the game. But here’s hoping it does because he has been fantastic this season: 3.28 ERA, 2.95 FIP, 47.3 GB%, 22.0 K%, 6.5 BB% and a 1.3 fWAR (third on the team behind Alex Wood and Clayton Kershaw — both 1.9).
Wainwright has been a bit better than his 4.20 ERA would indicate. He has a 3.43 FIP and a 48.8 GB%. He’s also been a bit unlucky with a .355 BABIP, which has contributed to an opponents batting average of .290.
McCarthy and Wainwright are similar pitchers — both are tall, both have similar mechanics and both have identical repertoires (velocity in parenthesis).
McCarthy pitch usage
FB: 46.1 (93.0)
CB: 21.4 (79.9)
CT: 28.4 (91.2)
CH: 4.2 (88.5)
Wainwright pitch usage
FB: 46.9 (90.5)
CB: 26.3 (73.6)
CT: 23.4 (85.6)
CH: 3.3 (82.5)
The biggest difference, as you can see, is velocity. So, expect to see a lot of this for as long as both pitchers are in the game.
I thought Cody Bellinger might get a day off in this series (especially after an 0-for-6, 4-strikeout performance on Tuesday), but he’s in the No. 3 spot toady because Yasmani Grandal is getting the day off. Other than that, it’s a pretty standard lineup these days for the Dodgers. It might be a better defensive alignment with Enrique Hernandez in center field and Chris Taylor at third base, but Taylor isn’t going to get better in center without reps.
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Onto the news, and there are two key items.
Adam Liberatore is headed back to the disabled list with left forearm tightness.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) June 1, 2017
That’s not good because:
.@adamlib21 will see ElAttrache and see if forearm tightness is sign of elbow issue. Flying to LA today.
— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) June 1, 2017
Adam Liberatore has been up-and-down this season, and forearm tightness is never a good thing. It’s an indicator of future Tommy John surgery, though it isn’t a 100 percent certainty. Grant Dayton has been recalled to take his spot. With Luis Avilan still out (for an unknown amount of time), Dayton is going to have to rediscover his magic from last season if the Dodgers are to have an effective lefty in the bullpen.
Justin Marks is on the 40-man (claimed from TB). Colt Hynes, Michael Johnson and Patrick Schuster are the only others close.
— Dustin Nosler (@DustinNosler) June 1, 2017
Honestly, I’m not particularly interested in seeing any of those guys on the active roster. If Liberatore is down for an extended period of time and Dayton doesn’t figure things out, the Dodgers might target a left-handed reliever sometime next month.
If that news wasn’t bad enough, there’s this:
Alex Wood also flew home to get examined by team doctors. His condition hasn't improved as quickly as the team hoped.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) June 1, 2017
But, it doesn’t sound as bad as it could be.
Dave Roberts said he is not concerned about structural damage to Alex Wood's shoulder. The discomfort is in his sternum.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) June 1, 2017
Still not great, but much better than it being in his shoulder. With Hyun-Jin Ryu coming off his best start of the season, there’s no reason to rush Wood back. His rotation spot will be here when he’s healthy.
