Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Last night’s game was pretty good. The Padres enter today’s game with as many hits in Mexico this season as 28 other MLB teams. Walker Buehler looked great. The bullpen trio of Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore held the Padres hitless over the final three innings to secure the 12th combined no-hitter in baseball history and the first in Dodger history. On a micro scale, it also gave the Dodgers a three-game winning streak with a chance for their second four-game winning streak of the season.
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Dodgers
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Padres
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4:10 PM
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Monterrey
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SS
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Taylor |
CF
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Jankowski | |
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LF
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Verdugo |
1B
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Hosmer | |
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C
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Grandal |
3B
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Villanueva | |
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1B
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Bellinger |
RF
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Cordero | |
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RF
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Kemp |
C
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Lopez | |
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CF
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Pederson |
LF
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Pirela | |
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2B
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Utley | SS | Galvis | |
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3B
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Muncy |
2B
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Asuaje | |
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P
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Maeda (R)
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P
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Mitchell (R)
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Kenta Maeda is coming off a rough start in San Francisco. In the first inning, Maeda got two quick outs before allowing a double, walk and home run to put the Dodgers behind early. He allowed another two-out rally for a run in the third inning, but bounced back to get through six innings surrendering the four runs. Maeda allowed at least one baserunner in each of his six innings and matched his career-high with four walks. Despite the struggles, Maeda got through six innings for the second consecutive start.
Maeda faced the Padres in San Diego earlier this season and set a career-high in pitches thrown with 106. He needed 106 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings and he allowed four runs, but struck out 10 and got the win as the offense exploded for a 13-4 win. Pitch count has been the main issue for Maeda so far this season, but he’s been a solid starter overall.
The same can’t be said about Padres’ starter Bryan Mitchell. Mitchell was acquired by the Padres from the Yankees as they took on Chase Headley‘s contract, and he’s struggled this season. He had a start against the Houston Astros during which he walked six but scattered only three hits and shut the Astros out through 5 2/3 innings, but other than that it hasn’t been pretty. He’s allowed at least three runs in five of his six starts, and his 23 walks issued is tied for the most in baseball. In 29 2/3 innings, Mitchell has walked 23 and only struck out 14, so the Dodgers’ patience should cause him issues today.
Mitchell’s longest start of the season came against the Dodgers in San Diego on April 17. He went six innings and allowed five hits and three runs, giving him the bare minimum for his first quality start since 2016. Matt Kemp was responsible for the three runs off Mitchell with a two-run homer in the first inning and a sac fly in the fifth.
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Seager is heading back to his offseason home of North Carolina. The surgery went as expected and was a success. Seager is expected to make a full recovery from Tommy John Surgery.
— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) May 5, 2018
Corey Seager‘s elbow didn’t fall off, so everything there appears to be as fine as it can be.
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Roberts said that he expects Walker Buehler to remain in the rotation going forward.
— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) May 5, 2018
This seemed obvious enough for it to not even need to be confirmed, but Buehler is remaining in the rotation for the time being. With Rich Hill slated to return tomorrow, Buehler will take the spot of Hyun-Jin Ryu, who went down with a torn groin earlier this week. Buehler is averaging just over five innings per start. In March, Dave Roberts reportedly placed Buehler’s innings goal at roughly 140-150 this season. With 29 innings in his arm this season (16 Major League, 13 Minor League), Buehler would have roughly 22 more starts at 5 IP/start before reaching 140. Hopefully, they don’t jerk him around like they did Julio Urias.
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The no-hitter was fun last night, but controversy surrounds it.
Media: How a Dodgers high-five raises objectivity concerns https://t.co/4FJsoF7cAd pic.twitter.com/o1bXhvMLHQ
— San Gabriel Valley Tribune (@SGVTribune) May 5, 2018
HOW DARE SHE. Imagine thinking a high-five is a big deal.
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Today’s game will be shown on SNLA and FS1 without blackouts. Can’t wait to watch and listen to the always-impartial commentary.
Writing this now as opposed to after the million times Hershiser has said "we" on the broadcast sure looks like a sexist double-standard to me. https://t.co/2lk68XLj7I
— Daniel Brim (@DanielBrim) May 5, 2018
