Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers and Pirates are playing the rubber game of this 3-game series waaaay to early in the morning. After slugfest last night, we might see a little more “normal” baseball today.
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Dodgers
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Pirates
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9:35 a.m.
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Pittsburgh
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LF
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Pederson |
2B
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Harrison | |
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3B
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Muncy |
RF
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Polanco | |
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C
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Grandal |
CF
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Marte | |
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RF
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Kemp |
1B
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Bell | |
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1B
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Bellinger |
LF
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Dickerson | |
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SS
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Taylor |
3B
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Moran | |
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2B
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Valera | C | Diaz | |
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CF
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Hernandez |
SS
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Mercer | |
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P
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Santana (R)
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P
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Taillon (R)
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Dennis Santana is making his first MLB start after pitching in relief on Friday in Colorado. Unlike Caleb Ferguson — who clearly isn’t ready for the majors and has been optioned back to Triple-A — Santana is a more advanced and, frankly, better prospect. So, I’m not as concerned with him handling things as I was with Ferguson.
Don’t get be wrong, Ferguson is a really good pitching prospect and he showed glimpses of that last night, but at 21 and without a true swing-and-miss offering (the curveball showed pretty poorly last night, but it’s usually better), it was a tough assignment for him. More seasoning in Triple-A will do him some good.
Daniel wrote about Santana’s first outing and why there were some reasons for optimism, despite getting hit around a bit in Coors Field.
This is a pretty standard getaway day lineup. Breyvic Valera is getting the start at second base for Logan Forsythe, which is fine. Justin Turner is sitting again today after missing Monday’s game as well. His wrist is bothering him and while it might be a normal part of the recovery, it’s still a bummer. He has just an 86 wRC+ since his return from the fractured wrist, so an extra day off here and there isn’t the worst thing. Matt Kemp and Cody Bellinger have both had big series to date, and we’ll see if they can continue that trend against the Pirates’ best starter in Jameson Taillon.
The 26-year-old has been a bit up-and-down this season, but he’s still pitching to a 3.63 FIP, getting nearly 53 percent ground balls and striking out 22 percent of the hitters he has faced. It’ll be a tough assignment for the Dodgers this morning/afternoon.
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Pedro Baez and Edward Paredes will be active for today’s game. Tony Cingrani is headed to the disabled list. Caleb Ferguson is headed back to minors.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) June 7, 2018
After Tony Cingrani‘s early exit last night, it’s not surprising to see him on the disabled list. Sigh. Edward Paredes takes his spot. And Pedro Baez‘s demotion to Triple-A was short-lived, as he’s back taking Ferguson’s spot. A couple fresh arms in the bullpen could help against a potential short outing from Santana.
Clayton Kershaw has resumed playing catch in Los Angeles, Dave Roberts said.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) June 7, 2018
Roberts said Clayton Kershaw is doing "moderate strength stuff" and playing catch. Had "a good week" in recovery from latest back injury #Dodgers
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 7, 2018
I guess this is good news. Who really knows at this point.
Dave Roberts said Kenta Maeda is progressing in his recovery from hip strain and has thrown off a mound. Return as early as #Dodgers Tue-Wed series v Rangers is "possible but not likely"
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) June 7, 2018
The sooner the Dodgers get Kenta Maeda back, the better. But there’s no reason to rush him, either.
Looking ahead…
Dodgers-Braves pitching matchups this weekend in LA:
FRI: Buehler/McCarthy
SAT: Wood/Sanchez
SUN: Stripling/Newcombe— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) June 7, 2018
The #Barves are good, but the Dodgers have the pitching advantage in, arguably, all three games, with the only question being Sunday’s game because Sean Newcomb has been good this season (but Ross Stripling has been better!).
