Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers (78-65) stepped up and won two of three in Colorado over the weekend, inching them within a 1/2 game of the NL West lead. Now they look to fire off a bunch of dongs at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati as they take on the last-place Reds (61-83) for a three-game set starting Monday.
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Dodgers
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Reds
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3:40 PM
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Cincinnati
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LF
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Taylor |
CF
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Hamilton | |
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3B
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Turner |
SS
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Peraza | |
| SS | Machado |
1B
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Votto | |
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RF
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Kemp |
3B
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Suarez | |
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1B
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Freese |
2B
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Gennett | |
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CF
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Hernandez |
LF
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Ervin | |
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C
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Grandal | C | Barnhart | |
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2B
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Dozier |
RF
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Dixon | |
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P
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Wood (L)
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P
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Reed (L)
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Alex Wood (8-6, 3.37 ERA, 3.49 FIP) was pushed back to open the series in Cincinnati, because Dave Roberts thought he would fare better at Great American Dong Park as a groundball pitcher (49.2 GB%). In fact, Wood has pitched well (2-0, 1.32 ERA, 0.805 WHIP) in his two career starts at Great American Ball Park, although the last time he pitched there was on June 6, 2017. He’s 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 0.852 WHIP against the Reds in five career games (four starts). He’ll of course have to be wary of the always dangerous Joey Votto who’s 4-for-11 (.364) with a double and a home run against Wood. Votto, who turns 35 today, is still pretty darn good. He’s leading the NL in on-base percentage (.421) and is slashing .336/.421/.583/1.004 with 14 home runs in 247 at-bats and 68 career games vs. the Dodgers.
Wood allowed one run on five hits in five innings against the Mets seven days ago for a no-decision. He wasn’t as sharp as he normally was, but he did induce a lot of weak contact. That’s something Roberts is looking for him to repeat at GABP. Unfortunately the three-run homer served up to Brandon Nimmo by Kenta Maeda in the ninth plus the offense’s paltry 1-for-7 with RISP performance doomed the Dodgers in the end. Despite the bullpen and offense problems, Wood has been solid in the second half. He’s 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his last seven starts.
The Dodgers face yet another left-hander in Cody Reed (0-2, 4.81 ERA, 4.72 FIP), but the Reds have yet to win a game in his 14 career starts with Cincinnati. Monday’s series opener will mark his fourth start of the season and the first time he’s ever faced the Dodgers. He’s pitched a lot better at home (3.27 ERA in five games), but he’s really struggled against right-handed batters (.308).
Reed is coming off a 7-3 loss Tuesday to the Pirates in his first start since April 9. He gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings in Pittsburgh after going 4-8 with a 3.92 ERA in 17 starts with Triple-A Louisville. This will be his 15th career start since his MLB debut in 2016 which came a year after Cincy acquired him from the Royals in the Johnny Cueto trade.
Matt Kemp and David Freese are the only current Dodgers to have faced Reed. Kemp has one hit off the southpaw in three at-bats.
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The Dodgers recalled Julio Urias from Triple-A Oklahoma City. They now have 36 players on the active roster.
Julio Urias is here for appearances, likely one inning outings at a time. He’ll be out in in lower leverage situations.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) September 10, 2018
Some updates on Kenley Jansen were made.
Kenley Jansen said he met with his cardiologist Thursday and Friday and underwent an MRI as part of planning for surgery. Will do it 2 weeks after #Dodgers season ends (whenever that is)
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 10, 2018
Jansen is back on the medication he was on, but a lower dosage, which is not negatively affecting him physically. He said he’s ready for 1+ innings tonight.
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) September 10, 2018
Jansen spent the weekend watching the Dodgers on tv. When he got frustrated on Saturday, he switched the channel to watch “Friday After Next.”
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 10, 2018
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The Dodgers have won 11 of their last 15, and they have scored 11 or more runs in four of those games during that stretch. The Reds are pretty terrible, and they’re already eliminated from the NL Central division. Yet the Dodgers were swept by the Reds embarrassingly in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium back in May. The Dodgers, with Kenley Jansen back and available, should use these games at GABP as dong fuel in order to gain ground in the NL West before they embark on a very difficult four-game series in St. Louis later this week.
