Dodgers at Angels 7:10 p.m.

  • Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
  • Casey Blake, 3B
  • Andre Ethier, RF
  • Matt Kemp, CF
  • James Loney, 1B
  • Aaron Miles, 2B
  • Trent Oeltjen, DH
  • A.J. Ellis, C
  • Dee Gordon, SS
  • (Hiroki Kuroda, P)

On the day that Esteban Loaiza is getting his well-deserved place on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars, our thoughts turn to Hiroki Kuroda, who as Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. notes, could use a little homage.

… Despite pitching relatively well in his five starts (2.12 ERA, 3.65 FIP, and 3.46 xFIP; his best month of the season in all three categories), Kuroda never won. The Dodgers scored a total of seven runs in his five starts, and Kuroda was saddled with an 0-4 record during June.

Kuroda starts tonight for the Dodgers as they open a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels. With just 2.9 runs per start, Kuroda ranks 67th among 71 qualified pitchers in run support in the National League. He will look to snap a dubious streak tonight, as only two Dodgers since 1919 have had more consecutive starts allowing two earned runs without picking up a win. …

… His adjusted ERA (ERA+) is 111 in his career. There have been 31 pitchers in baseball since the beginning of 2008 to put up a 110 ERA+ or higher in at least 500 innings, and Kuroda is the only won with a losing record. There are 37 starting pitchers with at least 10 FanGraphs WAR during that span, including Kuroda and his 11.1 Wins Above Replacement. Of those 37 pitchers, only Kuroda and Javier Vasquez (41-44) have losing records. …

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Idle thought … I’m wondering what the attendance would be at Dodger Stadium if there were any games during Carmageddon Weekend on July 16-17: