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By Jon Weisman
On Tuesday in Oakland, Clayton Kershaw and A.J. Ellis had big games, but they went for naught in an extra-inning defeat. Today in Houston, it happened again in a 3-2, 10-inning loss to Houston — the Dodgers’ fifth straight loss.
https://twitter.com/kikehndez/status/634472849575555072
By Jon Weisman
Kiké Hernandez is looking like the Dodgers’ starting center fielder for the time being, supplanting Joc Pederson today even with a right-hander, Lance McCullers, on the mound for Houston.
Don Mattingly told reporters today that Pederson “is going to be a good player for a long time,” praising his work ethic and willingness to make adjustments, but feels Hernandez is swinging the bat better now and doesn’t cost them significantly on defense.
Pederson has started 110 of the Dodgers’ 122 games this season, and this is the second time all year he has begun the game on the bench two games in a row. Pederson didn’t start July 31-August 1 against the Angels, in a weekend that was overtly designated for him to regroup, but those games were against lefties.
The 23-year-old actually has a .413 on-base percentage this month, thanks to 20 walks, but it has been dragged down by a .122 batting average (.130 on balls in play). He has two singles, a double and two homers in 41 at-bats.
With five walks in the Dodgers’ four games this past week, Pederson has reached base as much as any other Dodger despite going 0 for 7. In his only game, A.J. Ellis homered and had four walks.
Pederson pinch-hit in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Astros and hit a 105 mph lineout to center field.
This is Hernandez’s 12th consecutive start for the Dodgers (three in center field, eight at second base and one at shortstop). He has a .349 on-base percentage and .425 slugging percentage in that time, with a .379 batting average on balls in play, though he is 0 for 5 in the Houston series.
Hernandez has a .624 OPS against righties in 106 plate appearances this season, after a .796 OPS in 99 plate appearances against righties last season.
Chase Utley, whose arrival Friday is one of the dominoes contributing to Pederson’s current status, went 0 for 4 Friday but looked fit Saturday, with a double and good athleticism on defense and running the bases.
By Jon Weisman
Yasiel Puig is back in action today for the Dodgers, who will look to end their 0-for-27, 2-for-56 slump at the plate today at Houston.
Sidelined recently by a mild right hamstring strain, Puig actually brings a five-game hitting streak into the game. He is 6 for his last 17 with two walks and a homer, for a .950 OPS.
Zack Greinke is 4 for 6 this month with two homers, but the designated hitter rule leaves his bat in the rack. The past two times the Dodgers have been no-hit, they have been using DHs (Juan Rivera and Chase Utley).
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By Jon Weisman
The last two times Chase Utley has played in a Dodger game, he has been on the losing end of a no-hitter.
First was May 25, 2014, when Utley made the final out in Josh Beckett’s no-hitter against the Phillies. Then came tonight.
In his first game with his new team, Utley grounded out to the right side three times and flied out once, though that made him only one of nine players who failed to record a single, double, triple or home run against Houston’s Mike Fiers. That’s the long way of saying that the Dodgers were no-hit for the first time since June 8, 2012, when five Seattle relievers (including Brandon League) finished up the final three no-hit innings for injured starter Kevin Milwood.
Final score: Houston 3, Los Angeles 0.
Three Dodgers walked: Justin Turner with two out in the first inning, Andre Ethier to start the second and Joc Pederson to begin the third. None reached second base, and Fiers retired 21 in a row after Pederson’s base on balls.
Houston left an equal number of baserunners and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, but two home runs — by Jake Marisnick with Chris Carter on first base in the second inning, and a solo shot by Evan Gattis in the sixth — prevented the Dodgers from extending their bid for a hit to extra innings.
On his 120th pitch, Fiers got his fifth consecutive strikeout to end the eighth inning. Fiers’ previous career high for pitches in a game was 113.
In the ninth, Jimmy Rollins hit Fiers’ 126th pitch to the warning track in right field for the Dodgers’ loudest out of the night. Utley hit the 129th pitch for another fly to right. And on a 2-2 fastball that was his 134th pitch, Turner swung and missed.
In their past two games, the Dodgers are 2 for 56 with a double, homer and five walks.
Entering tonight, Fiers had allowed 134 hits in 135 innings in 2015 with Milwaukee and Houston. The Astros acquired him on July 30.
The last time the Dodgers were no-hit in Houston, by Nolan Ryan on September 26, 1981, they won a World Series a month later.
No. 26, Chase Utley pic.twitter.com/ZPCynXYOOc
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2015
By Jon Weisman
Chase Utley’s Dodger initiation will come solely at the plate, as the new acquisition will serve as designated hitter for tonight’s series opener at Houston.
Utley has already DHed twice this year for the Phillies, going 1 for 6 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch against the Yankees and Orioles. Lifetime, he is 4 for 17 as a DH with one homer, nine years ago.
Yasiel Puig might see action at DH before the weekend is over, Don Mattingly has told reporters. Puig is nursing a minor right hamstring strain.
Brett Anderson, Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy and A.J. Ellis at Camelback Ranch in February.
Brandon McCarthy made a guest-writing appearance on Buster Olney’s ESPN Insider column today and provided great stuff on Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. Here’s a small sample:
Kershaw is an extreme perfectionist. He’s fanatical about his routine. It’s set in stone and everything that needs to be done to prepare for his next start will be done on time with maximal effort. Once he’s at the field there is no one easier to find than Clayton. You don’t have to see him to know exactly where he is at any given time, you just have to know his routine.
Finding Greinke however, is like trying to find the wind. He’s found only when he makes himself discoverable. He describes his routine as being based on feel. Some days that means he needs to do eight sets of squats. Other days it means using a foam roller for an hour in a far corner of the weight room while reading a magazine. He disappears for hours at a time. He wanders around carrying a plate of food like he’s at an outdoor cocktail party. He’ll watch video when a certain player happens to be on his mind. A “routine” like this is usually a major red flag about a player. The best players in the game typically are known to live and die by their routine, but nobody knows what Zack needs better than Zack, so his anti-routine is never called into question.
— Jon Weisman
By Jon Weisman
The latest issue of the Hollywood Reporter, dedicated to philanthropy, includes a feature by Scott Feinberg on the Hollywood Indies Little League, which is supported by Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.
An excerpt:
The largest little league program in L.A. county, HILL was founded in 1994 by lifelong Angeleno and die-hard baseball fan Stan Brooks, 57, the director and Emmy-winning producer (Broken Trail) of many TV films and miniseries, including this year’s The Lizzie Borden Chronicles for Lifetime. “I was sitting in my office 22 years ago and I read an L.A. Times story about how the board of supervisors was cutting funding for parks and rec,” he recalls. “The first thing to go was going to be baseball because it’s such an expensive sport.” …
… Support from the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation — which, through the nationwide RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner-Cities) initiative, provides funding, uniforms, equipment, health resources and an annual field trip to Dodger Stadium to take in a game — has been integral to HILL’s success. “The opportunity to use sports to engage kids — kids who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity or who otherwise really wouldn’t be seen — is intriguing to us,” says Nichol Whiteman, executive director of the Foundation.
Over the years, various members of the Dodgers organization have taken hands-on roles with the league, making opening day appearances, teaching clinics and giving pep talks, including Mike Piazza, Tommy Lasorda, Tim Leary and, most recently, star outfielder Carl Crawford. “I played in RBI programs,” says Crawford, 34, whom the Dodgers acquired from the Red Sox in 2012. (He helped to carry an RBI team from Houston to the 1997 RBI World Series.) “I love being around the kids and I just try to give them words of encouragement. You want to give them the same types of chances that you had.” …
By Jon Weisman
In the wake of tonight’s acquisition of Chase Utley, Dodger general manager Farhan Zaidi spoke on a conference call with reporters. Here are some selected quotes …
To make room for Chase Utley on the 25-man and 40-man rosters, the Dodgers have designated infielder Alberto Callaspo for assignment. A solid fielder at third base, Callaspo had a .336 on-base percentage and .301 slugging percentage in 138 plate appearances for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers retain pitchers Ian Thomas, Juan Jaime and Eric Stults from the Juan Uribe/Chris Withrow trade.
– Jon Weisman
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By Jon Weisman
On Monday, MLB.com Statcast analyst and Dodger Insider magazine contributor Mike Petriello wrote about a key reason general managers might be interested in Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, who has for most of 2015 been having the worst season of his career.
Forget the .213 batting average, this chart shows why teams are still interested in Chase Utley. pic.twitter.com/odK2Qt24L6
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 17, 2015
“Utley’s average exit velocity jumped more than five full mph (since returning from the disabled list),” wrote Petriello, “and his average batted-ball distance increased more than 25 feet. In 28 plate appearances since returning, he’s got 13 hits, including six extra-base hits. To put that into context, Utley has just 18 extra-base hits all year long; a full one-third of them have come in the last week.”
Combine that with Utley’s long-term track record in regular-season and postseason play, and the never-ending desire to upgrade the active roster, and you have an inkling why the Dodgers traded minor leaguers Darnell Sweeney and John Richy to the Phillies today for Utley and cash considerations.
Utley’s presence will supplement the Dodgers off the bench and in the infield, especially while second baseman Howie Kendrick remains injured, freeing Kiké Hernandez to roam the diamond more. The Dodgers have not announced who will vacate the 25-man roster to make room for Utley.
Drafted by the Dodgers in 1997, Utley chose instead to attend UCLA, as this 2008 Times story by Bill Shaikin relates. After signing as a first-round pick with the Phillies in 2000 and making his MLB debut in 2003, Utley would go on to have a .366 on-base percentage and .481 slugging percentage in 6,617 plate appearances.
In 2014, had a .339 OBP and slugged .407, before falling to .257/.275 this year until he went on the DL on June 22. In his return, he is 15 for 31 with a 1.227 OPS.
Sweeney, a 24-year-old infielder-outfielder taken in the 13th round of the 2012 draft, has a .332 on-base percentage and .409 slugging percentage for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 32 steals (in 45 attempts).
The 23-year-old Richy, a third-round selection in last year’s draft, has a 4.20 ERA in 124 1/3 innings this year for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga with 105 strikeouts against 181 baserunners.
Today’s acquisition, of course, reunites Utley with his longtime double-play partner in Philadelphia, shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Both players will be free agents after this season. The last pitch Utley saw as a Dodger opponent was the final pitch of Josh Beckett’s no-hitter on May 25, 2014.
It was only two Augusts ago that the Dodgers acquired another 36-year-old infielder from Philadelphia: Michael Young. The long-time Ranger, short-time National Leaguer hit .314 with the Dodgers in 53 plate appearances, though with only one walk and three extra-base hits. Young then went 1 for 10 in the playoffs.
In August 2006, the Dodgers had unqualified success with another former Phillies infielder, Marlon Anderson. Coming over from the Nationals at age 32, Anderson hit .375/.431/.813 in 73 plate appearances, including his 5-for-5, two-homer extravaganza in the 4+1 game.
And continuing with the NL East in August theme, there was Ronnie Belliard in 2008. Another National expatriate, the 34-year-old Belliard hit .351/.398/.636 to finish the regular season, then batted .300 with hits in all eight Dodger playoff games, including the tying RBI in the ninth inning of the Dodgers’ National League Division Series Game 2 comeback win.
The two minor-leaguers sent by the Dodgers to Philadelphia for Rollins have nearly completed their first seasons for Double-A Reading. Starting pitcher Zach Eflin, a 21-year-old righty, has a 3.43 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 4.5 K/9 in 107 2/3 innings, while 23-year-old lefty Tom Windle has a 4.47 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 5.9 K/9 in 90 2/3 innings. Windle was moved to the bullpen June 30 after starting his first 14 games.
Yimi Garcia (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
Even amid the struggles of the bullpen over the past two months, Tuesday’s loss to Oakland after leading 4-1 in the eighth hit the Dodgers (like their fans) particularly hard.
As I write this, members of the bullpen are having an unusual on-field meeting out in right field of Oakland’s O.co Coliseum. Bullpen coach Chuck Crim is leading the meeting, according to KLAC’s David Vassegh, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles added that “Kenley Jansen is doing a lot of talking.”
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By Jon Weisman
Some notes to pass along after a tough 5-4, 10-inning Dodger loss to the A’s tonight …
Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Don Mattingly told reporters today that Mat Latos would pitch out of the bullpen during this roadtrip, with Alex Wood moving up to start Wednesday at Oakland.
Latos has allowed 21 baserunners while striking out eight in 14 2/3 innings since being acquired by the Dodgers. He pitched six innings of one-run ball in his Dodger debut August 2, but allowed 10 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings over his next two starts.
The move also could help ensure Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw both pitch in the series against the Giants at Dodger Stadium from August 31-September 2, though obviously that is still a couple weeks off.
Prediction: @yungjoc650 starts in seven different spots in the batting order during the 2015 regular season.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) March 25, 2015
By Jon Weisman
It took a bit less than five months for my Spring Training prediction to come true.
With the Dodgers using the designated hitter tonight at Oakland, Joc Pederson is batting ninth — the seventh different batting slot he has started at in 2015.
Chronologically, here’s when he’s made his first appearance at each …
The chances of Pederson batting third or fourth this year seem pretty slim as long as Adrian Gonzalez is playing, because Gonzalez bats nowhere but third and fourth, and Don Mattingly isn’t likely to bat lefties Pederson and Gonzalez back-to-back, even once Pederson regains his form from earlier this year. However, it’s certainly possible, especially if the Dodgers were to clinch a division title before the end of the season.
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