Postgame – Page 3 – Dodger Thoughts

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By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers are on a little streak of happy starting pitching, at least by 2016 standards. For the 14th time in their past 15 games, their opening hurler reached the five-inning checkpoint — not Koufaxian by any means, but the majority of the game nonetheless.

This is happening while the franchise currently employs 14 relievers — no, that’s no lie — on its active roster. So with an off day beckoning in a close game, Dave Roberts played himself some cards.

The Dodgers used six relievers to handle the sixth through eighth innings, before Kenley Jansen closed the ninth for a 3-1 victory and series sweep over Arizona.

Los Angeles fared far better than San Francisco, which employed eight relievers tonight at Colorado and still blew a 5-3 lead in the ninth, to fall a season-high five games behind the Dodgers in the National League West.

Following fellow freshmen Jose De Leon, Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling, right-hander Brock Stewart gave the Dodgers four consecutive victories by rookie starting pitchers, unprecedented in Dodger history.

Storied Corey leads Dodgers to latest glory

By Jon Weisman

On September 6, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Corey Seager, who among his many other achievements is on pace to break Mike Piazza’s 23-year-old Dodger rookie record for on-base percentage, was one of four Dodgers with two hits apiece in the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory over Arizona.

Homer-happy Dodgers make it rain against Greinke

By Jon Weisman

On September 5, 2016

In Offense, Postgame

Adrián González, Corey Seager and Yasmani Grandal hit three of the Dodgers’ five homers. (Photos: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

In distance, they measured 2,025 feet. On the Richter scale, they might as well have been a 10.

Zack Greinke, the darling of Dodger Stadium for three seasons, was punished in his former home like a Rock’Em Sock’Em Robot.

Five home runs off Greinke — a career-high, including four in the fifth inning — shook Chavez Ravine and sent the Dodgers to a 10-2 victory over Arizona tonight.

With San Francisco shut out in Colorado today, Los Angeles leads the National League West by a season-high four games.

The Dodgers’ five leaders in home runs each took Greinke deep — Adrián González (17) with a man on base in the fourth inning, followed by Joc Pederson (20), Corey Seager (24, with two aboard), Justin Turner (25) and feature creature Yasmani Grandal (24).

Debuting De León delights for Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On September 4, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

After his first big-league game, Jose De León has a 6.00 ERA, a number that doesn’t come close to reflecting how good he looked Sunday.

De León, who struck out 33 with no walks in his final three minor-league games this year, became the first Dodger pitcher ever to strike out nine and walk none in his MLB debut, a 7-4 victory over San Diego.

The 24-year-old, who became the first ever to wear No. 87 for the Dodgers, had the most strikeouts in a big-league initiation for the Dodgers since Kaz Ishii in 2002.

Toles takes Dodgers from milder to wilder

By Jon Weisman

On August 31, 2016

In Farewells, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Andrew Toles found the golden ticket.

Impossible to believe even as it was happening right in front of us. Joe Davis making the call into his mic, TV capturing the dramatic picture.

Do you believe in Mira-Toles?! YES!

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 1, 2016

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

The Dodgers, who scored three runs in their first 25 innings at Coors Field this week and trailed 8-2 after seven innings in their series finale with the Rockies, rode the Wonkavator to three runs in the eighth and five in the ninth — capped by Andrew Toles’ everlasting gobstopper of a grand slam — to a 10-8 victory over Colorado.

In a week-long performance that resembled a Broadway show purposefully designed to be the worst it could possibly be, the Dodgers shocked expectations (spookily similar to Alex Guerrero’s ninth-inning grand slam last season) by bringing their fans to their feet.

Baseball update: still baseball.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 1, 2016

This Dodger team, a veritable young Frankenstein for all the ways it has been reconstituted during this injury-plagued, transaction-filled season, delivered a “Puttin’ on the Ritz” finish thanks to Toles, whose remarkable rise from Single-A ball now has him batting .397 with a .463 on-base percentage while slugging .690 on the big stage.

Let’s not go stir-crazy: Toles isn’t about to unseat Corey Seager for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. But for all the publicity that Yankees freshman Gary Sanchez is getting in New York, Toles leads Sanchez and all other late arrivals (minimum 50 plate appearances, in other words) in on-base percentage, holds similarly gold-medal status in batting average and is riding a silver streak to second in slugging percentage.

Andrew Toles is, as my wife likes to say, "insanity sauce."

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 1, 2016

For the Dodgers, it was thievery worthy of Bonnie and Clyde. Major League teams had lost 448 out of 449 games this year when trailing by at least six runs after the seventh inning. According to Elias Sports, this franchise rallied from a similar deficit against the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 — this is only the fourth time they’ve done so in 117 years since.

Did the Dodgers need any help? Oh, all they could get. And they got it, with a string of hits and walks leading up to the opposite-field blast by the Way-to-Go Kid.

Postgame (revised)

By Jon Weisman

On August 31, 2016

In Postgame

This is as far as I went when I started to write in the top of the eighth inning. Then I decided to just wait … pic.twitter.com/n95dGmegtR

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 1, 2016

happy

Dodgers can’t escape shutout in Coors Field lidlifter

By Jon Weisman

On August 31, 2016

In Postgame

DJ LeMahieu slides ahead of the tag from catcher Carlos Ruiz on a double off the bat of Nolan Arenado in the first inning at Coors Field. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

By Jon Weisman

Someday, we won’t even remember this latest Dodger offensive slump. Someday soon. Maybe even tonight, when the Dodgers play the second game of their doubleheader in Colorado.

Dodgers rained out — doubleheader Wednesday

By Jon Weisman

On August 30, 2016

In Postgame

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After a 155-minute delay, the Dodgers and Rockies had their scheduled game of American rounders postponed. The two teams will play a split doubleheader at 12:10 p.m. and 5:10 p.m. Pacific Time, with Ross Stripling taking the day game and Rich Hill the nightcap.

— Jon Weisman

Dodgers plunked at Coors Field, 8-1

By Jon Weisman

On August 29, 2016

In Health/injuries, Postgame

Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

By Jon Weisman

The best part of tonight’s game at Colorado for the Dodgers is that Corey Seager didn’t appear to be seriously hurt by either of the two pitches that hit him.

Slim Winmen: Dodgers win squeaker over Cubs

By Jon Weisman

On August 28, 2016

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Three nailbiters later, the Dodgers are the team with their digits intact.

While the Giants were taking two out of three games from the Braves, the National League’s worst team, the Dodgers held serve against the Cubs, the league’s best team. An eighth-inning run — scored without the aid of a hit — gave the Dodgers a 1-0 victory today over Chicago.

Rookie pitcher Brock Stewart was far from the game at that point, but he deserved the most credit. In his first career start at Dodger Stadium, Stewart dazzled, striking out eight — including six batters in a row at one point — in five innings of shutout ball.

Stewart also had his first Major League hit in the third inning, meaning that in this series against the Cubs, all three Dodger starting pitchers singled.

Julio Urías strikes again in Dodger win

By Jon Weisman

On August 27, 2016

In Postgame

By Jon Weisman

Despite allowing the first three batters against him to reach base for a run, Julio Urías matched career highs with six innings an eight strikeouts, pitching the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Cubs.

Since facing the Cubs in his second career start June 2, Urías has a 2.93 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings. He also had his third career big-league hit.

For the year, Urías has fanned 10.0 batters per nine innings — the highest single-season K/9 rate in the Majors among pitchers age 20-and-under (minimum 50 innings) since Dwight Gooden in 1984, and the highest in Dodger history.

Corey Seager hit his 23rd homer to tie the game in the bottom of the first, breaking Glenn Wright’s 86-year-old franchise record for home funs (no typo) by a shortstop.

Perhaps for the last time, Vin Scully takes us into the ninth inning of a no-hit attempt

By Jon Weisman

On August 25, 2016

In Postgame

Vin Scully in the booth at Dodger Stadium, earlier this month. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

Vin Scully is the king of calling no-hitters, after all. So, nearing the climax of his farewell season, maybe the baseball gods felt it was time for one more for the road.

At the end of a head-spinning day at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers were nealry no-hit for the third time in the past two seasons and the second time at Dodger Stadium in the past 362 days, with Matt Moore coming one out shy of completing the feat in a 4-0 San Francisco Giants victory.

Below, you’ll find some of the words Scully shared with us, in the twilight of his magical career.

Dodgers find their thrill in Richard Joseph Hill

By Jon Weisman

On August 24, 2016

In Pitching, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

Sweetly, sometimes softly, Rich Hill mixed his pitches, his curveball surveying the scenic route, his fastball sufficiently startling.

And a team starved for starting pitching suddenly has had two superb outings this week from left-handers.

With six shutout innings, Hill duplicated the Sunday feat of Julio Urías — not to mention Hill’s only previous appearance at Dodger Stadium, in 2007 — and the Dodgers edged the San Francisco Giants, 1-0.