Andre Ethier – Page 5 – Dodger Thoughts

Tag: Andre Ethier (Page 5 of 12)

Andre Ethier starts ahead of Yasiel Puig in NLDS Game 4

On October 7, 2014

For more photos from Monday, visit LA Photog Blog.

Dodgers at Cardinals, 2:07 p.m.
Dodgers
Dee Gordon, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Andre Ethier, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
–
Cardinals
Matt Carpenter, 3B
Randal Grichuk, RF
Matt Holliday, LF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Matt Adams, 1B
Yadier Molina, C
Jon Jay, CF
Kolten Wong, 2B
Shelby Miller, P

By Jon Weisman

Yasiel Puig, who has a .774 OPS in the National League Division Series but has struck out in eight of his past nine at-bats, has been replaced in the Dodger starting lineup by Andre Ethier.

Ethier will bat sixth, while left fielder Carl Crawford moves up to the No. 2 spot behind Dee Gordon.

Since August 29, Ethier has made one start in a game that had meaning for the Dodgers, going 0 for 2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch September 7 against Arizona. In his final 46 plate appearances of the regular season, Ethier went 12 for 39 with a .413 on-base percentage and .436 slugging percentage, then went 1 for 2 in Game 1 of the NLDS.

* * *

A few pieces related to starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw to pass along.

While A.J. Cassavell breaks down the risks of pitching on three days’ rest at MLB.com, Russell A. Carleton at Baseball Prospectus notes that the Cardinals do not own Clayton Kershaw.

… When we look at Kershaw’s performance against the Cardinals, we see that his BABIP is quite high at .343. I know that during the postseason everyone likes to pretend that games are won and lost based on magical fairy dust, grit, and character. But frankly, a lot of what drives a baseball game is dumb luck. That’s not comfortable for people to hear, but the sooner that you accept that, the sooner we can have a real conversation about baseball. …

Clayton Kershaw has gotten very unlucky over the last four years against the St. Louis Cardinals, and luck is not a character trait. Luck just kinda happens. If you made bets on a series of coin flips and won seven in a row, that would be an unlikely event (though possible). Yes, you still have the money you just won in your pocket, but it’s not because you have a special skill for calling coin flips or because you are a morally righteous person. You caught a run of good luck. Congrats. Don’t expect it to last. …

On switching outfielders

By Jon Weisman

On September 11, 2014

In Managing, Offense

For more photo highlights from Wednesday, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

I remember thinking in 2008, when Andruw Jones was in an ugly slump, that the Dodgers had no choice but to stick with him, because they weren’t going to win anything if he didn’t right himself. And then, as it turned out, the Dodgers created another choice, named Manny Ramirez.

But I also remember, in 2014, calls to bench Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp when they were struggling.

On June 4, a week after Crawford had gone on the disabled list, Kemp had a .291 on-base percentage and .398 slugging percentage. The cries for Joc Pederson were probably never louder. Since that time, Kemp has a .380 on-base percentage and .535 slugging percentage (a .915 OPS) while finding a home in right field.

It was even worse in Crawford’s case. On May 2, Crawford had a .212 on-base percentage and .259 slugging percentage. He then started 17 of the Dodgers’ next 23 games — playing nearly every day against righties — and had a .389 OBP while slugging .565.

Crawford went on the disabled list for six weeks, and when he came back, the stats would indicate he was lost. On August 9, he was down to .268/.333 on the season — a .601 OPS. And people wondered aloud why Andre Ethier wasn’t playing.

But Don Mattingly saw good at-bats amid those struggles, and committed to Crawford. The reward: the hottest hitter in the majors, a .478 OBP and .614 slugging percentage, including an astonishing 9-for-12 with a walk, four doubles (three in Wednesday’s 4-0 victory) and home run in this week’s Padres series. On the just-concluded homestand, Crawford had a .533 OBP and slugged .897.

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People will criticize Mattingly for this and that, but rarely does he get credit for what turned out to be something quite savvy — recognizing that it was too soon to forsake Crawford and Kemp, even when others would have.

It’s hard to watch someone who has been as important to the Dodgers over the past decade as Andre Ethier languish on the bench. It’s natural to wonder what would happen if he received the everyday opportunities that Crawford, Kemp and Yasiel Puig have since the All-Star Break, and whether that would have made a difference in a season that has stuck him with a sub-.700 OPS. (As it happens, Ethier is 9 for 25 with a .448 on-base percentage off the bench since August 17, evidence that he has made the best of a reserve role and/or an argument that he should play more.)

I would only say that it’s also natural to wonder what Puig is capable of when he comes out of his own long slump, and based on what happened with Crawford and Kemp, it would be odd to assume he won’t. In other words, unless you think 2014 Puig is 2008 Jones, it might be worth waiting this one out.

Gone Guys: Gonzalez, Dodgers blast their way to victory

By Jon Weisman

On September 7, 2014

In History, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

For the first five innings, the Dodgers were being no-hit. Before the next two innings were over, Oliver Perez was throwing at Andre Ethier (one might have concluded) because the Dodgers were hitting too many home runs.

There were three homers in all, two of them three-run blasts in back-to-back innings by Adrian Gonzalez, who became the first Dodger since Eric Karros in 1993 to hit two trifecta round-trippers. (Cody Ross, a Dodger opponent today, had a three-run home run and a grand slam for Los Angeles in 2006, in his final start with the team).

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Fortunes change, don’t ya know? It’s all about piling up more good than bad. And that is what the Dodgers have done in 2014.

Saturday, I interviewed Dodger general manager Ned Colletti for the print edition of Dodger Insider, and I asked him if there had been a defining moment for the 2014 Dodgers. He didn’t immediately see one, acknowledging at least so far that this year, the team was more methodical than dramatic. That lack of drama has come to be considered a strike against the Dodgers, as if the pennant race were a beauty contest rather than a measurement of which team has the most victories at the end of season.

Today, the Dodgers moved 19 games about .500, tied with Washington for the best in the National League.

But those insisting on an observable spark certainly have to like what they saw from the Dodgers this afternoon, when, after waiting until the sixth inning to gather kindling, they lit a fire. Dee Gordon broke up Trevor Cahill’s no-hitter with a one-out double, Hanley Ramirez walked, and Gonzalez absolutely smashed a ball over the fence in to dead center.

Though this won’t qualify as a late-inning clutch hit, it was a huge one, and comes a day after Gordon’s tiebreaking RBI single in the bottom of the eighth Saturday. Yes, Virginia, this team does come through.

An inning later, it was the same trio. Perez walked Gordon, then Ramirez reached base on an error by shortstop Cliff Pennington. Gonzalez hit his third home run of the past 21 hours and second homer of the year off a lefty, giving him his seventh 100-RBI season of his career and matching his 2013 total as a Dodger. And then for good measure, Matt Kemp hit his 19th of the year. (This article seems timely.)

Perez then smacked Ethier in the back (making him the Dodgers’ all-time leader in HBPs with 53), and when umpire Laz Diaz warned both benches, that didn’t sit well with Don Mattingly and Monday’s starting pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, both of whom were ejected. Thankfully, Kershaw isn’t pitching against Arizona again this year, which saves us the worry about him retaliating and getting thrown out himself.

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Since August 29, San Francisco has won six of its past eight games. If the Giants don’t win tonight in Detroit, they’ll have gained no ground on the Dodgers in that stretch.

Dodgers add speedy outfielder Bernadina to bench

By Jon Weisman

On September 6, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame, Transactions

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Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 6:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe 3B
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers added an extra outfielder and perhaps more importantly, a pinch-runner, in bringing up Roger Bernadina from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The 34th player on the active roster, the 30-year-old Bernadina has stolen 59 out of 71 bases (83.1 percent) in a 539-game Major League career, as well 204 out of 261 (78.2 percent) in the minors. A reserve with the Isotopes this year who started the year with Cincinnati, Bernadina had a .380 on-base percentage and .351 slugging percentage in 71 plate appearances.

Bernadina has also played more than 1,000 innings in center field in his career. He was signed to a minor-league deal in July.

Speaking of center field, Yasiel Puig is suffering from a stomach ailment, according to manager Don Mattingly, who moved Joc Pederson back into the starting lineup. Mattingly said that the Dodgers would learn later today whether Puig would be available off the bench.

Mattingly said he chose Pederson over Andre Ethier for defensive reasons, adding that he loves Ethier and knows that being relegated to the bench is not a great situation for him, but that there are only so many spots available.

Dodgers’ fourtitude in 12th isn’t enough

By Jon Weisman

On August 30, 2014

In Health/injuries, Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

The radical, four-on-the-floor finish to one of the crazier 3-2 games you’ll see might not soon be forgotten. Then again it might, if these kinds of extreme defensive shifts become more commonplace.

Two things strike me about this moment of the Dodgers placing four fielders between first and second base:

How close it came to working to perfection. Even with Dee Gordon’s throw bouncing home, the Dodgers missed the inning-ending double play by a hair.
Because Andre Ethier was still officially a center fielder at this point even though he was stationed at first (with Adrian Gonzalez to his right), we just missed seeing a 4-2-8 double play.

Gordon had some rough times in Friday’s loss to the Padres, going 0 for 6 with a throwing error, though he hit a monster fly ball with one on in the fifth that deserved to be a go-ahead home run (inside or outside the park), only for Rymer Liriano to flag it at the top of the fence.

Actually, the lingering sensation from Friday’s game might center on Hanley Ramirez, who came within a triple of the cycle even though he injured himself again, this time slipping on a wet base – and then getting called out via replay on his attempt to make it back to first. Ramirez, who hit an even more monstrous fly ball in the eighth to actually tie the game, looked Pedro Guerreroesque circling the bases (fans of a certain age will recall Guerrero hurting his back on a home run swing and barely making it around the diamond).

The Dodgers have had a welcome week’s worth of good news on the injury front, but that’s now in jeopardy.

At Carne Asada Sunday, Andre Ethier discusses playing first base

By Jon Weisman

On August 17, 2014

In Defense

By Jon Weisman

It was an unusual day for Andre Ethier, but one that ended pleasantly enough with him greeting approximately 150 fans at his Carne Asada Sunday, presented by Chef Merito.

Ethier, who has had to adapt to a reserve role in the second half of this season, played first base for the final innings of the Dodgers’ 7-2 loss to Milwaukee, the team’s third straight to the Brewers.

“It wasn’t a very happy day to start off,” Ethier told his interviewer, Dodger team historian Mark Langill. “Not too good of a series by us.”

It was the second action at first base of Ethier’s career. Previously, he played the ninth inning of an August 5, 2010 game after a double-switch removed James Loney.

Hungry Man Special: Ellis, Ethier bring Dodgers victory in ninth

By Jon Weisman

On August 5, 2014

In Postgame

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By Jon Weisman

A.J. Ellis and Andre Ethier were a combined 8 for 66 (with eight walks) since the All-Star Break, but they provided the final key at-bats in the Dodgers’ 5-4 walkoff victory Tuesday over the Angels.

After Ellis’ perfectly executed hit-and-run single moved Juan Uribe to third with one out in the bottom of the ninth and the score tied, Ethier hit a chopper to third that Angels third baseman David Freese barehanded but was unable to throw home accurately enough to nab Uribe at the plate, giving the Dodgers their third walkoff victory of the homestand after only two in their previous 49 home games.

Both at-bats culminated on 3-2 pitches.

Uribe was hardly a bit player in this game. His three-run homer in the second inning brought the Dodgers back from an early 2-0 deficit.

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Clayton Kershaw struggled early, allowing eight hits to the first 12 batters he faced and matching his career high for a game with four doubles allowed before he retired a batter in the third inning. But Kershaw flipped the switch, and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced, exiting with a 4-3 lead.

Kershaw has 16 quality starts in 18 appearances in 2014 and has allowed more than three runs only once — the seven-run debacle in Arizona in mid-May. He has not allowed more than 10 baserunners in his past 22 starts, dating back to 2013.

Matt Kemp’s hustle brought home the Dodgers fourth run — he reached first and third on an error with a stolen base in between, and scored on a Scott Van Slyke sacrifice fly. But Albert Pujols’ eighth-inning homer — the first allowed by Brian Wilson in the past 106 at-bats against him — tied the game.

Puig, Ramirez lead Dodgers into San Francisco

By Jon Weisman

On July 25, 2014

In Pregame

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Dodgers at Giants, 7:15 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Matt Kemp, RF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Zack Greinke, P

By Jon Weisman

Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez are in the lineup together for the first time since July 19, batting second and fourth as the Dodgers open their much-anticipated series with San Francisco.

Puig is now the Dodgers’ center fielder, with manager Don Mattingly essentially becoming comfortable with Matt Kemp’s presence in right field.

If Puig, who has made 88 starts as the mainstay in right field so far in 2014, remains in center for the bulk of the remaining season, that would leave the Dodgers without anyone playing 100 games at a single outfield position for the second consecutive year. In 2013, Carl Crawford led Dodger outfielders with 96 starts in left field, followed by Yasiel Puig’s 89 starts in right and Andre Ethier’s 70 starts in center.

* * *

Zack Greinke has pitched fewer innings at San Francisco’s AT&T Park than any other in the National League. He has never pitched there in a Dodger uniform. In his only previous appearance there, on May 4, 2012, Greinke went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on eight baserunners and 96 pitches while striking out five in a 6-4 Brewers victory.

Andre Ethier poised to become HBP champ

By Jon Weisman

On July 23, 2014

In Pregame

Andre Ethier tied the Los Angeles Dodger record for career HBPs with this plunking on June 13. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Andre Ethier tied the Los Angeles Dodger record for career HBPs with this June 13 plunking. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Dodgers at Pirates, 4:05 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Matt Kemp, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Carl Crawford, LF
Miguel Rojas, SS
Drew Butera, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

This week seems like as good as any to post a list of the Dodgers’ all-time leaders in hit by pitches. One list features the expected — the other, perhaps, a surprise.

The Plunkers
154 Don Drysdale
82 Henry McIntire
79 Jeff Pfeffer
74 Chan Ho Park
73 Nap Rucker
70 Dazzy Vance
65 Orel Hershiser
62 Don Sutton
56 Burleigh Grimes
53 Ramon Martinez
49 Charlie Hough
45 Oscar Jones
43 Chad Billingsley
40 Darren Dreifort
38 Jeff Weaver

Drysdale’s spot on the chart might be the least surprising piece of trivia you’ll see for some time, but even Drysdale would have to tip his hat to McIntire, who hit a better nearly every other game for Brooklyn (179 games in all). And Park amassed his total in even fewer innings than McIntire.

The Plunkees
73 Zack Wheat
72 Jackie Robinson
52 Andre Ethier
52 Alex Cora
47 Carl Furillo
43 Ron Cey
41 Willie Davis
39 Whitey Alperman
37 Lou Johnson
37 Jake Daubert
36 Bill Russell
35 Mark Grudzielanek

Yep, that’s Andre Ethier quietly bruising his way up the list — with his next HBP, he’ll become the franchise’s all-time leader in Los Angeles. Ethier tied Cora when Chase Anderson nailed him on June 13, immediately after a Matt Kemp home run. Ethier earned 25 percent of his total in one season — 2009, while Cora set the Los Angeles single-season record with 18 in 2004.

Wheat got his Dodger-leading total in 18 seasons; Robinson came within one despite playing only 10 years in Brooklyn. Cora, somewhat amazingly, averaged an HBP every 13.1 games, while Sweet Lou was soured every 10.5 games as a Dodger.

* * *

Dodger team historian Mark Langill is a participant in this ESPN 30 for 30 documentary short, “The High Five.” It’s a story that most Dodger fans know very well, but it never hurts to revisit.

Scott Van Slyke starts against righty for second day in a row

By Jon Weisman

On July 11, 2014

In Pregame

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Miguel Rojas, SS
Drew Butera, C
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

Scott Van Slyke is making his second consecutive start in center field with a right-handed pitcher on the mound tonight, in large part because of lingering physical issues for Andre Ethier.

Van Slyke has a .409 on-base percentage and .545 slugging percentage this season. Most of that production has come against lefties (.442/.683), but he has improved enough of late against righties to bring his OBP and slugging to .375 and .410. Van Slyke has two homers against righties this month.

Ethier had an OBP and slugging of .400 and .636 in 35 plate appearances from June 24-July 4, before going 0 for 10 in his last three games. Against righties, Ethier is at .318/.402, far off his career numbers against northpaws of .384/.510.

“We’re still trying to take care of him,” Dodger manager Don Mattingly said of Ethier. “He’s still having soreness all over the place … some leg issues and some other issues. We’re just trying to make sure, going into the (All-Star) break, hopefully we get him out of that. And on the back side of that, Scotty’s playing well.”

Neither Van Slyke nor Ethier has looked particularly dextrous in center field except for balls hit at or in front of them.

“I just think in general, Andre doesn’t seem to have the same energy (he normally has),” Mattingly said. “He just hasn’t felt good, body-wise. … It’s just lots of little things, and one thing is the building block to another, and to compensate you’ve got another issue.”

Carl Crawford, like Matt Kemp, is not considered a center-field option for Mattingly, who did say that Crawford would get a start this weekend (in left).

Joc Pederson, meanwhile, is back in the Triple-A Albuquerque lineup, going 4 for 7 with a double, triple and walk in his first two games. All three outs he has made have been strikeouts.

* * *

Other notes from Mattingly:

Today’s action will determine Saturday’s starter. There’s an increased possibility Paul Maholm will start Saturday if not needed tonight. Otherwise, the Dodgers could be looking at a Red Patterson callup.
Justin Turner is improving and is expected to get numerous this weekend at-bats for the Dodgers at their Arizona facility.
Chone Figgins had a heavy day Thursday, was a little sore today but is progressing.

Dodgers closing in on Brewers for NL best record — and other notes

By Jon Weisman

On July 5, 2014

In Health/injuries, Pregame

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Dodgers at Rockies, 1:10 p.m.
Yasiel Puig, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
Andre Ethier, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, 2B
Dan Haren, P

By Jon Weisman

Heading into today’s game, the 50-39 Dodgers are two games (.024) behind Milwaukee for the best record in the National League, their closest point since they were 12-7 on April 20.

Atlanta, winner of eight straight, is a half-game behind the Dodgers.

Let’s do this pregame notebook-style …

Just as Ethier heats up, wall of lefties in Colorado awaits

By Jon Weisman

On July 3, 2014

In Offense

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By Jon Weisman

There’s no denying that Andre Ethier is having the roughest year of his fine nine — yes, nine — in the Major Leagues, but he showed particular signs of life on the Dodgers’ recent homestand. And normally, there’s nothing like a four-game trip to Coors Field in Colorado to turn a momentary spurt into a full-fledged hot streak.

Ethier hitting a three-run home run against Shelby Miller of St. Louis on Saturday.

But in a cruel and unusual twist for Ethier, Colorado has four left-handed pitchers lined up to start against the Dodgers: Franklin Morales, Jorge De La Rosa, Yohan Flande and Christian Freidrich. And Ethier is struggling this year as much as ever against southpaws, with a .268 on-base percentage and .263 slugging in 42 plate appearances.

The confluence of lefties comes with Rockies righties Jordan Lyles and Jhoulys Chacin on the disabled list.

None of the four scheduled starting pitchers are intimidating. Morales, an eight-year veteran on his second tour with Colorado, has a 5.75 ERA this year (73 adjusted ERA, or ERA+). De La Rosa, in his 11th year, is at 4.86 (86). Friedrich, making his 20th MLB start, has a career ERA of 6.61 and ERA+ of 69. Flande would be making his third career start and is at 6.10 and 71.

Nevertheless, all four are faring significantly better against left-handed batters, with De La Rosa showing the most pronounced differential: .835 OPS by righties against him in 2014, .497 by lefties.

The 32-year-old Ethier’s career OPS is .823, and his career OPS+ is 122, as is his career wRC+. So far this year, he has fallen far below those figures, and more than 10 percent below his previous single-season lows, to .684, 93 and 95. In his most recent slump, from midgame June 17 through June 27, he reached base twice in 23 plate appearances.

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But while going 7 for 19 with a 1.137 OPS in the past five games, Ethier had some of the best at-bats I’ve seen him have all year, including a three-run homer Saturday and a leadoff triple Monday that led to the only run of the Dodgers’ 1-0 victory. Then on Wednesday, Ethier squared up on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the fifth for a line single up the middle that drove in two runs for a 3-2 Dodger lead, and later with two out in the ninth, he battled from an 0-2 count to 3-2 before slicing a double to left that positioned himself to be the winning run.

Let’s put it this way: If Ethier is going to play against lefties, he probably has no better opportunity to show his stuff than the coming four games, especially after Don Mattingly said Wednesday that Matt Kemp was due for a rest. (Generally speaking, Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke figured to be regulars in the outfield this weekend.) Otherwise, it looks bad timing for a hitter in the process of finding himself.

Ryu steady, but old issues return for Dodgers in 5-4 loss

By Jon Weisman

On July 2, 2014

In Pitching, Postgame

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

By Jon Weisman

Gonna get the positive out of the way first, if you don’t mind.

Does Hyun-Jin Ryu get enough appreciation? He is just so solid and, it appears, almost completely unflappable.

After a first-inning double and a Carlos Triunfel error that put runners at the corners today, Ryu struck out Cleveland’s No. 4 and No. 5 hitters.

After a fourth-inning home run by Ryan Raburn gave the Indians a 2-0 lead that some fans no doubt thought was insurmountable, Ryu stranded runners in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Ryu doesn’t always threaten to throw a perfect game the way he did on Memorial Day, but let’s talk consistency and minimizing damage. Since April 27, Ryu’s ERA has not gone below 3.00 or above 3.33.

Thanks largely to Ryu, the Dodgers were able to stay in today’s game long enough for a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead — a rally that was keyed by Ryu’s RBI double, the fourth straight hit by Dodger pitchers in the past 24 hours. Andre Ethier then had a clutch, 2-2 count, two-out, two-run single, Ethier’s third big hit in the past four games.

The Dodgers took that 3-2 lead into the eighth inning, after Ryu called it a day, having allowed seven hits and no walks in seven innings while striking out eight. Ryu helped the Dodgers tie the modern Major League mark of 36 consecutive games with two or fewer walks by their starting pitchers.

* * *

Unfortunately for Ryu and the Dodgers, Brian Wilson’s extended run of recently effective relief hit a speed bump — with the Indians tying the game in the eighth on two walks and a pinch-hit RBI single by David Murphy, then taking the lead on a two-run single by Mike Aviles — and the Dodgers lost their second straight game for the first time in three weeks, 5-4.

Wilson had been unscored upon in 18 of his past 19 apperances, with 13 hits and seven walks in 16 2/3 innings against 18 strikeouts and two inherited runners stranded. But he got in trouble with an early season bugaboo — walking the first two batters he faced.

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Similarly, while Miguel Rojas had a dazzling spear of a line drive at third base (above) and right fielder Scott Van Slyke threw out a runner at home, this was more of an April game defensively for the Dodgers than what they’ve been producing lately. In addition to the aforementioned errors, Triunfel had a dropped throw on a stolen-base attempt and didn’t turn to catch a throw by Matt Kemp to third base in that troublesome top of the eighth (a throw that Kemp said afterward was his responsibility).

And still, the Dodgers nearly did pull this one out.

In the bottom of the eighth, Scott Van Slyke hit his seventh homer of the year — his first against a right-handed pitcher — to pull the Dodgers within a run. And then in the ninth, after pinch-hitter Hanley Ramirez walked with two out, Ethier worked the count from 0-2 to 3-2 before slicing another big hit, a double to left, sending Ramirez to third. (Note: The Dodgers were out of pinch-runners at this point, except for pitchers.)

Needing a single to tie or perhaps win the game, Kemp hit the ball hard, but it was flagged down on the warning track in right-center, and that was that.

“Obviously, you don’t want to not win,” Dodger manager Don Mattingly said, “but I’m not frustrated with our effort at all, and our energy.”

Andre Ethier gets a breather

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2014

In Offense, Pregame

For more highlights from Thursday, check Jon SooHoo’s LA Photog Blog.

Cardinals at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, LF
Scott Van Slyke, CF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Miguel Rojas, SS
Hyun-Jin Ryu, P

By Jon Weisman

Andre Ethier is getting a rest day even though the Dodgers are facing a right-handed pitcher.

“Just to give Dre a little bit of a break,” Dodger manager Don Mattingly said before the game. “He’s had some bumps and bruises. Just a day.”

Ethier has had a rough June, though he’s not alone among Dodger outfielders in slumping from his usual totals. Ethier has a .246 on-base percentage and .215 slugging percentage in 69 plate appearances, with one double and no home runs.

Dodgers Top 40: The best plays of the first half

By Jon Weisman

On June 27, 2014

In Defense, History

By Jon Weisman

How exciting a 2014 has it been for the Dodgers? I started out planning to pick out the top 10 plays of the first half of the season, then (after realizing that Dee Gordon could practically fill that quota by himself) saw that list balloon to 40.

So here, in all their glory (and in an unplanned tribute to Casey Kasem), are the biggest thrills of the first 81 games. Thanks to MLB.com for the videos, as well as pieces of text here and there.

Now, prepare to lose yourself …

* * *

March 30 at San Diego: Hyun-Jin Ryu fields a sharp comebacker and throws to home to start a double play and escape a bases-loaded jam in the first.
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Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Andre Ethier (Page 5 of 12)

Andre Ethier starts ahead of Yasiel Puig in NLDS Game 4

On switching outfielders

Gone Guys: Gonzalez, Dodgers blast their way to victory

Dodgers add speedy outfielder Bernadina to bench

Dodgers’ fourtitude in 12th isn’t enough

At Carne Asada Sunday, Andre Ethier discusses playing first base

Hungry Man Special: Ellis, Ethier bring Dodgers victory in ninth

Puig, Ramirez lead Dodgers into San Francisco

Andre Ethier poised to become HBP champ

Scott Van Slyke starts against righty for second day in a row

Dodgers closing in on Brewers for NL best record — and other notes

Just as Ethier heats up, wall of lefties in Colorado awaits

Ryu steady, but old issues return for Dodgers in 5-4 loss

Andre Ethier gets a breather

Dodgers Top 40: The best plays of the first half

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