From the Dodgers’ public relations department:
The Dodgers today announced the completion of a three-team trade with the Reds and White Sox, with the Dodgers receiving right-handed pitcher Frankie Montas, outfielder Trayce Thompson and second baseman Micah Johnson; the Reds receiving Jose Peraza, outfielder Scott Schebler and minor league infielder Brandon Dixon; and the White Sox receiving third baseman Todd Frazier.
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By Jon Weisman
Corey Seager’s fourth-inning home run tonight was the 47th by a Dodger rookie this year, setting a franchise record.
Dodger rookies who have homered this year include Joc Pederson (25), Alex Guerrero (11), Kiké Hernandez (6), Scott Schebler (3) and Seager (2).
The previous record was shared by the 1960 Dodgers — Frank Howard (23), Tommy Davis (11), Norm Sherry (8), Willie Davis (2), Bob Aspromonte (1), Doug Camilli (1) — and the 1958 Dodgers — John Roseboro (14), Dick Gray (9), Joe Pignatano (9), Don Demeter (5), Norm Larker (4), Ron Fairly (2), Frank Howard (1), Bob Lillis (1), Stan Williams (1).
Seager’s homer gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead, one they extended to 6-1 in the seventh. That was mighty fine for Zack Greinke, who retired 11 batters in a row after allowing a fourth-inning homer to Pirates second baseman Neil Walker. Greinke himself sacrificed, singled and doubled (and scored) in three plate appearances tonight, raising his batting average to .234.
Update: Greinke left the game after allowing a single and walk to start the eighth. With one out, Starling Marte singled home a run off Chris Hatcher, raising Greinke’s ERA from 1.60 to 1.65. But Hatcher got a huge out by getting Andrew McCutchen to foul out, and when Aramis Ramirez grounded out, the Dodgers retained a 6-2 lead.
Hatcher made 3 great pitches, gave up a hit and got two outs.
— Jared Massey (@JaredJMassey) September 19, 2015
Update 2: Kenley Jansen closed out the victory with a four-batter save, lowering the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the National League West to nine. In San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner gave up two runs (one earned) in eight innings and left trailing, 2-0. The Giants had one inning left to rally.
Update 3: San Francisco lost, reducing the Dodgers’ magic number to eight with 16 games to play.
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Justin Ruggiano (Photos by Jon SooHoo)
By Jon Weisman
Despite my having a little fun on Twitter this morning at the expense of those supporting the hysterical Yoenis Cespedes for MVP campaign, no, I’m not seriously launching a #ruggianomvp crusade.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy what Justin Ruggiano and three other players who also weren’t Dodgers a month ago — Scott Schebler, Corey Seager and Chase Utley — have meant for the Dodgers.
Look at these numbers for September …
Mike McGinnis/Getty Images
By Jon Weisman
Shifting gears in their starting rotation, the Dodgers have chosen to have Joe Wieland make his second start of the season tonight against the Angels.
Mat Latos, who had originally been penciled in for the start, has neck stiffness, the Dodgers said.
Wieland led Triple-A Oklahoma City during the regular season with 113 2/3 innings, getting one more out than Zach Lee, who starts Game 1 of the Pacific Coast League American Conference best-of-five finals tonight against Round Rock. Wieland had a 4.59 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in Triple-A, allowing seven homers while striking out 92.
Via #Dodgers beat writers … upcoming Dodger rotation:
Friday: Wood
Saturday: Bolsinger
Sunday: Greinke
Monday: Kershaw
Tuesday: Anderson— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 9, 2015
In his only Major League start this season, Wieland allowed two two-run homers before getting an out in the first inning at Milwaukee on May 6. He ultimately lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and four walks while striking out two. Wieland told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com after the game that he couldn’t locate his fastball and began using his changeup in the second inning.
Traded to the Dodgers in the Yasmani Grandal deal last winter, Wieland had Tommy John surgery in July 2012 and returned to action 368 days ago.
“I was full go the whole time,” he told Dodger Insider in January. “My UCL, the graft they put in, never had any issues. It was the back of the elbow that I was having problems with. Fortunately, we were able to find out what was wrong and take care of that, but I never had any issues of concern, being a little conservative, trying to hold back.”
Also in tonight’s lineup: Scott Schebler (4 for 10 with a homer and two steals) becomes the Dodgers’ 10th leadoff hitter of the season, and Austin Barnes (.350 on-base percentage in 20 plate appearances) is making his sixth start for Los Angeles.
Dodger leadoff hitters in '15: Pederson (68 games), Rollins (52), Puig (7), Hernandez (5), Crawford (2), Turner, Heisey, Barney, Ruggiano.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 8, 2015
By Jon Weisman
While leading the National League in home runs, it’s also getting back to the point where the Dodgers can slide with pride.
Though still not exactly a team of Rickey Hendersons, the Dodgers have turned things around as basestealers. The team that began the season 14 for 35 on stolen-base attempts through July 1 has gone 30 for 37 since — including 13 for 13 in its past seven games.
Here’s the breakdown of steals before and after July 1:
Carl Crawford has gone from a non-factor to the biggest factor. Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick have been more successful. So even have Scott Van Slyke and Justin Tuner. Jose Peraza and, as of Friday, Scott Schebler have chipped in.
Since the All-Star Break, the Dodgers are seventh in the NL with 25 steals (in 31 attempts) and third in stolen-base percentage with an 80.6 percent success rate.
By Jon Weisman
With a dynamic offensive display tonight — five home runs, seven extra-base hits and three steals — the Dodgers drove down the Padres, 8-4, and with the seventh straight loss by the Giants, moved a season-high 7½ games ahead in the National League West.
No NL team has a bigger divisional lead than Los Angeles does.
Crawford &
Schebler &
Ruggiano &
Gonzalez &
Utley. pic.twitter.com/0PXjcn7FfZ— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 5, 2015
There were numerous heroes for the Dodgers tonight, but it’s hard not to start with right fielder Scott Schebler. In his second MLB start, Schebler went 2 for 5, took away extra bases from Justin Upton, and became only the third Dodger this century to have a home run (444 feet, in this case) and two stolen bases in the same game, after Shawn Green in 2000 and Matt Kemp in 2010.
Also homering in his third game as a Dodger was 33-year-old Justin Ruggiano, who followed Corey Seager’s RBI forceout* with a two-run, pinch-hit shot in the fifth inning put the Dodgers ahead to stay, 5-3. That’s three guys driving in runs who weren’t on the team five days ago.
Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Utley followed with homers before the inning was over, giving the Dodgers an NL record: six different innings this season with three home runs.
Utley also walked twice, and is now 11 for 47 with four doubles, a triple, two homers, five walks and three hit-by-pitches as a Dodger. That’s a .345 on-base percentage, .489 slugging percentage and .835 OPS since coming to Los Angeles.
Seager also doubled and singled, making him 4 for 9 in his MLB career, while Jimmy Rollins walked twice, stole a base, doubled and singled, making him 2,414 for 9,109 in his MLB career.
Carl Crawford actually hit the longest homer of the night for the Dodgers. Measured at 454 feet, it was the fourth-longest blast by the Dodgers in 2015, and longest by anyone not named Joc Pederson.
Mike Bolsinger had a bit of a weird night in his first start for the Dodgers since July 29. He walked two, struck out six and allowed only two hits, but both were homers, good for three runs in five innings. In all, the teams combined for eight home runs, tying a Petco Park record.
By Jon Weisman
Scott Schebler and Corey Seager are each making their second career starts tonight for the Dodgers, who continue to weather the longer absences of Yasiel Puig and Kiké Hernandez and the shorter ones of Andre Ethier and Jose Peraza.
Ethier, who fouled a ball off his knee Wednesday, and Peraza, who has been sidelined by hamstring tightness since Tuesday, are expected back to game action soon. Second baseman Howie Kendrick is also close to a return. But Puig and Hernandez look like they’ll be out until close to the end of the regular season.
The result is an interesting lineup that features Chase Utley (.752 OPS as a Dodger, six homers in 2015) batting cleanup and Seager, who wears No. 5, hitting fifth.
At 21 years and 130 days, Seager is the youngest Dodger to start a game batting fifth since Adrian Beltre in 2000. Before Beltre, the last Dodger this young to bat fifth in the starting lineup was Derrell Griffith in 1964.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Scott Schebler, who survived Triple-A Oklahoma City’s 19-inning game Tuesday, is the latest player to be recalled by the Dodgers.
Schebler had a .322 on-base percentage and .410 slugging percentage this year in the minors. He went 1 for 3 on June 5 in first only big-league game this year, and provides an extra left-handed bat off the bench.
The 24-year-old walked three times in the opening game of what became a 26-inning doubleheader in Oklahoma City. Relief pitcher Daniel Coulombe escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 19th inning, then singled with two out in the bottom of the 19th and scored the winning run on Buck Britton’s walkoff home run.
Then in the second game, Ramon Troncoso was forced to spot start and pitched four innings. Deck McGuire, who began the night in Double-A Tulsa, was told to drive over to Oklahoma City for a mid-evening promotion, and pitched three innings in the second game for the win.
By the way, Justin Ruggiano on Tuesday became the 53rd person to play for the Dodgers this year, tying a franchise record from 1944 and 1998.
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By Cary Osborne
In the June edition of Dodger Insider magazine, we profiled outfield prospect Scott Schebler. The theme of the story was how Schebler was a notoriously slow starter who takes off once the summer months hit.
When the story was written, Schebler’s numbers were subpar. The No. 8 prospect in the system, added in the offseason to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, was hitting .208/.299/.377 for Triple-A Oklahoma City entering June with six doubles, one triple, six home runs and 14 RBI.
Then June arrived, and true to form, Schebler turned it on. The 24-year-old was one of the best hitters in the Dodger chain last month. He batted .321/.389/.595 with four doubles, five triples, three home runs and 17 RBI.
A year after leading the Double-A Southern League in triples and home runs, Schebler ranks tied for second in the Pacific Coast League in triples. He is mere percentage points from Corey Seager’s OPS in OKC (.780 to Seager’s .783).
We talked to Dodger director of player development Gabe Kapler about Schebler this week, who said, in reality, Schebler’s early swoon was less that met the eye.
“Scheb all along was performing well. He just wasn’t having a lot of luck,” Kapler said. “He was striking the ball with real authority. He was doing a good job from a number of perspectives. He just wasn’t showing the results in the traditional counting numbers. Now you’re starting to see that. A lot of that is completely out of your control. Scheb’s actually been doing a good job all the way through.”
Here’s more from the past week in minor-league action …
By Jon Weisman
Ending a 39-game absence, Yasiel Puig has been activated by the Dodgers from the disabled list and is back in the starting lineup against the Cardinals.
Puig is batting third, though Don Mattingly told reporters that he could see Puig batting second or fifth going forward.
The Dodgers went 21-18 with Puig out of the lineup, with Andre Ethier batting .285/.362/.504/.866 as the primary right fielder. Ethier is on the bench tonight while the Dodgers face Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia, but figures to get much of the time in left field in the near term.
Scott Schebler, who went 1 for 3 in his MLB debut, has been optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Schebler will be joined there by David Huff, who cleared waivers, but Sergio Santos has elected to become a free agent. Former Oklahoma City reliever David Aardsma, who opted out of his contract, has signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta.
In other news, Brandon League is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday.
Scott Schebler has 80 homers in 521 pro games. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
“Slow starts don’t hold back outfield prospect Scott Schebler,” says the subhead of the feature on the 24-year-old outfielder in the June edition of Dodger Insider magazine, and today’s transaction news certainly backs this up.
Schebler, a notoriously cold hitter in the early going throughout his career, finds himself in the starting lineup for the Dodgers tonight, taking the roster spot of reliever Daniel Coulombe, who was optioned back to Triple-A.
Schebler has had a .696 OPS in 49 games this year, but he is 4 for 13 with a double and triple to start June, a month in which he has usually excelled throughout the minors. Last year, for example, he followed a .761 OPS in May with a 1.133 OPS in June.
“In a way, Schebler’s development as a baseball player parallels his in-season performance,” Cary Osborne writes in his story below. “He was a five-sport athlete at Iowa’s Cedar Rapids Prairie High School, also participating in football, basketball, soccer and track and field. But because of the weather, his baseball time was limited, and by the time he was drafted in the 26th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, he was less experienced. … An argument can be made that no Dodger prospect has made up more ground since 2012 than Schebler.”
According to Jeff Johnson of the Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when Schebler called his parents in the middle of the night to give them the news that he was on his way to Los Angeles, his mom’s reply was, “For what?”
Read all of our Scott Schebler feature below (click the images to enlarge), and get many more stories like it in this month’s Dodger Insider magazine.
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By Jon Weisman
There was plenty of action in today’s 7-5 Dodger loss to the Cubs, but the marquee attraction in the “Have You Seen This Before?” Department was … no, not Sergio Santos’ four-strikeout inning, but the fact that he had a 1-3 strikeout on a pitch that caromed back to him before he threw the batter/runner out at first.
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By Jon Weisman
Throughout my childhood, I would hear tales of Lew Alcindor leading the 1965-66 UCLA freshman men’s basketball team to victory over the UCLA varsity, which had merely won the NCAA title the season before.
The situation isn’t really the same, but if nothing else, the 2015 Dodger junior varsity gives a hint of what it must have been like to experience such excitement from the future.
Dodger prospects and reserves have been shining all spring long, but the eighth inning of today’s 10-5 victory over Oakland turned the brightness up to 10.
First, they tended the top of the eighth in dazzling fashion, with Erisbel Arruebarrena — playing out of position at second base — ranging far to his left to flag a ground ball, before doing a 180-degree turn to whip the ball to super-prospect Corey Seager, who stepped on second and fired to Kyle Jensen at first for an inning-ending double play.
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Then in the home half of the inning at Camelback Ranch, Darnell Sweeney followed singles by Austin Barnes and Jensen and a walk to Seager with a grand slam — to the opposite field, no less.
Next, after Alex Guerrero singled and O’Koyea Dickson calmly took first base after being hit by a pitch, Scott Schebler hit a towering homer of his own to center field.
Before Schebler had finished getting high fives in the dugout, Chris Heisey homered to left, capping the eight-run eighth inning for the Dodgers, who are now 8-2-4 (.714) in Spring Training, in no small part because when the reserves come in, they have been fairly dominant.
Lest it be forgotten, the Dodgers were led in the early going by Darwin Barney, who went 3 for 3, and Joc Pederson, who walked once and made this catch in center field.
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Yeah, yeah — it’s March. But it’s been fun.
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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