Having glanced a snapshot of the position players on the Opening Day roster for the Dodgers, let’s now turn to the pitchers.
Tag: Victor Gonzalez
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By Miranda Perez
Highlights from the Dodger minor leagues from September 5, including a pair of two-homer games …
- Triple-A Oklahoma City used the same winning formula as the big league club yesterday, belting four home runs in its 10-8 win over Omaha in the final game of the regular season. Brandon Hicks had two homers of his own, while Cody Bellinger hit his third home run in two days and Corey Brown hit a solo shot.
- O’Koyea Dickson was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for August 29-September 5. Dickson went 13-for-26 (.500) with seven extra-base hits, including three doubles, a triple, three home runs and 10 RBI.
- Activated from the disabled list before the game, Victor Gonzalez struck out eight in five innings with no walks, allowing only a solo home run as Single-A Great Lakes closed out its regular season with a 5-1 win against West Michigan. Infielder Matt Jones went 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBI in the season finale. The Loons will go on to the first round of playoffs and face the Bowling Green Hot Rods at home Wednesday to start in a best-of-three series.
- DJ Peters did his part to help Rookie League Odgen stay in the playoff race, launching two home runs and driving in four in the Raptors’ 6-2 win over Grand Junction. Peters, Keibert Ruiz and Brock Carpenter each tallied three hits, while Rob McDonnell hurled five solid innings, allowing two runs on three hits and earning the win. With three games left, Odgen is only a half a game behind Grand Junction in the Pioneer League South.
Final tuneups: @ClaytonKersh22 and Zack Greinke today, @BMcCarthy32 and @BrettAnderson35 to start this weekend. pic.twitter.com/L05YUyIXyY
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 1, 2015
By Jon Weisman
Today’s Dodger farewell to Arizona offered a rare, nearly simultaneous outing for both the No. 1 and No. 2 starters — Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.
Kershaw’s final preseason tuneup (three innings, three baserunners, two strikeouts) left the Dodger ace in his familiar, humbly optimistic form.
“There’s definitely room for improvement, but physically, I feel good and feel ready to go,” Kershaw told MLB.com. “That’s all you can ask for at this point.”
Meanwhile, pitching against Dodger minor leaguers, Greinke allowed two home runs but ultimately threw 85 pitches in seven innings. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com describes the adjustments Greinke was making during the outing.
- After Kershaw departed, Zach Lee entered the game against the Royals and unfurled five nearly spotless innings. He came out in the ninth for the chance at the nearly impossible — the six-inning save. Unfortunately, Lee surrendered a two-run homer, tagging him with a blown save after 5 1/3 innings and leaving the Dodgers with their seventh tie of Spring Training, 4-4.
- Dustin McGowan was officially released by the Dodgers.
- Before Monday’s game, Don Mattingly and Arizona manager Chip Hale met — successfully, it appears — to defuse any tension between the two teams.
- J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News describes how a nearly anonymous 19-year-old Dodger minor leaguer, Victor Gonzalez, made an impression on Yasmani Grandal today.
Reds at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Elian Herrera, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Jerry Hairston Jr., 2B
Juan Rivera, RF
James Loney, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Luis Cruz, SS
Chad Billingsley, P
Dee Gordon is getting a day off after suffering a cramp in his leg late in Sunday’s game. Given that the Dodgers don’t really have a backup shortstop and were contemplating adding a player to the bench, it comes as little surprise that they have brought up Luis Cruz to the big-league roster, with Shawn Tolleson returning to the minors.
Cruz has been viewed by some as, if not a savior, at least a viable improvement over the oft-struggling Gordon. Without ruling out an Elian Herrera-like hot streak, it seems unlikely. The 28-year-old has a lifetime .275 on-base percentage and .260 slugging percentage in 169 major-league plate apperances, and while he is at .348 and .529 for Triple-A Albuquerque this year, keep in mind that OBP is lower than what Gordon had with the Isotopes in 2011. (In addition, as the man from Cat Hell, Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness, notes, Cruz’s minor-league OPS on the road this season is .672.) But, as a backup’s backup, we’ll hope for the best.
Gordon, by the way, had a .342 on-base percentage with seven steals in eight attempts in his past nine games. That’s not to say that his overall performance this year hasn’t been disappointing, but again, we went into 2012 knowing that he’d be a work in progress.
Ted Lilly, by the way, was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Lilly last pitched May 23. On the bright side, Mark Ellis and Javy Guerra have begun their rehab assignments and could be activated this week.
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The Dodgers announced the signings of four 16-year-olds from Latin America today: pitchers Lenix Osuna, Victor Gonzalez and William Soto and catcher Julian Leon. Osuna is the son of former Dodger pitcher Antonio Osuna.
