MidValleySports.Com

By Those Deferred BenchWarmers
It was a bit of a rough road trip for the Dodgers – on and off the field – as they finished it 2-4 and again are experiencing some injury issues with the pitching staff.

The Week in Review
Headline for the Week: Despite the Losses, Still Positive Signs for Dodgers

Results: The Dodgers again dropped two of three to an NL East foe, this time losing to the Nationals 6-4 and 8-2, before salvaging the last game 7-6.

Pitching Analysis:
Dustin May was able notch a quality start – 6 innings, 1 k , 3bb, 3 runs (2 unearned), 86 pitches. In the bottom of the 2nd, two errors on ground balls led to 2 unearned runs. In the 3rd the Nationals were able to get another run off of May. Anthony Banda came in to start the 7th and was only able to get one out giving up 3 hits, that included a 2-run HR. Matt Sauer came in with a runner on 2nd and promptly gave up a single to CF, which resulted in a perfect throw to home for the 2nd out of the inning from Tommy Edman. Next at-bat, former Dodger Keibert Ruiz, doubled in the 3rd run of the inning.

Justin Wrobleski was called up to pitch game 2 and the Nationals jumped on him early in the 1st with a 2-run HR and another 3 runs in each of the 2nd and 4th inning. He was a trooper and was able to at least get through the 5th inning to save the bullpen some work. His final stat line – 5 innings, 8 earned runs, 4k, and 3bb. Ben Casparius and Luis Garcia were able to keep the Nationals scoreless in the final 3 innings.

Landon Knack got the nod in game 3 and got knocked around for 5 earned-runs, 4 hits, 4bb, and 2k through 2.1 innings. Turned into an early bullpen game, in which the bullpen shutout the Nationals for the remaining 6.2 innings. The bullpen only allowed 4 baserunners the rest of the game, combining for 7k. Jack Dreyer had another solid relief appearance, going 1.2 innings and limiting the damage in the 3rd inning. Blake Treinen was able to get out of a jam in the 9th to secure his 2nd save of the year.

Hitting Analysis:
Ohtani opened up the series with a rocket (113 mph exit-velo) that ate up the 2nd baseman for a single, but quickly doubled up on a ground ball by Mookie. Ohtani provided most of the offense for the rest of the game with a 2-run HR and triple, nearly hitting for the cycle. The Dodgers were able to rally in the top of the 8th that started with Conforto battling for a lead-off walk and later brought in on a Mookie single. With the deuces-wild, Will Smith was able to bloop a single to bring in Mookie. Top 9th was quiet with only a Shohei walk.

Not a lot to say in game 2 for the bats. The only runs came from an Andy Pages solo HR in the 5th and Kiké Hernández solo HR in the 8th. As a team, the Dodgers struck out 15 times.

The Dodger bats started hot in game 3, with 4 runs in the 1st inning. Edman had a 2-run triple, followed by a Teoscar Hernandez line-drive HR that just snuck over the fence in left-center. The bats cooled up until the 7th inning, where Andy Pages hit his 2nd HR of the season. Later in the 7th, Ohtani scored on a bloop single by Teoscar that just went over the 2nd baseman.

Takeaway for the Week:
World Series hangover finally kicking in, energy from the team has been lackluster

Burning Question (An Attempted Answer):
Is something wrong with the Dodgers? The short answer: No. It’s baseball. Starting 8-0, the best start by a defending champion ever, with the talent (and payroll) the Dodgers have is going to get everyone worked up, but a baseball season is one filled with ups and downs. The teams with the best record of all time, still dropped 1 out of every 4 games, so it was never going to be a complete cake walk. At this point for the Dodgers and their fans, the focus is always October. So, seeing the bullpen bounce back well, seeing which starters can be depended on, seeing good at-bats, defense, and base running, and keeping long-term injuries away from the team are far more important than winning every game.

Around the MLB:
After having a solid year in 2024, Hunter Greene from the Reds is building off of last year with a hot start on the mound. Monday night he dominated the Giants, going 8.2 innings with 7k, 0 runs, and a win. Through 3 starts the hard-throwing 25-year-old has a 1.31 ERA and .63 WHIP. Adding him to my Cy-Young watch list.
The Chicago White Sox continue to find new ways to lose, this time Wednesday when Mike Tauchman injured his hamstring while attempting to score the tying run in the 9th inning. Tauchman, who has dealt with hamstring issues this season, rounded third and looked to be in good position to tie the game. Upon getting about half way to the plate however, he pulled up and was easily tagged out.

Next Series’ Preview
Matchups: The Dodgers return home from their first road trip of the season, welcoming a familiar opponent to Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers will take on the NL Central leader Chicago Cubs for the second time in this young season in a 3-game series. The Blue Crew hold the season series lead, after taking the first two games against the Cubbies in Tokyo.

The Cubs will send out Matthew Boyd in game 1 and Ben Brown in game 2 while Dodgers counter with Yamamoto, Sasaki, and Glasnow.

Analysis:
The Cubs’ lineup is pretty much the same as the one they ran out in Tokyo. The Cubs currently lead the majors with a +28 run differential, but don’t let that fool you, most of those runs came against the Athletics when they outscored them 35-9. Dodger pitchers will need to attack the zone as the Cubs currently have a chase rate of 25.8% and lead the majors with 76 walks, the next closest is the Mariners at 56. Once they reach, the Dodgers will need to keep a close eye on them as the Cubs lead the majors in thefts with 25 and only being caught once.

Boyd has not allowed a run this season in two starts. What is most impressive is only one hitter has managed to barrel one up vs Boyd this season.

What to Look For:
Sasaki will get the ball in game 2 for his 4th big league start. Although Sasaki was only able to go 4 innings vs Philadelphia, that was his best big league start by far. Let’s see if he can build on it and get a quality start vs the Cubs. He will need to stay in the zone much better than he has in his first 3 starts and this is the second time the Cubs will see him, so there will be no surprises this time.