MidValleySports.Com

By Those Deferred BenchWarmers

Although both victories were somewhat tarnished by the controversies concerning the last outs, the Dodgers were able to take 2 of 3 from AL West leading Rangers on the road. It very easily could have been a sweep (the Dodgers had a 3-2 lead heading into the 9th in game 2) just as easily as the Dodgers could have been swept… that’s baseball.

The Weekend in Review
Headline for the Weekend: Dodgers Start Road Trip With 2-1 Series Win

Results:
Game 1 was a battle between former Cy Young winner, Jacob Degrom, and maybe future Cy Young winner, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Was a pitchers duel throughout the game that ended 3-0, Dodgers. This was followed by more solid pitching, but Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off 2-run HR to win it for the Rangers 4-3. Game 3 was more of –you guessed it – solid pitching, with the Dodgers edging this one out 1-0.

Pitching Analysis:
Another dominant performance by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the opening game against the Rangers- 7 innings, 10 K, 0 BB, 0 runs, and 36% whiff. Lowered his season ERA to 0.93 and WHIP to 0.86. Kirby Yates delivered a solid outing in the opener, getting the hold and striking out 2. Tanner Scott notched a save in game 1. With 2 runners on and 1 out, he induced a sharp ground ball down the 3rd-base line but was scooped up by Max Muncy and turned for a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.

Roki Sasaki had his longest outing of the season and got his first quality start of the season – 6 innings, 4 K, 3 BB, 2 earned runs, 78 pitches. Although it was encouraging to see him pitch deeper into a game, there were a total of nine hard-hit balls (>95mph). Even with the hard hit ball Sasaki left the game in line for the win. Yates had a chance for a save on Saturday, but gave up a leadoff double followed by an Adolis Garcia walk-off HR.

Tyler Glasnow was having a solid outing on Sunday until he didn’t come back in the 5th due to injury. His final statline – 4 innings. 6k, 1 BB, 0 runs. He matched Tyler Mahle in what was shaping up to be an epic Easter Morning Pitchers’ Duel before his calf stopped cooperating (the Dodgers were optimistic he won’t miss time). The bullpen was able to hold down the fort for the final 5 innings – 5k, 2 BB, 2 hits, 0 runs. Scott notched his 8th save in a clean 9th.

Evan Philips made his debut this series and looked good getting 2 strike-outs in two-thirds of an inning on Saturday night. Followed it up with a big strikeout of Adolis Garcia to get a hold in the bottom of 8th on Sunday.

Hitting Analysis:
Tommy Edman started the series with a lead-off HR. For the remainder of the game the bats were silent until the 9th with an RBI single from Teoscar Hernandez and a Will Smith sac-fly for insurance.

In game 2, Freddie Freeman hit his 4th HR of the season in the 4th to tie the game at 2. Max Muncy drove in the only other run with a ground-rule double. Team was only able to get 6 hits in this one.

Dodger catchers led the way with 2 out of the 3 hits in Sunday;s game. The big one was in the bottom of the 8th, when Will Smith pinch hit for Austin Barnes, and started the inning with a single. This was followed by a Ohtani walk, Mookie sac-fly, and a Freeman run-scoring sac-fly.

Defense/Base Running Analysis: Some of the biggest concerns defensively were somewhat relieved this series: Andy Pages robbed Corey Seager of a HR in game 2 (although it still looks like there are some communication concerns in the OF). Max Muncy made some stellar plays at third, including starting the game-ending double play in game 1, and Will Smith threw out an attempted base-stealer to end Game 3. Baserunning is still somewhat of an issue, as Will Smith was picked off in 7th in game 2, which was then promptly followed by a Kike Hernandez double.

Takeaway for the Weekend:
Dodgers pitching looked great and kept them in all 3 games to win the series 2-1. Also the crowd in Globe park seemed to be at least half Dodger fans, and heard multiple “Let’s go Dodgers!” chants, and maybe even saw a beach ball flying around.

Burning Question (And Attempted Answer):Tyler Glasnow left the game with leg cramps. Can he hold up for the entire season?

Hopefully the Texas BBQ and lack of H2O lead to these cramps. I’d be ok if they did some load management and placed him on the IL to keep his arm healthy and fresh for the long run.

Around the MLB:
Max Fried from the Yankees had a near no-hitter that lasted until the 8th but then changed to only 6 no-hit innings after an earlier error call changed to a hit.

Next Series’ Preview
Matchups: Dodgers travel to Chicago to take on the Cubs for the last time this regular season in a short 2-game series. Unless these games get postponed as it is currently projected to rain Tuesday and Wednesday.

Analysis: The Cubs are currently leading the NL Central and just helped the Dodgers by taking 2 of 3 from the D-Backs. Shota Imanaga is going game 1 and Matthew Boyd is going in game 2, with both sporting ERA’s below 2.22. Dodgers will send out Dustin May in Game 1 and are still undecided for game 2.

What to Look For: The Cub bats are hitting well right now and the Dodger pitching will need to continue this weekends’ momentum to slow them down. Pete Crow-Armstrong has electrifying speed and the Dodgers need to find a way to keep him off the basepaths. Kyle Tucker still has a hot bat heading into this series. With Ohtani coming back to lead off the lineup after baby leave the Dodgers offense should look to relieve some of the stress the pitching staff experienced this last series. Blake Treinen placed on the 15-day IL with a forearm strain.