MidValleySports.Com

By Those Deferred BenchWarmers

Two exciting back and forth games produced two losses for the Dodgers, as the Dodgers blew a 3 run 8th inning lead in game 1 and a 2 run 5th inning lead in game 2.

The Week in Review
Headline for the Week: Cubs get payback for Tokyo Series with Wild 2 game Sweep

Results: The Dodgers sandwiched two off days with two losses to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, losing 11-10 in extra innings and 7-6 Wednesday night.

Pitching Analysis:
Dustin May had a tough one in the first game of the series against the Cubs – 5 IP, 7 ER, 5 K, 3 BB. Cub bats came hot out of the gate hitting the ball hard early and putting up 5 runs in the 1st inning. May was able to gut it out and hold the Cubs scoreless until the 5th, when Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA) hit a fastball over the middle of the plate for a 2-run HR.

Game 2 was a bullpen game in which Ben Caspirius started and did well in his 2.2 innings – 4 K, 0 BB, 1 hit. After Anthony Banda got the 1st batter out in the 4th, Noah Davis entered the game. After a single and a walk, PCA hit an opposite-field 3-run HR off of Davis. Jack Dreyer entered in the 5th and after getting the 1st out had trouble finding the zone, walking the next 3 batters. This was followed by single, sac-fly, and single. His final stat line – 1 IP, 0 K, 3 BB, 2 hits. Was the only damage done in this game by the Cubs.

Hitting Analysis:
Game 1 started with Tommy Edman hitting a 3-run HR in the 1st inning to start Tuesday’s scoring affair. Andy Pages hit a solo HR in the 2nd and Will Smith stayed hot with a solo HR in the 6th. The Dodgers rallied in the 7th, starting with a Pages single, Ohtani walk, and Mookie walk. Teoscar Hernandez hit a chopper that was bobbled by the 3rd baseman, allowing Pages to score . Freddie and Smith followed up with back-to-back doubles to complete the 5-run inning. The Dodgers ended the game going 1-2-3 in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings.

Takeaway for the Week:
We feel like this series was actually more about the Cubs than the Dodgers. They are a legitimate World Series contender, even with their bullpen.

Burning Question (And Attempted Answer):
Blake Snell’s throwing program was shut down, is there cause for concern?
The Answer: No. The Dodgers’ season will be defined in October, not April or May, and with the talent on the pitching staff, they can afford to be cautious. Dave Roberts said as much when he described the Dodgers “slow play[ing] the throwing” and that the team’s messaging was “it’s about later on in the season and if there’s any type of discomfort, let’s not try to fight through it.”

Around the MLB:
Joe T’s Mets have won seven in a row, this time thanks to Starling Marte’s walk off single on Wednesday. After winning the April World Series last year, the Mets currently have the best record in baseball.
The Padres’ Luiz Arraez was placed in concussion protocol following a collision with Trashtro second basemen Mauricio Dubon.
Oneil Cruz hit a 463 foot homer on Wednesday, the fourth longest in MLB this season, and Andrew Heaney took a perfect game into the fifth inning in the Pirates 3-0 win on Wednesday.

Next Series’ Preview
Matchups: The Pirates Come to town for a three game set this weekend, with the headlining matchup a Yoshinobu Yamamoto-Paul Skenes duel on Friday to kick off the series.

Analysis: The Dodgers have lost three of four (again) and sit tied for second with the Giants, a game back of the Padres in the NL West. Despite the troubles, they are tied for the third best record in baseball. The Pirates are last in the NL Central, six games below .500.

There is a bit of a “sky-is-falling” vibe amongst a large section of Dodgers twitter (which reminds the TDBW why we unfollowed a lot of these people in the first place), but we again remind everyone of Andrew Friedman’s ⅓ of the season rule. We’ll reach halfway to a third of the season (so a sixth of the season for all the non-math nerds) Saturday, so a general stock can be taken… but it’s legitimately still early.

The Dodgers Big 3 have each dealt have had their timing and grooves interrupted (Ohtani with his first child, Betts with the illness, and Freeman with his injury), so certain things will take time. Those three returning to form raises the strength of the lineup overall and provides more favorable opportunities for the rest of the lineup.

The pitching staff has had their own issues, but again, time is on their side. The Dodger rotation should only be strengthened as Sasaki and May get more comfortable and Snell, Kershaw, and potentially Gonsolin return from injuries (that’s a seven man rotation, likely meaning at least one of these guys can help in the pen). The bullpen added Evan Phillips back but lost Blake Treinen, plus are still awaiting the return of Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol.

What to Look For: Skenes vs Yamamoto is appointment television. Big-picture wise, obviously there needs to be some signs of life, and a home series against the Pirates should provide that. We would have preferred to see Skenes at the end of the series, but the Dodger bats were alive in the Windy City and are hopefully up for the challenge.