MidValleySports.Com

By Those Deferred BenchWarmers

The Dodgers are essentially halfway through their toughest stretch of the season and have a .500 record through it (although it does not let up after the New York teams visit LA: the Dodgers will travel to St. Louis and San Diego before returning home to face the Giants and Padres).

The reassuring fact for all Dodger fans is that the pitching staff is not fully healthy and the offense looked much better this week in Cleveland. 

The Week in Review
Headline for the Week: Dodgers use Clutch Hitting to Win Series Against Guardians

Results: The Dodgers took two of three from the Guardians, and looked to sweep the series before an 8th inning implosion that yielded 5 runs to the Guardians. 

Pitching Analysis: The starters looked good. Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked like his Cy Young Candidate self, although he exited earlier than people anticipated with some physical discomfort; that will be something to monitor moving forward. Dustin May continued his solid streak from the Arizona series, as he struck out 9 in five innings of work. Clayton Kershaw also threw five solid innings, working around six hits to only give up one run. 

The bullpen, on the other hand, progressively got worse. In the two Dodger victories, the bullpen pitched 7 innings and allowed just two runs. In game 3, the ‘pen allowed three hits and six runs in just three innings to saddle the Dodgers with the loss. 
  
Hitting Analysis: The other big factor in the series was the Dodgers clutching hitting – hitting with runners in scoring position. They were a combined 11 for 25, led by major league RISP Avg leader Will Smith. Will the Dodgers bat .444 with RISP for the rest of the season? No, but with the lineup fully healthy, these positive trends should continue. Game two was peak for the Dodger offense, as every player who got an at bat had a hit. Additionally, Max Muncy and Michael Conforto have begun their turnarounds, as each is hitting over .250 the last 15 games, with Muncy near an .800 OPS and Conforto over it. It’ll take a lot more time to trust them, but they are on the right track. 

Takeaway for the Week: The Dodgers have yet to put a full series together since the opening sets, as they looked solid offensively, but are still missing key pieces on the pitching staff.

Burning Question (And Attempted Answer): 
What’s going on with Tanner Scott?
Scott’s ERA is the highest it’s been in five years and opponents have the highest batting average against him since before the pandemic. Part of the issue is the different approach the Dodgers have Scott taking. Scott had been known a bit as a nibbler, whereas now the Dodgers have him pounding the strike zone. This leads to good and bad things: Scott’s K/BB ratio is as good as it’s ever been — by a long shot (Cutting this season’s ratio in half would still leave him with a career best – be nearly half a strikeout), while opponents are slugging the best against him that they ever have. Our prognosis: it’s going to get better as Scott works on what the Dodgers ask him to do, but there still will be some bumps in the road. We expect a more dominant run from Scott in the second half.

And, late addition: the Dodgers traded for former Reds’ closer Alexis Diaz. Assuming he’s added to the bullpen, it would give the Dodgers six pitchers who have recorded at least 35 saves in their career (and nine with at least 15 saves in their career).

Around the MLB: 
Christian Yelich hit his first career walk off homerun – a grand slam in the 10 inning to lead the Brewers to a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox.
Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh dropped a deuce on the Washington Nationals on Tuesday in the Mariners 9-1 win. Raleigh quietly leads the AL in Home Runs, and has now hit the most home runs by a catcher in his first four seasons, passing former Dodger Mike Piazza. 
Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher to strikeout 2,500 batters on Thursday night. He surpassed Randy Johnson’s record from 1999.

Next Series’ Preview
Matchups: It’s a World Series Rematch, as the Yankees come to LA for a three game set. 

Analysis: Yankees game one starter Max Fried has been lights out so far this season, as he leads the baseball in wins and starters in ERA. His ERA is even better on the road, at a .083 clip. The Dodger bats are hot, so it should be an electrifying matchup on Friday. 

What to Look For: Obviously a World Series rematch needs no hyping up, but the commentary from the Yankees about them actually being the better team adds intrigue to the first time these two teams will face each other since the comments. With the recent struggles being left in the rear mirror, expect the Dodgers to come out firing in an atmosphere that’s akin to last October.