Dylan Cease vs Jack Flaherty. LA went with the same lineup they had last night. First inning: Arraez struck out. Tatis walked and Profar hit into a DP, Lux-Rojas-Freeman. Ohtani walked. Betts popped out, Freeman struck out, Teo singled to right scoring Ohtani. Muncy walked and Smith flew out deep to right. Second inning: Machado walked. Merrill doubled to right. Bogaerts singled scoring Machado. Cronenworth grounded out scoring Merrill. Solano and Diaz struck out.
Second inning: Edman struck out, Lux flied out to left, and Rojas flied out to right. Third inning: Arraez lined out. Tatis doubled to left. Profar grounded out. Machado walked, Machado stole second and Merrill flew out. Ohtani struck out; Betts popped out. Freeman singled. Teo struck out. Fourth inning: Bogaerts and Cronenworth struck out, Solano flew out to right. Muncy struck out. Smith grounded out to third. Edman doubled to right. Lux singled to center scoring Edman to tie the game. Rojas walked, Lux to second. Ohtani doubled to right scoring Lux, 3-2 Dodgers. Betts popped out.
Fifth inning: Pages comes into the game in Rojas spot, Edman went to SS and Pages is in CF. Diaz grounded out to SS. Arraez grounds out to Lux. Tatis homers to left center. 3-3. Profar struck out. Observation: The home plate ump has missed several calls. Freeman grounded out to Cease. Teo grounded out to first. Muncy grounded out to second. Sixth inning: Vesia relieves Flaherty. Machado lined out to Pages. Merrill lined out to Teo. Bogaerts walked. Cronenworth at bat, Bogaerts caught stealing. Note from Dodger dugout, Rojas left the game with groin tightness.
Bottom of the sixth: Estrada replaces Cease. Smith walked. Edman walked, Smith to second. Lux struck out. Pages lined out to Merrill. Morejon replaces Estrada. Ohtani singled scoring Smith. Edman went to third. Ohtani steals second. Betts popped out to second. 4-3 Dodgers. Mookie is ofer the series so far. Hasn’t had a hit since his walk off homer on Sunday. Seventh inning: Kiermaier replaced Pages in CF, batting 9th. Vesia stayed in to face Cronenworth. Cronenworth walked. Phillips replaces Vesia. Solano struck out. Diaz batted for by Peralta. Peralta hit into a force play. Wade running for Peralta. Arraez pops out.
Dodger seventh: Padres defensive changes. Higashioka C, Morejon still pitching. Freeman doubled to center field. Hoenig replaces Morejon. Teo grounded out to SS. Muncy walked. Smith hit into a double play. LA 4-12 with RISP. Eighth inning: Treinen replaces Phillips. Tatis lines out to Teo. Profar struck out. Machado struck out. Dodger eighth: Edman grounds out to the pitcher. Lux singled to left. Peralta replaces Hoenig, Kike PH for Kiermaier. Kike hits into a double play. Second DP of the game for the Padres.
Ninth inning: Kopech in to pitch for the Dodgers. Kike to CF. Merrill grounds out Freeman to Kopech. Bogaerts grounds out to Lux. Cronenworth walks. Lockridge runs for Cronenworth. Lockridge steals second. Solano struck out. Dodgers win 4-3. Magic number now at 2. Vesia got the win and Kopech got his 15th save. Buehler vs Musgrove tomorrow. Once again, the umpiring was not great, and it hurt the Dodgers in a couple of at bats. But they were better with RISP, 4-12. They left 8 men on base. They had 8 hits and 6 walks. What was impressive to me was that they only had 5 strikeouts.
Huge win for our boys. 4 up with 3 to play.
Great win, and good to see some fight in the guys. Flaherty was OK, not great. Late inning trio of graterol, treinen, and kopech could be pretty good. Just need to find a bridge from the 5th inning to get to them.
Some good two-out approaches and run scoring. Big mood lifter for everyone.
Really improves the odds for an amazing 11th division title in the past 12 years.
Awesome.
APB for Mooke
Nerve wrecking, but a HUGE win in the end.
Dodgers had chances to make it less stressful but just could not get the insurance run(s). Mookie hopefully comes out of his funk with RISP.
Lux with a key hit, good to see. The refusal to play some small ball continues for better or worse.
Now finish them off today!
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rojas getting an MRI today.
If he has to go to the IL bring up Rushing.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Dodgers still looked tight, but gutted out an intense win. Kopech officially the closer.
Can Buehler keep tonight’s game competitive for at least 4 innings?
“Dodgers breathe easier with a win.”
Yes they do. It wasn’t spectabulous but it was scratched out with a hard fought effort.
Man this team could use Mookie. He’s been mostly absent in this stretch run. .184/.192./.347/.539 in the last two weeks. Can they win it all without him? Doesn’t feel like it to me.
Rojas unfortunate. An unfortunate 9th inning triple play and an unfortunate yet to be diagnosed injury. I sure hope he isn’t lost.
Flaherty battled and 3 in 5 (5.4 ERA) is better than the starting staff average lately (6.2). If he can’t get 6 who on this staff can?
I still think winning the Division and getting every pitcher a rest is vital. The bullpen will probably be the difference in post season play as it sure looks like they will be used for half the innings pitched all the way through to November. There is no starter coming to the rescue. Every day off they can get is crucial.
The offense must score more than 4. 4 for 12 WRISP last night.They must be Bett(s)er going forward.
What a difference one game makes. I have nothing to complain about after last night’s win. Okay, except for that horrific HPU.
Jack Flaherty did not have his best game. But he was as good as Dylan Cease. The Padres are a fantastic bat to ball team, so they are going to make contact. They far and away have the least number of Ks in MLB. They have 73 less Ks than the next closest team (KC).
I HATE walks, and Flaherty walked three. But so did Cease. Flaherty gave up 4 hits, but Cease gave up 5. Flaherty got 5 K’s to Cease’s 4. Flaherty gave up his expected HR, but it was a solo shot. Flaherty did have three more pitches than Cease (100 to 97) and more strikes (99 to 97) in their 5.0 IP. This was two of the absolute best teams in all of MLB (if not THE two best), and Flaherty more than held his own against a guy who should end up in the final 3 NL CY votes.
I thought the Dodgers played with more excitement and urgency than the night before. Maybe they learned something. The Dodgers won a game without hitting a HR. Figure that. The Padres OF continues to steal hits from the LAD hitters.
Ohtani is on another planet. His new approach WRISP is very refreshing. He has been on record for blaming himself for trying too hard in those situations. You can certainly understand why when you factor he came from LAA and was expected to produce. He now knows he is not alone, and is looking to score runs rather than hit the ball a mile.
Has Lux re-found his stroke? At least for one night he did. Will it carry forward? He did say that he was not quick enough to adapt to the adjustment the pitchers made for him. He feels comfortable that he can again attack with how the pitchers are now pitching him. We’ll see.
My wife and I have been commenting that Freddie does not look like he is having fun. He is not nearly as conversational at 1B as he normally is. If any player deserves the benefit of the doubt it is Freddie Freeman. Young Max is walking again, but to continue to play with what he has had to endure is nothing short of phenomenal. His broken finger did not help either. He looks tired and like he would rather be back home rather than at a baseball game. I have no doubt that when the playoffs do arrive, Freddie will be fully engaged. He had a good night last night.
Muncy is still trying to hit a 500’ HR every swing. Where is that short barrel to the ball swing that produced 2 oppo doubles, SF, and 5 RBIs against Miami?
Tommy Edman and Miggy Ro continue to show they are true BASEBALL players. IMO, that is the biggest compliment you can give to these guys. I harken back to the Long Beach State Dirt Bags of the early-mid 90’s. Dave Snow changed that culture and every player gave it everything they had to win.
Every player goes through slumps, and some are horrific. Mookie is totally engulfed in one of those slumps. I fully expect Mookie to pull out of it and be a factor. Yes he was abysmal the past two NLDS, but that does not translate that he will be in 2024.
IMO, last night’s game was won in the top of the 8th with Blake Treinen. He faced Tatis Jr., Profar, and Machado, and dispatched them on 7 pitches (all strikes) including two Ks. His Machado K will become a classic. Treinen is showing his 2018 A’s dominance. Or at least his 2021 and 2022 LAD years.
Michael Kopech almost needs someone on base to bring out the beast. It was almost as if he walked Cronenworth unintentionally intentionally, and then proceeded to destroy a good bat to ball guy, Donovan Solano.
Alex Vesia still walks too many for my blood pressure. I am not convinced that Daniel Hudson should be on the playoff roster. Can Brusdar Graterol pitch in back to back games? I sure would like to see him do that in Colorado.
Now let’s see if Walker can prove his mettle in the series finale. I am wearing my Walker Buehler jersey all day.
Overall, this was a great game. One can be nit-picky, but why?
What a great week for Dodger baseball. Sunday Mookie Hits a game winning home run, last night we had bookends on a great trade line with Flaherty getting things started and Kopech finishing the job. Edman being a great pickup. Friedman and the rest of the front office did another great job at the deadline. We had great clutch hitting by Betts on Sunday and Lux and Ohtani last night. Our bullpen is coming together just at the right time. Our starting pitching is a concern and hopefully they get on the right track real soon. Best record in the major leagues and still the only division that hasn’t been clinched states how strong our division is. In the past ten games the Dodgers have the second best record 7-3 in the National league. The Padres are 8-2. Hope Rojas is okay after taking a few days off. Fortunately because of the foresight of the front office we have a very good shortstop (Edman) to fill in. The future is bright of our Dodgers.
Good game. Nice clutch win.
I guess we can win with no slug if we get this pitching. Hats off to Flaherty. Nice job bullpen as well.
I was wondering why Rojas didn’t score on the double and missed played relay from right field on Ohtani’s double. The ball missed the cut-guy and rolled into the infield harmlessly, while Rojas retreats to 3rd. That’s a huge run and a missed opportunity.
But Rojas was hurt. You could see his discomfort after the play and the replay of the defensive play in the hole a few inning earlier, where he looked hurt. I love his moxie but he couldn’t do it and was replaced the next inning. I admire his spirit but that cost us a run and Mookie popped up to end the inning. That’s a run that got away.
Mookie needs to get going.
To rub it in from yesterday but no bunt with Lux, bottom 6 with runners first and second. I would have moved the runners and I looked more insightful when Lux took a called strike 3. Pages flies out which would have scored a run had we moved the runner to 3rd. These little things matter and Doc just doesn’t set that up. And Ohtani’s single would have been 1 more run.
HPU was shitty again. Nice win and a huge start for Buehler.
Kuntz on the AFL allocation:
https://dodgersdigest.com/2024/09/26/zyhir-hope-jake-gelof-headline-dodgers-prospects-headed-to-arizona-fall-league/
Not much you can say but it was a great win and nerve wracking. Some guys are hitting, others not so much. Miggy is a magician on defense, and Edman is very good. Still, doubt they place him on the IL with just 4 games left and most likely a five-day layoff before they begin the LDS. They currently lead the Phillies for the best record in the league by 1/2 game. Prior awful postseasons notwithstanding, I trust in Betts. There have been times this season when Mookie carried the team. He slumped in September in 23 when he needed just 2 homers to reach 40 for the first time in his career. But I remember how well he played in 2020 in the post season, and he almost won game 6 of the series all by himself. Scored 2 and drove in 2. If they clinch tonight, no need to play all of the big guns all three games. It is going to be very warm in Denver this weekend. 86 on Friday, 90 on Saturday and 92 on Sunday. Ball will be flying on Sunday. MLB screwed the pooch with the Atl-NY series. They knew the big storm was coming and could have moved the games with so much on the line for both teams. Might end up costing Atlanta a postseason spot. Right now, they are 1 behind the Mets. KC and Detroit can clinch spots this weekend.
Looking at the preview of tonight’s matchups, the one guy on the Padres who just owns Buehler is Tatis Jr. 4 homers in 24 at bats. The only other Padre who has homered off of Buehler is Cronenworth. Most of the Padres who have seen Buehler multiple times have not done well. Of course, most of that was when he was more dominant than he has been lately. On the other hand, most of the current Dodgers have done very well against Musgrove. Freeman, Muncy and Taylor have taken him deep.
WE can’t afford another Mookie’s Day Off or a Beuhler’s Day Off. It really is amazing how Mookie has had a tendency to disappear in these big games, at least for the last 3 years. He doesn’t even make productive outs, last night he popped up twice with runners on base, can’ have that shit and expect to win.
Wander Franco’s day got a little darker, the judge in his case in the DR ruled there is sufficient evidence to go to trial. He faces 20 years in prison for sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor as well as human trafficking. No trial date has been set.
Apparently MSN already has the Dodgers clinched. We did it! lol
Dodgers clinch 11th NL West title in last 12 years with 4-3 win over Padres (msn.com)
Mookie said this about the current 3-game series with San Diego:
How much fun do you think Mookie is having?
I still believe he will be a plus come October.
News From Internet:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/12-more-prospects-who-stood-out-in-the-dominican-summer-league/ ($$$$$)
Arnaldo Lantigua, OF, Dodgers
Lantigua was repeating the DSL, but he’s a prospect worth monitoring. Lantigua signed for $697,500 in 2023, so the Dominican outfielder received one of the Dodgers’ biggest bonuses in their class that year. After hitting .222/.345/.475 in 29 games last year, Lantigua batted .301/.430/.575 in 49 games this season, with his 11 home runs tied for second in the league, as he drew 33 walks with 34 strikeouts. When Lantigua signed, his above-average raw power from the right side was the biggest draw from his strong 6-foot-2 frame. He showed that power in his debut and featured some of the best power in the DSL this season with some of the most consistent hard contact of any hitter in the league and exit velos up to 109 mph. Lantigua has long been a good fastball hitter for whom some scouts had questions about his ability to hit offspeed stuff, but he made strides with his ability to recognize and hit soft stuff this year, even homering a few times on breaking balls. An average runner, Lantigua spent most of his time in center field but projects better in a corner long term.
Jay Jaffe looks at the weak spots for NL contenders:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-weakest-positions-on-the-remaining-nl-contenders/
Rotation: Dodgers
It’s not that the Dodgers were doomed to repeat last year’s Division Series unraveling because they forgot what happened. They loaded up on high-end starting pitching this past winter by signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto and trading for Tyler Glasnow, then adding James Paxton and bringing back Clayton Kershaw with a plan for him to return from major shoulder surgery in midsummer. With those pitchers — fragile though they may have been — joining their existing wealth of young arms (including Walker Buehler and Dustin May, both returning from elbow surgeries), the Dodgers figured they had enough pitching to make it through the season and assemble a strong rotation for the playoffs…
He also looked at the strongest spots for NL contenders:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-strongest-positions-on-the-remaining-nl-contenders/
Dodgers: RF and DH.
Baseball America tracks which pitching prospects added the most velocity to their FB ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-prospects-who-added-the-most-fastball-velocity-in-2024/
Dilan Figueredo and Christian Romero (both in Rookie League) added ~2mph
Jackson Ferris got a callout as well.
Dan Szymoborski Chat:
Idiotic Failson: Assuming the Yankees sign Soto, what do you think they do with 3B next year? They can’t keep trying to just hope the Platonic idea of DJ LeMahieu can give them any real number of games next year, and there’s nothing really in the farm. Any chance they sign Bregman?
Dan Szymborski: I actually mentally have them down as a likely Bregman home
Thank you for the chat!: Who are the top trade targets in the offseason for 1B/2B/3B?
Dan Szymborski: I could see the O’s trading Mountcastle and I think Hoerner could be avialable given the config of the Cubs roster, finally SOMEONE would be interested in India I think
Josh: What do you (and ZiPS) think of Landon Knack? Both for the playoffs and for the next couple of years. Is he a mid-rotation guy?
Dan Szymborski: ZiPS sees him as 3/4 startery, and I can’t really quibble with it
Justin: How do you rate Dave Dombrowski as a GM? He always has good teams but at the same time seems to have a hard time with player evaluation. I think the Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker FA signings where bad when they signed and he seems to overpay in trades for relievers (soto for vierling, estevez trade). It’s almost like hes stuck in 2010 but the Phillies are really good so I’m not sure what to make of it.
Dan Szymborski: I think he’s still quite solid. I think he may be overrated these days on pure talent acquisition, but he’s always underrated as a general administrator/leader. He’s always run a very professional, competent front office and as far as I can tell, whenever there are ex-player hangers-on in a Dombrowski FO, they’re there for a reason, as in specific insight, not nostalgia. Though exact interactions between front office people is the product of educated guesses, I’m friendly with front offices and sell data to anybody, but both sides are very careful about how much information they share with me for ethical reasons, them for practical ones. I’m not a beat guy, but I *am* a journalist still
Szymborski also wrote about which teams are best equipped for the playoffs:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/which-teams-are-best-equipped-for-the-playoffs/
Baseball America also recapped which calendar year prospects had the most helium for this season ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/helium-review-see-all-our-2024-hot-sheet-picks-for-sleeper-mlb-prospects/
Zyhir Hope: …Hope was one of the better players in the Dodgers’ farm system. The outfielder showed a blend of production, strong analytical traits and future projection…
Hyun-Seok Jang: …His four-pitch mix wowed evaluators in the Arizona Complex League and helped him earn a bump to Low-A…
Dodgers and Yankees!
BA Top 100 movers:
Josue De Paula (No. 48 to No. 35), OF, Dodgers
We’ve steadily beaten the De Paula drum dating back to the offseason. So far, the 19-year-old Dodgers prospect continues to show one of the higher ceilings in all the minors.
Alex Freeland (No. 95 to No. 68), SS, Dodgers
Freeland is yet another astute Dodgers’ find. He’s a savvy, well-rounded hitter who should stick in the middle of the infield.
Ben Clemens Chat
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/ben-clemens-fangraphs-chat-9-10-24/
Adam: Are we at the point where, push come to shove, the Dodgers would just employ bullpen games in the playoffs rather than throw Buehler or Miller out there?
12:49
Ben Clemens: Yeah, I think they should employ bullpen games with those guys as part of the plan
Brett: What is more likely to happen, someone other than Ohtani to be in 50/50 club or someone other than Judge hitting more than 62 HR in your lifetime?
12:47
Ben Clemens: I think 50/50 club
12:48
Ben Clemens: it’s only been a year since we had a legit contender in Acuna
Jay Jaffe Chat:
Steve O: I don’t subscribe to the theory that the Yankees are uniquely bad at developing bats. Developing bats is difficult. Look at the Reds or Pirates. They’ve been rebuilding for years with high draft picks, and they have developed maybe 3 above average bats between both teams? Or what about the Dodgers? The Dodgers have really only developed Will Smith. Outman, Lux, etc have regressed. Development is difficult.
Jay Jaffe: It does appear that the tide is shifting for Lux, but what’s your window? The Dodgers did draft and develop Bellinger and Verdugo just a couple years before Smith and Lux. They’ve tended to favor pitching (and have done well, even with the injuries).
Smiling Politely: Re: Dodgers not developing hitters, Corey Seager would like a word, as would Michael Busch (heck, Luke Raley might even count). Now with Lux, I want to be optimistic, but he’s still not starting against lefties, so my excitement has a lower ceiling than it otherwise would
Jay Jaffe: the timeframe point from Steve O rules out Seager, but you’re right about those other two in that they were major league ready but the Dodgers didn’t have room for them
3:47
Not Sure: Jay how long do you figure the trio of Verlander, Scherzer, and Kershaw keep pitching?
Jay Jaffe: i bet 2025 will be the end for at least one of them and probably more
brooklyn resident: Ohtani: best DH season ever?
Jay Jaffe: Yes, i think that’s a fair statement
Talfred: Other than a single Ohtani start following a 2-inning outing, neither Ohtani nor Yamamoto have ever pitched on fewer than 5 days of rest. Is there any way that the Dodgers can even consider a 5-man rotation next year?
Jay Jaffe: More likely they use a modified 5-man as they did earlier in the year, using spot starters and openers to buy the occasional extra day of rest for both. It will be an interesting juggling act; let’s hope it doesn’t reprise this year’s shuttle to the IL, which seems to board daily.
Guest: Do you think we’re going to see a repeat of the 2023 Dodgers this year? A great team undone in the post-season by a lack of quality starting pitching?
Jay Jaffe: I think it’s entirely possible they go that route. I mean, a year ago I couldn’t have told you who Landon Knack was and now he’s quite possibly their Game 3 starter.
Tonight’s lineup Vs Musgrove. Ohtani DH, Betts RF, Freeman 1B, Hernandez LF, Muncy 3B, Smith C, Edman SS, Lux 2b, Pages CF, Buehler P.
Rojas said today he will sit out the next couple of days and get an injection for the pain in his groin. He hopes to play at least one game before the end of the season, but his goal is to be ready for the really important games in the playoffs. He will NOT be going on the IL.
Dodgers activated catcher Austin Barnes, recalled right-handed pitcher Ben Casparius, optioned catcher Hunter Feduccia and placed right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation.
Roberts said Kershaw is unavailable for multiple weeks. Meaning he most likely would not be available for the LDS and possibly not the LCS. My take, Kersh will not pitch again this year, which makes it highly possible he uses his player option to return next season.
Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports that Miguel Rojas confirmed an MRI on his injured left adductor muscle Thursday revealed a tear that will require off-season surgery. Rojas will attempt to come back soon and play through the injury after receiving a cortisone injection.
But I doubt Rojas’ health will allow him to play much the rest of this year, so I’m betting the line-up we see tonight, with Edman at SS and Pages in CF, is what the Dodgers will employ most of the time from here on out.
Pop up pop up ground ball. Ground ball pop up pop up.
Mr Betts comes thru.
Chris Taylor would NOT have hit that HR.
It’s a tough call, but I’m not sure I’d go to Kopech in the 9th. 2nd day in a row? Is it needed? Try Henriquez?
Missed most of this game for that POS NFL game, can’t tell from Twitter/X about Freeman’s ankle. What did the commentators say?
Woo-Hoo! NL West champs..
Congrats Dodgers for a great game!! It was hard fought but they persevered. Winning the division is a big deal for this team. With all the injuries, a very weak starting rotation, a gassed bullpen, a red hot padre and dbacks team. They did not back in they have had to play winning baseball to hold off those 2 red hot teams. So step 1 leading to hopefully much more but they deserve this celebration.