An elimination game, win or go home. Dodgers scratched Freeman prior to the game and moved Muncy to first, Kike on third, and started Taylor in CF. It was a bullpen game with Brasier as the opener against Dylan Cease. In the top of the first, Ohtani grounded out and then Mookie, for the second night in a row, hit a homer. This time to left centerfield. Teo followed with a single. Muncy popped out and Smith lined out to Profar.
Brasier retired the Padres in order in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second, Edman grounded out and Lux walked. Kike then singled, and Chris Taylor struck out. Ohtani singled and Hoenig replaced Cease for the Padres. Mookie greeted him with a single to right scoring Lux and Kike. Ohtani went to second. Teo grounded out to end the inning. Brasier got Machado to ground out and then Banda replaced Brasier. Merrill struck out, Bogaerts walked and Peralta singled. Cronenworth popped out to Edman. 3-0 LA.
Top of the third, Muncy doubled to center and Smith homered to center. LA 5-0. After Edman struck out, Morejon replaced Hoenig. Lux and Kike made outs. Taylor moved to third and Kike went to CF. Kopech relived Banda. Higashioka struck out, Arraez flied out to left. Tatis then doubled deep to CF. Profar flied out to left. Top of the fourth. Taylor struck out and Ohtani walked. Betts flied out to center and Ohtani took second. Teo singled down the line the ball deflecting off of Machado’s glove and then it hit the umpire, Machado retrieved the ball and threw Ohtani out at the plate.
Bottom of the fourth, Vesia replaced Kopech and got the Padres out in order. Top of the fifth. Muncy flied out to center and Estrada replaced Morejon. Smith and Edman grounded out to end the inning. Bottom of the fifth, Vesia still pitching. Peralta singled and Cronenworth walked. Higashioka struck out and Arraez flied out to Betts. Phillips replaced Vesia. Tatis flied out to Kike.
Top of the sixth inning, Lux singled to second, the ball was deflected by Estrada. Kike and Taylor struck out. Ohtani walked and Jacob replaced Estrada. Betts popped out to first. Kike and Taylor switched positions again. In the Padres half of the inning, Profar popped out, Machado flied out to Kike and Merrill grounded out to Lux. Teo struck out to lead off the seventh. Muncy walked. Smith reached on an error with Muncy going to third. Edman then laid down a perfect bunt that scored Muncy, he was just barely out at first. Peralta replaced Jacob and Lux homered to right scoring Smith. 8-0 LA. That ended the scoring. The Dodger pen shut down the Padres the last 3 innings even though the Padres had 4 hits in those three innings including a triple off of Hudson by Cronenworth.
Dodgers hit 3 homers and double as part of their 12 hits. They drew 3 walks and had 10 Ks. Chris Taylor struck out 4 times. They were 5-9 with RISP. Game 5 will be at Dodger Stadium on Friday at 5:08 PST. Starting pitchers are Darvish for SD and Yamamoto for the Dodgers. It is unknown if Freeman will be able to play, but Rojas is almost definitely out. Winner will face the New York Mets who beat Philly 4-1 earlier in the day. The NLCS begins on Sunday at the home park of the winner on Fox and FS1.
Are you ready for this! Game 5 at home, all hands-on deck. Roberts team record in elimination games is 12-7.
I said it could be a rout . And it was! 😀
Dodgers came to play this time. Each pitcher we sent out did a magnificient job and the offense scored early and often.
On to Game5 on Friday. Hope DS will be rocking and rolling. Yoshi will have to be good this time because on the other side there looms one of the bigger nemesis in Darvish.
Got to do a better job vs him than last time out.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They did exactly what I said they needed to do, play the A list Bullpen, and don’t give up any HRs. If they want to pitch a starter, treat them like a Reliever. If they are having problems, pull them whether it’s the first inning or not. We happen to have a very stout A list BP and a very shaky starter corps. Doc came through and should be commended if he chose this.
Many of you were crying before today’s game. Mookie was waking up, but the team as a whole produced. Follow my formula and don’t rely on the starter to pitch more than a couple of innings unless they are lights out. Yamamoto and Flaherty are quite shaky at the moment. Relying on them is a crap shoot. Rely on the A list BP, they are elite. We won’t be playing Philly in either case.
I wonder if Roberts or Ebell will have a talk with Shohei about running thru a clear stop sign. The replay showed he wasn’t even looking at Ebel and he was out at the plate.
I definitely did not see that this was going to happen. I did call for a bullpen game but thought the bats had already gone into winter hibernation. Mookie seems to be the real catalyst for the team, if he performs the team follows suit.
Darvish has to be due to not have a dominant game against the Dodgers, let’s hope that is true Friday night.
Go Dodgers!
Alanna.Better vibes today. 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuLJ94ZPEIc
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
We know what formula works. With a few alterations, just stick with it!
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2024-10-10/dodgers-bullpen-game-padres-nlds-game-4
This was a complete team win with all aspects of baseball being played. Solid pitching, long ball, small ball, lots of contact (except for CT3), and good defense.
Roberts did a nice job handling the BP. I would guess this was discussed and sorted out before the game by the coaches and the front office. The results were outstanding. I was a bit surprised that the Dodgers got to Cease the way they did.
The Dodgers exposed Cease in his two starts. The Padre manager didn’t wait very long to pull him realizing it was not his day. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cease on Friday if the game is close.
Today’s AL games should be interesting. Hopefully, the Yankees and Guardians will come out on top. The division winners need to step up their play in order to move forward. A World Series with San Diego vs Detroit/Kansas City is bad for baseball. I like watching the WS, but if the above teams are p[laying that won’t be happening.
A shutout in a close-out game at home. Admittedly I did not see that coming.
I doubt it’s another bullpen game tomorrow but I would not be surprised if it turns into one.
IMO, the pressure was finally on The Padres and it showed. They were the deer in the headlights team and The Dodgers were having fun.
Will L.A. have that vibe on Friday night or not?
The bullpen is full of veterans and it showed. The moment was not too big for them. They dominated the ball game for 9 innings.
Chris Taylor should not see the field again this season. I would rather see Pages and I don’t care what happens in CF. He is completely broken and could cost them the game.
Props to Andrew Friedman. His deadline deals were masterful. Got the pieces we needed without breaking the bank.
Baseball and my golf swing have a lot in common. I have figured out both at least 1000 times.
The unpredictability of baseball keeps us all interested. How do you figure? The Dodgers go into a hostile environment in a loser out game, with a bullpen game, cold bats, shaky defense, and face a top line starter, without our All-Star first baseman and starting shortstop? No problem. We win 8-0.
Amazing what can happen, especially when every player the starting line up, gets at least 1 hit except CT3. And 8 pitchers throw a shutout.
Doc managed the bullpen masterfully . Different order than I expected but good on the staff putting this game-plan together. I have no idea how they came up with Kopech in the 3rd?
Mookie broke out, Lux had a great night and Kike sure likes the big stage. CT3 played fine defense but failed to get down a safety squeeze and struck out 3 times.
I loved Edman’s safety squeeze. Good on Doc for calling that when we needed an insurance run. Great call on a play that can’t be defended if done right. And Edman did.
It was really nice to start a game without being down early. We spotted the Padres 12 runs in the first 2 innings of the previous games. Playing from behind is difficult in the playoffs.
The Padres still found a way to be lucky bastards. I’ve never seen a ball bounce off an infielders glove, hit the umpire in foul territory and drop dead, allowing a play at home? Are you kidding me?
Smoltz blamed Ohtani for running home, thru Dino’s stop sign. Really, do you think he could stop as he rounded third, hell bent for home? I doubt he could even see Dino. Even if he could stop, Machado had him dead, coming back to 3rd. Just unlucky and I’m glad it didn’t matter. Smoltz needs to stick to analyzing pitching.
It’s it amazing how well behaved the Padres are when they’re getting their ass handed to them?
The state of pitching in playoff baseball these days is amazing. I know it’s deep into 5 games series’ but starting pitchers are extinct. Either out of desperation or as a planned bullpen game, only 2 starting pitchers yesterday got through 5 innings; Quintana for the Mets and Lugo for the Royals.
In 4 playoff games yesterday there were 48 pitchers used. That is extraordinary.
So where do the Dodgers go from here for game 5? I’m afraid we get another lame start from Yamamoto or Flaherty, and dig us another early hole. Sometimes the hook can’t be soon enough. Don’t laugh, but I’d consider another bullpen game with the same cast of relief pitchers in a different order, perhaps. We could make a new plan if we get to a 7 games series.
I know it’s an IF, but it’s interesting to note that if Profar hadn’t stolen that homer Mookie bats would be on three straight games with a homer.
And there were so many people here who were questioning his ability to hit in the playoffs…
We got Yamamoto for these games. He needs to show why the Dodgers shelled out all this money for him. At least 3-4 quality innings. Embarrassing to say that about someone making that kind of money. Sadly, I’m not sure he can do it. The padres have abused him every time. So the chess players have a tough decision. Do u go with someone who has been torched or an overused bullpen. Flaherty isn’t the answer either. They have options but are they good options? Based on performance u would have to go with the bullpen. Whatever they decide Doc needs to go into the game with the same underdog mentality as yesterday. The team and manager were loose, confident, and aggressive. The Pads have been so lucky so far. The breaks have gone their way thus far. What’s the chances an umpire literally takes a run from the Dodgers. Arraez playing out of his head at first and peralta playing way over his head. Tatis Is on fire. The Dodgers are due for some breaks.
It was so refreshing to see the Dodgers break out of their hitting woes last night that has plagued them in recent early playoff exits. I just hope it continues.
I blame the format of 5 games for not allowing a team to get untracked. Lose the first 2 games and it’s terminal. As I’ve mentioned many times, if a guy goes 1 for 12 in July, it goes unnoticed. The same 1 for 12 in the playoffs gets a guy labeled as a choking dog that haunts his career. 7 games is far more fair.
I would have bet the farm on the 95 game winning Phillies getting to the NLCs. But they took the path that killed the Dodgers in previous playoffs. They quit hitting.
Their middle 3 stars, Turner, Harper and Castellanos showed up, especially Castellanos. The rest of the order shallowed the olive. Schwarber, leading off, was 2 for 19. The bottom 5 in the order; Bohm, Realmuto, Stott, Williams/Mays, and Marsh were a combined 6 for 74, a frigid .081.
Sounds familiar.
This is a topic for the off-season again but briefly I would like to see the Division winners get a 7 game series. And it doesn’t have to prolong the playoffs into Christmas. The Monday after the end of the season remains open for tie breaker games like this year, or an off day. Then play a doubleheader on Tuesday to open the Wild-card round. If the host venue wants to bitch about lost gate revenue, make it a split double-header. It the teams split on Tuesday, the Wednesday game decides the winner. Thursday starts the Division Series. That creates a 3 day bye for the Division winners and allows for a 7 game Division Series. Start the LCS on Saturday instead of Monday.
Question for the group:
who do you think a Game 5 loss is more problematic for:
Preller or Friedman?
Some news from around the league. Brewers GM Matt Arnold says the team will be open minded about trading Devon Williams. He said since they are the smallest market in the league, they have to have an open mind per trades. Club will most likely lose Adames this winter. QO for this year will be 21.05 million. Only 7 players were offered the QO last year, including Ohtani. Twins’ owner, Joe Pohlad, said the family will explore selling the team. They have owned the Twins since 1984. Third longest behind the Steinbrenner’s and Jerry Reinsdorf of the White Sox. Dave Roberts believes there should be changes in the present system. Teams should be reseeded after the wild card round. Highest seed playing the lowest seed. The Red Sox are making changes in their coaching staff. Six members of Coras staff are leaving. 1B coach, Andy Fox, BP coach, Kevin Walker, assistant hitting coach, Luis Ortiz, mental skills coach, Rey Fuentes, trainer, Ben Chadwick and BP catcher, Mani Martinez. Fox has been with the Sox for more than a decade and was a 9-year MLB veteran.
The Sporting News is predicting that not only will the Dodgers pursue Adames in free agency, but also free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes. It is predicted that Burnes will get a deal for between 150-200 million.
Braves fired their hitting coach, Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach, Bobby Magallanes, and catching coach, Sal Fasano according to the Athletic. Jorge Polanco underwent knee surgery to repair the patella tendon in his left knee. The Rays are assessing the damage to Tropicana Field. Photos have shown significant damage to the roof with almost all of it ripped off and shredded into pieces that fell onto the field. There are other priorities of course. But the damage could have a direct impact on the upcoming 25 season. Since the stadium was built with a roof, there is no drainage system and water damage is a huge concern.
Doc used the 7 relievers I thought he should use that I talked about earlier in the day yesterday and it worked, plus he gave Knack an inning of playoff experience, I think that was a good move, might as well.
You never know Yamamoto could have a good day tomorrow and a reliever or 2 might be off his game tomorrow.
Since allowing HR’s can kill you in the playoffs, the starting pitcher on the playoff roster that has the lowest HR% this year is Yamamoto and he has the lowest SLG% too.
I’d try to stay away from using Flaherty and the rest of the starters besides Yamamoto, they’re all HR prone. But there was one thing that concerns me about what Doc said in an interview after the game yesterday. He said between Yamamoto and Flaherty there is enough length for game 5. It sounds like he’s worried about over using the bullpen. Why? Today is a day off and the bullpen was nails yesterday.
Among the 7 good relievers who happen to pitch yesterday, not counting Knack of course, in order from best to worse HR% this year, and I’m including Kopech’s time with the Sox too:
Banda
Phillips
Brasier, Treinen and Vesia are all tied
There’s a big gap here between the above 3 and Kopech
Kopech
A bigger gap here between Kopech and Hudson
Hudson
Among those 7 guys, the only ones without lopsided splits this year are Vesia and Hudson. I bet Doc navigated his way through those splits yesterday. I don’t feel like looking.
Of course I didn’t take into account those 7 guys career stats in all of this.
Yamamoto with a short leash, stay away from the rest of the starters and Casparius and Henriquez and try to stay away from Kopech and Hudson sounds good. And of course, score as many runs as possible. But that’s just me. Of course the way the game is going will ultimately dictate the pitching moves.
Score early and go with your best pitchers. There’s no tomorrow if you don’t win.
Somewhere in Heaven, Harold Uhlman is smiling wide because of the Zach McKinstry oppo bomb for Detroit.