Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Brett Anderson (Page 3 of 4)

Dodgers taking measure of their pitching

Andrew Friedman gets a champagne bath after the clinch Tuesday.

Andrew Friedman gets a champagne bath after the NL West clinch Tuesday.

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Corey Seager, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Chase Utley, 2B
Yasmani Grandal, 1B
Austin Barnes, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

This afternoon to reporters, Don Mattingly disclosed some of the Dodgers’ pitching plans for the final five games of the regular season.

Thursday starter Brett Anderson might have a scheduled shortened start, and the same goes for Clayton Kershaw on Monday. By all appearances the Dodgers’ National League Division Series Game 1 starter on October 9, Kershaw will be on four days’ rest when the playoffs begin, so the Dodgers don’t need to skip him entirely. But it’s not like he’s going to be going the distance or anything, even if it means the difference between getting 300 strikeouts for the year or not.

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Match game with Ryu and Anderson

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By Jon Weisman

Last year, Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched 152 innings in 26 games at age 27 with a 3.38 ERA.

If Brett Anderson allows two earned runs in his first 4 2/3 innings against the Giants tonight, he will have pitched 152 innings in 26 games at age 27 with a 3.38 ERA.

It’s enough to make you marvel at what Anderson has accomplished, after totaling 123 innings over the previous three years, and it’s enough to make you rue Ryu’s absence after what he had accomplished the previous two years.

Despite the aforementioned similarities, Anderson and Ryu have not been the same pitcher.

Anderson-Ryu

Anderson has allowed more walks, contact and baserunners, but that surplus hasn’t led to more runs than Ryu allowed, perhaps because of Anderson’s extreme groundball ratio.

Ryu made four starts against the Giants in 2014, two of them good. By the time Anderson finishes his fourth start against the Giants tonight, hopefully two of them will have been good.

Brett vs. Giants

Dodger fantasy football breeds strange tweetfellows

The Dodgers held their annual fantasy football draft Monday, an event that seems to beg for wider media coverage, if these tweets above and below are any indication.

— Jon Weisman

https://twitter.com/redturn2/status/633547774693236736

 

A welcome ‘Welcome back’ for Kenley Jansen in Dodger victory

Kenley 1

Kenley 2

Kenley 3In a game that featured a three-run homer by Yasiel Puig in the first inning but 12 other runners subsequently left on base, the Dodgers held on for a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia tonight — with Kenley Jansen striking out the side in the ninth to end a streak of three consecutive games allowing runs.

With two months to go in the season, Brett Anderson has tied his career high of 13 quality starts. He pitched six innings of one-run ball, and has held the opposition to two runs or less in 10 of those 13 quality starts.

— Jon Weisman

Healing (and dealing?) Dodgers use rotation cushion as flotation device

Zack Greinke reunites with Clayton Kershaw and Jimmy Rollins in New York today (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

New dad Zack Greinke reunites with Clayton Kershaw and Jimmy Rollins in New York today.

Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Zach Lee, P
Notes: Ian Thomas was optioned to Oklahoma City to make room for Lee. Also, Adrian Gonzalez has had a stiff neck but might be able to play tonight.

By Jon Weisman

When only moments ago, it seemed, the Dodgers couldn’t find a starting pitcher to save their lives, they might get to enjoy a bit of an overflow over the coming 10 days.

And that’s before entertaining the possibility of whom they might acquire in trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline.

Zack Greinke has arrived in New York and is set to put his 43 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings on the line in Sunday’s game, with Brett Anderson — who had a successful bullpen session today — lined up after Monday’s off day for Tuesday’s homestand opener against Oakland.

Clayton Kershaw (29 consecutive scoreless innings) will pitch Wednesday against the A’s on five days’ rest. Then, after another off day, the Dodgers could come back with Greinke on Friday — hours after the trade deadline — against the Angels on four days’ rest.

But the Dodgers also have Mike Bolsinger, who last pitched July 22 in Atlanta, to mix in.

With yet another off day August 3, the Dodgers don’t really need a fifth starter again until August 8. By that time, if they were to still need someone, Carlos Frias could be ready to come off the disabled list, or the Dodgers could turn back to Zach Lee, Ian Thomas, Brandon Beachy or another minor-leaguer.

In any case, by August 8, the current setup might already be a distant memory.

In short, the dark times in the rotation might soon be a thing of the past. Bolsinger, Kershaw and Thomas built a bridge over the storm waters, and Lee today could finish the job.

Zack Greinke expected to pitch against Mets this weekend

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Dodgers at Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Scott Van Slyke, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Austin Barnes, C
Ian Thomas, P

By Jon Weisman

It’ll soon be back to work for Zack Greinke.

The new dad (though not this kind of new dad) is expected to be back in New York this weekend to start for the Dodgers either Saturday or Sunday, manager Don Mattingly told reporters today.

In other starting-pitching news for the Dodgers, Brett Anderson passed all his tests today to avoid the disabled list. Mattingly indicated that the Dodgers still might give Anderson extra rest for his left Achilles tendon and delay his next start until Tuesday.

Either way, assuming Greinke has no issues with returning to the Large Apple, the Dodgers would only need to call up at most one starter for this weekend’s games against New York. Speculation is strong that Zach Lee will be that pitcher.

If so, Lee would become the Dodgers’ 14th starting pitcher this year, after Ian Thomas becomes No. 13 tonight while making his first MLB start. Not since 1964 have the Dodgers used 13 starting pitchers, and not since 1952 have they used 14. Given the possibility of a trade before the season’s over, it seems likely that the 2015 Dodgers will use more starting pitchers than any team in franchise history except the World War II-era 1944 team, which used 19.

For a while today, it appeared that both scheduled starting pitchers would be scratched because of babies being born, but even though his wife reportedly went into labor, left-hander Jon Niese remains tonight’s scheduled starting pitcher for the Mets.

Alex Guerrero is making his first start for the Dodgers since July 10. Guerrero has reached base once in his past 18 plate appearances and hasn’t homered in 61 at-bats since his game-winning grand slam June 2 in Colorado. He has a .175 on-base percentage and .180 slugging percentage in that span.

Update: Kiké Hernandez has replaced Guerrero in the lineup. Guerrero was scratched because of back stiffness.

Dodgers option Liberatore, recall Thomas, ponder pitching

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Dodgers at Braves, 9:10 a.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Carl Crawford, LF
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Mike Bolsinger, P

By Jon Weisman

Brett Anderson has avoided the disabled list for now and has an outside shot at taking his next turn in the Dodger starting rotation Sunday after leaving Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to Atlanta in the third inning with irritation in the left Achilles’ tendon area.

Dodger manager Don Mattingly told reporters before today’s early game against Atlanta that Anderson is getting tests, but that he showed up to work today in better condition than Dodger vice president of medical services Stan Conte expected he would be. So an expected move to the disabled list for Anderson is on hold.

Anderson initially felt discomfort in the first inning during a grounder by Atlanta’s Andrelton Simmons, then decided enough was enough after attempting to field a Jonny Gomes swinging bunt, according to Carlos Collazo of MLB.com:

“(It) just kind of kept getting tired and more sore,” Anderson told Collazo. “I wasn’t able to push off the rubber like I normally was, and it was affecting my command. … Even with all the other (injuries), I’ve never taken myself out, but it was one of those things where I felt like if it got worse then it would make it worse in the long run.”

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves

However, a bullpen that has thrown 11 1/3 innings in the past 40 hours does need some backup, so the Dodgers have optioned Adam Liberatore to Triple-A Oklahoma City and called up Ian Thomas.

Liberatore took a 1.29 ERA and .363 opponents’ OPS into June. Since then, however, those numbers have gone to 7.50 and .917. In July, nine of 19 batters have reached base against Liberatore, with no strikeouts.

This is Thomas’  fourth callup by the Dodgers this season, moving him within one of Daniel Coulombe’s team-leading five. In his most recent appearance, Thomas pitched two shutout innings July 7 against the Phillies, walking one and striking out two.

With Oklahoma City, Thomas had lowered his ERA to 3.16 on June 17, then allowed 10 runs in eight innings across two games (June 27-July 2). In his last two Triple-A appearances, he has pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings.

After Mike Bolsinger pitches today, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke will take the Dodgers’ Thursday-Friday starts against the Mets. The Dodgers haven’t announced who will take Saturday’s start in place of Brandon Beachy, and a potential replacement if Anderson can’t go Sunday is also undecided.

Eric Stults, Zach Lee and Joe Wieland are the listed Friday-Saturday-Sunday starting pitchers for Oklahoma City. Trevor Cahill is today’s Triple-A starter.

Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles wrote about the Dodger front office’s pursuit of pitching.

“I don’t know that we could ratchet up our search for starting pitching any more than we already are,” general manager Farhan Zaidi told Saxon.

On the bright side for the Dodgers, Yasmani Grandal is back in the lineup for the first time since taking a hard foul ball off the jaw Sunday, and Carl Crawford (who pinch-ran Tuesday) is making his first start since April 27. Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner have scheduled days off.

Turner, who hit his first homer of July on Tuesday and is 12 for 22 since July 12, but the Dodgers believe that he needs rest every few days to avoid wearing down.

With Kershaw on tap, Anderson gives Dodgers savormetric start

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Florida Marlns

Dodgers at Marlins, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCXXV: Kershawneymoon in Vegas
Joc Pederson, CF
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Andre Ethier, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

In this Back to the Future season, Brett Anderson has passed 2011 by. Next stop: 2010.

With his seven innings in Friday’s 7-1 Dodger victory, the 27-year-old left-hander has reached 89 in 2015, surpassing his 83 1/3 in 2011 for his biggest output in the past five seasons.

Anderson is now 23 1/3 innings from matching the second most durable season of his career, 112 1/3 innings in 2010.

Moreover, Anderson is rolling. Since May 1, he has averaged 6 1/3 innings per start with a 2.47 ERA, and has allowed more than two runs twice in his past 11 starts.

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Anderson not only set a Dodger record, according to research by Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A., by picking off two runners in the same inning, he also tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, admittedly against a Marlins team that went completely whifftastic Friday. Miami’s final 10 outs of the game came on strikeouts, interrupted only by an eighth-inning single by J.T. Realmulto, the only one of the Marlins’ 11 batters not to fan. According to the Elias Sports Bureau (via the Dodgers public relations department, it marked the first time in Los Angeles Dodger history that the club had finished a game by recording the final 10 outs via strikeout.

Relievers Adam Liberatore and Pedro Baez (the latter in his first appearances since May 13) each struck out the side in their innings, giving Los Angeles pitchers 16 for the game.

Baez’s last six outs have been strikeouts, and he now has 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings and an 8.3 strikeout-walk ratio.

National League homer leader Giancarlo Stanton struck out three times, a prelude to the unfortunate report that he has a hamate fracture in his left hand that will sideline him for at least a month.

With the 16 strikeouts, two pickoffs and eight groundouts induced by Anderson, Dodger outfielders had an exceptionally quiet night. Alex Guerrero didn’t field a ball in play — neither a hit nor an out — and Scott Van Slyke didn’t touch a ball either until Realmulto’s single, which itself was deflected by Jimmy Rollins.

Four Dodgers recorded putouts: catcher A.J. Ellis (16), first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (eight), shortstop Rollins (two, both on the pickoffs) and a single catch by Joc Pederson in center field.

Van Slyke and Guerrero weren’t non-factors, though. Van Slyke hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give the Dodgers a lead after falling behind, 1-0, in the first inning on the Dee Gordon Manufacturer’s Special (infield single, stolen base, two groundouts). Guerrero added two hits, a run and an RBI.

Howie Kendrick had four of the 11 singles by the Dodgers, who put 18 men on base overall and went 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Yasiel Puig’s right palm even felt well enough for him to pinch-hit and play the final two innings in right field.

In a 1 p.m. Pacific start today, Clayton Kershaw hopes to put his home-run woes behind him and extend the Dodgers’ road winning streak to four games. Kershaw, who has a 1.94 ERA in his past six starts dating to May 26, has 48 strikeouts this month. With 14 today, he would top his June 2014 performance for the most strikeouts by a Dodger in a calendar month since Sandy Koufax.

In case you missed it: The Yellowship of the Ring

https://instagram.com/p/4OC-IhHmJs/

By Jon Weisman

Kiké Hernandez and his minions took it to the next level Sunday on the flight to Chicago after the Dodgers’ 10-2 victory over San Francisco. Can Bananarama singing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium be far behind?

After all, on the day of the solstice, the Dodgers started out what they hope will be a cruel, cruel summer for the Giants with a 10-2 victory that increased Los Angeles’ lead in the National League West to 1 1/2 games.

Here are some notes from the weekend …

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Dodgers walk off in defeat … and a bit of history

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By Jon Weisman

Tonight’s 3-2 defeat at Texas was not a typical way for the Dodgers to lose.

The last time the Dodgers tied a game in the top of the ninth …

  • and then lost on a walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth was May 2, 2012 at Colorado.
  • by hitting a home run and then lost on a walkoff homer in the bottom the ninth was September 7, 2007 at San Francisco.
  • and then lost on a walkoff homer to the very first batter of the bottom of the ninth was July 11, 1970 at San Diego.

And the last time the Dodgers tied a game in the top of the ninth by hitting a home run, before losing to a home run on the very first batter of the bottom of the ninth? Going through records on Baseball-Reference.com dating back to 1940 … never.

For hard-throwing Josh Ravin, it was a tough initiation into the vast group of Major Leaguer pitchers who have, you know, lost games.

The loss was as sudden as it was seemingly improbable. The Dodgers had only one baserunner past second base through eight innings off Rangers rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez, before Howie Kendrick walked with one out in the ninth and Justin Turner hit his game-tying shot.

It’s little consolation, but Turner’s homer kept Brett Anderson from taking a loss in his longest outing (eight innings) since May 26, 2011. On the other hand, Anderson would have had his team-leading second complete game but for that mini-Home Run Derby in the ninth.

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Despite loss, Brett Anderson on steady flight

BA

Brett Anderson has a 2.28 ERA since May 1.

By Jon Weisman

I know a lot of people might be waiting for the other shoe to drop on Brett Anderson, but so far all footwear is hovering tranquilly in mid-air.

Continuing to bounce back from multiple injury-plagued seasons, the 27-year-old Anderson threw seven scoreless innings on 77 pitches before allowing two hard-luck runs in the eighth inning of a 2:22 2-1 Dodger loss tonight to St. Louis.

“Obviously, Brett was really good tonight,” manager Don Mattingly said. “It’s unfortunate he ends up with an L in a game like this. You can’t make any mistakes.”

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Since the start of May, Anderson has thrown 43 1/3 innings and allowed 11 earned runs (2.28 ERA) on 53 baserunners while striking out 33. His ERA for the 2015 season is down to 3.29, and only rain has ended any of his past seven starts before the seventh inning.

After sailing through those first seven innings tonight, Anderson began the eighth off-kilter with a four-pitch walk to Yadier Molina, but he still pitched well enough to avoid the loss. An infield single up the middle by Jason Heyward put runners on first and second, and pinch-hitter Tony Cruz’s sacrifice moved them both into scoring position.

Another infield single — an 80-footer that Adrian Gonzalez fielded but made no throw on — tied the game, and a Matt Carpenter sacrifice fly gave the lead to the Cardinals, who had been trailing since Joc Pederson’s bases-loaded walk in the second inning.

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“Through seven, it was about as well as I’ve thrown in a couple years, but you can’t walk the leadoff guy to start the eighth,” Anderson said.

Of the 23 outs Anderson recorded in the game, 17 came on strikeouts or grounders, appropriate for the pitcher leading the Major Leagues in ground-ball rate. Anderson has also allowed only two home runs in his past 53 innings.

Anderson’s last complete game — for that matter, his last outing of at least eight innings — came in 2011. But the next one seems ever closer, however frustrating tonight’s outcome was.

“Baseball is an infuriating game,” Anderson said, “but it’s also the best game in the world.”

In case you missed it: Catch a falling star

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For photos from Sunday, visit LA Photog Blog.

Braves at Dodgers, 5:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Scott Van Slyke, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Brett Anderson, P

By Jon Weisman

Boy, that Bobby Crosby is something. He is more coordinated with a baseball flying at blazing speed toward him than I am at … anything.

See above for his latest cameraball feat, and see the bottom of this post for our May 2014 Dodger Insider magazine profile on him.

  • Carlos Frias matched the worst start in Dodger history Sunday by allowing 10 runs, but it’s not even the worst start in the Majors this weekend. Today, Kansas City righty Jeremy Guthrie allowed 11 runs while getting only three batters out.
  • Frias’ game score of -4 was the worst in Los Angeles Dodger history and the worst in the franchise since Johnny Babich’s record -21, when he gave up 13 runs on 16 hits and two walks with one strikeout almost exactly 80 years ago, on June 23, 1935.
  • In his 61-inning MLB career, Frias has allowed 39 runs — 18 of those runs in the 4 2/3 combined innings of his starts Sunday against San Diego and September 17 in Colorado. In his remaining 56 1/3 innings, Frias has allowed 21 runs.
  • Brett Anderson has not only been rained on in three straight starts, he has drawn a base on balls while batting as well, notes Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A.
  • Yasmani Grandal will play designated hitter for Triple-A Oklahoma City this week, ahead of his expected reactivation by the Dodgers on Saturday.
  • Brandons Beachy and League are headed for Camelback Ranch later this week for the next step of their respective journeys back to action, with minor-league rehabilitation assignments apparently on the horizon for June.
  • Erik Bedard took the mound in a game for the first time since Spring Training, starting for single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Crosby

Shelter from storm gave way for Dodgers

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A sole Dodger fan shows his support during the rain delay. Jill Weisleder/LA DodgersBy Jon Weisman

For the third time in four days, the Dodger bullpen surrendered a lead, and for the second consecutive night, the offense couldn’t bail them out.

Thursday’s 5-4 loss to Colorado left a soggy sting, coming after the 85-minute rain delay and Brett Anderson’s second consecutive triumph over the elements.  After pitching the five-inning rain-shortened complete game in Denver last week, Anderson struck out a season-high eight at unusually wet Dodger Stadium.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado RockiesFor the month of May, Anderson has a 1.10 ERA and 13 strikeouts against 19 baserunners in 16 1/3 innings. Opponents have a .645 OPS against him.

“My breaking ball was the most consistent it has been,” Anderson said, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. “My slider was the best its been all season. I was able to throw it back foot to righties more consistently and get some swings and misses.”

While Juan Nicasio shined after the rain delay with four strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings and Chris Hatcher found quick redemption from a rough Wednesday outing with a perfect eighth, Yimi Garcia, nearly flawless in 2015 before this week, gave up his second ninth-inning homer in as many appearances — this time on a 2-1 fastball that, as Don Mattingly said, just missed its spot.

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“I thought his stuff was good again,” Mattingly said. “Threw the ball in the wrong area. If we throw the ball where we want, I feel like we get him there.”

It was a shame that the Dodger fans who braved the entire night of rainball weren’t rewarded, but all part of the ebb and flow of the season.

One piece of trivia: Joc Pederson, who went 0 for 5, has started 35 games this season. Thursday’s game was only the second time he didn’t have a walk, home run or strikeout, and the first since April 10.

Snow doubt about it for Dodgers, Rockies

Dodgers at Rockies, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCXVI: Kershawppy Mother’s Day!
Joc Pederson, CF
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Alex Guerrero, 3B
Chris Heisey, LF
Kiké Hernandez, RF
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

The sense today is that the Dodgers will get their game in today against the Rockies, despite the snowfall that graced Denver overnight. Efforts to clear the field have been ongoing all morning, and the forecast is promising, if frigid, for the remainder of the day.

The postponement of Saturday’s game was hardly ever in question and was made official two hours before gametime. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com talked to scheduled starting pitcher about it.

“I haven’t pitched in real cold weather in a long time,” Kershaw told Gurnick. “Probably the last time was my first game with Midland in 2007. Pitched against Brett.”

That would be Brett Anderson, who discussed this during his conference call after signing with the Dodgers, as noted here.

On April 5, 2007, the two faced each other in the Class-A Midwest League debut for each: Anderson with South Bend, Kershaw with visiting Great Lakes. Kershaw walked six in 2 1/3 innings, while Anderson allowed five runs (four unearned) and took a hard-luck loss. But the main thing Anderson remembers is that it was about 28 degrees and snowing.

“We were like, ‘What the hell did we get ourselves into? And a few years later, we were pitching in the big leagues at age 21,” Anderson said.

Anderson, in case you missed it, picked up his first complete game since 2011 by lasting five innings in the Dodgers’ rain-shortened 2-1 victory Friday over Colorado. It echoed the five-inning complete-game victory by Kershaw on June 8 last year.

Anderson also had the first complete game with one strikeout by a Dodger pitcher since Orel Hershiser gave up four solo homers but held San Francisco to a 1-for-27 day on balls in play with 16 groundouts during a 7-4 victory June 28, 1994.

Before Kershaw, the Dodgers hadn’t had a weather-shortened complete game since pitching coach Rick Honeycutt was credited with one on April 27, 1984. Honeycutt retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced in a 1-0 Dodger victory, decided by Steve Yeager’s second-inning home run.

In all, Dodger pitchers have had 12 complete games of less than eight innings since the team moved to Los Angeles. All have been on the road.

The Dodgers return to Colorado in only three weeks, for a three-game series beginning June 1. Saturday’s postponed game will probably be rescheduled as part of a doubleheader that week.

The ‘not-their-night’ game

Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants

For more photos from Tuesday, visit LA Photog Blog.

By Jon Weisman

There’s no honor in blaming luck for a loss, and in fact, the San Francisco Giants displayed a surfeit of skill in their 6-2 victory Tuesday over the Dodgers.

San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford’s RBI bunt single in the third and acrobatic double-play launch in the sixth, followed by rightfielder Justin Maxwell’s diving catch into the wall in foul territory and two-run homer in the eighth — when stuff like that happens, victory often follows.

At the same time, I don’t think it’s shameful to point out that this wasn’t the Dodgers’ luckiest night. Adrian Gonzalez lined into an unassisted double play (one of four twin-killings the Dodgers hit into). Yasiel Puig might have been robbed of an at-bat by a catcher’s interference non-call.  And above all, there was this:

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