I picked a pretty good weekend to not be able to watch much baseball. The Dodgers lost two of three in San Diego and scored six runs in the three games.
Five of those races came on Saturday and yesterday they were eliminated for the second time this season. It was an ugly series after a seven-game winning streak, and now the Dodgers travel for the 5th to San Francisco for the first time in 2024.
The two teams met in Los Angeles during the first home series and the Dodgers swept the series, but it was a little closer than that as the last two games were 5-4 Dodgers wins.
The Giants recently went on a 1-6 stretch (including being swept in four games in Philadelphia), but won two of three in Colorado and came home and won two of three against the Reds.
The series victory came at a price, as Michael Conforto injured his hamstring on Saturday, and Jung Hoo Lee Yesterday dislocated his shoulder.
18:45 | San Francisco | ||
H.H | bets | RF | Yastrzemski (L) |
HD | Ohtani (L) | 2B | Estrada |
1 B | free man (left) | 3B | Chapman |
c | blacksmith | 1 B | Wade Jr. (left) |
3B | Muncy (L) | HD | Flowers |
L.F. | T. Hernandez | L.F. | bouquets |
2B | Lux (L) | c | Sabol (L) |
RF | pages | CF | matos |
CF | Outman (L) | H.H | Schmitt |
P | Yamamoto (right) | P | Hicks (right) |
Yoshinobu Yamamoto Tonight you will be able to see the Giants for the first time. Yamamoto, like most of the Dodgers’ pitching staff, has been in a bit of a pickle lately. The Dodgers haven’t allowed more than four runs in a game since April 20 (and have only allowed four runs in three of 19 games in that time).
Yamamoto lost his scoreless inning streak in the first inning of his last start against Miami but managed to complete eight innings for the first time in his career. 73 of his 97 pitches were strikes, his highest percentage so far this season (75.3 percent).
He lowered his ERA to 2.79 on the season (and if we exclude the start in Seoul, that’s 1.76). Fairly good. He has struck out just 10 batters in 14 innings this month, but has yet to walk more than two batters in a game and currently has the 14th-best walk rate among qualified starters.
The Dodgers see for the first time Jordan Hicks like a giant The Cardinals’ veteran reliever became a full-time starter this season, and so far so good. He has a 2.30 ERA/3.14 FIP in 43 innings despite being on a slump lately. He only allowed seven runs (six earned) in his first six starts, but in his last two, he allowed seven runs (five earned). He suffered his first loss of the season in Philadelphia two starts ago, as he only completed four innings.
He allowed four runs (two of them unearned) on four hits but struck out only three and walked four. He needed 88 pitches to complete those four innings. Last time, Hicks allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings, but that was in Colorado, so he’s at least slightly excusable.
Although this is Hicks’ first season as a regular starter, this is his second start against the Dodgers. He started eight times in 2022, one of which came against the Dodgers. He went 1 2/3 innings and walked three of the eight batters he faced, but kept the Dodgers off the board.
Hicks was one of the hardest-throwing relievers in the game, but his velocity has (obviously) declined as a starter. He averaged 100.1 MPH with his lead last season, but this season that dropped to 95.4 MPH. He throws that sinker more than half the time (51.8 percent). He had thrown 41 splitters between 2018 and 2023, but this season has been his second-most used pitch (23.3 percent).
He only has a 920 spin rate and opponents are hitting him .083 with a .111 slugging percentage (with expected numbers of .193 and .298, respectively). He also throws a libero 20.4 percent of the time and has at times mixed in what has been billed as a four-seamer.
Shohei Ohtani returns to the lineup after missing yesterday’s game in San Diego with back stiffness. Gavin Lux arrives seventh, ahead of Andy Pages today. Pages have calmed down a bit, as he is 3 of his last 22 with 10 strikeouts and four walks since May 5.
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