Stults, Dodgers Lay An Egg At Wrigley
by Eric Stephen on May 30, 2009 4:07 PM PDT
in Game Recaps
20 comments
If today was an audition for Eric Stults and his injured left thumb to stay in the starting rotation, we won't be seeing him anytime soon. Stults had his shortest outing of the season, unable to get an out in the fourth inning, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks, as the Dodgers fell to the Cubs 7-0.
The Dodgers were shutout this season for the first time, in their 51st game. As noted by reader BHSportsGuy, the last time the Dodgers went this far into the season without getting shutout was 1975, when they were shutout by Steve Carlton in game #56.
Ryan Dempster allowed only four baserunners in seven innings to get his fourth win of the season.
Jeff Weaver ate up some innings after the short start by Stults, but what he provided cannot accurately be called "relief." Weaver allowed three hits, three runs, and a whopping five walks in 2.1 innings.
Here's how the Dodgers' starting rotation should play out the rest of the week:
- Sunday - Eric Milton on ESPN in the final game against the Cubs
- Monday - Hiroki Kuroda, rejoining the team after almost two months on the DL
- Tuesday - Randy Wolf
- Wednesday - Chad Billingsley
- Thursday - if Clayton Kershaw does not pitch in relief Monday, he'll start here. Otherwise, it's probably Weaver here since Eric Milton wouldn't be asked to start on three days rest.
- Friday - Eric Milton, or Kershaw if he pitches in relief Monday
So, we are looking at only one of Milton or Weaver Thursday or Friday. It's hard to imagine Stults getting another start after his last two outings. The only question now is who gets removed from the 25-man roster when Kuroda is activated. The prevailing thought was that A.J. Ellis would be sent back, but if Stults' thumb injury is still bugging him, might we see a disabled list trip for him?
Sometimes you are the hammer, and sometimes you are the nail. The Dodgers have been the hammer a lot more often than they have been the nail this season.
Milton will face Sean Marshall in the Dodgers' first game on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball tomorrow night.
WP - Ryan Dempster (4-3): 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts
LP - Eric Stults (4-2): 3 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
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Lakers Hangover
I hope, the bats better be hitting tomorrow. I think I forgot what it felt like to suck: a good sign.
by Cool Dudes on May 30, 2009 4:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Joy, more old guys who will eventually suck
by kensai on May 30, 2009 4:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
As opposed to young guys who currently suck
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
by Phil Gurnee on May 30, 2009 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
1 loss counts as 1 loss
As Weaver has proven recently.
Problem is, they stick with the old guys longer, and they have no upside, and therefore it costs us more wins.
by kensai on Jun 1, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Heh
I’d like to know who “one of the more pessimistic #Dodger” is
by Eric Stephen on May 30, 2009 7:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I feel like it's more Rosenthal
trying to stir things up again, creating clubhouse issues out of nothing this time. It’s kind of sad, really. Btw, I didn’t have much faith Stults would last that long today either, and while I don’t think it’s cool if a player said that before a game, I think it’s something that could easily be misinterpreted or blown out of proportion.
by underdog on May 30, 2009 9:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can see something like this:
Random Dodger: “If Stultsie’s thumb is still hurting, he might only go 3.1 innings today. Also, boy does this weather suck.” :)
by Eric Stephen on May 30, 2009 9:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I slept through most of this game, trying to fight over a cold.
What the heck happened to Stults?
by Tripon on May 30, 2009 6:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
info-tripon/hangover
“hangover” i am a cubs fan, so i definately remember what it feels like to “suck”…it sucks! la has good team this yr too! looks like someone would havta “wrest 1st” away from em…i am really lookin 4ward 2 Sun game. maybe we split? i’d luv 3 of 4 but i’m a realist. “tripon”- stultz is “rehabbing” a pitching hand thumb injury…caught up with him sometime bout 4th inning. Demp had yet another “Ryan owns wrigley day”…he was too tuff today. mighta gone different if Torre woulda skipped stultz…whom knows?
by jeffstorm2 on May 30, 2009 7:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I have no idea what this post says
by Eric Stephen on May 30, 2009 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
awww…eric, thats not nice…just joined 30mins ago…still figurin it out… lil different than what i usually see. sorry
by jeffstorm2 on May 30, 2009 7:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I was just messing
Welcome aboard!
by Eric Stephen on May 30, 2009 7:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
got it! (i think) in Chicago, but like your team. i respect any team that plays the game the right way and has as much tradition as our 2 clubs. my daughter lives west coast & sometimes doesn’t get all cub games. i thought maybe you guys were pre-empted by another game (were 3 “possibilities” shown in chicago), good luck tomoro,
by jeffstorm2 on May 30, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
welcome!
and I don’t think anyone here is that worried about the Dodgers. As the new TBLA post above says, the Dodgers have been missing one of their top 2 starters for all of the season so far and are getting him back. As you pointed out, Stults has a bum thumb so he was kind of doomed today (not to take anything away from the Cubs), that was not his best effort… Even if the Cubs beat Eric Milton tomorrow, and who knows, I don’t think there’ll be too much panic around here.
Hiro coming back… Manny coming back in a month… 8.5 game lead. Nothing’s set in stone, but it’s okay.
Anyway, good luck to the Cubs the rest of the way, too! Except vs. the Dodgers. ;-)
by underdog on May 30, 2009 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
One of the few games I get to see this year
not having any kind of MLB package or local Dodgers television to tune into, and they just don’t show up. Hope they fare better tomorrow where I’m glad I’ll get to see them again. I’d take a split in the series, even with a 0-7 loss within it.
by goodlucksaturday on May 30, 2009 9:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
“Friday – Eric Milton, or Kershaw if he pitches in relief Monday "
No reason or rhyme why Kersh should pitch in relief. In 32 appearences in ML’s he’s started 31 with 10 of them this year. And more, if you take out the two starts where he was terrible, he has a 2.31 era in the other 8.
by Bluetrain on May 31, 2009 8:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
It has been reported that Kershaw is available out of the pen Monday. I didn’t just make it up.
if you take out the two starts where he was terrible, he has a 2.31 era in the other 8
And if you take out his two best starts, his ERA is 6.39. There’s no reason to remove any starts when discussing Kershaw. He has pitched fine, I have no reason to believe he won’t improve this season, but he is what he is.
by Eric Stephen on May 31, 2009 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
There’s no reason to remove any starts when discussing Kershaw.
But there is reason to remove three runs. ;)
by silverwidow on May 31, 2009 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
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