Dodgers Go For Sweep In Phoenix

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 3:57 PM PDT in Game Previews Comment 39 comments

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, left, leaps to avoid the slide by Arizona Diamondbacks' Miguel Montero, right, as Furcal completes a double play on a ball hit by Diamondbacks' Chris Young in the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

5 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, left, leaps to avoid the slide by Arizona Diamondbacks' Miguel Montero, right, as Furcal completes a double play on a ball hit by Diamondbacks' Chris Young in the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

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Fresh off one of their most thrilling wins of the season last night, the Dodgers go for the sweep tonight in Phoenix. They have a tall task, facing one of the league's best pitchers in Dan Haren.

Haren has made 11 starts against the National League West this season, and he has a 1.85 ERA and a 3.04 FIP in those games, yet only a 3-3 record to show for it. The Diamondbacks are shockingly only 4-7 in those games.

Jon Garland will make his second Dodger start, and second straight against his old teammates. At Chase Field this season, Garland is 4-5 with a 5.35 ERA in 13 starts. I would prefer if you didn't do the math this one time.

Don't look now, but Rafael Furcal has put together a modest five-game hitting streak. He has reached base 12 times in those five games, hitting .381/.480/.476 while scoring six runs.

James Loney has five multi-hit games in his last eight contests, hitting .379/.438/.483 during that span.

Lost in the hoopla of last night's eighth inning rally was that Orlando Hudson made two outs during the inning, a rare but essentially meaningless occurrence. Here are the Dodgers who have made two outs in the same inning this season:

Orlando Hudson: last night, grounded out to first base, then flew to center in the eighth inning
Juan Castro: August 4 vs. the Brewers, sacrificed to pitcher, then grounded to pitcher in the sixth inning
Andre Ethier: July 10 in Milwaukee, grounded out to second base, then popped out to third base in the tenth inning
Matt Kemp: May 6 vs. Washington, lined out to center, then grounded into a force play, third to second, in the sixth inning

Also, from the Dodgers:

The Dodgers and the American Red Cross are hosting the Heroes Blood Drive on Friday at Dodger Stadium from 3:00-9:00 p.m. All donors will receive a commemorative Dodgers item and may enter a drawing to win a chance to be honored as the Blood Donor of the Game at one of the remaining regular-season Dodgers home games. To schedule an appointment, or for additional information, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE, or visit GiveLife.org

Here are tonight's lineups:

Dodgers		Diamondbacks
SS	Furcal	2B	Roberts
CF	Kemp	SS	Drew
RF	Ethier	RF	Upton
LF	Manny	3B	Reynolds
1B	Loney	C	Montero
3B	Belliard	CF	Young
2B	Hudson	LF	Byrnes
C	Martin	1B	Tracy
P	Garland	P	Haren

**********

Check out Xeifrank's simulation of today's game here.

Don't forget to RSVP for True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the Rockies.

Get your guesses in for our today's "One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out," here.

Game Time: 7:10pm

TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN

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Comments

Has anybody ever got out 3 times in one inning?

by jaffa on Sep 9, 2009 4:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Not in MLB, but some dude in the Canadian league turned the trick this season:

http://joyofsox.blogspot.com/2009/07/ottawa-batter-makes-3-outs-in-one.html

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that would be somrthing

the good thing about making 2 outs in an inning is that your team has scored at least 4 runs in any inning that you accomplishthe feat. in order to make all tree out the team would have to score at least 13

by MammothDodger on Sep 9, 2009 4:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That would sure make me feel lousy if the rest of my teammates were lighting up the opponent’s pitching and I couldn’t even record one hit in the inning.

You wanna know how great baseball is? The greatest basketball player ever left his sport to play baseball.

by Jesse S. on Sep 9, 2009 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A note for those out of the LA area

The game is on ESPN, but there is also a Yankees-Rays game before it. It seems like those early games always tend to run long when waiting for a Dodger telecast.

I did look it up, and the 14 Yankees-Rays games this season have averaged 3:10 in length.

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 4:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Joba really sucks.

Kershaw would wipe the floor with him.

by Tripon on Sep 9, 2009 4:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That would be a cool World Series Matchup

Joba vs Kershaw

by spike238e on Sep 9, 2009 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What would be really cool is watching

Ethier take Joba deep. Loney too, if that game were in Yankee Stadium.

by David Young on Sep 9, 2009 4:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And then after the 4th inning it becomes Jeff Weaver bs. Sergio Mitre.

by Tripon on Sep 9, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Where's Boone

by meercatjohn on Sep 9, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope nobody made a “Boone has no heart” fan post on the Crawfish Boxes :)

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

go doyers! garland FTW!

by shaqfor3 on Sep 9, 2009 4:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Randy Wolf to miss Friday start

Randy Wolf, who has emerged as a stalwart of the Dodger rotation, had been scheduled to pitch Friday against San Francisco but now will miss that start with an irritated elbow, according to Dylan Hernandez of The Times. Hiroki Kuroda will make that start on four days’ rest.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/09/randy-wolf-to-miss-friday-start.html

by Bluetrek on Sep 9, 2009 5:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Fuck

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just like that

It became a 4 man rotation though slightly different than what you would have predicted.

by bhsportsguy on Sep 9, 2009 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Update:

Here’s more from Joe Torre’s conversation today with KABC’s Charley Steiner.

“Randy Wolf went back home last night. He’s got a little hitch in his elbow, which he thinks he got by swinging the bat. He got a little injection and everything should be fine. It feels find already, actually, and we’ll see him in San Francisco over the weekend, but he will miss a turn.

“When he went to throw his bullpen (after his last start), he just felt something in the back of his elbow, and we just didn’t waste any time. We sent him back home, and (Dr. Neil) ElAttrache saw him today and injected, and the results so far have been positive because he felt relief right away.”

by Bluetrek on Sep 9, 2009 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

At least it doesn’t sound serious.

You wanna know how great baseball is? The greatest basketball player ever left his sport to play baseball.

by Jesse S. on Sep 9, 2009 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A week ago we were wondering how to fit six guys into the rotation

Now we have the opposite problem…

by MattBakerJr on Sep 9, 2009 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

FUCK!!!!

by KSeal on Sep 9, 2009 5:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice to have a six man rotation now isn't it

at this rate maybe Haeger will get another shot.

by meercatjohn on Sep 9, 2009 5:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

So Kershaw and Wolf will miss a start so that means this weekend in SF we’ll pitch Kuroda, Padilla and Billingsley, ugh.

by KSeal on Sep 9, 2009 5:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Funny

headed into the year they were our number one and two guys. Now we are scared when they pitch?

by meercatjohn on Sep 9, 2009 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eric I thought you’d appreciate this since you did the 50 walk challenge.
http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2009/09/09/walkin-my-baby-back-home/

by meercatjohn on Sep 9, 2009 5:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the link. I have been negligent in my Posnanski reading of late.

I posted a link to the 50-walk challenge in the comments over there.

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What's amazing about Eric's challenge

Considering the players on this team, you would have not that they would have come close to meeting it and certainly not with more than 20 games left in the season.

That said, Matt needs a walk or two in the next day or so to make it seem possible.

Though, I am good for my donation regardless.

by bhsportsguy on Sep 9, 2009 5:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I am going to donate even if Kemp somehow falls short.

I thought I made a reasonable case for it happening back in February, and that was before Manny was officially back, and when DeWitt was going to be the 2B. :)

by Eric Stephen on Sep 9, 2009 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs