Hill, Dodgers try to end losing streak

LOS ANGELES —- The Dodgers have marketed this as Alumni Weekend and there have been several former Dodgers around the stadium throughout this series. Steve Garvey and Ron Cey are no strangers to seeing the Reds play well against the Dodgers, though this year’s team is no match for the Big Red Machine version they played against.

Garvey and Cey might remember the last time the Reds swept a four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. It was a series played from August 5-8, 1976. That series had the classic mid-70s lineup for the Reds, Rose, Griffey, Morgan, Foster, Bench, Perez, Geronimo, and Concepcion while the Dodgers had Lopes, Buckner, Smith, Garvey, Cey, Lacy, Russell, Yeager. Dusty Baker would also play in that series.

Other Pre-Game Notes

• Manager Dave Roberts said he and Cody Bellinger spoke about Bellinger bunting instead of following the take sign last night. “It is one of those things, so you are sitting there 3-0 and he wants to make something happen,” Roberts said, “so I did give it and he acknowledge that there was a take sign on.” “I think it is just a byproduct, you are in a certain position when you’re struggling, whether it is individually or as a team, you want to kind of try do more.”

“And that’s what I myself, encourage players and coaches to guard against it,” Roberts said, “because you’ve got to stay the course, if you believe in something, and so believing in when the manager gives you take sign, you take it and when its 3-0 unless you get the swing away sign, you take. But if it was 3-1, we’d be applauding him for trying to be a baserunner, to get on base.”

“Cody is a great young man, he cares, and he just wants to do well,” Roberts said, “but there is a certain process that you have to kind of abide by and he’s learning everyday, we’re all learning, and Cody is a talented player who will continue to get better.”

• Roberts expects Rich Hill to pitch well today. “Each start, the energy, like Clayton, is heightened, he is a maniac on his start day,” said Roberts, “that’s a good thing, we got overcast here in Los Angeles, and you got Rich Hill, he is going to be ready to go.”
• Regarding the bullpen’s problems including giving up home runs, Roberts said “Coaches have not lost confidence, their teammates haven’t, it is up to those guys to keep trying to execute pitches, help us win a baseball game.”
• Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe are scheduled to play later this afternoon at Rancho Cucamonga. As of now, this will be their last rehab game. “Get them back, hopefully if things go well, they’ll be in the lineup on Tuesday against [Wei-Yin] Chen in Miami,” said Roberts, “if they need a little bit extra time, then we can kind of pivot and extend their rehab, but as it stands right now, I expect them on the plane with us tomorrow.”