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Today’s watch party was the culmination of the redemption arc of Juan Uribe — Game 4 of the 2013 National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Braves.
NLDS Game 4 lineups
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Braves | Pos | Dodgers |
| CF | Heyward (L) | LF | Crawford (L) |
| RF | Upton | 2B | Ellis |
| 1B | Freeman (L) | SS | Ramirez |
| LF | Gattis | 1B | Gonzalez (L) |
| C | McCann (L) | RF | Puig |
| 3B | C.Johnson | 3B | Uribe |
| SS | Simmons | CF | Schumaker (L) |
| 2B | E.Johnson (S) | C | Ellis |
| P | Garcia | P | Kershaw (L) |
Uribe was miserable in the first two seasons of his three-year contract with the Dodgers, hitting just .199/.262/.289 in 2011-12 combined. Among the 344 players with at least 400 total plate appearances in those two seasons, Uribe’s 54 OPS+ ranked 340th.
He lost playing time, he got hurt, but Uribe kept working, and remained popular among his teammates. I had a draft of a post ready with a verse of parody lyrics to the tune of Pearl Jam’s ‘Daughter’ (“Don’t call me Dodger...”) ready for the moment I was sure Uribe would get released. It never happened.
But Uribe turned things around in 2013, hitting .278/.331/.438, a 116 OPS+ with 12 home runs, plus excellent defense at third base.
Uribe also homered in Game 3’s blowout win, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 series lead and a chance to close out the Braves at home. The Dodgers are going with Clayton Kershaw on three days rest, the first time in his career on short rest, to start Game 4, against veteran Freddy Garcia. Kershaw struck out 12 in seven innings in a Game 1 win in Atlanta.
For no particular reason at all, I will remind you that Uribe had three sacrifice bunts during the 2013 season, his most in four years. Uribe was 4-for-12 (.333) in the first three games of this series, with one sacrifice bunt, in Game 1.
To find out what he did in Game 4, you’ll have to watch with us on YouTube starting at 5 p.m. PT.