True Blue LA - May 22: Dodgers 6, Giants 3Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2021-05-22T19:11:03-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/222131282021-05-22T19:11:03-07:002021-05-22T19:11:03-07:00Buehler stingy, LA win streak hits 6
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Koy3-CmJyfDY80IvJwYjicFK3SA=/0x0:4441x2961/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69329512/usa_today_16131434.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Walker Buehler goes 7 to beat Giants</p> <p id="nFHphx"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> pitching has been the driving force of their latest hot streak, and Walker Buehler continued the trend on Saturday in leading Los Angeles to a sixth straight win, this one 6-3 over the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco.</p>
<p id="MnL8R4">Buehler scattered three hits and a walk over his first six innings, then the Giants managed three more hits against him in the seventh for their first run. But facing the tying run at the plate with one out in the inning, Buehler responded with strikeouts of Mauricio Dubón and Darin Ruf to extinguish the threat.</p>
<p id="XAnmuA">Dodgers starters have 28 quality starts this season, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2021-starter-pitching.shtml">five more than any other team</a>. They’ve lasted seven innings 14 times, <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/KSHJi">most in the majors</a>.</p>
<p id="rRLG5h">Buehler has lasted at least six innings in all nine of his starts, tied with teammate Trevor Bauer and a handful of others for <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/MYyck">the most such games in the majors this season</a>.</p>
<p id="3PdeMH">“It’s been kind of a theme of my career, and something I’ve always wanted to do better is go deeper into games,” said Buehler, who leads the Dodgers averaging 6.48 innings per start, ranking seventh in the majors.</p>
<p id="cLWWlb">The Dodgers have won 10 of their last 11 games, allowing only 24 runs in that span.</p>
<p id="ug5e38">That is a winning formula.</p>
<p id="q506wg">Scott Kazmir, pitching in his first major league game in 56 months, limited the Dodgers to only two hits in his four innings. Both hits were by Max Muncy, who has been locked in for basically all of May.</p>
<p id="0cEvrk">Muncy’s first hit was a 423-foot shot down the right field line and into McCovey Cove, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/giants/ballpark/splash-hits">his third splash hit</a> <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2019/6/9/18659049/max-muncy-home-run-madison-bumgarner-go-get-it-out-of-the-ocean-game-over">in this ballpark</a>. He added two singles later, and Muncy this month is hitting .383/.493/.733 with six home runs.</p>
<p id="R5JYeb">“I think it’s just one of those cool things in baseball,” Muncy said. “When it comes to seeing where a ball goes, there’s not many ballparks out there where there’s a cool thing to hit at, and that’s one of them. Putting it in the water is pretty cool.”</p>
<p id="EQ0RvF">With Kazmir out of the game, lefty Jarlin Garcia had the fifth inning, and with a 2-1 count on catcher Austin Barnes, Eric Karros on the Fox broadcast said, “Austin Barnes, looking for his first home run of the year,” just seconds before he did this:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Barnesy, yard! <a href="https://t.co/ensBPAnxqS">pic.twitter.com/ensBPAnxqS</a></p>— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1396261952221970437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2021</a>
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<p id="wzeATv">Barnes has had very little power this season — even with the home run, he’s slugging .318 — but he does have an extra-base hit in three of his last four starts, and has reached base in 12 of his last 13 starts.</p>
<p id="o6GZA7">It was the first home run for Barnes <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2020/10/23/21531311/dodgers-offense-two-outs-justin-turner-austin-barnes-walker-buehler-strikeouts-world-series">since Game 3 of the World Series</a>, and he also repeated his other feat that night — aside from catching a Buehler win — by bunting home a run later in the game.</p>
<p id="pmhWh7">“Austin right now, I think his approach, his mechanics at the plate is in as good a spot as I’ve seen since 2017,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s just been an all-around good ballplayer.” </p>
<h3 id="v75nAK">Notes</h3>
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<li id="0Q81pH">DJ Peters started his season 0 for 13 with 10 strikeouts in at-bats that ended on a fastball, but snapped that skid with a hustle double on a fastball in the fifth inning, then singled home a run in the seventh for his first multi-hit game int he majors.</li>
<li id="nsLbRy">Albert Pujols singled home a run in the eighth inning, the fourth game in five starts that he’s driven in at least one run.</li>
<li id="Jll8R3">Roberts has won Kazmir’s last four major league starts.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="vqtvPE">Saturday particulars</h3>
<p id="Fx6VI2"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Max Muncy (9), Austin Barnes (1); Buster Posey (9)</p>
<p id="NU1olq"><strong>WP — Walker Buehler (3-0)</strong>: 7 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts</p>
<p id="Wr12WQ"><strong>LP — Scott Kazmir (0-1)</strong>: 4 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 strikeouts</p>
<p id="3cdiY2"><strong>Sv — Kenley Jansen (11)</strong>: 1 IP, 1 strikeout</p>
<h3 id="Ggn8pR">Up next</h3>
<p id="cZs5kB">Julio Urías starts Sunday afternoon’s series finale (1:05 p.m., SportsNet LA), with right-hander Anthony Desclafani starting on the mound for San Francisco.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449388/walker-buehler-pitching-dodgers-recap-max-muncy-austin-barnes-giants-recapEric Stephen2021-05-22T15:58:00-07:002021-05-22T15:58:00-07:00Dodgers vs. Giants Game II chat
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tVCQ_6y4bK8l7OZGxUSDLYGFVDQ=/0x0:4799x3199/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69329138/usa_today_16125815.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>LA tries for 6th straight win</p> <p id="T0Sn9Y">Saturday afternoon on the mound in San Francisco features a battle of pitchers signed by the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> in 2015. Walker Buehler, the club’s first-round draft pick that year, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2015/7/17/8982185/walker-buehler-edwin-rios-contract-dodgers-mlb-draft-2015-no-kyle-funkhouser">signed on July 17</a>. Then, on December 30, veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2015/12/30/10691646/dodgers-scott-kazmir-free-agent-contract">signed a three-year, $48 million contract with Los Angeles</a>.</p>
<p id="7UZnse">Kazmir, who last pitched in the majors in 2016, was on a minor league deal with the Giants before getting called up to start this game.</p>
<h3 id="bU8U6W">Pregame reading</h3>
<aside id="xFixbT"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Homers are down, especially so for the Dodgers","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449019/dodgers-home-runs-scoring-giants-preview"},{"title":"Dodgers face an old friend in SF","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449263/scott-kazmir-dodgers-giants-cody-bellinger-zach-mckinstry-tony-gonsolin-brusdar-graterol"},{"title":"Trevor Bauer feeds off energy from crowd ","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22448666/trevor-bauer-los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-news"}]}'></div></aside><div id="2z6heu"><div data-anthem-component="table:10513943"></div></div>
<h3 id="zO2imB">Game info</h3>
<p id="4VKLjb">Teams: Dodgers at Giants</p>
<p id="k0qDKU">Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco</p>
<p id="F9eeqy">Time: 4:15 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="r0fEeR">TV: Fox</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449065/dodgers-giants-game-threadEric Stephen2021-05-22T14:55:17-07:002021-05-22T14:55:17-07:00Dodgers face an old friend in SF
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<img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nC77xKtJXfCSyJSu0Q4W8T5Fl58=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69329047/931533224.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by B51/Mark Brown/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Kazmir’s back in the majors for the first time since 2016</p> <p id="MSKn3k">The Giants called up old friend Scott Kazmir to start on Saturday, the first time the now 37-year-old will have pitched in a major league game since September 23, 2016, <em>with the </em><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/"><em>Dodgers</em></a>.</p>
<p id="xJa21D">Various injuries kept Kazmir off the mound since then, but he already made one major career comeback, eight years ago with Cleveland, so who’s stopping him in attempting another try?</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><div id="8YpJ17"><div data-anthem-component="table:10513943"></div></div></div>
<p id="XPh57m">“I definitely didn’t expect him to make a start against us this year, but credit to his perseverance,” said manager Dave Roberts, who managed Kazmir in his last major league game.</p>
<p id="6qGCAW">Kazmir signed a minor league contract with the Giants in February, and pitched twice for Triple-A Sacramento, including 3⅓ innings last Saturday in Oklahoma City against the Dodgers, his last outing.</p>
<p id="x78NzB">With the Dodgers facing a left-handed pitcher on Saturday, that means Albert Pujols batting cleanup and playing first base, and DJ Peters getting a second straight start, trying to gain some traction. Peters starts in right field on Saturday, with Mookie Betts getting what Roberts called “a spa day” after starting the Dodgers’ last 18 games, including the last eight days in a row.</p>
<p id="gwPyas">Roberts similarly held Max Muncy out of Friday’s starting lineup in the midst of a 10-day stretch of games that ends Sunday, though Muncy did play the final inning on defense at first base.</p>
<h3 id="QzDTpn">Notes</h3>
<ul>
<li id="Ry8hBD">Rehab continues in Triple-A, where Cody Bellinger isn’t playing on Saturday in Albuquerque, a planned off day. Zach McKinstry isn’t starting either for Oklahoma City, but will be inserted later in the game.</li>
<li id="TB97qR">Tony Gonsolin will pitch two innings for Oklahoma City on Sunday, the first of his expected two or three rehab games in Triple-A, getting stretched out before returning to the Dodgers’ rotation. The earliest Gonsolin can be activated from the 60-day injured list is May 31.</li>
<li id="1ZTdH9">Brusdar Graterol threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Friday in San Francisco, and will throw another one on Tuesday in Houston. After that, it’s possible he could begin a minor league rehab assignment. Graterol is on the injured list with right forearm tightness, and last pitched in a game on April 26.</li>
<li id="m0LdFR">The Giants optioned pitcher Sam Selman to Triple-A Sacramento to make room on the active roster for Kazmir, and designated outfielder Braden Bishop for assignment to make room on the 40-man.</li>
</ul>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449263/scott-kazmir-dodgers-giants-cody-bellinger-zach-mckinstry-tony-gonsolin-brusdar-graterolEric Stephen2021-05-22T10:35:15-07:002021-05-22T10:35:15-07:00Homers are down, especially so for the Dodgers
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<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QaK0fsUrArunat4dQE30FaQBwf8=/0x0:4800x3200/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69328511/1319355701.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Chris Taylor’s home run Friday provided all the scoring for the Dodgers, but long balls have been few and far between this season for Los Angeles. | Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>LA scoring 38% of runs off homers in 2021, compared to 51% last year</p> <p id="1V9hBB">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> have found their offense of late, <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=nl&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=5&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=5,d">tops in the National League in runs per game</a> (5.50) <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=nl&qual=0&type=8&season=2021&month=5&season1=2021&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=2021-01-01&enddate=2021-12-31&sort=17,d">and wRC+ (118)</a> in May. But they aren’t really hitting home runs, tied for eighth in the NL with 20 home runs in 18 games this month.</p>
<p id="gcaxDh">With Cody Bellinger <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22448443/cody-bellinger-and-zach-mckinstry-los-angeles-dodgers-news">currently on a rehab assignment in Albuquerque with Triple-A Oklahoma City</a> and having not played in the majors since April 5, it’s easy to see at least one reason why the Dodgers aren’t hitting as many long balls this year.</p>
<p id="FBtBxb">In 2020, when the NL had a designated hitter, the Dodgers led the majors in both runs and home runs, and scored more than half of their runs via the homer. This year, with home runs down, they aren’t getting nearly as many runs from home runs, even relative to the league.</p>
<div id="IRAQQd"><div data-anthem-component="table:10513696"></div></div>
<p id="Nxtu6t">That said, every Dodgers run scored in the last two games came via the home run. Chris Taylor’s two-run shot <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/21/22448596/trevor-bauer-los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-news-recap-san-francisco-giants">provided all the Los Angeles scoring on Friday</a>, while Will Smith and his childhood idol Albert Pujols accounted for all the runs on Thursday.</p>
<p id="rbQzFl">The Dodgers have homered in each of their last eight games in San Francisco, but the biggest reason why they’ve won eight of their last nine road games against the Giants is the pitching.</p>
<p id="5mKn6J">One run allowed on Friday was the second-most Dodgers pitching has allowed in their last six games in San Francisco. Here’s <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/M6FB9">the Dodgers runs allowed in every game in San Francisco dating back to 2019</a>, in reverse chronological order: 1, 0, 0, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2020/8/25/21402040/dodgers-blown-leads-extra-innings-giants-recap">10</a>, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3.</p>
<p id="9l9i6y">Trying to keep that going on Saturday is Walker Buehler, who has never lost in San Francisco. He pitched one inning in relief against the Giants on the road in a Dodgers win in 2017, but in four starts in 2018-19 he’s 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA at Oracle Park.</p>
<h3 id="2z6heu">Game info</h3>
<p id="4VKLjb">Teams: Dodgers at Giants</p>
<p id="k0qDKU">Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco</p>
<p id="F9eeqy">Time: 4:15 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="r0fEeR">TV: Fox</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/22/22449019/dodgers-home-runs-scoring-giants-previewEric Stephen