True Blue LA - May 23: Dodgers 11, Giants 5Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2021-05-23T16:10:56-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/222141842021-05-23T16:10:56-07:002021-05-23T16:10:56-07:00Urías does it all to finish off sweep
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<figcaption>Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Lux, Muncy hit homers in LA’s 7th straight win</p> <p id="ehoxnR">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> put everything together to finish off a sweep of the Giants, and Julio Urías was at the center of all of Sunday’s 11-5 romp in San Francisco, the seventh straight win for Los Angeles.</p>
<p id="8IhDVe">Urías has always been something of a unicorn, a bonafide prospect at age 16 and the youngest player at multiple levels in his climb up the ladder. The challenge has always been balancing Urías’ uncommon ability to hold his own against players several years his elder and to not try to push too hard during his formative years.</p>
<p id="soAJma">He never threw more than 128 innings in any season, and though last year was his longest extended run in the starting rotation, it came in a schedule shortened to 60 games by a pandemic. This year, the kid gloves are fully off for Urías, who remains unique at 24, both the sixth-youngest player on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, and the fifth-longest-tenured player in the organization. </p>
<p id="F8xOHz">On the season, Dodgers starters lead MLB in innings pitched, FIP (3.04), strikeout rate (30.9 percent), walk rate (5 percent), and fWAR (6.7), and are second in ERA (2.74). Urías is a pillar of said rotation, averaging 6.23 innings per game after entering 2021 having never pitched longer than 6⅓ innings as a professional.</p>
<p id="DAj45Q">“He’s a veteran big league pitcher now. There’s no more project. There’s no more prospect,” manager Dave Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “Certainly having the value of losing a starter in Dustin May, but having Julio be one of the four guys that posts and performs has just been huge for all of us.”</p>
<p id="dRH6V8">Urías on Sunday retired his first 16 batters faced before having the audacity to allow three hits and two runs in the sixth inning, by the time the game was already decided.</p>
<p id="oXlCz7">He struck out 10, the third time this season Urías reached double digits in strikeouts. On the season, Urías has 70 strikeouts against only seven walks to go with his 3.03 ERA and 2.85 FIP in 10 starts.</p>
<p id="qgnmjF">At the plate, Urías lined a double over the head of Mike Yastrzemski and to the right field wall that scored a pair in the second inning. That was one of two hits on the day for Urías and three runs batted in, the <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/b3XPF">most by a Dodgers pitcher since Dan Haren in 2014</a>. </p>
<p id="90oXWy">The game was so in hand that the Dodgers even survived anxiety-inducing relief from the bottom end of the bullpen depth chart — this time by Edwin Uceta and Dennis Santana — so much so that a game that was once 11-0 ended up seeing Blake Treinen having to warm up in the ninth inning.</p>
<h3 id="Bs1s5j">Making them pay</h3>
<p id="XOKa21">With Mookie Betts <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/23/22450245/jimmy-nelson-injured-list-right-forearm-inflammation-mookie-betts-left-shoulder-soreness">a late scratch with left shoulder soreness</a>, DJ Peters got a third straight start on Sunday. In the third inning, Peters came to the plate coming off his first two-hit game, but otherwise looking largely overmatched at the plate in the majors, with a .200 average and .300 slugging percentage to go with his 44-percent strikeout rate at the time.</p>
<p id="fHRMH5">Gabe Kapler opted to intentionally walk Peters, who was batting eighth, bringing up Urias with the bases loaded. This was nearly identical to the other three intentional walks granted to Peters this week, all with two outs and the pitcher up next. It worked the previous three times, with two strikeouts and even when Trevor Bauer hit a ball into right field on Friday, he was thrown out at first base.</p>
<p id="LYHAQh">But on Sunday, putting Peters on base rather than going after a very achievable out royally backfired on San Francisco. Urías lined a smash off Darin Ruf’s glove at first base for another run, then Gavin Lux followed with his second grand slam of the week. A 5-0 Dodgers advantage at the time of the intentional walk was suddenly doubled.</p>
<p id="toNBps">Lux’s slam ended the day for Anthony Desclafani, who was legitimately very good before Sunday. The right-hander allowed only 12 runs in his first nine starts, never more than three in any game. But the Dodgers got him for 10, while Desclafani recorded only eight outs.</p>
<h3 id="Q4D8lX">Sunday particulars</h3>
<p id="V36tUg"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Gavin Lux (3), Max Muncy (10); Austin Slater (5)</p>
<p id="mrWpHi"><strong>WP — Julio Urías (7-1)</strong>: 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 10 strikeouts</p>
<p id="e6fpRt"><strong>LP — Anthony Desclafani (4-2)</strong>: 2⅔ IP, 9 hits, 10 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts</p>
<h3 id="ZRhrQz">Up next </h3>
<p id="KHumsc">The Dodgers head to Houston for two games, but are off on Monday. The series opener against the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a> on Tuesday night (5:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA, FS1) is a treat, with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke on the mound.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/23/22450330/julio-urias-strikeouts-rbi-dodgers-sweep-giants-recapEric Stephen2021-05-23T12:51:00-07:002021-05-23T12:51:00-07:00Dodgers vs. Giants Game III chat
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<figcaption>Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Urías vs. Desclafani</p> <p id="0hZKpM">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> try for a sweep of the Giants on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park. They also swept the home team in San Francisco in a series in 2018 and 2019 as well. Before that, the previous three sweeps up north were delivered by the Giants, in 2015-16.</p>
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<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: 1:05 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="bjDpzM">TV: SportsNet LA</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/23/22450104/dodgers-giants-game-threadEric Stephen2021-05-23T12:37:12-07:002021-05-23T12:37:12-07:00Nelson lands on IL, Betts scratched with shoulder soreness
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<figcaption>Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Mookie Betts scratched from lineup with left shoulder soreness</p> <p id="QKh95g">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> can almost field a full pitching staff just from the injured list. The latest hurler to be sidelined is right-hander Jimmy Nelson, with right forearm inflammation.</p>
<p id="6CI5Ke">Nelson is the eighth Dodgers pitcher currently on the injured list, a group that includes Tommy John recoverers Caleb Ferguson, Tommy Kahnle, and Dustin May.</p>
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<p id="RHVUbY">The move is retroactive to Friday, since Nelson last pitched on Thursday, when he struck out five of his six batters faced in two perfect innings against the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>. Nelson leads Dodgers relievers with 30 strikeouts and a 39-percent strikeout rate this season, to go with 11 walks a 2.41 ERA and 1.86 FIP in 18⅔ innings.</p>
<p id="MKTVyS">The Dodgers also scratched Mookie Betts from the lineup with left shoulder soreness. Betts was going to start in right field on Sunday, but instead DJ Peters gets his third straight start, this time against a right-hander.</p>
<p id="ofQUWC">Dave Roberts said after the game that Betts has been receiving treatment on his left shoulder for a week, and it flared up during pregame batting practice on Sunday. Coupled with Saturday’s planned game off and Monday’s scheduled off day, Betts will have rested for three days before potentially returning to the lineup on Tuesday.</p>
<p id="hxKXHH">The Dodgers recalled right-hander Phil Bickford from Triple-A Oklahoma City before Sunday’s series finale against the Giants. Bickford was <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/3/22417834/dodgers-roster-phil-bickford-waivers-mike-kickham-designated-for-assignment">claimed off waivers from Milwaukee on May 3</a>, and had a 5.40 ERA in five appearances in Triple-A, though he struck out 12 of his 21 batters faced in the minors.</p>
<p id="iHywba">Bickford, 25, has pitched two games in the majors, once each in 2020 and 2021 with the <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a>, allowing a total of six runs on six hits in two innings, with two strikeouts, a walk, and three hit by pitches.</p>
<p id="K7iSTC">He’ll wear number 52 with the Dodgers.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/23/22450245/jimmy-nelson-injured-list-right-forearm-inflammation-mookie-betts-left-shoulder-sorenessEric Stephen2021-05-23T06:52:00-07:002021-05-23T06:52:00-07:00Nate Jones is trying a new fastball
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<figcaption>Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Jones: “That’s the thing about baseball. There’s something new you can learn every day.”</p> <p id="lcJPXe">Two weeks ago, Nate Jones was at his home in Butler, Kentucky, pitching off a mound he and his dad built in his back yard during last year’s pandemic shutdown. On Friday, having arrived at Oracle Park less than two hours before game time, he was rubbing elbows with Clayton Kershaw and Albert Pujols, and getting advice in the bullpen from David Price.</p>
<p id="76metg">“I didn’t necessarily have a catcher, but I had a net set up with the strike zone and had a couple lawn chairs as my hitters,” Jones said Saturday. “That’s just how I stay ready. You just make do with what you got.”</p>
<p id="fUjZmn">Jones wasn’t home for too long. He was designated for assignment by Atlanta on May 7, and released on May 10. On May 14, he <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/14/22436821/los-angeles-dodgers-nate-jones-mlb-news">signed a minor-league deal</a> with the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, one of a few teams that were interested in the 35-year-old right-hander. Jones said one of the reasons he chose the Dodgers was that they let him be himself.</p>
<p id="pn2Qhn">But being himself meant adding a new pitch for Jones, who was primarily a two-seam fastball thrower during his career, but was encouraged last year in Cincinnati to throw a four-seamer, working up in the strike zone rather than down, where he was used to. </p>
<p id="UXdMFz">Jones only threw the four-seam fastball 1.6 percent of the time in 2020, <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/nate-jones/4696/stats?position=P">per FanGraphs</a>, compared to 51.2 percent for his two-seamer. He decided to fully make the switch this season, and to date has thrown the four-seamer 54.3 percent of the time, compared to just 7 percent for his two-seam fastball.</p>
<p id="QXgVN4">“I just maybe had a little bit less confidence in it, because it was new,” Jones explained. “But when I got over to the Dodgers, they reinforced that, ‘You’re good, you’re here for a reason. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Get ahead and attack, and we’ll figure it out from there.’</p>
<p id="SEL7t9">“No matter how many seams you’re throwing with, it’s the same game. You’ve still got to throw strikes and get ahead of guys, in order to get those guys out.”</p>
<p id="ncQ3uG">Jones was one of the most effective relievers in baseball coming up with the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a>, posting a 3.16 ERA and 3.11 FIP from 2012-16, including three seasons with 70-plus innings. He missed the bulk of 2014 and 2015 with Tommy John surgery, and spent three extended stints on the injured list with elbow problems since. He totaled only 70⅔ innings from 2017-20, posting a 3.82 ERA and 4.86 FIP.</p>
<p id="C3ML52">After signing a minor-league deal with the Braves, his results were mixed in limited duty this season for Atlanta, with a 3.48 ERA in 12 games but also an 8.76 FIP and 10 walks, though four were intentional. He also allowed three home runs with Atlanta, a rarity for someone with a 46.2-percent ground ball rate entering this year. It was just 28.1 percent with the Braves.</p>
<p id="Dsr7eN">On Friday night with the Dodgers, after having arrived at the ballpark at 5 p.m., Jones was asked to protect a one-run lead in the seventh inning, and retired all five hitters he faced. He struck out two, and two of the three balls in play against him were on the ground. He threw the four-seamer seven times in his 17 pitches, got one swing and miss and three called strikes, including finishing off a strikeout of Darin Ruf, and got Buster Posey to ground out on that pitch.</p>
<p id="hNCxk5">“The biggest thing I liked was the mound presence. There was no deer in the headlights, it’s that ‘been here, done that,’ which makes sense,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The command of the fastball, the swing and miss with the slider, the swing and miss with the fastball. I just liked everything.”</p>
<p id="ZJf10j"> </p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/5/23/22449215/nate-jones-four-seam-fastball-dodgers-debutEric Stephen