True Blue LA - July 18: Rockies 6, Dodgers 5 (10)Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2021-07-22T23:12:53-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/223455482021-07-22T23:12:53-07:002021-07-22T23:12:53-07:00Muncy will miss Rockies series on paternity leave
<figure>
<img alt="World Series - Tampa Bay Rays v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Six" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sEJp1UkVj0B3bewiAKs6p7PjwxQ=/0x0:3058x2039/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69621103/1282610868.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="0y0xyJ">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> on Friday will place first baseman Max Muncy on the paternity list to be with his wife Kellie for the birth of the couple’s first child. The infielder will miss the three-game series against the Rockies.</p>
<p id="upPfJ5">“Max is going to have a baby tomorrow,” manager Dave Roberts said after Thursday’s game. “He’ll be away from us for the weekend, and he’ll join us on Tuesday.”</p>
<p id="qgr64n">A stay on Major League Baseball’s paternity leave list can last up to three days, which means Muncy, after playing in all four games against the Giants at Dodger Stadium, will miss the Rockies series, then be ready when the Dodgers start a series in San Francisco on Tuesday.</p>
<p id="FmRq0n">Roberts said earlier in the week the Muncys didn’t plan to induce labor, but apparently plans changed, in coordination with the schedule.</p>
<p id="VmVN8s">“My wife actually planned that one out. We’re gonna induce” <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/Dodgers-All-Star-Max-Muncy-says-his-baby-girl-s-16334060.php?converted=1">Muncy told Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday</a>. “She didn’t want me to miss any games against the Giants.”</p>
<p id="gE2gDG">Muncy, who <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ387_NFNha/">announced his wife’s pregnancy in January on Instagram</a> with a bulletin board that read, “What else was there to do in the bubble?,” said on Saturday after a four-hit, two-homer, five-RBI game at Coors Field that his mind was elsewhere during the game.</p>
<p id="qRpVNW">“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about the game too much,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/1416602216396320769">Muncy told Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA</a>. “My mind’s a little elsewhere right now.”</p>
<p id="iygCzH">The Dodgers had contingency plans at the ready should Kellie Muncy go into labor, first having Zach Reks with the team for the final two days in Colorado before <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/19/22584107/gavin-lux-injured-dodgers-left-hamstring-strain-zach-reks">he was called up Monday when Gavin Lux went on the injured list</a>. Reks was optioned on Thursday when Billy McKinney was activated.</p>
<p id="c6Za1H">The Dodgers will add a player to the active roster to replace Muncy on Friday.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/22/22582333/max-muncy-paternity-leave-dodgers-rosterEric Stephen2021-07-18T16:49:01-07:002021-07-18T16:49:01-07:00Hamstring will cost Lux at least a few days, if not more
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IhZ4i6maejzgP_H44uAZ_VSJrkU=/0x0:1030x687/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69598764/Screen_Shot_2021_07_18_at_4.46.54_PM.0.png" />
<figcaption><em>From </em><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.mlb.com/video/lux-exits-with-apparent-injury" target="_blank"><em>MLB.com</em></a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>LHP Victor Gonzalez could be activated off injured list into Dodgers bullpen on Monday</p> <p id="JGfhSS"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> shortstop Gavin Lux injured his left hamstring in the ninth inning of <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/18/22582555/dodgers-blown-leads-defensive-miscues-david-price-effective-rockies-recap">Sunday’s loss to the Rockies</a>. Lux is expected to miss a few days at a minimum, though the severity of the injury is not yet known.</p>
<p id="kRQLTd">“From what I understand, it’s kind of in a cramp, strain-ish, mild strain category, We’ll know more tomorrow,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Regardless, I see at least a couple days, he’ll be down. We’ll make a decision outside of that tomorrow.”</p>
<p id="pmumdR">Lux grounded out to second base in the ninth inning, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/video/lux-exits-with-apparent-injury">but immediately after hitting the ball he grabbed back at his left hamstring</a>. After conferring with trainer Yosuke Nakajima, Lux was removed from the game, and replaced at shortstop by Chris Taylor.</p>
<div id="IVJOuV"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/m/lux-exits-with-apparent-injury" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="JSwPh9">The Dodgers plan to send Lux for testing after they get back home to Los Angeles, where they will start a seven-game homestand on Monday against the first-place Giants.</p>
<p id="jRlP0Q">Lux began the year as the Dodgers’ second baseman, but shifted to shortstop — the position he was drafted at and played in the minors — after Corey Seager broke a bone in his hand on May 15. Since Seager was out, Lux started 48 of 55 games at shortstop.</p>
<p id="uFM5zV">It’s been a rollercoaster at the plate for Lux, who is hitting .227/.307/.349, an 85 wRC+. He’s been for the most part an everyday regular this season, but that could change once Seager returns, especially since Lux is hitting just .143/.238/.171, a 25 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.</p>
<p id="Qe9L0y">“He’s just grinding right now,” Roberts said of Lux on Saturday.</p>
<p id="vZetso">Seager is working his way back from that broken hand, and has another simulated game scheduled for Monday to determine his next step. Whether he’s activated at some point on the homestand remains to be seen.</p>
<h3 id="fdA9J7">Relief on the way</h3>
<p id="rXIIlO">After using six relievers to cover the final six innings on Sunday, Dave Roberts said the team will likely add a fresh arm on Monday. There’s an excellent chance that new pitcher will be left-hander Victor Gonzalez, out since July 6 with left plantar fasciitis.</p>
<p id="Hg4Nqi">Gonzalez pitched one game on a rehab assignment with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday, striking out two in a perfect inning. The plan was for Gonzalez to either pitch another rehab game in the minors or join the Dodgers once they returned home.</p>
<p id="vaaPxU">“We’ll make that decision later today, but I think the possibility of him pitching for us Monday is pretty good,” Roberts said before the game.</p>
<p id="XZaPnZ">The Dodgers are currently carrying 10 relief pitchers on the active roster, though only three of them — Blake Treinen, Phil Bickford, and Jake Reed — pitched twice in the three games in Colorado. Treinen was the only one to pitch on back-to-back days. Scott Alexander did not pitch all weekend.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/18/22582860/gavin-lux-injury-dodgers-hamstring-victor-gonzalez-bullpenEric Stephen2021-07-18T16:02:28-07:002021-07-18T16:02:28-07:00Dodgers leads evaporate in extra-inning loss to Rockies
<figure>
<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Colorado Rockies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FvSOYHjOvfMLjwbJO-q1CZelcIA=/0x0:5289x3526/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69598676/1329416926.5.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>LA falls to 1-9 in extra innings</p> <p id="1EFJ9c">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> blew three leads, displayed shoddy defense, had a rare blown save by Kenley Jansen, and extra innings reared their ugly head again on Sunday at Coors Field. Charlie Blackmon homered off Phil Bickford in the 10th inning, giving the Rockies a 6-5 win, preventing a weekend sweep with the Dodgers’ ninth loss in 10 extra-inning affairs this season.</p>
<p id="n6xGmd">The final three innings were a scramble, with the Dodgers regaining the lead in the eighth inning on a two-run Will Smith home run, a lined shot down the left field line, the Dodgers’ seventh home run of the three-game series.</p>
<p id="wTUwmk">Jansen allowed a leadoff double to Ryan McMahon in the ninth, then Chris Owings singled him home for the equalizer. It marked just the third blown save in 24 attempts this season for Jansen, and his first since May 5.</p>
<p id="lyQy87">With Albert Pujols starting the 10th inning as the free runner on second base, Smith’s two-out single scored the winning run for the Dodgers. It was the fourth single hit with Pujols on second base this season, and the first time he scored. Smith drove in three runs on Sunday, giving him seven RBI in his two games played over the weekend.</p>
<p id="UxZtOn">But it wasn’t enough in the bottom of the frame, with a pair of fly balls against Bickford advancing the free runner home to tie things before Blackmon’s walk-off with two outs.</p>
<h3 id="y5mRD7">Error of their ways</h3>
<p id="SLufeZ">Outside of Max Muncy, and possibly Smith depending on the metric, the Dodgers defense has been pretty bad this season, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/17/22580309/max-muncy-gold-glove-worthy-dodgers-team-defense-struggling">with several players rated below average in the SABR defensive index</a>, a collection of five different statistics that account for a quarter of Gold Glove Award voting.</p>
<p id="O0j0FP">On Sunday the Rockies scored the tying and winning runs on plays that should have been made. The first, a popup in the infield with two outs in the fifth, was dropped by Chris Taylor.</p>
<p id="y5Llfj">In the seventh, a 100.4-mph grounder by Matt Adams caromed off Turner’s glove for the go-ahead run. The play wasn’t called an error, though the RBI single could have been at least one out, if not an inning-ending double play.</p>
<p id="23UPvi">“The defense has been inconsistent, all season,” manager Dave Roberts said. “When you give teams extra outs, it’s hard to overcome.”</p>
<h3 id="IoHIsB">Stretching out</h3>
<p id="wUANIz">David Price continued to inch closer to being a full-fledged member of the starting rotation. He lasted four innings on Sunday, one more inning than his last start, which was one more inning than his outing before <em>that</em>. Price, who has said many times this season he’s willing to pitch in any role the team asks of him, on Sunday lasted longer into a game than he has since July 30, 2019, with Boston.</p>
<p id="2bP00N">Getting through four seemed precarious after a 22-pitch first, with the Rockies plating a run on a pair of singles, an inning that was extended by an error at third base by Turner. But Price settled down after the error, allowing only a walk the rest of the way, getting through four innings on 66 pitches.</p>
<p id="hTCGqT">Since returning from a hamstring injury in May, Price has a 2.16 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 25 innings, with 24 strikeouts, six walks, and no home runs allowed. In July, Price has allowed one run in nine innings, with 10 strikeouts.</p>
<p id="atbBok">Whatever the Dodgers have asked of Price, he’s delivered.</p>
<p id="ZzpGp6">Price helped himself in the third inning with a leadoff nubber that died in the grass about 40 feet up the third base line, the fifth hit of Price’s career and his first with the Dodgers. Three batters late, Turner hit a ball considerably farther, 399 feet and over the high wall in right field for a two-run home run that gave the Dodgers the lead.</p>
<p id="O2zjCT">Turner’s homer also scored Price, the first time he’s scored a run in the majors, minors, or college.</p>
<h3 id="VJ651P">Grinding</h3>
<p id="uHxe3w">In a lineup that leads the National League in runs scored, on-base percentage, and wRC+, two that stand out as struggling are Cody Bellinger and Gavin Lux. Roberts this weekend in separate media sessions used the same terms to describe both hitters: “He’s grinding.”</p>
<p id="x5QafF">Bellinger was inserted into the leadoff spot on Sunday with Mookie Betts and his irritated hip out, just the third time Bellinger started a game batting first. The idea was to get Bellinger as many looks as possible against Rockies starter Jon Gray, against whom he was 11-for-18 with five doubles, a triple, four walks, and one strikeout entering Sunday.</p>
<p id="ahKrpX">“When Cody was really good, in 2019, he was a hitter first and the slug followed. He was using left center, the middle of the field, right center. Then with breaking balls in the zone, he would slug those to the pull side,” Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “If he could go back to being a hit collector, using both gaps, I think that’s a great start.”</p>
<p id="kzoUgv">Bellinger collected none of those hits, instead going 0-for-4 with a strikeout and two infield popouts against Gray, swinging through four fastballs and a slider. On the season, Bellinger is hitting just .168/.284/.282, a 63 wRC+, and in July he’s 5-for-52 (.096) with one extra-base hit, six walks, and 16 strikeouts.</p>
<p id="s65PlM">Gray lasted seven innings, allowing only two runs, striking out seven.</p>
<p id="EYVPCX">Lux has been up and down all year offensively. He rebounded with a 128 wRC+ in May but has been well below average in every other month. Since June 1, Lux is hitting .202/.317/.282, including 0-for-4 on Sunday.</p>
<p id="wSjNMy">“When he’s using the middle of the field, he’s very dangerous. It allows for more plate coverage and he can handle more pitches,” Roberts said Saturday. “When he starts to pull the baseball too much, I think it exposes him, like any hitter.”</p>
<p id="Ue7PdF">To add injury to insult, immediately after grounding into an out in the ninth inning, Lux grabbed his left hamstring and left the game.</p>
<h3 id="uXLlwP">Sunday particulars</h3>
<p id="V0QkOI"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Justin Turner (16), Will Smith (11); Charlie Blackmon (5)</p>
<p id="lTTOde"><strong>WP — Mychal Givens (3-2)</strong>: 1 IP, 1 hit, 1 unearned run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts</p>
<p id="ftP9Ez"><strong>LP — Phil Bickford (0-1)</strong>: ⅔ IP, 1 hit, 2 runs (1 earned)</p>
<h3 id="11y10i">Up next</h3>
<p id="jYpshu">The Dodgers return to Dodger Stadium for a seven-game homestand, starting with four against the rival Giants, a battle between teams with the two best records in baseball. Tony Gonsolin starts for the Dodgers in Monday’s series opener (7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), facing off against Kevin Gausman.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/18/22582555/dodgers-blown-leads-defensive-miscues-david-price-effective-rockies-recapEric Stephen2021-07-18T11:49:00-07:002021-07-18T11:49:00-07:00Dodgers vs. Rockies Game X chat
<figure>
<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Colorado Rockies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gKYd6SWhajcb09PQTa6n2_AvOFs=/0x0:3884x2589/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69598081/1329294500.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>LA goes for its 10th sweep of 2021</p> <p id="PpYUaq">After an opening day loss at Coors Field, the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> have beaten the Rockies eight straight times. They try for nine in a row and a weekend sweep on Sunday afternoon, with David Price starting on the mound against Jon Gray.</p>
<p id="8OvxvR">Cody Bellinger, playing in just his 37th of 94 Dodgers games this season, is hitting .173/.287/.291, including 5-for-48 (.104/.185/.167) with one extra-base hit in July. He’s hitting leadoff on Sunday in place of Mookie Betts, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/17/22581716/mookie-betts-red-hot-hip-injury-dodgers-rockies">who aggravated a right hip irritation on Saturday</a>.</p>
<p id="7c42GV">It’s just the third career start batting first for Bellinger, who also did so on April 26, 2017 — the second game of his major league career — and in Game 5 of the 2018 NLCS.</p>
<div id="kuhW3Z"><div data-anthem-component="table:10657706"></div></div>
<h3 id="EO1hdm">Game info</h3>
<p id="b7aiui">Teams: Dodgers (58-35) at Rockies (40-53)</p>
<p id="YH0Se4">Location: Coors Field, Denver</p>
<p id="Fkv76B">Time: 12:10 p.m. PT</p>
<p id="ZWohbr">TV: SportsNet LA</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/18/22582367/dodgers-rockies-game-threadEric Stephen2021-07-17T20:07:37-07:002021-07-17T20:07:37-07:00Mookie Betts leaves 4-hit game with right hip irritation
<figure>
<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gSMTRmqB8pcEKLvRuMp7hF_OUgk=/0x0:5586x3724/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69596536/usa_today_16418521.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dodgers star rightfielder left game in the 7th inning</p> <p id="0iqdre">The refrain from Dave Roberts has been used often regarding Mookie Betts, but “we go as he goes” was never more literal and perhaps ominous than Saturday at Coors Field, where the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> rightfielder and leadoff man had four extra-base hits in four at-bats but had to leave with right hip irritation in a 9-2 win over the Rockies.</p>
<p id="8r3sTM">Betts doubled in the first and sixth innings, scoring on a Max Muncy single both times. Betts took matters into his own hands with a solo home run in the third.</p>
<p id="QTqO2u">In the seventh, Betts doubled again but was limping on his way to second base. After conferring with manager Dave Roberts and trainer Yosuke Nakajima, Betts was taken out of the game.</p>
<p id="tF7we8">“I’m good,” Betts said. “I just made it a little more mad today than normal.”</p>
<p id="k01sXK">Later on the SportsNet LA broadcast, footage of Betts was shown wincing in the dugout after scoring from second base in the sixth inning. He confirmed that’s when he felt something in his hip.</p>
<p id="12aCGd">“It’s kind of been nagging at him all year. I think a lot of running the bases and in the outfield irritated it a little bit,” Roberts said after the game. “He’ll be down tomorrow, and should be back in the lineup on Monday.”</p>
<p id="S5x543">Betts’ struggles have been both prevalent — <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/all-star-game/2021/7/12/22568664/mookie-betts-all-star-2021-dodgers">dealing with various injuries basically all season</a> — and relative, in that his <em>worst</em> month, April, saw him post a 119 wRC+. Oh, the horrors of being only 19 percent better than average on offense.</p>
<p id="n4SHTg">Betts on Saturday counted his hip as one of the various injuries he’s been managing throughout the year. Those injuries have been at the very least frustrating to Betts, who was deservedly named an All-Star for the fifth time but <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/all-star-game/2021/7/10/22571377/walker-buehler-justin-turner-all-star-game-roster-mookie-betts-injury-dodgers">decided to use the four-day break to recharge</a>.</p>
<p id="uuQepi">“He’s a great worker. He understands his swing and approach. The talent is obviously clear,” Roberts said before Saturday’s game. “We saw signs in the last couple of weeks that he was coming out of that little funk. I think we’re going to be on a fun ride in the second half.”</p>
<p id="JBHNZ7">The fun actually started just <em>before</em> the All-Star break, on the very day he made the choice to skip the midsummer classic. Betts last Saturday hit a grand slam and walked three times, scoring four of the Dodgers’ LA franchise-record 22 runs against Arizona. On Sunday, Betts had three hits, including a home run, and scored three more times.</p>
<p id="Pq13qE">Three more hits came on Friday against the Rockies, including a double and two more runs. Saturday’s outburst gave Betts four straight games scoring at least two runs, <a href="https://stathead.com/sharing/a5moV">tying a Dodgers record</a> last reached by Muncy in 2018.</p>
<p id="T2HbLn">Betts in those four games has 12 hits in 16 at-bats, with three home runs, four doubles, 12 runs scored and seven runs batted in. The hot streak vaulted Betts’ batting line from .245/.352/.446 to .271/.375/.503 in just four games, raising his batting average by 26 points and his OPS by 79 points.</p>
<p id="N7hAYw">His wRC+ on the season is now 141, a far cry from April.</p>
<p id="aYns94">Betts scored the Dodgers’ first three runs on Saturday, and left with the team up 4-2. The other run to that point was a solo home run another red-hot LA hitter, AJ Pollock, who has seven home runs in 12 games in July.</p>
<p id="H39AeE">After Betts left, the Dodgers piled on, with Muncy hitting home runs in the eighth and ninth, giving him a career-high five RBI and tying a career best with four hits. Justin Turner doubled home two more off the centerfield wall in the ninth to turn this into a blowout.</p>
<p id="pExdb7">That was more than enough for Walker Buehler, who went seven innings after last pitching seven days ago.</p>
<p id="pHKyRk">This was the second straight Saturday start for Buehler, whose six days rest was his second-most before a start this season. The All-Star break accounted for that layoff, though he was the only Dodgers pitcher who had another game in which to pitch in between.</p>
<p id="Qq1vcA">Buehler was at Coors Field earlier in the week, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/all-star-game/2021/7/12/22571685/walker-buehler-all-star-2021-dodgers">named to his second All-Star team</a>. He was one of 12 active pitchers for the National League, though Buehler and <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a> reliever Josh Hader were the only ones not to appear in the game. The decision not to use Buehler came after a conversation with Roberts before the game.</p>
<p id="mKkYTC">“He was totally good with being a spectator and a teammate,” Roberts said.</p>
<p id="Yb24Xe">Colorado scored single runs in the second and third innings against Buehler, the key hit a double in both frames. The second was aided by an uncharacteristic two walks in the inning by Buehler, but he got into a groove shortly after.</p>
<p id="UOycot">After the game-tying double by Ryan McMahon in the third, Buehler retired his final 13 batters faced. Six of those were by strikeout, giving Buehler eight punchouts on the night.</p>
<p id="z8bwzd">“There’s an expectation for the guys that are in [the rotation] to go deep, and it’s a focus of mine,” said Buehler, who won his 10th game of the season.</p>
<p id="ft9Z6u">The Dodgers after losing in Colorado on opening day have beaten the Rockies eight straight times.</p>
<h3 id="D9fWiu">Saturday particulars</h3>
<p id="0ixETl"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Mookie Betts (14), AJ Pollock (13), Max Muncy 2 (21)</p>
<p id="6NyI6q"><strong>WP — Walker Buehler (10-1)</strong>: 7 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts</p>
<p id="Cah45F"><strong>LP — Kyle Freeland (1-4)</strong>: 6 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs, 4 strikeouts</p>
<h3 id="KnxyO5">Up next</h3>
<p id="eOBPtc">David Price starts the series finale for the Dodgers on Sunday (12:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), with right-hander Jon Gray starting for Colorado.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/17/22581716/mookie-betts-red-hot-hip-injury-dodgers-rockiesEric Stephen