True Blue LA - April 19: Braves 3, Dodgers 1Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2022-04-19T22:02:01-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/227970212022-04-19T22:02:01-07:002022-04-19T22:02:01-07:00Max faces nearly the min to beat LA
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<img alt="Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sEm0K4ihzTrcML-oG57fVKzIRXk=/0x0:4890x3260/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70769946/1240097896.0.jpg" />
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<p>Old friend Kenley Jansen earns a save on familiar soil</p> <p id="V4aG1q">Max Fried had his way with a <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> offense that leads the majors in runs scored per game, pitching seven scoreless innings in the Braves’ 3-1 win on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p id="AAdRQw">Big innings have been the calling card for the Dodgers offense to start 2022, but it’s all relative. On Tuesday, a big inning against Fried meant all of one single.</p>
<p id="14onmy">The first hit was credited to Hanser Alberto, getting a rare start at third base, who singled to lead off the sixth, breaking up Fried’s perfect game. But Alberto was quickly erased on a double-play ground ball. </p>
<p id="eqWniQ">Trea Turner reached on an infield single with two outs in the seventh, but Fried quickly recovered to struck out Justin Turner, Fried’s eighth strikeout of the night. The left-hander from Harvard-Westlake High School pitched seven innings, didn’t walk anyone, and faced just one batter over the minimum.</p>
<p id="oyViCA">With Fried out of the game, the Dodgers were able to scratch across a run off lefty Tyler Matzek in the eighth, thanks to a walk by Chris Taylor, who advanced two bases to third on a wild pitch. Contact expert Alberto scored Taylor with a 52-mph grounder to second base.</p>
<p id="aPEXTM">Old friend Kenley Jansen made his first appearance at Dodger Stadium as a visitor, and retired the side in short order. He got Will Smith to pop out, struck out Mookie Betts, then perhaps fittingly got Freddie Freeman to fly out to center to end the game.</p>
<p id="oyYMuT">It was Jansen’s 186th career save at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p id="IvuGpA">Walker Buehler had a second-inning fastball crushed 426 feet into the home bullpen, off the bat of <a href="https://twitter.com/ericstephen/status/1165133289343963138">old friend Travis d’Arnaud</a>. The solo shot gave the Braves a 1-0 lead, marking the first time the Dodgers trailed <em>in eight games</em>.</p>
<p id="8OBHhB">Buehler allowed eight hits in his five innings pitched, nearly matching his total (nine hits) in his previous two starts combined. Aside from the d’Arnaud home run, a pair of extra-base hits did the most damage off Buehler. Ozzie Albies doubled to lead off the third inning and scored, then Orlando Arcia doubled home Eddie Rosario in the fourth.</p>
<p id="jZRu8X">Arcia had three hits on the night, including two doubles.</p>
<h3 id="KsuMZ9">Defensive highlight</h3>
<p id="K9HwjW">Atlanta threatened to widen the advantage by putting runners at the corners in the seventh inning, but David Price rebounded with strikeouts of Albies and Matt Olson, followed by this sliding catch by Mookie Betts down the right field line.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">David Price escapes a jam courtesy of this sliding Mookie catch! <a href="https://t.co/k0VT3Vw65H">pic.twitter.com/k0VT3Vw65H</a></p>— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/1516630570440175619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2022</a>
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<p id="1Vh3gN">At the plate though, times are tough for Betts, who was hitless for a fourth straight game, striking out twice in his four at-bats Tuesday. On the season, Betts has just seven hits in 41 at-bats, hitting .171/.277/.220.</p>
<h3 id="bqf2Gg">Tuesday particulars</h3>
<p id="FMbswY"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Travis d’Arnaud (2)</p>
<p id="q1bwrl"><strong>WP — Max Fried (1-2)</strong>: 7 IP, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts</p>
<p id="Jezpkc"><strong>LP — Walker Buehler (1-1)</strong>: 5 IP, 8 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts</p>
<p id="HPoLui"><strong>Sv — Kenley Jansen (3)</strong>: 1 IP, 1 strikeout</p>
<h3 id="7ILybk">Up next</h3>
<p id="Cfd8OZ">It’s afternoon baseball on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium (12:10 p.m.; SportsNet LA, MLB Network), with Tony Gonsolin on the mound for the Dodgers against Atlanta right-hander Charlie Morton.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23032989/dodgers-max-fried-braves-recapEric Stephen2022-04-19T18:44:00-07:002022-04-19T18:44:00-07:00Dodgers vs. Braves Game II chat
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<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qSTw5eyws06S26qruPL2oTdz8jg=/0x0:4629x3086/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70769473/1392214356.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="mPxGPf">Walker Buehler makes his third start of the season as the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> try for an eighth straight win on Tuesday night against the Braves, who send left-hander Max Fried to the mound. Both pitchers also started on opening day.</p>
<p id="3OyV7U">Hanser Alberto gets a start at third base, with his career 113 wRC+ (.331/.352/.458 in 480 plate appearances) against southpaws. It’s the second start of the season for Alberto.</p>
<p id="s8vkoH">Gavin Lux was <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23033030/gavin-lux-back-tightness-dodgers-lineup-braves">scratched with back tightness</a> about 90 minutes before game time.</p>
<h3 id="Yhu2lb">Pregame reading</h3>
<aside id="xkPtat"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Joe Davis on landing his dream job, the World Series","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23028783/joe-davis-world-series-fox-dream-come-true"},{"title":"How long is the Dodgers’ home winning streak?","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23032817/dodgers-home-winning-streak-two-seasons"},{"title":"Lux scratched from lineup with back tightness","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23033030/gavin-lux-back-tightness-dodgers-lineup-braves"},{"title":"Freeman, Jansen reunions an emotional to start Dodgers-Braves","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23031282/dodgers-freddie-freeman-kenley-jansen-braves-reunions"},{"title":"A summary of the Trevor Bauer legal situation, Part 1","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/22924334/law-talk-legal-trouble-bauer-act-one-are-you-kidding-me"},{"title":"Braves DFA Newcomb, option Ynoa; recall Toussaint &amp; Lee","url":"https://www.batterypower.com/2022/4/19/23032446/atlanta-braves-roster-touki-toussaint-dylan-lee-recalled-sean-newcomb-designated-for-assignment"}]}'></div></aside><div id="Yfjimg"><div data-anthem-component="table:11151702"></div></div>
<h3 id="uGs46U">Game info</h3>
<ul>
<li id="qbtcOo">Teams: Dodgers (8-2) vs. Braves (5-7)</li>
<li id="xfxWtU">Location: Dodger Stadium</li>
<li id="FQHJlO">First pitch: 7:10 p.m. PT</li>
<li id="pe2tOc">TV: SportsNet LA, TBS (out of market)</li>
</ul>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23032948/dodgers-braves-game-chatEric Stephen2022-04-19T17:53:28-07:002022-04-19T17:53:28-07:00Lux scratched from lineup with back tightness
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<img alt="Cincinnati Reds v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vhRoHgnXGjOZCL4tTjTidfVaz78=/0x0:5219x3479/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70769317/1392214333.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Cody Bellinger now starts in centerfield.</p> <p id="ysShZQ">Gavin Lux was scratched from the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> starting lineup with back tightness on Tuesday night. He was originally set to play left field against the Braves, but now Cody Bellinger gets a start in center field in the middle game of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p id="xSF93X">Chris Taylor, tabbed for centerfield in the Dodgers lineup on Tuesday in what was a planned day off for Bellinger, instead starts in left field with Bellinger now in his usual position.</p>
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<p id="I00EAD">Lux has been a force at the bottom of the Dodgers lineup in the early going, hitting .276/.405/.483 with three extra-base hits, leading the team in runs scored (nine) and walks (seven), all while hitting either eighth or ninth. Even in his relative slump the last three games, with no hits in eight at-bats, Lux walked three times, stole a base, and scored three times.</p>
<p id="EpZJgp">Lux entering Tuesday is one of six Dodgers to play all 10 games so far. He’s started nine times — six times at second base, and three times in left field.</p>
<p id="ZVru1N">Bellinger homered and doubled on Monday, his fifth multi-hit affair in the last eight games.</p>
<h3 id="qcql6R">Atlanta roster moves</h3>
<p id="FskLIx">The Braves <a href="https://www.batterypower.com/2022/4/19/23032446/atlanta-braves-roster-touki-toussaint-dylan-lee-recalled-sean-newcomb-designated-for-assignment">brought up a pair of fresh arms for Tuesday’s game</a>, recalling right-hander Touki Toussaint and left-hander Dylan Lee from Triple-A Gwinnett. They optioned Monday starter Huascar Ynoa, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/18/23031413/freddie-freeman-home-run-clayton-kershaw-100-wins-dodger-stadium-dodgers-braves">who allowed five runs in 3⅔ innings in taking the loss</a>. Sean Newcomb, who followed Ynoa on the mound, allowed both inherited runners to score plus one more charged to his ledger, was designated for assignment.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23033030/gavin-lux-back-tightness-dodgers-lineup-bravesEric Stephen2022-04-19T15:44:00-07:002022-04-19T15:44:00-07:00Did the Dodgers win 5 straight games at home, or 20?
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<img alt="MLB: APR 18 Braves at Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Clh7GtTXoQ4IOzAu3CRcH7GDze0=/0x0:3029x2019/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70768991/1240080423.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Some recent streaks that stretch back over two regular seasons</p> <p id="Exs3fJ">After sweeping the Reds over the weekend, then <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/18/23031413/freddie-freeman-home-run-clayton-kershaw-100-wins-dodger-stadium-dodgers-braves">taking the opener against National League rival Atlanta</a>, the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> are 5-0 at Dodger Stadium this season.</p>
<p id="jyFxj6">But they also won their final fifteen home games to end the 2021 regular season, so how long is their current home win streak? Is it five games, or is it 20 games? If it’s the latter, that ignores the six playoff games played at Dodger Stadium last October, of which the Dodgers won four. They lost Game 4 of the NLCS against the Braves but won Game 5, which turned out to be the final Dodger Stadium game of 2021. So if we’re counting last year, is the home win streak six games?</p>
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<p id="XIxiM6">This is all semantics, really. Not quite as mind-numbing as wasting time debating whether a hot dog is a sandwich, but still rather easy to delineate. For purposes of streaks, and most stats, the postseason is considered separate from the regular season. Nobody says Henry Aaron has 761 career home runs, which lumps in his six postseason dingers with his more iconic 755 regular season blasts. So it’s rather easy to dismiss the postseason numbers when counting a streak.</p>
<p id="f7EMWD">Unless you are twelve years old, and will talk anyone’s ear off about how Orel Hershiser <em>actually</em> pitched 67 consecutive scoreless innings, which encompassed his final 59 innings of the regular season, then <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2013/10/4/4801314/1988-dodgers-mets-nlcs-game-1">the first eight scoreless frames of Game 1 of the NLCS</a>. But then again, you might have been sore after throwing a mini tantrum after seeing the <a href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> come back to win that Game 1 in the ninth inning, after which you were sent to bed early. <em>Hypothetically</em>, of course.</p>
<p id="ryo88K">But even using regular season numbers only, it still seems odd to count something over seasons. I’m not even talking about Hershiser’s 1989 Donruss card, the one showing him juggling a baseball with the words “59 and Counting” on the front. Any bizarreness of that streak lasting longer than 1988 was dashed in the very first inning of 1989, when Hershiser finally allowed a regular season run.</p>
<p id="pfh1N0">Trea Turner had his 27-game hit streak snapped on Sunday, but that was only the Dodgers’ ninth game of the season. The first 19 games of Turner’s streak came at the end of the 2021 regular season. “It kind of feels weird to say a 20-something-game hitting streak when you take a five-month break, but I guess how that works,” <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/17/23024465/dodgers-clayton-kershaw-perfect-week">Turner said Saturday</a>.</p>
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<img alt="Orel Hershiser’s 1989 Donruss card, celebrating the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher’s MLB-record 59 consecutive scoreless innings." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EmiKHwXGCtGqnTjqEU39aYypl48=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23177879/orel_hershiser_1989_donruss_59.jpeg">
<figcaption>Orel Hershiser’s 1989 Donruss card, celebrating the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher’s MLB-record 59 consecutive scoreless innings.</figcaption>
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<p id="cakwyx">The Dodgers at home have won 20 straight regular season games. Their last such loss was August 29 against the Rockies, akin to their last loss this season also against Colorado, though this year was in Denver (the Dodgers have won seven straight games overall since then). The current home winning streak started with a series against the Braves, and the Dodgers have swept every home series since.</p>
<p id="ojYXQS">In those last 20 games at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers have outscored opponents 126-56. It’s the second-longest home winning streak in franchise history, behind only <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BRO/1899-schedule-scores.shtml">the 22-game run at Washington Park by the Brooklyn Superbas in 1899</a>.</p>
<p id="bLHK3s">In the modern era, the only two National League home winning streaks longer than the current Dodgers streak were 26 games by the 1916 <a href="https://www.bigblueview.com/">New York Giants</a> (which also stands as the longest overall win streak in MLB history; New York played 31 games in a row at the Polo Grounds at one point that September) and 24 games by the 1978 Pirates.</p>
<h3 id="uGs46U">Game info</h3>
<ul>
<li id="qbtcOo">Teams: Dodgers (8-2) vs. Braves (5-7)</li>
<li id="xfxWtU">Location: Dodger Stadium</li>
<li id="FQHJlO">First pitch: 7:10 p.m. PT</li>
<li id="pe2tOc">TV: SportsNet LA, TBS (out of market)</li>
</ul>
<p id="ZyDsOl"></p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/19/23032817/dodgers-home-winning-streak-two-seasonsEric Stephen2022-04-18T08:42:00-07:002022-04-18T08:42:00-07:00Dodgers-Braves renew their rivalry in LA
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<img alt="MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ne-spXFvOO6NeqOkUQK3wDVgdTE=/0x0:4586x3057/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70762493/usa_today_18092122.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>3-game series begins Monday night at Dodger Stadium</p> <p id="a8iI9n"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> vs. Braves was always going to be a series circled on the calendar, not just by both teams but across baseball. The winners of the last two <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> face off for three games at Dodger Stadium beginning Monday night, but there’s a familiarity to the rivalry that added a few new wrinkles this offseason.</p>
<p id="HSXYft">These two teams are used to each other, having met three times in the last four postseasons, including <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/nlcs-2020-dodgers-braves">each of the last two</a> <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/nlcs-2021-dodgers-braves">National League Championship Series</a>. But to add to the anticipation, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/3/18/22982575/freddie-freeman-contract-details-dodgers-payroll-luxury-tax">longtime Braves icon Freddie Freeman signed with the Dodgers</a>, on the same day longtime Los Angeles icon Kenley Jansen <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/3/18/22784091/kenley-jansen-contract-braves-one-year-wow">signed a one-year deal with Atlanta</a>.</p>
<p id="aug6fZ">It will be the first game for both against their old teams. Both debuted in the majors in 2010. Jansen originally signed with the Dodgers in 2004 (as a catcher!) while Freeman was drafted by Atlanta in 2007.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Freddie" chants at Dodger Stadium. Chills. <a href="https://t.co/sAsqKPjNzu">pic.twitter.com/sAsqKPjNzu</a></p>— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1514828063409786882?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2022</a>
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<p id="3Rj9If">Dodgers fans have already warmed to Freeman, chanting his name throughout the first home series, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/14/23026293/dodgers-offense-big-innings-freddie-freeman-will-smith-reds-recap">including an extended ovation on Thursday</a>. “It’s just special when 50,000 people can create a moment you’ll never forget,” he said.</p>
<p id="n782Ey">“There’s going to be emotion, and there <em>should</em> be emotion. I think Freddie’s a guy that embraces emotion. I think that’s a good thing,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think he’s going to see those guys over there and it’s going to hit him.”</p>
<p id="5Lx9Kz">This will be the first game for Freeman against his old team, but the more emotional series will likely be June 24-26, his first games back in Atlanta after leaving the Braves. That connection with old fans comes for Jansen starting Monday night.</p>
<p id="Kl9Nwj">Jansen is the all-time Dodgers franchise leader in saves (350), games pitched (701), and relief strikeouts (1,022). </p>
<p id="Yz6BmS">“He better get a very big standing ovation when he first comes out,” Roberts said Sunday.</p>
<p id="P12deL">Roberts was asked if Dodgers fans should boo Jansen for signing elsewhere. He said no, but then thought of a better solution.</p>
<p id="ghQTKt">“If he gets an out, definitely boo him,” Roberts joked. “But I hope not to see him on the field.”</p>
<p id="dzRtNH">But whether Jansen will pitch in any of the three games depends on the earlier portions of the game.</p>
<p id="tTbnrz">To that end, the Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw, in his first start since Wednesday’s seven perfect innings, and Walker Buehler to the mound to start the first two games of the series, followed by Tony Gonsolin on Wednesday afternoon.</p>
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<p id="LmADea">The Braves have Huascar Ynoa starting the opener, followed by Max Fried, making Tuesday a battle of opening day starters. Charlie Morton starts for Atlanta in the series finale.</p>
<p id="S7pBCU">Roberts said Sunday he planned to start Edwin Ríos on Monday, likely at designated hitter, though that was before Ríos batted twice in reserve in Sunday’s blowout win. Hanser Alberto, with his 113 career wRC+ against left-handed pitchers, will start at third base against Fried on Tuesday.</p>
<p id="cEbsO5">For those outside of the Dodgers television market, every game of the series will be available on national television. MLB Network will simulcast the Monday and Wednesday games. Tuesday will be on TBS, with Bob Costas and Jeff Francoeur on the call. All three games will also be on SportsNet LA.</p>
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https://www.truebluela.com/2022/4/18/23029406/dodgers-braves-preview-freddie-freeman-kenley-jansen-pitching-matchupsEric Stephen