True Blue LA - June 10: Giants 7, Dodgers 2Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2022-06-11T05:03:00-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/229275052022-06-11T05:03:00-07:002022-06-11T05:03:00-07:00Walker Buehler to have MRI on right elbow on Saturday
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5ZqOjS0AkNTNreTanu4TeUhaCdw=/0x512:3456x2816/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70966090/usa_today_18513983.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="LxSziP"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> pitcher Walker Buehler will have tests on his right elbow on Saturday to determine the extent of the elbow discomfort that <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23163214/walker-buehler-elbow-discomfort-short-justin-bruihl-nightmare-inning-dodgers-giants">knocked him out of Friday’s start after just four innings</a>.</p>
<p id="YtcNFC">Buehler told reporters he felt something grab in his right elbow in the third inning.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Whatever it is, we'll handle it." <a href="https://twitter.com/buehlersdayoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@buehlersdayoff</a> spoke post-game about his right elbow. <a href="https://t.co/c6vggQuc2f">pic.twitter.com/c6vggQuc2f</a></p>— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/1535498370923474944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2022</a>
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<p id="uwo9lg">More on Buehler’s injury and outing from <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2022-06-10/walker-buehler-leaves-early-elbow-discomfort-dodgers-fall-to-giants">Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times</a> and <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2022/06/10/dodgers-lose-to-giants-as-walker-buehler-leaves-with-elbow-injury/">Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register</a>.</p>
<h3 id="2G6AuV">Links</h3>
<p id="DBuV6b">Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2022/06/10/clayton-kershaw-will-return-to-dodgers-rotation-on-saturday/">has more on the decision to start Clayton Kershaw on Saturday in San Francisco</a> and give Julio Urías an extra day of rest with a Sunday assignment.</p>
<p id="sPXFO8">Tony Gonsolin’s successful start to the season <a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/tony-gonsolin-is-the-latest-dodgers-starter-to-dominate-hitters/">was analyzed by Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs</a>, who pointed out improvements in the split-fingered fastball, while also keeping a watchful eye on Gonsolin’s inning total.</p>
<p id="EDUomJ">Tony LaRussa’s <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/9/23161827/max-muncy-home-run-comeback-dodgers-gavin-lux-white-sox">decision to intentionally walk Trea Turner on Thursday</a>, directly before Max Muncy’s home run, <a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/tony-la-russa-is-at-it-again/">was scrutinized by Ben Clemens at FanGraphs</a>, who wrote, “I’m shocked that a major league manager would have done this 15 years ago – let alone today.”</p>
<p id="vvLGFf">A day later, LaRussa doubled down before Chicago’s game Friday, saying of the reaction to his decision, ““Pssssh, 24 hours later, I’m even more surprised. ... That’s not even a close call,” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlb-sports-max-muncy-tony-la-russa-bennett-sousa-2801ea5b0ce3f7627d5b8bea704fde6c">per Matt Carslon of the Associated Press</a>.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/11/23163215/walker-buehler-mri-tests-elbow-discomfort-dodgersEric Stephen2022-06-10T22:01:35-07:002022-06-10T22:01:35-07:00Walker Buehler leaves with elbow discomfort in Dodgers’ loss to Giants
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<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v San Francisco Giants" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E0C7KhoGlE1oKUNAILHo1hFHbHA=/0x0:4500x3000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70965675/1402225308.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Buehler only lasts 4 innings, Ruf homers twice for SF</p> <p id="BBGAkg">Walker Buehler was pulled after only four innings with elbow discomfort, and everything went south after that for the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, who dropped the series opener to the Giants, 7-2 on Friday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco.</p>
<p id="dbm6X1">There were some signs of improvement for Walker Buehler, who was missing bats — 11 swinging strikes in his four innings, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/podcasts/2022/6/10/23162133/dodgers-podcast-mailbag-pitching-rotation-walker-buehler-dellin-betances">more than four of his last five starts</a> — and only allowed three hits in his first three frames. But all three were bunched together in a four-batter stretch, plating two runs in the second inning.</p>
<p id="lDzewx">Buehler rebounded after the scoring rally, striking out five consecutive batters, giving him six on the night. But that streak was snapped when Darin Ruf jumped on a slider for a solo home run in the fourth inning.</p>
<p id="B7GbSu">Buehler threw just 70 pitches in his four innings, the second inning the largest strain on the odometer at 25 pitches. This followed recording only seven outs in his previous start, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/4/23154841/pete-alonso-home-run-derby-walker-buehler-early-shower-dodgers-mets">last Saturday against the Mets at Dodger Stadium</a>.</p>
<p id="8Sm7OS">Buehler on the season has a 4.02 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 12 starts, with a career-low 21.2-percent strikeout rate. Over his last six starts, Buehler allowed 22 runs in 28⅓ innings.</p>
<p id="1kzWJU">Justin Bruihl entered in relief of Buehler in the fifth inning of a 3-2 game, then allowed an infield single against the shift with one out, followed by a slow tapper halfway to the mound that Bruihl fell down while attempting to field. He then exacerbated the play by throwing wild down the right field line, putting runners at the corners.</p>
<p id="m9YZHf">A strikeout set the stage for a series of callbacks to earlier this week. First base was open with two outs, a left-handed pitcher on the mound, with a right-handed hitter up, and a left-handed batter on deck. Manager Dave Roberts opted to walk Wilmer Flores intentionally — before a pitch was thrown, by the way, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/9/23161827/max-muncy-home-run-comeback-dodgers-gavin-lux-white-sox">unlike Chicago’s fateful decision on Thursday</a> — bringing up old friend Joc Pederson, <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/joc-pederson/11899/splits?position=OF&season=0">a career .207/.282/.327, 67 wRC+ hitter against southpaws entering Friday</a>.</p>
<p id="uC8Iox">Roberts got the matchup he wanted, just like Tuesday in Chicago, when <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/7/23159066/aj-pollock-david-price-dodgers-white-sox-two-outs-mitch-white">old friend AJ Pollock jumped on David Price’s first pitch for a two-run double</a>. On a 2-0 count Friday, Bruihl gave the fastball hitter Pederson a two-seamer, and Pederson hit a 105-mph ground ball single to bring home two runs. Ruf added a single to plate another run to cap Bruihl’s nightmare inning.</p>
<p id="e7d4y6">On a night their ace — who hasn’t been pitching much like an ace of late — left early, the Dodgers couldn’t afford many mistakes. But the Giants pounced on each opportunity. Ruf punished a slider that caught too much of the plate, San Francisco had a big inning after Bruihl’s errant throw, and the home team was 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position.</p>
<p id="KkXLmW">For good measure, Ruf added a second home run in the eighth inning, this one against David Price.</p>
<p id="QFndxl">The Dodgers got four hits their first time through the lineup facing Jakob Junis, with Chris Taylor’s double scoring Justin Turner from first base in the second inning. But they only got one more hit off Junis, a solo home run by Gavin Lux, following up his four-hit game on Thursday in Chicago.</p>
<p id="UafOGw">On his fourth pitch of the sixth inning, Junis collapsed in front of the mound, exiting the game with a left hamstring strain. </p>
<p id="plFVK6">The Dodgers managed only one hit and one walk in four innings against the Giants bullpen.</p>
<h3 id="QZghwo">Friday particulars</h3>
<p id="M5y6vJ"><strong>Home runs</strong>: Gavin Lux (2); Darin Ruf 2 (5)</p>
<p id="9ObnST"><strong>WP — Jakob Junis (4-1)</strong>: 5+ IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts</p>
<p id="wwdBfY"><strong>LP — Walker Buehler (6-3)</strong>: 4 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 6 strikeouts</p>
<h3 id="LLgz4w">Up next</h3>
<p id="XOgn85">Clayton Kershaw makes his return from the injured list to start on Saturday afternoon, appearing in his first major league game in five weeks. The Giants are going with a bullpen game. The 4:15 p.m. game will be televised exclusively by Fox, with Adam Amin and AJ Pierzynski on the call. </p>
<p id="TJMBeh">Dodgers-Giants will be available on Fox to 23 percent of the country, per the network, shown on Fox in these television markets: Albuquerque, Denver, Fresno, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle.</p>
<p id="J53xRQ">Joe Davis is calling the other Fox game on Saturday, the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> at the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> in New York, which is why Tim Neverett is calling play-by-play alongside Eric Karros on SportsNet LA during this series.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23163214/walker-buehler-elbow-discomfort-short-justin-bruihl-nightmare-inning-dodgers-giantsEric Stephen2022-06-10T18:51:00-07:002022-06-10T18:51:00-07:00Dodgers vs. Giants Game III chat
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago White Sox" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3GH1jtqCfUBSOQfkR4edDZlo8Jo=/55x0:3478x2282/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70965368/usa_today_18503739.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>David Banks-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="MIxmKV">Game number 58 of the season for the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> marks their first trip to San Francisco of 2022, with a three-game series against the defending National League West winners.</p>
<h3 id="flBzCh">Related reading</h3>
<aside id="KMvl0P"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Dodgers-Giants series preview","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23161814/los-angeles-dodgers-san-francisco-giants-series-preview"},{"title":"Kimbrel back from paternity leave, White optioned","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23162828/craig-kimbrel-dodgers-roster-mitch-white"},{"title":"Mailbag: 6-man rotation, Walker Buehler, Dellin Betances","url":"https://www.truebluela.com/podcasts/2022/6/10/23162133/dodgers-podcast-mailbag-pitching-rotation-walker-buehler-dellin-betances"}]}'></div></aside><div id="uTqNQd"><div data-anthem-component="table:11285568"></div></div>
<h3 id="CU3Z0C">Game info</h3>
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<li id="wzUlJS">Teams: Dodgers (37-20) at Giants (30-26)</li>
<li id="O5ynJS">Pitchers: Walker Buehler vs. Jakob Junis</li>
<li id="g8HEKw">Location: Kevin Elster Field, San Francisco</li>
<li id="BYbLUY">Time: 7:15 p.m. PT</li>
<li id="LhRUSe">TV: SportsNet LA</li>
</ul>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23163202/dodgers-giants-game-chatEric Stephen2022-06-10T14:17:49-07:002022-06-10T14:17:49-07:00Kimbrel back from paternity leave, White optioned
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<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v San Diego Padres" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zE-nefjai2Z6cBT_obWsXGmXaLg=/0x0:3198x2132/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70964873/1394511641.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Craig Kimbrel’s back. Get it? | Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="VeiBIT"><a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> closer Craig Kimbrel was activated <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/7/23158550/craig-kimbrel-paternity-leave-dodgers-roster-phil-bickford">from the paternity list</a> before Friday’s game against the Giants as expected, after the right-hander missed the first three games of the road trip for the birth of his son.</p>
<p id="OlS9aE">The timing is perfect from a baseball standpoint, considering Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth inning in each of the previous two days, <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/8/23160707/will-smith-home-run-dodgers-tony-gonsolin-white-sox">throwing 18 pitches on Wednesday</a> and <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/9/23161827/max-muncy-home-run-comeback-dodgers-gavin-lux-white-sox">35 more on Thursday</a>, the latter the most pitches in any non-piggybacking appearance by a Dodgers reliever this season.</p>
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<p id="KaiCAD">White’s option was expected, considering he started on Tuesday and threw 69 pitches in his five scoreless innings, and with Clayton Kershaw’s pending return to the rotation this weekend. Swapping White for Kimbrel now gives the Dodgers ten relievers instead of nine for at least one game, possibly two, depending on which day Kershaw starts.</p>
<p id="oiFSFt">That White <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/7/23159066/aj-pollock-david-price-dodgers-white-sox-two-outs-mitch-white">wasn’t optioned Wednesday</a>, so the Dodgers could have had an extra reliever for the final two games in Chicago, might have been a byproduct of the limit on times a player can be optioned in any one season. Rather than swapping out pitchers daily, the roster churn has slowed down to a more judicious pace.</p>
<p id="Xmir9Z">White was a frequent traveler to and from Oklahoma City and various Triple-A locales last year, getting optioned 10 times during the 2021 season. Starting this year with <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/2022/3/10/22971463/mlb-collective-bargaining-agreement-details-2022-2026">the new collective bargaining agreement</a>, players can only be optioned up to five times in-season. This year, that option counter did not start until May 2, which marked the end of expanded rosters after the lockout-induced late start to the season.</p>
<p id="FoHwbL">This is the first time optioned in 2022 for White, who has a 3.86 ERA and 4.23 xERA in nine games, including four starts, with 27 strikeouts and eight walks in 25⅔ innings.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23162828/craig-kimbrel-dodgers-roster-mitch-whiteEric Stephen2022-06-10T11:34:37-07:002022-06-10T11:34:37-07:00Dodgers finally play their first 3-game series against the Giants in 2022
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<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j3qo_V-k-GR6BoR_p2vfrLI2fN0=/0x0:5292x3528/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70964340/1240453711.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The second series of the year for these two division rivals</p> <p id="qxpII9">The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> came into the 2022 season as the World Series favorites, but before getting to that goal, the first one is to win the NL West, and step one in that journey is doing well against the Giants and Padres. This division title won’t come without its challenges.</p>
<p id="AynPum">A 106-win season in 2021 was only good for second place, and although most expected a step back or two for the Giants, if for nothing else for the sheer difficulty of winning 107 games for any ball club. San Francisco was always going to be dangerous, and the Padres were bound to improve upon a disappointing 2021.</p>
<p id="yn8VPY">All of that being said, with virtually a third of the season having been played, the Dodgers hold a small lead in the West. The Giants are not quite at their 2021 level but remain a dangerous contender, and the Padres find themselves at the heels of LA, a couple of games back in the loss column.</p>
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<p id="jlYDgB">Here’s the thing though, with 59 games on the books, the Dodgers have faced the Giants and Padres a combined five times, three against San Diego and two against San Francisco. Who can forget the battle that last year’s 19 affairs against the Giants were, with the Dodgers going 9-10 and finishing one game back of the San Francisco at season’s end.</p>
<p id="1eGQwE">How the Dodgers fare against the Giants moving forward in the remaining 17 games will tell a lot about how this season will go, for both teams really. LA already took the first two games in a mini-sweep at home in early May. They certainly hope to take the season series against them this time around.</p>
<p id="ZU5QQl">The 37-20 Dodgers get set for thee against the 30-25 Giants. Let’s have a look at the probable pitching matchups for these three-weekend games.</p>
<h3 id="qwhC5Q">Friday: Walker Buehler vs Jakob Junis</h3>
<p id="RxDpEj">Walker Buehler doesn’t have fond memories of his last regular-season start against the Giants;</p>
<p id="BrTF9Y">The Dodgers ace took the loss on a Sunday Night Baseball game in late September allowing six runs over three innings in what would end up being the deciding game in the NL West chase, and also the outing that cost Buehler a shot at the Cy Young award.</p>
<p id="mXcwiB">The 2022 season hasn’t gone as well for Buehler, who has allowed four or more earned runs in three of his last five starts and currently bolsters a 3.84 ERA. He’ll look to bounce back against a Giants team he's been pretty good against with a career 2.55 ERA in 67 innings.</p>
<p id="u9oIRC">On the other side, Jakob Junis is having a career year on the hill. He currently has the lowest ERA in the Giants rotation at 2.51 albeit in only 43 frames. It will be the first time Junis goes up against the Dodgers.</p>
<h3 id="UPVGNp">Saturday: Clayton Kershaw(?) vs bullpen game</h3>
<p id="J5bqCR">All signs point towards a successful return for Clayton Kershaw to the Dodgers rotation, following a successful rehab outing last Sunday, and Andrew Heaney shouldn’t be too far behind him.</p>
<p id="G6ENbH">The only question is when exactly Kershaw will pitch this weekend.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dodgers</a> Dave Roberts said rotation might change this weekend. Clayton Kershaw will start either Saturday or Sunday with Julio Urias possibly moved back to Sunday. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gamesmanship?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gamesmanship</a></p>— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) <a href="https://twitter.com/billplunkettocr/status/1535035237436215305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2022</a>
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<p id="WBI5KP">These returns, Kershaw’s in particular doesn’t come a moment too soon. The Dodgers have been able to rely heavily on Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson through this stretch, but there is only so much you can expect from those two, especially the ladder who struggled on the finale against the White Sox.</p>
<p id="0nG2BG">Kershaw will make his sixth start of the season against an all-familiar foe in the Giants, number 22 has 358.2 career innings against them and a magnificent 1.88 ERA in what amounts to basically two seasons of play.</p>
<p id="xXpIn0">This figures to be a bullpen game for the Giants, with their starting pitcher still TBA. </p>
<p id="6k253H">San Francisco’s bullpen has been underwhelming in 2022 with struggling campaigns from the likes of Tyler Rogers and Jake McGee. Overall, this is a bullpen that ranks 25th in baseball in ERA (4.42).</p>
<h3 id="7WwbOU">Sunday: Julio Urías (?) vs Carlos Rodon</h3>
<p id="PhWlNG">Julio Urías is having an underwhelming season. Urías has a 150 ERA+. Those two statements are true and indicative of the standard Urías has set for himself, and the expectations that come with it.</p>
<p id="AVcjcu">Urías is also the prime example of how pitcher wins are completely whacky and rather volatile. The only 20-game winner in 2021 currently boasts a losing record at 3-5 despite a very good 2.78 ERA and pitching behind one of the best offenses in all of baseball.</p>
<p id="6JdyBH">It will be a battle of southpaws, as Carlos Rodón starts for the Giants. The big money acquisition of the Giants offseason got off to a scorching hot start just mauling through the league, and although the fears of diminished velocity as the season progress haven’t materialized yet, Rodón has cooled off as of late.</p>
<p id="c5C5tL">The former White Sox pitcher has completed six innings in only one of his last five starts. and will face the Dodgers lineup for a second time this year, Rodon allowed a couple of runs over six innings in a 3-1 loss at Dodger Stadium.</p>
<p id="hUE5BL">Even after this series, the Dodgers will still have another 15 games on the books against the Giants, but a series between these two ballclubs is always must-see TV and a great thermometer for their season.</p>
<h3 id="Ni0lxW">Odds</h3>
<p id="go8b2i">Dodgers <a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/baseball/88670847?wpcid=181974&wpcn=Inarticle&wpcrid=MLB&wpsrc=VoxMedia">are -235 favorites to win the National League West</a>, per <a href="https://dksb.sng.link/As9kz/ruxm?_dl=https%3A%2F%2Fsportsbook.draftkings.com%2Fgateway%3Fs%3D311393860%26wpcid%3D181974%26wpcn%3DInarticle%26wpsrc%3DVoxMedia%26wpcrid%3DMLB&pcid=181974&psn=Vox&pcrn=MLB&pcn=InArticle">DraftKings</a>.</p>
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https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/10/23161814/los-angeles-dodgers-san-francisco-giants-series-previewEstevão Maximo