True Blue LA - May 31: Cardinals 3, Dodgers 1Where The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2015-05-31T13:52:33-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/84650042015-05-31T13:52:33-07:002015-05-31T13:52:33-07:00Dodgers frustrated again in St. Louis
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<figcaption>Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dodgers</a> offense went quiet again, held by <span>Carlos Martinez</span> to just one hit in seven scoreless innings, and the <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cardinals</a> held on for a 3-1 win on Sunday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.</p>
<p>After a <span>Matt Carpenter</span> single, <span>Jhonny Peralta</span> hit a home run to left field to give the Cardinals all the runs they needed. It was just the fourth home run of the season allowed by <span>Brett Anderson</span>, and his second in his last eight starts.</p>
<p>It was the third time in three games in this weekend series that the Cardinals scored in the first inning. Of the Dodgers' 42 home runs allowed this season, 13 have been hit in the first inning, tied with the <a href="https://www.letsgotribe.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Indians</a> for the most in baseball.</p>
<p>Anderson entered Sunday with just 10 unintentional walks in nine starts, but against the Cardinals on Sunday tied a season high with three walks. However, he was able to keep all three from scoring, and really settled down after some early problems with location.</p>
<p>"It was maybe the worst stuff I’ve ever had in the big leagues. It was terrible," Anderson said after the game, as seen on SportsNet LA. "There aren’t too many moral victories in this game, but the fact I gave the team a quality start and two runs with my D+ stuff in this ballpark against a good team, you kind of take solace in that."</p>
<p>After a <span>Randal Grichuk</span> was somehow doubled off first base on a drive to right field to end the third inning, Anderson retired eight of his final nine batters faced, and finished with five strikeouts in six innings, and seven ground ball outs.</p>
<p>Martinez walked three, but the only hit he allowed was a second-inning single by <span>Andre Ethier</span>.</p>
<p>Martinez was especially cruel to <span>Alex Guerrero</span>, hanging the silver sombrero on him with three strikeouts on nine pitches.</p>
<p>The Dodgers' best shot at offense against Martinez came in the form of two drives to the warning track. The first was by <span>Adrian Gonzalez</span> with two outs in the first inning to left field, but was robbed of a double by Grichuk for a second straight day. The second was by <span>Joc Pederson</span>, who flied out to <span>Jason Heyward</span> at the right field wall in the third inning, a few feet short of a game-tying two-run home run.</p>
<p>They threatened again with a pair of one-out walks in the fifth inning, but Martinez struck out Gonzalez and <span>Howie Kendrick</span> to end the inning.</p>
<p>The final act of a frustrating weekend that saw the Dodgers allow seven runs in three games yet lose the series was Justin Turner striking out looking to end the game after two walks by Cardinals closer <span>Trevor Rosenthal</span>. Turner was angry at the final two pitches, and was ejected by home plate umpire Marty Foster <i>after</i> the game ended.</p>
<h4>Joc Jacks</h4>
<p>Joc Pederson cut the Cardinals' lead in half with a solo blast in the eighth inning against southpaw <span>Kevin Siegrist</span>, who struck out his other three batters faced in the inning, including <span>Alberto Callaspo</span>, who was allowed to bat for some reason even with <span>Scott Van Slyke</span> and <span>Justin Turner</span> available to pinch hit. Turner replaced Callaspo at third base on a double switch in the very next inning.</p>
<p>It was the first career home run for Pederson against a left-handed pitcher, in 44 plate appearances.</p>
<p>Pederson leads all major league rookies with 13 home runs this season, and is tied with Orlando Cepeda (1958) for the second-most home runs by a National League rookie through May. Only <span>Albert Pujols</span>, who had 16 home runs through May 2001, had more at this point among NL rookies.</p>
<h4>Walk in the park</h4>
<p>Both starting pitchers walked, Martinez in the second inning and Anderson in the third. For Anderson it was his fifth walk of the season, most by a major league pitcher this season and more walks than any other team's pitchers as a whole.</p>
<p>Anderson ended his May with four walks and a .417 on-base percentage, the most walks by a Dodgers pitcher in a single month since Rick Honeycutt walked five times in September 1986.</p>
<h4>Picked off</h4>
<p>Anderson helped himself on the mound with a pair of pickoffs on Sunday, nabbing Jason Heyward in the second inning and <span>Peter Bourjos</span> in the fifth. On the season Anderson has picked off three runners, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2015-specialpos_p-fielding.shtml#players_standard_fielding::24" target="_blank">tied for second-most in the majors</a>.</p>
<p>It was just <a href="http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/Tr4AB" target="_blank">the 10th time since 1980 that a Dodgers pitcher had two pickoffs in a game</a>, and the first since <span>Clayton Kershaw</span> on Sept. 20, 2011.</p>
<h4>Up next</h4>
<p>The Dodgers open a four-game, three-day series against the <a href="https://www.purplerow.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockies</a> on Monday at Coors Field in Denver. Kershaw gets the call in the opener, a 5:40 p.m. PT start. <span>Kyle Kendrick</span> starts for Colorado.</p>
<h4>Sunday particulars</h4>
<p><b>Home runs</b>: Joc Pederson (13), <span class="sbn-auto-link">Jhonny Peralta</span> (8)</p>
<p><b>WP - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link">Carlos Martinez</span></span> (5-2)</b>: 7 IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts</p>
<p><b>LP - <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link">Brett Anderson</span></span> (2-3)</b>: 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts</p>
<p><b>Sv - <span class="sbn-auto-link">Trevor Rosenthal</span> (15)</b>: 1 IP, 2 walks, 1 strikeout</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2015/5/31/8694679/dodgers-cardinals-recap-carlos-martinezEric Stephen2015-05-31T10:50:00-07:002015-05-31T10:50:00-07:00Anderson, Dodgers go for series win in St. Louis
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<figcaption>Brett Anderson, knock on wood, has been healthy all season for the Dodgers. | Justin Edmonds/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> go for a series win against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> in St. Louis on Sunday morning, with <span>Brett Anderson</span> on the mound, making six starts in a single month for the first time since May 2011.</p>
<p>Anderson has been healthy and productive this season, with a 3.47 ERA and 3.25 FIP in nine starts, including 2.12 and 2.81 in May, including a 19.3-percent strikeout rate and an astonishing 77.3-percent ground ball rate this month.</p>
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<h4>Starting Lineups<br>
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<table class="sbnu-legacy-content-table" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#1e90ff" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>Dodgers</b></font></td>
<td colspan="2" align="center" bgcolor="#C41e3a" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>Cardinals</b></font></td>
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<tr>
<td>CF</td>
<td>Pederson (L)</td>
<td>CF</td>
<td>Bourjos</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3B</td>
<td>Callaspo (S)<br>
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<td>3B</td>
<td>Carpenter (L)</td>
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<tr>
<td>1B</td>
<td>Gonzalez (L)</td>
<td>SS</td>
<td>Peralta</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2B</td>
<td>Kendrick</td>
<td>LF</td>
<td>Grichuk</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>RF<br>
</td>
<td>Ethier (L)<br>
</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>Molina</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>C</td>
<td>Grandal (S)<br>
</td>
<td>1B<br>
</td>
<td>Reynolds</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>LF</td>
<td>Guerrero<br>
</td>
<td>RF</td>
<td>Heyward (L)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SS</td>
<td>Rollins (S)<br>
</td>
<td>2B</td>
<td>Kozma<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>P</td>
<td>Anderson (L)</td>
<td>P</td>
<td>Martinez</td>
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<span><b>Location</b>: Busch Stadium<br> <b>Time</b>: 11:15 a.m. PT<br> <b>TV</b>: SportsNet LA, MLB Network</span>
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<p>Anderson has also been pitching deeper into starts, totaling 13⅓ innings over his last two starts and a season-high seven frames on Monday against Atlanta. This is not only Anderson's first career appearance at Busch Stadium, but also his first career game against the Cardinals.</p>
<p>The Cardinals are hitting .246/.325/.384 against left-handed pitchers this season, middle of the pack in the National League (eighth in OPS) and right in line with the .253/.320/.384 league mark against southpaws. St. Louis is 5-5 against left-handed starting pitchers this season.</p>
<p>One day after the Dodgers took the important step of moving <span>Jimmy Rollins</span> (.273 on-base percentage in 2015, .323 in 2014) down in the batting order, <span>Alberto Callaspo</span> (.296 OBP this year, .290 last year) gets a spot start at third base, <i>and is batting second</i>, because baseball gods are cruel and vengeful.</p>
<p><span>Matt Holliday</span> was originally in the starting lineup for the Cardinals but was a late scratch. <span>Peter Bourjos</span> instead starts in center field, with <span>Randal Grichuk</span> in left field for Holliday.</p>
<h4>Game info</h4>
<p>Time: 11:15 a.m. PT</p>
<p>TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2015/5/31/8694433/brett-anderson-dodgers-cardinals-previewEric Stephen2015-05-31T10:11:32-07:002015-05-31T10:11:32-07:00Paco on DL with elbow strain, West recalled
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<figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>LOS ANGELES -- The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> on Sunday placed <span>Paco Rodriguez</span> on the 15-day disabled list with a left elbow strain, and recalled right-hander <span>Matt West</span> from Triple-A Oklahoma City before their game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> on Sunday morning.</p>
<p>The DL move is retroactive to Saturday, as Rodriguez last pitched on Friday night. He will head back to Los Angeles to have his elbow examined, which always seems like bad news.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Paco Rodriguez hasn't felt right in his last 3 or 4 games, Mattingly said. No pain, but trouble finishing pitches. Heading back to L.A.</p>
— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) <a href="https://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/605043258004111360">May 31, 2015</a>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rodriguez heading to DL. Unable to "finish" on his pitches. Can't get the "bite" at the end of his pitches. Heading back to LA. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dodgers?src=hash">#Dodgers</a></p>
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) <a href="https://twitter.com/alannarizzo/status/605043429672783872">May 31, 2015</a>
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<p>Rodriguez had a 2.61 ERA in 18 appearances for the Dodgers this season, with eight strikeouts and three walks in 10⅓ innings. His four-seam fastball this season averaged 87.85 mph and his cutter 85.35 mph, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brooksbaseball.net/velo.php?player=572089&b_hand=-1&gFilt=&pFilt=FA%7CSI%7CFC%7CCU%7CSL%7CCS%7CKN%7CCH%7CFS%7CSB&time=year&minmax=ci&var=mph&s_type=2&startDate=08/30/2012&endDate=05/31/2015">per Brooks Baseball</a>, down from 89.22 mph and 86.99, respectively, last year and down from 90.20 and 87.83 mph in his career heading into 2015.</p>
<p>West was acquired from the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Blue Jays</a> for cash considerations on May 4. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 1.46 ERA, 28 strikeouts and eight walks in 24⅔ innings across Double-A New Hampshire, Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season, with opposing batters hitting .182/.265/.250 against him.</p>
<p>He last pitched on Wednesday.</p>
<p>West, drafted as an infielder, converted to pitching in 2011 and had Tommy John surgery in 2012. He made his major league debut in 2014, appearing in three games in relief for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a>.</p>
<p>With the Dodgers, West will wear No. 76.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2015/5/31/8694347/paco-rodriguez-elbow-disabled-list-dodgers-matt-westEric Stephen2015-05-29T10:00:06-07:002015-05-29T10:00:06-07:00Dodgers-Cardinals starting pitchers
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<figcaption>Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> meet in a battle of division leaders this weekend at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Here is a look at the weekend schedule, and the probable starting pitchers for all three games.</p>
<h4>Friday, 5:15 p.m. PT (SportsNet LA, MLB Network)</h4>
<p><span>Mike Bolsinger</span> takes his streak of 23 consecutive batters retired into Friday's series opener. He also carries an active streak of 18⅔ consecutive scoreless innings, and has allowed two runs in his four starts as a Dodger. <span>John Lackey</span> has allowed only five runs in 27⅔ innings in four home starts this year, with 23 strikeouts and six walks.</p>
<h4>Saturday, 4:15 p.m. (Fox)</h4>
<p>Left-handed batters are hitting .386/.438/.545 (17-for-44) against <span>Carlos Frias</span> this season. <span>Michael Wacha</span> is 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA this season and has allowed 14 total runs in nine starts, all Cardinal wins. Wacha has allowed more than two earned runs only once this season, but with 35 strikeouts in 57⅔ innings has a strikeout rate (14.8%) much lower than his previous two years (22.5%).</p>
<p>The game will be broadcast exclusively by Fox, with Joe Buck, Tom Verducci, Harold Reynolds and Ken Rosenthal on the call.</p>
<h4>Sunday, 11:15 a.m. (SportsNet LA, MLB Network)</h4>
<p>With a start on the final day of the month, <span>Brett Anderson</span> will make six starts in a single month for the first time since May 2011. Anderson brings a 2.12 ERA and a 77.3% ground ball rate in May into his Sunday start. <span>Carlos Martinez</span> began his month with two starts allowing seven runs in each one, but in his last two starts has allowed no runs in 13⅓ innings.</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2015/5/29/8683855/dodgers-cardinals-schedule-tv-starting-pitchersEric Stephen