Thank goodness for some good pitching and clutch hitting. Hyun-Jin Ryu went a strong 6.2 innings last night; giving up just four hits and striking out six. He also tossed a career high 114 pitches. Unfortunately, two late runs in the seventh inning caused him to leave the game with a no-decision. No worries, though, the Dodger bats found a way to take home a victory.
After a first inning two-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez, the Dodgers offense remained quiet until the eighth inning. That's when they were able to string together a few hits to score three runs. Of note, the recently called up Roger Bernadina came in as a pinch-runner and scored the eventual winning run on Dee Gordon's single. In the photo above Dee is seen celebrating his run-driving hit, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014. Go here to see more photos from the day from Jon. BTW, Dee went 3 for 4 on the evening; driving in a run and scoring twice. Hanley Ramirez also drove in two runs in the eighth inning with a double to left field.
The Dodgers held on for a 5 to 2 victory over the Diamondbacks, and hold on to a 2.0 game lead over the Giants. This division is going down to the wire. Now, below are some links to check out.
- Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Josh Beckett's last hurrah."
Beckett hasn't pitched for the Dodgers since Aug. 3, sidelined with a hip injury that will require surgery. The 34-year-old right-hander confirmed to reporters on Friday that his 2014 season was done, and that he is mulling retirement.
- Via Bill Plunkett at the OC Register, "Selig laments 'regrettable' Dodger TV impasse."
“I’m always an optimist,” said Selig, who will step down as commissioner this winter. “This is in no one’s best interest obviously. I have to hope and believe some way, some day, somehow we will get this done.
- Via Daniel Brim at Dodgers Digest, "Brian Wilson Is Losing Velocity."
Yikes. Wilson’s velocity has been on a steep downward trend for most of the season. In April, Wilson’s four seam fastball was averaging 94.2 mph. He hasn’t thrown the pitch in September, but in August it was averaging 91. His sinker has gone from 93.2 mph average to 89.3 mph average. His cutter, which he throws more than half of the time, has gone from 90.6 mph to 86.7 mph. Wilson has lost four miles per hour velocity average across all of his hard stuff this season alone.
- Sarah at We're Born Again, there's New Grass on the Field tells us about the time Dodger Stadium got flooded.
- Blue Skinny Fan shares his day at Frank & Sons on Saturday getting Joc Pederson's autograph.
- Via Derek Thompson at The Atlantic, "The Simple Technology That Accidentally Ruined Baseball."
The irony is that MLB did everything that an economist or corporate guru would have advised. Baseball embraced emerging technology rather than banish it. It used analytics to improve the work of its elite employees. It used reviews to encourage exceptional performance among umpires. And the league got exactly what they wanted: a more-perfect strike zone.
But is that really baseball's highest goal? A perfect strike zone, at the expense of steadily evaporating offense?
- Watch Mo'ne Davis pitch against Jimmy Fallon.
Video Link:
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