I think it's fair to say that Kenta Maeda has exceeded expectations. In his third outing as a Dodger he finally gave up his first run in the Majors on a third inning homer by Joe Panik. A string of fourteen scoreless innings to start his career is now over - having been the first to do it for the Dodgers since Pedro Astacio in 1992. As for the aftermath, Maeda continued to shut down the opposition. He went seven innings, allowed only four hits, struck out seven and gave up a lone run. Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:
"He was terrible tonight. He gave up a run," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt joked. "He's not human."Maeda has been so good, as noted by Jon Weisman on twitter, that he is the first Dodger to begin his career with three straight games of six innings and one run or fewer allowed. In fact, many folks are openly saying, "Greinke, who?" Per Mark Simon at ESPN:
Much like former Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke, Maeda is excelling by keeping his pitches away from opposing hitters.Photo at the very top of Maeda via Jon SooHoo on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
Maeda has kept nearly 75 percent of his pitches on the outer half of the plate or off the outside corner. That’s the highest such rate by any starting pitcher this season and a near match for Greinke’s rate last season, which was second among ERA-title qualifiers.
- Video: Listen to Vin Scully reading a grocery list, via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider. (Link Here)
- Via Matthew Moreno at Dodger Blue, "Kenley Jansen Intends To Pitch For Netherlands In 2017 World Baseball Classic."
- Awesome! Via Chris Landers at MLB.com, "Enrique Hernandez will give you an autograph, but only if you give him your shoes."
- ICYMI: Via Charlie Wilmoth at MLB Trade Rumors, "Dodgers Sign Joe Thatcher To Minor-League Deal." Just more left-handed relief depth.
- Ryu's rehab has hit a snag. He is now suffering from a groin strain. Via Dan Arritt at ESPN, "Dodgers left with questions after latest Hyun-Jin Ryu setback."
“We’re going to take a couple days to kind of let this calm down and then get him back on the mound,” Roberts said. “I think the whole time we thought we were going to have him back sooner, but then there’s a setback in the middle of spring and then with this. Technically it’s a setback, and I don’t know how severe the injury is."
- Via Jack Baer at MLB.com, "After bumpy stretch, bullpen showing strength."
"They're throwing the ball well," Roberts said after Saturday's 4-3 loss, in which the bullpen threw five scoreless frames. "It's something I've said all along, that I have confidence in them. You got to keep putting them in that situation and they're responding."
- Here's a fantasy Baseball card related to the Dodgers move to Los Angeles. Via Giovanni Balistreri at When Topps Had (Base) Balls, "TURN BACK THE CLOCK #22: HEARTBREAK IN NEW YORK CITY AS THE DODGERS AND GIANTS HEAD WEST."
OTD 1946: Jackie Robinson becomes 1st African American in the 20th century to play in a league affiliated with MLB pic.twitter.com/s0NgEkVzBb— The Montreal Royals (@Royals_46season) April 18, 2016
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