Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 6/11/2019 - Dodgers Links

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Blog Kiosk: 6/11/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Accentuate the positive.

Ryu was fantastic, once again. Via Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“I thought he was really good,” Roberts said. “He kept those guys at bay in a couple stressful spots and made pitches when he needed to.”

Unfortunately, our relief staff continues to be our Achilles heal, as they yielded four runs to lose to the Angels, 5-3. Photo above Katie Chin/Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1955 the Dodgers won their 6th game in a row, defeating the Cubs 4-3, to increase their lead in the National League by 10 1/2 games. They would not see their double-digit lead shrink below 10 games for the remainder of the season. In 1957 Roy Campanella hit his 237th career home run as a catcher to set a new NL record. In 1969 the Dodgers traded Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich to the Montreal Expos for Maury Wills and Manny Mota. In 1972 both Willie Davis and Manny Mota would both hit inside-the-park home runs in a losing effort against the Pirates, 7-5, at Dodger Stadium. In 2013 the Dodgers and Diamondbacks have a little tussle on the field. It begins with Yasiel Puig getting beaned in the head. Then, Zack Greinke immediately pelted the first batter he saw to spark hostilities on the field -- but no punches are thrown. Soon thereafter Ian Kennedy of Arizona throws at Greinke's head and a brawl begins. Eight players are suspended and 12 receive fines. Watch highlights here.
Happy Birthday, Wheezer Dell, Horace Allen, Tom Baker, Yhency Brazobán, Mike Davis and Odalis Perez!
Video: Dave Roberts talks about Hyun-Jin Ryu's strong start in the Dodgers' loss to the Angels -- Also chats about Joe Kelly and getting him on-track (video link). As far as I'm concerned, the leash gets shorter for Kelly after the All-Star break.
Via Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors -- "The Dodgers Bullpen Probably Looks Worse Than It Is - MLB Trade Rumors."
Via Alden Gonzalez at ESPN -- "How Trout and Bellinger are bucking the strikeout trend."

Sustainability: Brown will point to Bellinger's improved two-strike approach as evidence that he can continue to keep the strikeouts down and the walks up. "I think that's the maturation process of the mental process of knowing what their put-away pitches are, where do we think they're going to throw you with two strikes, things of that nature. But also shortening up his swing, aiming to move the ball forward," Brown said. "And I think he's found out, too, even when he's in his two-strike approach and he's trying to either be shorter, or do less, when he still gets the ball on the barrel, there's plenty of power there."

Kelly's quote following his loss last night, via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

Kelly was coming off three consecutive scoreless innings over three outings with six strikeouts, but none of those games was close.

“Got myself in a little bit of a jam walking the first guy on four,” Kelly said. “Changeup was a little off. Yanked one for the wild pitch. Just got to execute, I guess. It’s not that far off. Probably looks worse than it really is. Kind of a weird inning. Obviously, the command wasn’t there. Guess it’s harder to take if you don’t give yourself a chance. Got to get that first-pitch strike. It can’t get any more bizarre. I guess average for right now.”

I don't really feel like putting up a separate post for the newest 2019 Dodgers' Topps Now card, available today. It features Hyun-Jin Ryu and celebrates his streak of allowing two runs or less in his 13 starts to begin the season -- being only the second MLB'er in history to do so. Go here to check it out and order. Below is what's written on the reverse:

Hyun-Jin Ryu's incredible start to the 2019 season continued as the left-hander's streak of starts allowing two runs or fewer to open the campaign reached 13 consecutive games. This feat has only been achieved one other time in MLB history. Ryu allowed just one run and struck out six over six innings in a 5-3 win over the Angels.