The 39 strikeouts: Dodgers take series from Rockies with 1-0 finale victory

 

After striking out 17 Colorado Rockies in 13 innings Monday and 12 in nine innings Tuesday, Dodger pitchers wrapped up an almost dominating performance against their Rocky Mountain rivals, fanning 10 in a 1-0 victory today at Dodger Stadium.

Pinch-hitter Rafael Furcal (left) drove in pinch-runner Russell Martin with an eighth-inning single for the Dodgers, who scored three runs in 27 regulation innings but still won two out of three games against playoff aspirant Colorado.

Clayton Kershaw offered his usual display of present and future, frustration and brilliance. He walked and struck out five in five innings, while allowing just one hit, and has a 0.76 ERA over his past 23 2/3 innings. Ronald Belisario, Ramon Troncoso and Jonathan Broxton completed the shutout. 

The Rockies' biggest threat came in the seventh. Ian Stewart hit a two-out double off Belisario, who walked Paul Phillips intentionally. Rockies starting pitcher Jason Hammel, who picked up two more walks at the plate than he allowed today, hit a bullet to right field, but Andre Ethier was able to run it down.

Hammel went the distance for Colorado, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out five in eight innings (103 pitches). It was the second consecutive complete game performance for Colorado, which allowed one run on seven hits in 17 innings but split the two games. The 26-year-old Hammel's road ERA this season is 1.97.

Today marked the second time this season that Broxton, Belisario and Troncoso have completed a 1-0 shutout for the Dodgers; the first came on June 3. In case you were wondering, the Los Angeles Dodger record for pitchers in a shutout is six, achieved on the final day of the 1965 regular season. (The Dodgers used five pitchers in their 22-inning, 1-0 shutout of Montreal on August 23, 1989, with John Wetteland going the final six.)

The Dodgers won their 50th game before the season's halfway point for the first time since 2002 (a year they ended up finishing third in the National League West). They finished the Manny Ramirez suspension with a 29-21 (.580) record. The last Dodger team to win 58 percent of its regular season games was ... 1988.

Photos: Jae C. Hong/AP 

Comments

[ucladodger]

Beli, Tron, and Brox are about as good of a bullpen threesome as you will see today. All 3 have just been spectacular and have made this team so strong. It really is a luxury to know that a lead after 6 equals a win almost every time.

[WBB]

While the Dodgers did not hit much in the series, their defense was almost flawless. Good teams win by pitching and defense even when they're not hitting.

[Who Is Karim Garcia?]

Bellisario has been lights out. What a great pick up.

[WBB]

Too bad there was never an opportunity to use this headline when Sterling Hitchcock was pitching.

[underdog]

Jayson Stark on ESPN radio today, via MLBtraderumors, "says the Dodgers will go after the best starting pitcher they can find. There's no elite starting pitching out there now, but Ned Colletti is looking to turn some up."

Where, under a magic rock somewhere?

http://tinyurl.com/lv5d8w

[Alex41592]

Morning of May 7th:

Dodgers 21-8
Giants 13-13 6.5 GB

Where we stand right now on July 1st:

Dodgers 50-29
Giants 42-34 6.5 GB

Both teams went 29-21 in 50 games. But, the Giants have 2 more games left. Dodgers will have anywhere between a 5 1/2 game lead (Giants sweep Cards) and 7 1/2 game lead (Cards split four game series) by the time Manny returns Friday night.

[East Coast Dodger]

Not wanting to start any Pierre discussion, but have an honest question. The acceptable rate of stolen base success is what, about 80%, according to someone like Billy Bean. Does that take into account quantity at all? Meaning, are Pierre's large number of steals at about a 75% rate more valuable than, say, someone who has four steals in five attempts (80%)?

[Linkmeister]

A John Buchan fan, Jon? Seems appropriate, since today is Canada Day.

[Craig88USC]

LAT'd -

Now for our good friend up north Giant Timmy from early this morning -

Please please don't go feelin' any added pressure that your team needs to sweep the Cardinals tonight (and tomorrow) -

OR

...be in danger of falling 7 1/2 GAMES BACK

Oh, did we mention MANNY? ; )

- All in good baseball fun,
but if I were you guys & gals
I'd think a lot about Colorado
passing SF for the Wild Card
and forget about catchin' LA ever.

[Trolley Dodger]

@underdog Well, there's always Carlos Zambrano:

http://tinyurl.com/ndpyxg

[Craig88USC]

Alex - Nice post my friend. Nice context too.

[Craig88USC]

The Blue Jays Doc or

We go with what we got... imho

[Ken Noe]

udog, Stark also referred to the LADs alleged interest in Washburn, a story Ned already has shot down. The only other names he mentioned were Peavy and Oswalt, both injured.

[underdog]

Yeah, seems very thin indeed, Ken.

Also: Will pass on Carlos Z, thanks. :-)

[blue22]

"the LADs alleged interest in Washburn, a story Ned already has shot down."

I hadn't seen that, but I'm happy to hear that little nugget. I'd be way more interested in Bedard, since he is actually a guy that could crack the top-4 rotation and start in the playoffs. And the Dodgers wouldn't really need him to contribute in the regular season.

[Bob Hendley]

Package,

I remember when Torre started doing this earlier in the season, and it didn't sit very well with me either. I figured that he was basically "giving away" games, when he might have been a bit more strategic, than what appeared to be a wholesale approach, in planning out who sat when. Mind you, this is when those he was sitting were actually swinging good bats. In any event, lo and behold, I shut my mouth when the subs proved to be more than up to the task of replacing these bats. So basically, I hear you, but have resigned myself to this being Torre's style and I really don't have the evidence to show that what I might do as king would have a better result.

[Jon Weisman]

All-Star Game rosters add a pitcher:

http://tinyurl.com/lh5ncw

[BruceAlmighty]

Looking back at the stats from that 1989 game, Alfredo lead off and went a cool 0 for 9. Youchee

[BruceAlmighty]

Looking back at the stats from that 1989 game, Alfredo lead off and went a cool 0 for 9. Youchee

[OhioVic]

I really think this was a huge win. Dropping it would have been 3 series losses in a row, 6 losses in 8 games and would have opened the door wider to both Colorado and SF.

Instead, it's a series win and is a real setback to Colorado.

I understand all the concern with Kershaw's control (and it's legit), but the kid has been terrific his last several starts. His ERA is now under 3.50.

[nsxtasy]

I don't understand why you would keep three starters on the bench on the day before an off-day. Okay, maybe Martin needs an extra day of rest to come out of his funk, but that doesn't explain Blake and Furcal.

Of course, with the Furcal pinch hit, it's hard to complain with the results, THIS time. It just seems like benching so many people the same day is like trying to lose. I was at that pathetic 13-inning game at the Cell last week - when JT left Bills in too long (he should have yanked him before the 3-run homer) - and it just seemed like the Dodgers weren't even trying.

[Xeifrank]

ECDodger, it really depends on the game situation. Every stolen base is different. A player could be 100% in stolen base attempts, but if he is stealing worthless bases (ie - up or down by 6 runs), where the defense may be lax, what good is it.

I like to look at the WPA (Win probability added) of each stolen base over a players game log to determine whether or not they are a good base stealer, not so much their stolen base percentage.

Juan Pierre so far this year has stolen 21 bases and has been caught 6 times, for a stolen base percentage of 77.8%. Is that a good percentage? Yeah, it kind of looks like it, but more importantly, what kind of bases did he steal and get caught stealing on.

Let's add up the win probability of his 21 stolen bases and subtract from that the win probability that his caught stealing costed us in terms of wins. His 21 stolen bases add up to 0.562 wins and his 6 caught stealing subtract away 0.245 wins, for a total win probability added of 0.245 wins.

So in the 27 stolen base attempts from Pierre his 77.8% success rate is good. The break even point for value from stolen base attempts, is having a positive win probability added number.

For reference Matt Kemp so far this year is 19 out of 22 (86.4%) but he only has a 0.1 win probability added on his stolen bases. Pierre is stealing the more important bases and not getting caught as often on the clutch attempts.

vr, Xei

[Craig88USC]

NL Standings

LA 50-29 (Ok Manny, take it from here...)

SanFrisco 42-34 . 6 1/2
Milwaukee. 42-36 . 7 1/2
Philadelphia 39-35 . 8 1/2
Coolooroodoo 41-37. 8 1/2
SaintLouieLouie 41-38 9

[Package]

Bob Hendley
I did the same thing. When Joe did it earlier the Dodgers were much more on fire than now so when they were winning I too kept my mouth shut. Now they are not. They have returned to earth. Joe is pushing it. 1 maybe 2 occasionly but never 3 or even 4. Rest does not always cure the bad things.

[Gen3Blue]

OhioVic I think you are right on both

Package and BH. I think you may have adressed me earlier
and while I am a guy who thinks perhaps pitchers arms and catchers need all the rest they can get, the notion that regular position players need rest is more ridiculous than most Monty Pythin sketches.
To make a remark this bold I have to make some caveats. The game can be very stressful, and some athletes will tell you that the hardest thing to do is stay alert for hours for that moment when you must release that sudden burst of motion and energy. Players who play long stretches of games can be stressed, whether it's winning losing or mixed and in some cases might benefit from a day off. But the thought that a position player can get fatigued by having to go and stand up in the field for half of a 3 hr game doesn't cut any ice with me.

ECDodger I think that the diminishing return mark for stealing occurs somewhere between 75 and 80%. But whereever the cutoffis, I thinkmore stealing means more damage if you are below the mark.

[Alex41592]

Torre has made it clear he wants to give Furcal a day off a week or two. Furcal said if Torre wants to sit him he'd rather it be on a day game after night.

Casey Blake is a notoriously bad hitter in day games though this year he's doing a solid job in 60 AB's. Plus, he's 35 years old. So, when he gets a game off it also will be day games after night.

Add in Martin's mental break and this is the lineup you get.

I would also prefer it not happen in bunches but sometimes it works out that way.

[nsxtasy]

I think this win over the Rockies is important, because it slows their momentum (i.e. more important for its effect on Colorado than on the Dodgers).

However, I'm still concerned that the Dodgers still aren't hitting. Early in the season they were scoring 6-7 runs all the time. The past 3-4 weeks, they rarely score more than 3-4 runs, and often less. The fact that they're still winning is a testament to their pitching (particularly the bullpen rather than the rotation).

I hope Manny's return will shake things up. Sometimes you just need some sort of change to get out of a funk. And with Manny back, the atmosphere WILL change.

[Deuces are Wild]

Xeifrank, that's a great way to see it (WPA for SB-CS). I hand't thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense.

Craig, I like the mountain-type standings. It's good to see the Dodgers at the Top of the Mountain.

[Eric Stephen]

My initial reaction to sitting 3 or 4 starters at once was similar...why "punt" the game. But, aside from accepting that subs need to play once in a while to stay fresh, I don't really mind if all of them start the same game.

If you operate under the premise that all starters are better than the subs (just work with me here, for assumptive purposes), I would rather only weaken one game out of five or so, than have a weakened lineup for three or four games out of five.

I just did a quick look at the defensive lineups on Baseball-Reference, and Torre has rested more than one regular on 13 occasions this season, and the Dodgers are 8-5 in those games, FWIW.

[Eric Stephen]

There hasn't been a more beautiful sports combination of the numbers 50 (wins) and 39 (strikeouts this series) since Wayne Gretzky in 1982.

[Michael]

The offense will be fine. Everyone struggles at some point over the course of a long season. But with Manny back Friday, I think this slump is over. Whoever hits in front of Manny will see a lot of fat pitches and I think that will have a huge carryover effect on the rest of the lineup.

Manny will be rusty at first, but his return will breathe new life into the offense. It's a shame that Manny's first six games back will be at hitter's graveyards though, in San Diego and New York. But I'm still not worried. It will all come together.

[underdog]

Besides what Eric said, (and I swear I keep saying I won't talk about this anymore but like Al Pacino in Godfather III they keep pulling me back in), the thing I think that keeps getting overlooked by some here is the fact that the starters who were benched have not been doing anything at the plate. At all. Except for Beard and he's also been slumping for the most part. Ausmus has been hitting better than Martin this season so far. Castro has been hitting better than the often atrocious Furcal and his defense has been better as well (as we saw today). I guess I'm just baffled by the stubborn embrace of starters when the starters not only need a day off (esp with day game after night game) but haven't been playing well at all.

What is the big loss here?

I'm happy Martin's getting as much time off as he's been getting because he seriously needs it, he's been in an awful funk all season long. And frankly even on defense Ellis and Ausmus are both better than him right now. And again so is Castro.

can we call rule 8 before I need a section 8? ;-)

[Jon Weisman]

" The past 3-4 weeks, they rarely score more than 3-4 runs, and often less. "

From DT on last Saturday:

"Going into tonight's game, the Dodgers had scored at least five runs in six consecutive games and at least four runs in 10 of their past 11 games, averaging 5.3 runs per game in that span."

They have definitely struggled in the past five games since that post, but two of those games were pitched by likely 2009 All-Stars and a third by someone with a road ERA of about 2.00.

Considering that every team goes through an offensive slump, I would be patient with this one - even if it continues into San Diego, a notoriously difficult place to hit.

[Craig88USC]

D a W - I'd sure love to move Philly down the mountain tonight and St. Louis up
(when they beat Frisco also this evening on I believe ESPN).

I'm convinced now that Tracy's Rockos are for real and will be the NL WC.
.

btw- It's 0-0 in the Phil/Atl game in the 3rd.

[DBrim]

Kershaw has a 0.76 ERA in his last four starts.

[blue22]

"I'm convinced now that Tracy's Rockos are for real and will be the NL WC"

Well, I can't believe I'm saying this after this series, but I just don't think Colorado's pitching is good enough to get the WC this year.

Cook, Jimenez, Marquis, De La Rosa, and Hammel? I'm skeptical they'll be good enough for the long haul.

[Eric Stephen]

One of the contributors at Purple Row noted this is the first time the Rox have had four starters with an ERA under 4 this late into the season. And that the 5th guy (DLR) has a FIP under 4.

[OhioVic]

Before we leave the subject (and Im sure we'll get other opportunities to debate it), I just wanted to chime in by agreeing with U-Dog's point on today's subs. I get the point in principle of not resting too many starters at once, but in this case, what were we giving up ? Not much, guys.

Also, I have learned, frankly, that second guessing Torre is a losing game. He's been Manager of Championship teams for lots of reasons, including talent, but one reason is that he's good at it. I have second guessed Joe a lot of times the past 2 seasons and he turns out to be right time after time. Today's another example. He's just got a feel for it. Yes, he makes mistakes, but not near as often as he gets it right. This team being 50-29 is a real testament to him, imo and I think he should be a legit candidate for Manager of the Year.

[Craig88USC]

Blue22 (Cool name btw) -

Well I do also think that their hitting (except against us obviously) is their strong point.

But we can no longer say that the pitching Tracy is guiding up there is all that bad. Hence, I pick 'em. And though, we may face them in the post season, we will not forget to remind them who's goin' to the Series imho... : ) ...but it could be closer than we like.

[SaMo]

When two teams with the offensive capabilities that the Dodgers and Rockies have demonstrated face off and score a total of 10 runs in 31 innings, is it because of terrific pitching or massive ineptitude at the plate? The Dodgers could barely squeeze a hit off the bottom of the Rox bullpen in the first game, and the rockies just whiffed so often it was comical.

[Jon Weisman]

New post up top.

[Craig88USC]

Ok - 2 more times,

Let's Go Cardinals!
Hit a Couple More Out Tonight & Tomorrow, Albert!

[nsxtasy]

Good points, U-dog, about the bench guys hitting better than the starters. Although we all know that this year Martin and Fookie aren't hitting anywhere near their potential (based on recent seasons).

[Paul]

Here's an interesting stat from the Rockies series, if I understood Vin correctly. Both teams had only 2 hits with RISP for the entire series, and for each team 1 of the 2 hits was by a pitcher. I guess there was a lot of offensive struggle in this series.