Game of the Week: May 21: ARI @ LAD

[Commissioner Erick]

Arizona Diamondbacks (24-17) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (26-14)


ARI: Jorge Navas (0-0, 0.00)
LAD: Matt Cleveland (2-1, 5.20)

Diamondbacks 3 Key Stats

18: Jorge Navas’ losses last year: Navas went 7-18 for the Yankees, last season, leading the AL in losses. He also led the AL in losses in 2026 with 16 losses. He’s 23-49 in his career with a 5.76 ERA, though last year was his best year. It will be a big game for Navas to show that he’s improved and is worthy of being in a contender’s rotation.

158: Arizona’s runs against: Arizona is third in the league in offense, but being third in run prevention is more impressive. The starters have been great, but Arizona also has the fifth best bullpen as well. However, much of that production was built by Nick Kingham, Nick Rumbelow, and Sixto Sanchez. Sanchez is now in the rotation, Kingham is in Philadelphia, and Rumbelow is in Toronto. They’ll need their newest arm, rookie Arturo Salgado, to come through for them. Salgado had a 1.69 ERA for Venezuela in the 2028 WCB, so he’s pitched well under pressure before.

1.070: Tony Sierra’s OPS: Sierra leads the NL in OPS and WAR as he continues a superstar career. He’s taken his batting average to the next level, batting .348 and he already has 13 homers and 40 RBIs. Only 25, he’s the early NL leader for MVP.


Dodgers 3 Key Stats

2.53: Los Angeles’ bullpen ERA: The Dodgers starting pitching hasn’t been great this year, but the bullpen is traditional Dodgers excellence. Ismael Robles is posting the best ERA in his career with a 2.05 ERA, Bobby Spong has a 1.11 mark, and Osiris Ramirez has a 1.59 ERA. Robles is tied for second with 10 Saves, and Travis Tyre is tied for fifth in Wins. If the Dodgers can keep things close, they’ll likely have an advantage.

.305: Alex Verdugo’s batting average: After a rough 2028, Verdugo has rebounded. His average is good again and he also has seven doubles in 109 Plate Appearances. His defense is still strong, and his wife hasn’t made any noise about leaving Los Angeles for a bigger city. His good play has been huge with Jeren Kendall and Jorge Ramos on the IL.

.636: Hyo-Sang Choo’s OPS: Choo has been terrible to start the season, hitting only .205 with just six extra base hits. He has a .325 slugging percentage, and just a 77 OPS+. He’s not throwing out runners either, with a 17% caught stealing rate. Choo was an All-Star the last two seasons thanks to his two way play, but he’ll need his bat to wake up to make it out of a tough NL West.


Questions for the GMs:


For Andrew Frisbie, you called up A.J. Reed last week and he had a rough season debut, going 1-4 and committing an error. What role do you see Reed playing going forward?

You recently signed Franklyn Kilome. Do you intend to use him as a starter or reliever?

Do you feel you’re getting enough from Juan Gil at the top of your lineup, or will you look to get someone more adept at getting on base to lead off?

For Ben Vincent, despite numerous injuries your team has been able to right the ship. How did you play such strong baseball with so many key players injured?

Why did you make the decision to go with T.J. Lunsford as your Left Fielder over Raul Beracierta?

Matt Cleveland has been wild this year, coming back from rotator cuff surgery and walking 18 hitters in 36.1 innings. Is he still rounding into form, or does he have worse control than he did pre-injury?


TRIVIA: Tony Sierra has a shot at winning his first MVP this year. Aside from him, who is the only Diamondback position player to have never won an MVP in his career and produce at least 5 WAR in a season for Arizona?

[Ben_Dodgers]

For Ben Vincent, despite numerous injuries your team has been able to right the ship. How did you play such strong baseball with so many key players injured?

I attribute it to two factors. First, there are several guys getting their first real chance in the league, and they're out to prove themselves. Eric Denney and Justin Still have definitely been playing above expectations as injury replacements, but I'm here for it. In fact we're keeping Denney on the roster even with Willie Calhoun coming back today. They'll be platooning at first base.

Second, and probably more significant - after getting swept by the Rockies to start the season, the guys have been playing with a chip on their shoulders. I mean... the Rockies? Can you blame them?

Why did you make the decision to go with T.J. Lunsford as your Left Fielder over Raul Beracierta?

They're very similar players, and they've had similar amounts of playing time so far. Beracierta currently has a higher average, but I think he's been lucky with a high BABIP. He hasn't really demonstrated the consistent power he showed last year in the Meridian League and also has yet to walk this year. I expect Lunsford to be a little more reliable.

Matt Cleveland has been wild this year, coming back from rotator cuff surgery and walking 18 hitters in 36.1 innings. Is he still rounding into form, or does he have worse control than he did pre-injury?

The year off definitely had an impact. His control is down a tick and his stamina has suffered. We're hopeful that he'll bounce back to form as he continues to stretch out through the summer, but this may be who he is now.

[Commissioner Erick]

I do not like these answers, especially the first one!

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA: Hon correctly guessed Greg Allen

[Commissioner Erick]

Dodgers 4 - Diamondbacks 2


WP: T. Tyre (6-1)
LP: J. Navas (0-1)
SV: I. Robles (11)


Los Angeles designated hitter Federico Pando played a vital role in his team's 4-2 triumph over Arizona. He was 4-4 with 4 singles for Los Angeles. Los Angeles now has a 9-game win streak.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Tim Hendrickson went deep for the Dodgers. With Los Angeles trailing 2-1, he drilled a solo home run.

"I still think this team can play even better," Hendrickson told the Los Angeles Daily.


Questions for the GMs:


For Andrew Frisbie, How did Navas look for you in his first start of the year?

You had DeShawn DeLaine come off the bench today. Just giving him a day off, or is he no longer a starter for you?

Tony Sierra had a rare 0-4 day, and your offense struggled. Do you feel you have enough to win games when Sierra isn't at his best?

For Ben Vincent, you were optimistic Ismael Robles wouldn't be on your team this year, and were surprised he accepted the qualifying offer. He had a dominant ninth to notch his 11th Save and has been fantastic to start the year. Are you happy he accepted the offer based on how he's playing?

Federico Pando had a huge day, going 4-4. How do you asses the trade that brought him to LA with roughly a full season now to look back?

Luis Urias scored career run number 1000 today, a nice milestone for a player with a terrific career. Soon to be only 32, do you feel he's a Hall of Famer player?


TRIVIA: Luis Urias is now 21st all time with 1,000 runs scored, though his career high in home runs in a season is only 21. Who is the only player to have scored more career runs than Urias while never hitting more home runs in a year than him?

[Ben_Dodgers]

For Ben Vincent, you were optimistic Ismael Robles wouldn't be on your team this year, and were surprised he accepted the qualifying offer. He had a dominant ninth to notch his 11th Save and has been fantastic to start the year. Are you happy he accepted the offer based on how he's playing?

I'm happy to have him; he's been a key part of the team for years and he's still a great pitcher. I just had trouble justifying the salary for a reliever, even an elite reliever. Given his demands I was not expecting him to sign, so it was a surprise and forced me to rework my offseason spending plan.

Unfortunately he hasn't been quite as good as some of the surface stats show. Over 23 appearances he's 3-3 with 12 saves and 2 blown saves. He has 10 shutdown and 10 meltdowns. It's those meltdowns that are really the problem.
What I want from a closer is consistency. I think he's suffered a bit from bad luck early in the season and we should see him improve over the remainder.

Federico Pando had a huge day, going 4-4. How do you asses the trade that brought him to LA with roughly a full season now to look back?

Totally worth it, even if he isn't currently producing at last year's tremendous pace. I mean he was basically free, for taking salary off of Toronto's books. I definitely fretted about going over budget last year, but I'd make that deal again in a heartbeat.

Luis Urias scored career run number 1000 today, a nice milestone for a player with a terrific career. Soon to be only 32, do you feel he's a Hall of Famer player?

I think he's got to be in the conversation, but since we have yet to induct any PBA player to the hall, it's hard to know what the threshold is. His best years were in San Diego, though he's on pace to put up comparable numbers this year, which is amazing. He's been one of the best at his position for a decade, but there's a lot of competition there, too: Albies, Moncada, and Bogaerts have all been great through that same period. Moving him to 3B this year I think will help with his longevity, but it also means he'll eventually be compared to Arenado, Machado, Devers, and other players of that caliber. So we'll have to see how the rest of his career pans out.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA 2: Hon correctly guessed Yoan Moncada