Game of the Week: July 29: LAD @ COL

[Commissioner Erick]

Los Angeles Dodgers (71-36) @ Colorado Rockies (50-57)


LAD: Corey Kluber (14-5, 3.02)
COL: Jairo Pacheco (12-7, 4.60)


It’s been a fantastic season for the Los Angeles Dodgers as after two mediocre years, the club is back among the PBA elite. The Dodgers are first in the league in scoring runs and second in preventing them, though their ERA is best in the NL. However, just because the team has the best record in the NL doesn’t mean they can rest comfortably, as the San Francisco Giants are just a half game behind them for the division lead.

Los Angeles will try to gain some separation when they take on a team that’s given them a surprising amount of trouble this season in the Colorado Rockies.

The Dodgers have won nine in a row and 21 of 28, but they haven’t won any of their three series against the Rockies this year, a team they’ve historically throttled. A main reason for that is tonight’s starter, former Dodgers farmhand Jairo Pacheco. The Dodgers claimed to do Pacheco a favor by trading him to a place he had a chance to start instead of burying him in Oklahoma City. The short-sighted Pacheco, however, took the trade personally, blaming the Dodgers for not valuing him as a part of their team.

Pacheco’s made three starts against the Dodgers this year, winning all three times and posting a 3.32 ERA. He’s allowed five home runs to the Dodgers heavy-hitting offense, but he hasn’t walked a Dodger and his weak contact has produced a .216 BABIP against. The Dodgers are weaker against lefties than righties, but still have the third best OPS against lefties in the league, so it’s not a handedness issue. Pacheco just gets fired up and focused to face the Dodgers. As a result, he alone has handed the Dodgers more than a quarter of their losses in games started by left-handers this year.

Fortunately for the Dodgers, they’ll be throwing out an arm who has excelled on Mondays. Corey Kluber has made three starts to open the week and has gone 3-0, working 24 innings with a 1.13 ERA, a 0.63 WHIP, 33 strikeouts and just two walks. The Klubot also dominated Colorado in his lone start against them this year, going 8 innings, allowing a single run on four hits, walking one and whiffing nine. Kluber brings robotic focus and precision when he works, and that may be enough to offset Pacheco’s seething anger.

The Dodgers position players are led by an MVP candidate, Alex Bregman. Bregman was injured much of last year, a major culprit in Los Angeles’ disappointing season. Now healthy, he’s been exactly what the Dodgers signed up for. Bregman’s hitting .317 and from the right side, serving as a nice complement to Nomar Mazara and Alex Verdugo’s left-handed power. Bregman gets on base with a near-.400 OBP, and leads all third baseman in doubles, while trailing only Nolan Arenado and Kyle Seager in home runs. Bregman’s hitting has vitalized the Dodgers attack, and his power at third base is an untouchable for all but a few select teams. He also adds extra value with 13 steals in 18 attempts, and his baserunning when not stealing is second in all of baseball. He’s also a capable defender at Third Base, a leader in the clubhouse, and put together, a complete baseball player.


Questions for the GMs:


For Ben Vincent, Jeren Kendall has a bit of a bad shoulder. Will he start today against the left-hander Pacheco?

Obviously, Jairo Pacheco has taken on an outsized status based on his excellent work against your team. Looking back on it, now that you have a half-season of The Dominator, Sergio Parra to evaluate, what are your thoughts on the deal.

For about two months now, you’ve essentially started four back-end starters and Corey Kluber. How important has it been to your team’s division title hopes to have him dominate the way he has since the start of June?

For Erick Blasco, Juan Adame has made three appearances against the Dodgers this year, working 7.1 innings and allowing only three runs. With him spraining his ankle, who will replace his production against the Dodgers?

What will your lineup be against Kluber today?

Are you expecting to be busy at the deadline?

How likely is Trevor Story to pitch in the game?



TRIVIA: This game could feature the best (Jeren Kendall) Center Fielder and third best (David Dahl) Center Fielder in terms of all-time Zone Rating. Who is Second?

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Juan Adame has made three appearances against the Dodgers this year, working 7.1 innings and allowing only three runs. With him spraining his ankle, who will replace his production against the Dodgers?

We're going to call up Jerry Vasto as he's on our 40-man and therefore we won't have to spend extra money to call up someone else. Vasto's mostly replacement level, but he's been really effective at Triple-A and throws left-handed, which could be a good thing against their lefties. We're hoping he sees spot duty but could get some of their lesser left-handers out, like an Amir Valdez or Simon Muzziotti. Vastro profiles as a fly-ball pitcher, so I hope he isn't used against the heart of the Dodgers order, where Sam Moll's ground-ball orientation and Chris Devenski's talent could be used instead.

What will your lineup be against Kluber today?

Kluber is such a command artist that we're going to try to boost our defense today. Charlie Blackmon had been playing left, but with a left-handed starter on the mound, we want Brandon Boissierre to give better defensive coverage in left. Blackmon will DH, which removes Carlos Gonzalez or Rowdy Tellez from the lineup. We lose some extra base juice, but we still have a lot of power in our lineup. Also, if Trevor Story, Nolan Arenado, or Blackmon hit some doubles or get to third base, Boissierre gives us a better chance to make contact and get a run in. I don't think we win this game high-scoring, and I think Pacheco gives us a chance to win a low-scoring affair, so that's the gameplan. We'll also start Tony Wolters behind the plate for similar reasons. Tom Murphy isn't likely to put the bat on the ball against Kluber.

Are you expecting to be busy at the deadline?

There's not much of a market for our spare parts, and we're so crippled with our staff that we don't want to trade even a back-end arm as we'll be left with Triple-A caliber guys getting beat up. Our owner wants us to finish with a winning record, so we have competing objectives even as we're out of the postseason picture. We'd move Trevor Story if there were interest, but there doesn't seem to be.

How likely is Trevor Story to pitch in the game?

Though he has a live arm, as evidenced by his early-career Shortstop days, he hasn't pitched a game yet. Normally, backups would work in blowouts. Therefore, we may see Tony Wolters if Pacheco gets beat up early.

[brewersgm]

Trivia: Former Brewer, Albert Almora is currently 2nd all time in career ZR for CFers.

[Ben_Dodgers]

Jeren Kendall has a bit of a bad shoulder. Will he start today against the left-hander Pacheco?

Muzziotti will be getting the start in CF today, but Kendall will be available off the bench.  I always miss his glove when he's not in the lineup.  Despite playing in less than half the games so far this season, he's second in ZR.

Obviously, Jairo Pacheco has taken on an outsized status based on his excellent work against your team. Looking back on it, now that you have a half-season of The Dominator, Sergio Parra to evaluate, what are your thoughts on the deal.

I gave Pacheco a shot as our 5th starter last year.  He pitched well in 6 starts, posting a 3.38 ERA over 35 innings.  But the rest of the team hated him.  I was getting complaints from other players every week.  So he got sent down, and he didn't pitch that well in AAA.  I didn't see a place for him on the roster this year, and he was set to become a minor league free agent, so I was happy to make any deal that got me something in return.  Given the injuries we've sustained this year and how well he's pitched, it would have been nice to have Pacheco to call on, but I'm still not sure it would be worth the disruption in the clubhouse.  I don't know if Parra will develop into a major league player, but I'm still happy with the deal.

For about two months now, you’ve essentially started four back-end starters and Corey Kluber. How important has it been to your team’s division title hopes to have him dominate the way he has since the start of June?

3 of those guys are rookies, too.  Kluber's performance has been huge.  He got off to a pretty rough start this year too, giving up 10 runs in 7.2 IP over his first two starts.  But he's been locked in since then, and that's been a stabilizing force for the rest of the team.  Kluber's actually on par with or exceeding his 2022 Cy Young season, and barring an injuring should exceed 200 IP for the 7th time in his PBA career.

Kluber's only weakness this year has been the long ball.  His HR rate is double that of 2022, but it's come down a lot since April.  (He gave up 13 HRs in the first month of the season, and 14 in the 3 months since).  The only time Kluber has faced Colorado this year, we hung 7 runs on Fulmer in the first and won 11-1.  If Kluber can keep the ball in the park, the Dodgers will win.

[Commissioner Erick]

Sept 29, 2020 17:07:00 GMT -5 brewersgm said:

Trivia: Former Brewer, Albert Almora is currently 2nd all time in career ZR for CFers.

Correct!

[Commissioner Erick]

Rockies 5- Dodgers 4


WP: J. Pacheco (13-7)
LP: C. Kluber (14-6)
SV: D. Diaz (14)


Los Angeles shortstop Alex Bregman was sensational. He went 2 for 4 with a home run and a walk, while adding 2 RBI and scoring once, but it wasn't enough to rally his team to a win. Colorado beat the Dodgers, 5-4. Jairo Pacheco earned the win for Colorado. He lasted 7 innings, allowing 4 runs on 11 hits, while striking out 2. With the win, he raised his record to 13-7. Dayan Diaz notched his 14th save in 18 chances.

Daniel Montano was 2 for 4 with 2 singles. He drove in 3 runs for Colorado. The 25-year old right fielder had a key at-bat in the bottom of the fourth. With one out and the bases loaded, he broke a 3-3 tie with a run-scoring sacrifice fly off Corey Kluber. It was his 45th RBI of the season.

Montano told the Colorado Bulletin: "Sometimes the big stage is not big enough for me."

The Rockies' win now puts them at 51-57.


Questions for the GMs:


For Ben Vincent, your defense allowed a number of hits on ground balls to the right side. Do you trust Luis Urias and Willie Calhoun to help your pitchers out as games take on more importance going forward?

How disappointed are you that Kluber struggled against the bottom of the Rockies lineup?

Is Jairo Pacheco your most hated player in the PBA at this point?

For Erick Blasco, Pacheco gave up a ton of hits but only four runs. What was it about him that allowed him to keep the game within reach?

How were you able to hang 13 hits up on a good Dodgers team with only one extra base hit?

Why didn't Trevor Story pitch in the game?


TRIVIA: Alex Bregman's career high in RBI is 7. What year did he achieve that in?

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, Pacheco gave up a ton of hits but only four runs. What was it about him that allowed him to keep the game within reach?

Pacheco was able to make key pitches to left-handers at critical moments, particularly Alex Verdugo and Amin Valdez. In the second inning, after two hitters reached, Pacheco coaxed a double play off Willie Calhoun before striking out Valdez to end a threat. In the third, with a man on first and one out, Verdugo rolled over a changeup and hit into a double play. In the fifth, with men on the corners and no outs, Pacheco jammed Mazara and induced a comebacker, leading to a double play. He induced a groundball from Bregman to end the inning. In the sixth with two on and two outs, he jammed Amin Valdez, getting him to line out softly to end the inning. Finally in the seventh, with two outs and two on, he got Verdugo to ground out softly to the right side to end the inning. His ability to both jam hitters inside as well as getting them to roll over on offspeed pitches saved him numerous times.

How were you able to hang 13 hits up on a good Dodgers team with only one extra base hit?

A bit of luck, a bit of poor defense, and a lot of Kluber not being sharp. We hit a bunch of line drives with Kluber not having the best stuff. That allowed us to string together hits enough to score some runs. We also didn't strike out much, allowing us to put together those two-out hits. If Kluber were sharper, we'd likely have more strikeouts and we wouldn't have as many balls-in-play for our high BABIP to provide offense. We were also helped out with a bunch of grounders to the right side that normally would be outs, but Luis Urias and Willie Calhoun couldn't corral.

Why didn't Trevor Story pitch in the game?

Pacheco was able to give us 7 innings against a primarily left-handed team. That saved our bullpen and allowed us to use our primary arms. Also, without trailing by 15 or so, we didn't need to preserve our pen with sideshow acts.

[Ben_Dodgers]

Your defense allowed a number of hits on ground balls to the right side. Do you trust Luis Urias and Willie Calhoun to help your pitchers out as games take on more importance going forward?

It's a concern, but they're our best options right now.

How disappointed are you that Kluber struggled against the bottom of the Rockies lineup?

He didn't have his best stuff. Everyone has off days, but we've grown so used to him dominating over the last few months that it was a surprise. I can't really lay the loss at Kluber's feet though. We had plenty of chances to put more runs on the board but didn't come through.

Is Jairo Pacheco your most hated player in the PBA at this point?

That's certainly what I'm hearing around the clubhouse. Fortunately we won't have to face him in the playoffs.

[Commissioner Erick]

TRIVIA: 2017