Post by Commissioner Erick on Oct 8, 2017 11:13:37 GMT -5
Los Angeles Dodgers (90-53) @ San Francisco Giants (101-44)
LAD: Ross Stripling (4-3, 4.28)
SF: Drew Smyly (11-1, 3.45)
There's only one team in baseball that the San Francisco Giants don't have a winning record against. Considering they may meet in the postseason, it could be important for the Giants to find a way to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The San Francisco Giants have won 30 of 36 games to run away with the National League west. Despite injuries and a total lack of power, Samuel Rutledge's strategy of pitching and defense has paid off with 101 wins with three weeks to go.
The Giants are second in zone rating, having committed the fewest errors, have allowed the fewest stolen bases, and have the best defensive efficiency. They're working in some new players as some old ones hit the shelf.
Brandon Crawford is back after tearing his quad in April. After easing back into the lineup in August, he's .333 with a .943 OPS in September. He also provides the Giants with a power element they've lacked thus far. This is important as Brandon Belt re-tore his hamstring he tore in June. There's a danger that he'll miss the playoffs. Belt had 15 home runs and 31 doubles, and was definitely one of the few sluggers on the team.
The Giants will really need for Buster Posey to play better in Belt's stead. Posey has been the one disappointment for the Giants. His defense has been largely good, but he has only six home runs in about a half season's worth of games. He's supposed to be a superstar, but instead, he's putting up an OPS of .693. At least he appears to be turning it around over the second half. He put up an OPS of .940 in August and is at .993 in September. A Posey that is mashing ball is the one thing that will take the Giants offense to another level.
They'll need that other level to beat a Dodgers team that has had their number all season. Los Angeles has gone 6-1 against the Giants in San Francisco, a mark which must sting the team. Part of the reason the Dodgers have been so successful by the bay is that the Dodgers' bullpen hasn't an ERA of 1.07 in San Francisco this season. Even that number is misleading as the earned runs came in one start, early, after Julio Urias was knocked out in fifth inning and Chris Hatcher allowed three runs. Aside from that blip, the Dodgers have gone 24.1 scoreless in San Francisco.
The Dodgers' bullpen will have to contend with a huge loss. Kenley Jansen will miss the rest of the regular season with a bad shoulder. The Dodgers have the best bullpen by ERA in the league, but Jansen was a huge part of that. Josh Fields has moved into the ninth inning role, and he's equipped for it. He's a hard thrower with a great curveball, and he's working to a 2.10 ERA this year. He has 73 strikeouts in 55.2 innings, so he's able to overpower hitters and escape mistakes.
It's also impossible to talk about the Dodgers without talking about superstar Corey Seager. Seager leads the NL with a .352 average, 51 doubles, and is second in WAR with 7.5. If not for Bryce Harper, he'd be the clear cut MVP. Seager even has a .335 average against lefties allowing him to stay in the lineup against pitchers like Drew Smyly.
If the Dodgers play winning ball the rest of the way, they'll finish with 100 wins. They're six games up on the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card lead, and a big win over the Giants will assure them the Wild Card Game goes through Los Angeles.
Questions for the GM's:
For Troy Allenbaugh, Yasiel Puig and Logan Forsythe are nicked up. Will they play in today's game?
You've gone to a six-man rotation. Why have you done that for September?
Cody Bellinger has been yanked around this year. Have you settled on him being your number 5 hitter in the playoffs?
For Samuel Rutledge, is it important for you to go hard against the Dodgers to have a winning record against every team?
Brandon Belt tore the same hamstring he tore earlier in the year. How will you configure your lineup to replace him?
You lament the loss of Che-Hsuan Lin and the special defensive season he was providing. Gorkys Hernandez has been pretty good defensively, but only so much to be slightly in the positive in WAR with his lack of offensive skills. Will he be your starting center fielder in the playoffs?
LAD: Ross Stripling (4-3, 4.28)
SF: Drew Smyly (11-1, 3.45)
There's only one team in baseball that the San Francisco Giants don't have a winning record against. Considering they may meet in the postseason, it could be important for the Giants to find a way to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The San Francisco Giants have won 30 of 36 games to run away with the National League west. Despite injuries and a total lack of power, Samuel Rutledge's strategy of pitching and defense has paid off with 101 wins with three weeks to go.
The Giants are second in zone rating, having committed the fewest errors, have allowed the fewest stolen bases, and have the best defensive efficiency. They're working in some new players as some old ones hit the shelf.
Brandon Crawford is back after tearing his quad in April. After easing back into the lineup in August, he's .333 with a .943 OPS in September. He also provides the Giants with a power element they've lacked thus far. This is important as Brandon Belt re-tore his hamstring he tore in June. There's a danger that he'll miss the playoffs. Belt had 15 home runs and 31 doubles, and was definitely one of the few sluggers on the team.
The Giants will really need for Buster Posey to play better in Belt's stead. Posey has been the one disappointment for the Giants. His defense has been largely good, but he has only six home runs in about a half season's worth of games. He's supposed to be a superstar, but instead, he's putting up an OPS of .693. At least he appears to be turning it around over the second half. He put up an OPS of .940 in August and is at .993 in September. A Posey that is mashing ball is the one thing that will take the Giants offense to another level.
They'll need that other level to beat a Dodgers team that has had their number all season. Los Angeles has gone 6-1 against the Giants in San Francisco, a mark which must sting the team. Part of the reason the Dodgers have been so successful by the bay is that the Dodgers' bullpen hasn't an ERA of 1.07 in San Francisco this season. Even that number is misleading as the earned runs came in one start, early, after Julio Urias was knocked out in fifth inning and Chris Hatcher allowed three runs. Aside from that blip, the Dodgers have gone 24.1 scoreless in San Francisco.
The Dodgers' bullpen will have to contend with a huge loss. Kenley Jansen will miss the rest of the regular season with a bad shoulder. The Dodgers have the best bullpen by ERA in the league, but Jansen was a huge part of that. Josh Fields has moved into the ninth inning role, and he's equipped for it. He's a hard thrower with a great curveball, and he's working to a 2.10 ERA this year. He has 73 strikeouts in 55.2 innings, so he's able to overpower hitters and escape mistakes.
It's also impossible to talk about the Dodgers without talking about superstar Corey Seager. Seager leads the NL with a .352 average, 51 doubles, and is second in WAR with 7.5. If not for Bryce Harper, he'd be the clear cut MVP. Seager even has a .335 average against lefties allowing him to stay in the lineup against pitchers like Drew Smyly.
If the Dodgers play winning ball the rest of the way, they'll finish with 100 wins. They're six games up on the Chicago Cubs for the first wild card lead, and a big win over the Giants will assure them the Wild Card Game goes through Los Angeles.
Questions for the GM's:
For Troy Allenbaugh, Yasiel Puig and Logan Forsythe are nicked up. Will they play in today's game?
You've gone to a six-man rotation. Why have you done that for September?
Cody Bellinger has been yanked around this year. Have you settled on him being your number 5 hitter in the playoffs?
For Samuel Rutledge, is it important for you to go hard against the Dodgers to have a winning record against every team?
Brandon Belt tore the same hamstring he tore earlier in the year. How will you configure your lineup to replace him?
You lament the loss of Che-Hsuan Lin and the special defensive season he was providing. Gorkys Hernandez has been pretty good defensively, but only so much to be slightly in the positive in WAR with his lack of offensive skills. Will he be your starting center fielder in the playoffs?
