Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 19, 2022 12:37:20 GMT -5
San Diego Padres (53-60) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (69-44)
SD: John Thacker (2-7, 6.13)
LAD: Grayson Rodriguez (9-2, 3.49)
Padres 5 Key Stats:
6: Wins in San Diego’s last 23 games: The Padres have struggled mightily once their schedule picked up. After finishing off a sweep of the Mets to begin July, San Diego’s bullpen caused them to drop a series in Philadelphia. They then dropped three one-run games in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets. They went back home and dropped six straight to the Giants and Dodgers, plus the first game after the break to the Brewers. All told, San Diego suffered an 11-game losing streak that ended their playoff hopes. They haven’t won a series since their sweep of the Mets, though they did split four versus Philadelphia over the weekend.
8: Games for Jake Reed this year: San Diego’s former closer tore his labrum causing him to miss most of the year. He’s been excellent when on the mount with eight scoreless outings. The stuff hasn’t been there, but he’s throwing strikes and avoiding extra base hits.
.527: Greg Kelly’s Slugging Percentage: Kelly was good as a rookie, winning the Rookie of the Year Award and a Gold Glove. He had solid pop, but didn’t have great recognition, leading to a fair amount of weak outs. This year, he’s drawn a few more walks and gotten better pitches to hit. The doubles he hit last year have turned into home runs as well. As a result, what was a good .436 Slugging mark has become a great .527 percentage. He’s become more of an offensive force and should be a fixture at the heart of San Diego’s lineup for years.
.359: Alejandro Diaz’ Slugging Percentage: Diaz has batted third for most of the season, though he’s been bad as a run producer. He gets on base at a strong .398 clip, though it’s a wonder pitchers don’t just groove fastballs. He has just four home runs and 17 doubles in 369 At Bats. It’s a huge step up from Diaz’ earlier days, when he would produce slugging percentages around .300 with the Braves and Padres from 2022-2024. This is the most time Diaz has seen since 2022, but one wonders if he warrants a spot in the middle of San Diego’s lineup.
.290: Royce Lewis’ On-Base Percentage: Lewis has struggled to get on base this year, and it’s devastated the Padres. Kelly and John Yancy have blossomed, and Mike Fitzgerald has been a force. It should be enough to overcome the loss of Alejandro Toral. However, Lewis hasn’t gotten on base. He’s hitting just .241 with a marginal increase in home runs far from offsetting the worse on-base ability. San Diego has needed Lewis to play like a star, and he hasn’t delivered.
Dodgers 5 Key Stats:
2.77: The Dodgers bullpen ERA in July: Los Angeles is starting to see its bullpen round into form. The bullpen ERA for July was the best for any month this year, and fourth in the NL. The Dodgers accomplished that despite the unit’s 107.1 innings leading all bullpens in July. The unit had by far the highest ground ball rate, and only one hit batsman also led the league for the month. As a result of the strong performance, the unit went 10-1 with 9 Saves, stabilizing things for a 19-6 July.
.362: Federico Pando’s Batting Average for the Dodgers: Pando’s average is actually identical to the average he produced for Toronto. His RBI rate isn’t quite as prodigious, but he’s still driving in more than a run a game and his slugging percentage has increased slightly with the Dodgers. Los Angeles spent a lot of money trading for Pando—and Thomas Szapucki and Devin Ortiz—but the gamble has been paying off.
11: July Home Runs for Joe DeCarlo: DeCarlo is having a great summer. He clubbed 11 dingers in July, with a .337 average, earning him a Player of the Month Award. It was the Dodgers’ first win in the category since Luis Robert got hardware for April 2027. DeCarlo’s given the Dodgers a huge power threat that they’ve sometimes lacked, and is on pace to challenge Nomar Mazara’s 54-home run 2021 to top the category.
1: Run allowed by Giovanny Gallegos in his last 13 Appearances: Gallegos has worked 14.1 innings during that span and a Jim Dathe homer has been the only blemish upon his ERA ledger. Now 36, Gallegos has evolved with time. His home run rate is the best its been since his peak with the Yankees. His strikeout rate is easily the lowest mark of his career, but he’s thrown strikes, kept the ball on the ground, and dominated righties like he did earlier in his career. The Dodgers will miss him today—Gallegos hurt his toe stumbling into a coffee table in Arizona over the weekend.
.182: Alex Verdugo’s Pinch Hitting Average: Verdugo got shunted to the bench with Pando’s arrival, meaning more of a backup role. He’s hit in spot starts, but in a limited pinch hitting sample, he’s been overwhelmed. This is the area Verdugo can produce the most value going forward, so it would behoove the veteran to become more effective at hitting off the bench.
Questions for the GMs:
For Creig McBride, your team has really fallen apart once the calendar turned to July. What’s been the biggest culprit in your estimation?
John Thacker has really struggled with his control. Any plans to replace him?
Why do you have Mike Fitzgerald batting eighth?
For Ben Vincent, unfortunate injury for Gallegos. Will he go on the IL?
How do you like the team now that Pando and Szapucki are on board?
Why has your bullpen started to pitch better despite less rest?
TRIVIA: Three Padres have hit more than 30 home runs in a season. Two of those seasons did not produce 100 RBI campaigns. Which two Padres hit more than 30 homers, but fewer than 100 RBIs in a year?
SD: John Thacker (2-7, 6.13)
LAD: Grayson Rodriguez (9-2, 3.49)
Padres 5 Key Stats:
6: Wins in San Diego’s last 23 games: The Padres have struggled mightily once their schedule picked up. After finishing off a sweep of the Mets to begin July, San Diego’s bullpen caused them to drop a series in Philadelphia. They then dropped three one-run games in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mets. They went back home and dropped six straight to the Giants and Dodgers, plus the first game after the break to the Brewers. All told, San Diego suffered an 11-game losing streak that ended their playoff hopes. They haven’t won a series since their sweep of the Mets, though they did split four versus Philadelphia over the weekend.
8: Games for Jake Reed this year: San Diego’s former closer tore his labrum causing him to miss most of the year. He’s been excellent when on the mount with eight scoreless outings. The stuff hasn’t been there, but he’s throwing strikes and avoiding extra base hits.
.527: Greg Kelly’s Slugging Percentage: Kelly was good as a rookie, winning the Rookie of the Year Award and a Gold Glove. He had solid pop, but didn’t have great recognition, leading to a fair amount of weak outs. This year, he’s drawn a few more walks and gotten better pitches to hit. The doubles he hit last year have turned into home runs as well. As a result, what was a good .436 Slugging mark has become a great .527 percentage. He’s become more of an offensive force and should be a fixture at the heart of San Diego’s lineup for years.
.359: Alejandro Diaz’ Slugging Percentage: Diaz has batted third for most of the season, though he’s been bad as a run producer. He gets on base at a strong .398 clip, though it’s a wonder pitchers don’t just groove fastballs. He has just four home runs and 17 doubles in 369 At Bats. It’s a huge step up from Diaz’ earlier days, when he would produce slugging percentages around .300 with the Braves and Padres from 2022-2024. This is the most time Diaz has seen since 2022, but one wonders if he warrants a spot in the middle of San Diego’s lineup.
.290: Royce Lewis’ On-Base Percentage: Lewis has struggled to get on base this year, and it’s devastated the Padres. Kelly and John Yancy have blossomed, and Mike Fitzgerald has been a force. It should be enough to overcome the loss of Alejandro Toral. However, Lewis hasn’t gotten on base. He’s hitting just .241 with a marginal increase in home runs far from offsetting the worse on-base ability. San Diego has needed Lewis to play like a star, and he hasn’t delivered.
Dodgers 5 Key Stats:
2.77: The Dodgers bullpen ERA in July: Los Angeles is starting to see its bullpen round into form. The bullpen ERA for July was the best for any month this year, and fourth in the NL. The Dodgers accomplished that despite the unit’s 107.1 innings leading all bullpens in July. The unit had by far the highest ground ball rate, and only one hit batsman also led the league for the month. As a result of the strong performance, the unit went 10-1 with 9 Saves, stabilizing things for a 19-6 July.
.362: Federico Pando’s Batting Average for the Dodgers: Pando’s average is actually identical to the average he produced for Toronto. His RBI rate isn’t quite as prodigious, but he’s still driving in more than a run a game and his slugging percentage has increased slightly with the Dodgers. Los Angeles spent a lot of money trading for Pando—and Thomas Szapucki and Devin Ortiz—but the gamble has been paying off.
11: July Home Runs for Joe DeCarlo: DeCarlo is having a great summer. He clubbed 11 dingers in July, with a .337 average, earning him a Player of the Month Award. It was the Dodgers’ first win in the category since Luis Robert got hardware for April 2027. DeCarlo’s given the Dodgers a huge power threat that they’ve sometimes lacked, and is on pace to challenge Nomar Mazara’s 54-home run 2021 to top the category.
1: Run allowed by Giovanny Gallegos in his last 13 Appearances: Gallegos has worked 14.1 innings during that span and a Jim Dathe homer has been the only blemish upon his ERA ledger. Now 36, Gallegos has evolved with time. His home run rate is the best its been since his peak with the Yankees. His strikeout rate is easily the lowest mark of his career, but he’s thrown strikes, kept the ball on the ground, and dominated righties like he did earlier in his career. The Dodgers will miss him today—Gallegos hurt his toe stumbling into a coffee table in Arizona over the weekend.
.182: Alex Verdugo’s Pinch Hitting Average: Verdugo got shunted to the bench with Pando’s arrival, meaning more of a backup role. He’s hit in spot starts, but in a limited pinch hitting sample, he’s been overwhelmed. This is the area Verdugo can produce the most value going forward, so it would behoove the veteran to become more effective at hitting off the bench.
Questions for the GMs:
For Creig McBride, your team has really fallen apart once the calendar turned to July. What’s been the biggest culprit in your estimation?
John Thacker has really struggled with his control. Any plans to replace him?
Why do you have Mike Fitzgerald batting eighth?
For Ben Vincent, unfortunate injury for Gallegos. Will he go on the IL?
How do you like the team now that Pando and Szapucki are on board?
Why has your bullpen started to pitch better despite less rest?
TRIVIA: Three Padres have hit more than 30 home runs in a season. Two of those seasons did not produce 100 RBI campaigns. Which two Padres hit more than 30 homers, but fewer than 100 RBIs in a year?
