Post by Commissioner Erick on Jun 21, 2018 13:42:33 GMT -5
San Francisco Giants (10-10) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (11-7)
SF: Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 0.63)
LAD: Ty Blach (0-3, 10.61)
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants meet with the two teams separated by two games early on in a competitive NL West. However, the Dodgers have dominated the matchup historically, including a comfortable Dodgers series victory over the Giants in last year’s NLDS, and a Dodgers beat down over the Giants in San Francisco in a three-game sweep last week.
The Dodgers pitching staff looked predictably dominant in AT&T last week. Dodgers starters worked 21 innings, allowing just three runs, good for a 1.29 ERA. Gio Gonzalez was the best of that bunch, going 8 innings, allowing just two hits and three walks, while fanning seven and allowing nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard. With an absurd budget and a need for a decent pitcher, Troy Allenbaugh shilled out an outrageous $46.9 million dollar contract for Gonzalez in the offseason.
A solid enough starter—Gonzalez worked over 200 innings last year with an ERA under four---Gonzalez by no means is worthy of the highest single-season salary in baseball. However, he’s looked like he’s worth every bit of that contract in the early going, allowing just one run and four hits in 14.1 innings.
The Dodgers’ offense has not gotten off to the blistering start Gonzalez has, with a few players off to sluggish starts. After a 50 home run campaign last year, Cody Bellinger his hitting just .214 with a pair of long balls, while Yasmani Grandal isn’t hitting for average and Justin turner isn’t hitting for power.
The main culprit has been a team wide lack of power as the Dodgers are only 12th in home runs thus far. Considering the raw power of a few of the struggling players, that fact can easily correct itself in the near future though. There’s also the fact that so many young players on the Dodgers are producing. Nomar Mazara is getting on base at a .400 clip as a 24-year old. Jurickson Profar is batting .328 as a 26-year-old. Rookie Willie Calhoun has four home runs in 16 games. Profar hit 5-11 with four RBIs against San Francisco, Mazara scored three runs, and 22-year old Alex Verdugo cracked two doubles and a home run against the Giants.
Unlike in seasons past, the Giants don’t have the arms to hold down the Dodgers. Madison Bumgarner and Daniel Norris being sent away created a void atop the Giants rotation. Ty Blach is attempting to fill that void in his second full season, but he’s been blasted thus far. He’s working with a 10.61 ERA and 0-3 record in four starts, giving up a whopping 34 hits in 18.2 innings. He’s given up double-digit hits twice despite not working more than 5.0 innings in a start.
San Francisco’s defense is still strong, so at least some of the .435 BABIP against Blach is on him. He’s been in the bottom 10 in strikeout rate, groundball rate, and home runs per nine. He’s also third best in walk rate so the culprit seems to be Blach throwing too many hittable pitches up in the zone. Whatever the culprit, he needs to figure this out to pitch successfully again.
Offensively, the Giants still struggle to hit home runs, but with Michael Brantley and Hunter Pence elsewhere, they don’t have the ability to make up for it in batting average anymore. Nobody is hitting over .300, and notable import Todd Frazier has struck out in nearly half his at bats. The Bs by the Bay—Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt, are each hitting .290 or better, but nobody else is supporting them.
The most disappointing thing is how Christian Arroyo is hitting only .235 to start the year. A 2018 MVP candidate, Arroyo is hitting more than .100 points worse than last year’s mark. Without Arroyo performing like an offensive savant, the Giants offense will be capped, especially after all their departures.
Questions for the GMs:
For Samuel Rutledge, you let a lot of talent leave this past offseason. When do you expect your team to challenge for 100 wins again?
Steven Duggar is hitting just .200 in the early going. Is he all the way back from his labrum issue he suffered last year?
The Dodgers have had your way and Gio Gonzalez sparkled last week. How would you like to attack him tonight?
For Troy Allenbaugh, Willie Calhoun is obviously a man without a home offensively. How has playing him gone for your team this year?
Jurickson Profar has looked terrific in the early going. What did you like about him when you decided to acquire him?
I don’t think too many people expected Alex Verdugo to have such a prominent role this season. How has he looked to you?
SF: Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 0.63)
LAD: Ty Blach (0-3, 10.61)
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants meet with the two teams separated by two games early on in a competitive NL West. However, the Dodgers have dominated the matchup historically, including a comfortable Dodgers series victory over the Giants in last year’s NLDS, and a Dodgers beat down over the Giants in San Francisco in a three-game sweep last week.
The Dodgers pitching staff looked predictably dominant in AT&T last week. Dodgers starters worked 21 innings, allowing just three runs, good for a 1.29 ERA. Gio Gonzalez was the best of that bunch, going 8 innings, allowing just two hits and three walks, while fanning seven and allowing nothing but goose eggs on the scoreboard. With an absurd budget and a need for a decent pitcher, Troy Allenbaugh shilled out an outrageous $46.9 million dollar contract for Gonzalez in the offseason.
A solid enough starter—Gonzalez worked over 200 innings last year with an ERA under four---Gonzalez by no means is worthy of the highest single-season salary in baseball. However, he’s looked like he’s worth every bit of that contract in the early going, allowing just one run and four hits in 14.1 innings.
The Dodgers’ offense has not gotten off to the blistering start Gonzalez has, with a few players off to sluggish starts. After a 50 home run campaign last year, Cody Bellinger his hitting just .214 with a pair of long balls, while Yasmani Grandal isn’t hitting for average and Justin turner isn’t hitting for power.
The main culprit has been a team wide lack of power as the Dodgers are only 12th in home runs thus far. Considering the raw power of a few of the struggling players, that fact can easily correct itself in the near future though. There’s also the fact that so many young players on the Dodgers are producing. Nomar Mazara is getting on base at a .400 clip as a 24-year old. Jurickson Profar is batting .328 as a 26-year-old. Rookie Willie Calhoun has four home runs in 16 games. Profar hit 5-11 with four RBIs against San Francisco, Mazara scored three runs, and 22-year old Alex Verdugo cracked two doubles and a home run against the Giants.
Unlike in seasons past, the Giants don’t have the arms to hold down the Dodgers. Madison Bumgarner and Daniel Norris being sent away created a void atop the Giants rotation. Ty Blach is attempting to fill that void in his second full season, but he’s been blasted thus far. He’s working with a 10.61 ERA and 0-3 record in four starts, giving up a whopping 34 hits in 18.2 innings. He’s given up double-digit hits twice despite not working more than 5.0 innings in a start.
San Francisco’s defense is still strong, so at least some of the .435 BABIP against Blach is on him. He’s been in the bottom 10 in strikeout rate, groundball rate, and home runs per nine. He’s also third best in walk rate so the culprit seems to be Blach throwing too many hittable pitches up in the zone. Whatever the culprit, he needs to figure this out to pitch successfully again.
Offensively, the Giants still struggle to hit home runs, but with Michael Brantley and Hunter Pence elsewhere, they don’t have the ability to make up for it in batting average anymore. Nobody is hitting over .300, and notable import Todd Frazier has struck out in nearly half his at bats. The Bs by the Bay—Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and Brandon Belt, are each hitting .290 or better, but nobody else is supporting them.
The most disappointing thing is how Christian Arroyo is hitting only .235 to start the year. A 2018 MVP candidate, Arroyo is hitting more than .100 points worse than last year’s mark. Without Arroyo performing like an offensive savant, the Giants offense will be capped, especially after all their departures.
Questions for the GMs:
For Samuel Rutledge, you let a lot of talent leave this past offseason. When do you expect your team to challenge for 100 wins again?
Steven Duggar is hitting just .200 in the early going. Is he all the way back from his labrum issue he suffered last year?
The Dodgers have had your way and Gio Gonzalez sparkled last week. How would you like to attack him tonight?
For Troy Allenbaugh, Willie Calhoun is obviously a man without a home offensively. How has playing him gone for your team this year?
Jurickson Profar has looked terrific in the early going. What did you like about him when you decided to acquire him?
I don’t think too many people expected Alex Verdugo to have such a prominent role this season. How has he looked to you?