LOS ANGELES DODGERS
DAILY CLIPS
SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018
MLB.COM
Dodgers recall top position prospect Verdugo
By Ken Gurnick
SAN FRANCISCO -- Between games of Saturday's doubleheader, the Dodgers recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo and optioned left-handed reliever Scott Alexander to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Verdugo, the second-ranked prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, provides coverage after Matt Kemp left Friday night's game with a tight left quad and Yasiel Puig left Saturday's 15-6 win in the twin bill opener with a sore left hip and an injury to his left ankle after fouling a pitch off it. Puig was scheduled for X-rays.
Verdugo was in the starting lineup for Game 2, while Kemp was not. Verdugo was hitting .276 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 19 games at Oklahoma City.
Alexander, acquired in an offseason trade from Kansas City, has a 6.35 ERA in 11 games and has walked nine in 11 1/3 innings. The Dodgers now have eight relievers and five bench players.
Puig hurts hip on great catch, then injures foot
By Ken Gurnick
SAN FRANCISCO -- Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was held out of the second game of Saturday's doubleheader vs. the Giants with a left ankle contusion.
Puig, who slammed into a corner running down a foul ball in the bottom of the first inning of the first game, was removed after a second-inning at-bat in which he fouled a pitch off his left ankle. He was originally removed because of a sore left hip.
"But the foot is of more concern," Roberts said after a 15-6 victory in the opener, before X-rays taken on Puig's ankle came back negative.
With the Dodgers ahead, 3-2, and Giants on first and third, Nick Hundley sliced a liner toward the foul pole. Puig sprinted to catch the ball and plowed into the wall, landing in a heap on the warning track but holding up his glove to show he held on to the ball.
Puig remained down momentarily and was attended to by an athletic trainer, but walked off the field back to the Dodgers dugout. He batted in the top of the second inning, fouling the first pitch off his foot, making an awkward swing and miss, then flying out to center field.
Roberts then removed Puig, putting first baseman Cody Bellinger in right field, moving third baseman Max Muncy to first base and bringing in Kyle Farmer to play third.
Regular left fielder Matt Kemp did not start Game 1 after leaving Friday night's game with a tight left quad. Kemp singled as a pinch-hitter in Game 1.
The Dodgers also recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned left-hander Scott Alexander to Oklahoma City.
Dodgers romp to back Buehler to victory
By Ken Gurnick
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Dodgers scored early and often in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, pulling away from the Giants for a 15-6 rout and the first MLB victory as a starter for top prospect Walker Buehler.
"It was a great day offensively," said manager Dave Roberts. "Up and down the lineup you see the at-bats, using the big part of the field and taking walks."
Buehler was added for the game as the 26th man allowed for a doubleheader. Roberts later said Buehler would be optioned back to Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga and not Triple-A Oklahoma City, meaning he'll be back in the big leagues sooner than later.
Dodgers batters gave Giants pitching a beating, scoring multiple runs in each of the first three innings. They finished with 20 hits, nine for extra bases. They took six walks and had three batters hit by pitches.
Chase Utley had three doubles and a single, Chris Taylor homered with two singles, Joc Pederson had his first four-hit game with four RBIs and Cody Bellinger had three hits and three RBIs. The first five batters in the order had multiple hits and multiple RBIs.
One area of concern for the Dodgers, however, was the exit of outfielder Yasiel Puig with left hip soreness shortly after he made a spectacular catch and plowed into a wall in the right-field corner. Puig also fouled a pitch off his left ankle and suffered a contusion; X-rays were negative.
Matt Kemp wasn't in the starting lineup after experiencing left quad tightness Friday night, so starting first baseman Cody Bellinger played the last seven innings in right field. Kemp singled as a pinch-hitter.
Giants starting pitcher Chris Stratton walked the first two batters, four in a 45-pitch first inning and retired only four of the 14 batters he faced. Buehler, making his second start for the Dodgers, had his first-inning issues, too, allowing two runs and throwing 34 pitches.
Unlike Stratton, Buehler regrouped and got through five innings to qualify for the win, not allowing a runner past first base after the initial inning. He struck out six with one walk.
"That was a big five innings for us to eat up, considering the first inning," Roberts said.
Repeating a trend from his first start against Miami, Buehler's best velocity was recorded in the first inning, when he also lacked command. His peak speed in the 34-pitch first inning, when the Giants scored twice, was 97.7 mph. Peak velocity during four scoreless innings that followed was 95.9 mph.
"You start trying to beat guys with location instead of velocity," Buehler said. "You find your release point. The first inning I was kind of all over. After that I located better. I wasn't throwing a hundred but I wasn't throwing soft. You kind of teeter that line of putting it where you want and trying to get the most out of your arm."
Buehler came to bat (striking out) in the top of the first inning before he took the field to pitch the bottom of the first inning.
"This team, when we score, we score in bunches," he said. "Makes it a little easier."
And Buehler said he noticed the intensity of rivalry from Giants fans, even in a blowout.
"We're up seven and there's a 'Beat L.A.' chant going on, you know what I mean?" he said "It's a real thing. It's fun to be a part of."
SOUND SMART
The Dodgers had season highs in runs, hits and extra-base hits. They went 12-for-27 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13. Utley raised his average 50 points from .277 to .327 and Pederson went from .229 to .283.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Despite the one-sided outcome, Puig's spectacular and painful running catch of Nick Hundley's foul drive in the corner to end the bottom of the first inning might have changed the game. The Giants had runners on the corners and it came on Buehler's 34th pitch with a 3-2 Dodgers lead.
HE SAID IT
"Like Pablo, like the arm stroke. Good secondary. Sometimes it's amazing how certain people can make the game look so easy. It was a big inning for them. They needed him. It's a crazy game. I was thinking [Austin] Slater, but Pablo was the right choice. Touching 88." -- Roberts, on Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval's relief outing
UP NEXT
In the second game of the doubleheader, Alex Wood seeks his first victory of the season, even though he has held opponents to a .204 batting average and has a 0.83 WHIP, fifth lowest in the league.
Dodgers thwarted in quest for twin-bill sweep
By Ken Gurnick
SAN FRANCISCO -- A doubleheader split against the Giants on Saturday pretty much summed up the Dodgers' season so far.
The satisfaction of a 15-6 win in the day game was tempered by an 8-3 loss in the nightcap, as mounting injuries and continued bullpen struggles kept the Dodgers from gaining traction -- as well as any ground in the National League West-- sliding a season-worst seven games behind first-place Arizona.
"It's a tough month for us," said manager Dave Roberts, whose club is 12-14 and in fourth place. "The solace is, no one's making excuses. It's just not happening right now. It's a Murphy's Law thing this month. This is just a bad stretch. I know with the talent we have, the wins will be there. It's more magnified right now and it's not pretty."
Roberts said he's hoping to get Matt Kemp back in the lineup Sunday. Kemp was limited to pinch-hitting Saturday after leaving Friday night's game with a tight quad. Fellow corner outfielder Yasiel Puig played only two of the 18 innings Saturday after suffering bruises of the left hip and ankle, the first running into the wall in the outfield corner, the other fouling off a pitch. X-rays on the ankle were negative, but he will be unavailable Sunday, Roberts said.
Enrique Hernandez was unavailable for both games Saturday because of flu-like symptoms, so his status for Sunday is unknown.
Considering the continued struggles of the bullpen, the Dodgers were fortunate to get the split. Dodgers relievers allowed four runs in each game and have been abused for 18 earned runs in their last 19 1/3 innings. In the second game, newcomer Daniel Hudson was the victim of four earned runs.
"These are our guys," said Roberts. "They're going to keep getting opportunities for them to throw up zeros. We need it. To play games close and lose them late, it's tough. They're in a little bit of a slump right now. You weigh matchups and usage and try to give the guys the best chance of success. The plan is in place and we've just got to execute better."
The second game opened with a Chris Taylor double and a Corey Seager homer off Johnny Cueto, who came into the game with a 0.35 ERA. Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Alex Wood kept his pitch count down while being supported by solid defensive plays from third baseman Kyle Farmer, left fielder Joc Pederson, shortstop Seager and a diving catch from second baseman Chase Utley.
But the Giants took the lead in the fifth inning. They loaded the bases with one-out singles by Brandon Belt, Kelby Tomlinson and Brandon Crawford, then cleared the bases on Austin Jackson's three-run double that Pederson bobbled trying to pick it up on the run. The momentary misplay allowed Crawford to score the go-ahead run ahead of Seager's relay home.
"Wish I had that changeup back to Austin," said Wood, an All-Star last year but still winless (0-3) this year.
Meanwhile, Cueto didn't allow a hit after the 29-pitch first inning, but was removed after six innings and 98 pitches. He did open the fifth inning with back-to-back walks to between-games callup Alex Verdugo and Farmer. Wood bunted the runners over on a disputed play when he was tagged out while still in the batter's box, but Taylor struck out and Seager lined out.
The Dodgers had 20 hits in the first game but only five in the second. Verdugo was the only Dodger with multiple hits.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
The Dodgers had bases loaded with no outs in the seventh inning, trailing, 4-2, when pinch-hitter Austin Barnes bounced into a double play, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Then Chris Taylor took a called third strike from Sam Dyson to end the inning.
"We had some situational opportunities we didn't cash in and those guys did," said Roberts.
SOUND SMART
The Dodgers haven't swept a doubleheader from the Giants since July 26, 1988, at Candlestick Park.
HE SAID IT
"Johnny did a good job shutting us down after those two runs early. Tip your cap to him after getting off to a slow start." -- Wood on Cueto
UP NEXT
Kenta Maeda takes on Ty Blach in Sunday's 1:15 p.m. PT series finale, which also is the final game of 10 between the two teams in the first four weeks of the season. The next time they meet will be June 15-17 in Los Angeles. The Dodgers won't visit San Francisco again until the last three games of the regular season Sept. 28-30.
LA TIMES
Dodgers reliever Tony Cingrani dealing with 'dead arm'
By Andy McCullough
The Dodgers held left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani out of Saturday's doubleheader against the Giants as Cingrani recovered from a case of fatigue in his left arm.
The condition, which manager Dave Roberts described as "dead arm," affected Cingrani during a miserable performance in Friday's bizarre defeat at AT&T Park. Pedro Baez stole the spotlight by falling off the mound to balk in a run, but Cingrani was charged with four runs during a seventh-inning collapse. His fastball velocity slipped several miles per hour below its average and he looked uncomfortable on the mound in the eyes of Roberts and the training staff.
Cingrani stayed on the mound and gave up a game-tying double after a visit by Roberts and trainer Nate Lucero. His fastball averages 93.4 mph, but his final pitch clocked at 91.4 mph. It was not until after the game that Cingrani admitted to the team he felt fatigue.
"For it to take a dip was a little disconcerting, obviously," Roberts said. "But the player is saying he feels fine. And you know that just something is not adding up."
Roberts said he met with Cingrani on Saturday morning and stressed the need for the pitcher to be honest when discussing his health.
Asked whether he had time to talk before the first game, Cingrani replied, "I do not," and walked away.
Cingrani dealt with a strained left shoulder in 2014 and 2015. He missed time in 2017 with a strained oblique muscle.
Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig leaves game after crashing into outfield wall, fouling pitch off foot
By Andy McCullough
In the first inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig smashed into a wall in the right-field corner while making a catch. At the plate an inning later, he fouled a pitch off his left foot and hobbled out of the box later in the at-bat.
The combination was enough to take him out of the game. Puig was removed before the bottom of the second inning with what the Dodgers called 'eft hip soreness.
The Dodgers are already facing a series of injuries to position players. Both Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe are on the disabled list. Matt Kemp sat out Saturday's opener with tightness in his quadriceps. Corey Seager is dealing with a hip issue. Yasmani Grandal was struck on the hand by a foul ball on Friday.
Puig made a crucial catch in Saturday's first inning, ranging into foul territory to secure the final out for rookie pitcher Walker Buehler. But his left shoulder crashed into the wall and he hit the deck. Manager Dave Roberts ran onto the field to check on his player and the duo walked back to the dugout together.
Puig made the final out in the bottom of the second. On the first pitch of the at-bat, he redirected a 95.8-mph sinker from Giants reliever Roberto Gomez onto his foot. He limped through the rest of the at-bat before leaving the game.
Puig has performed below expectations this season. He suffered some poor luck in the early days of April, and has remained in a sizable slump. He is hitting .193 with a .500 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Dodgers call up top outfield prospect Alex Verdugo
By Andy McCullough
The Dodgers called up Alex Verdugo, the most coveted position player in their farm system, before Saturday's nightcap as veteran outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig dealt with injuries. Verdugo started in right field against the Giants.
Kemp experienced tightness in his quadriceps on Friday. Puig fouled a ball off his left foot in Saturday's day game and is scheduled for an X-ray.
To make room on the roster, the Dodgers optioned struggling reliever Scott Alexander to triple-A Oklahoma City. He departed with a 6.35 earned-run average.
Verdugo, 22, was hitting .276 with a .782 on-base plus slugging percentage for Oklahoma City.
Dodgers unleash the hits in doubleheader against Giants but manage to only come up with a split
By Andy McCullough
Yasiel Puig limped across the visitor's clubhouse at AT&T Park and slumped into a chair. A protective wrap covered his left foot. The Dodgers were a few minutes removed from a 15-6 victory over the Giants in the first game of a doubleheader and a few hours away from an 8-3 defeat in the nightcap. In between, Puig awaited a date with an X-ray machine.
As Puig started to eat lunch, a member of the training staff stopped by. The appointment would not take long, the trainer said. They could walk to the machine and come back. Puig looked puzzled.