Second half starts with a visit from the Dodgers
After one of the better All-Star Games in recent memory, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the rest of the Majors are back at it tonight. The D-Backs, owners of a scant 1-game lead in the National League West, host the team they lead by that 1 game, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Diamondbacks started shuffling their deck yesterday, looking for an offensive spark. They acquired slugger Tony Clark from the San Diego Padres for minor league reliever Evan Scribner. Clark wasn’t getting much playing time in San Diego with All-Star Adrian Gonzalez entrenched there, so his numbers aren’t memorable by any stretch. But he still has some pop left in his bat, and can serve as a late-inning defensive replacement at first base. This pretty much means we’ll be seeing a lot of Conor Jackson in left, with Clark backing up the red-hot Chad Tracy at first. Scribner, a right-handed reliever, was 2-4 with a 1.64 ERA and 9 saves in 28 games in South Bend and Visalia this season.
Los Angeles Dodgers(46-49, 2nd place in NL West, 1 game behind Arizona)Manager: Joe Torre (1st year with Dodgers, 46-49)
Offensive Leaders:
AVG: Russell Martin, .294
Runs: Russell Martin, 49
Hits: James Loney, 102
HR: Andre Ethier, 11
RBI: Matt Kemp, 51
SB: Juan Pierre, 35Pitching Leaders:
INN: Derek Lowe, 124
Wins: Chad Billingsley, 9
ERA: Chad Billingsley, 3.25
Strikeouts: Chad Billingsley, 128
Saves: Takashi Saito, 17Bottom Line: The Dodgers are much like the Diamondbacks offensively, relying on young, developing players like Andre Ethier (the former Sun Devil), James Loney and Matt Kemp. And while they’ve all been decent this season, none of them has put up huge offensive numbers. Injuries have played a huge part in the Dodgers’ struggles as well. Shortstop Rafael Furcal was outstanding before getting hurt, with a .366 batting average and a .448 on-base percentage. He had surgery on his lower back, but should return before the end of the season. If the Dodgers can stay in the hunt, Furcal’s return could be a huge factor in whether or not L.A. makes the playoffs. Andruw Jones has been a mystery. Jones, who struggled last year with Atlanta, still got a 2 year deal worth over $36 million from the Dodgers in the offseason, and let’s just say it hasn’t worked out. Jones, who came into the season overweight, is hitting far lower than his weight–.164 with only 2 homers and 10 rbis in 165 at-bats. He has struck out 59 times, including 5 times in a loss to the Marlins last Saturday, while only registering 27 hits. Many publications and websites named Jones the first half’s Least Valuable Player, and it’s hard to argue.
Injuries have affected the pitching staff as well. Ace Brad Penny is on the DL, as is closer Takashi Saito, who is out for at least 6 weeks. Jonathan Broxton will take over as the Dodgers’ closer. Jason Schmidt, who signed a huge 3-year, $47 million free agent deal with the Dodgers 2 years ago, hasn’t pitched this season, and has been on the mound for only 25 innings in Dodger blue. Chad Billingsley has been outstanding for the Dodgers this year, and Japanese righty Hiroki Kuroda pitched a 1-hit complete game shutout vs. the Braves earlier this month. Despite the injuries, the Dodgers lead the National League with a team ERA of 3.64.
Los Angeles’ Pitchers vs. Arizona
Tonight: Hiroki Kuroda (2008: 5-6, 3.43 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 0-1, 3.18 ERA)
Saturday: Chad Billingsley (2008: 9-8, 3.25 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 4-3, 3.80 ERA)
Sunday: Derek Lowe (2008: 7-8, 3.85 ERA; career vs. Diamondbacks: 4-6, 4.26 ERA)
Arizona Diamondbacks (47-48, 1st place in NL West, 1 game ahead of Los Angeles)Manager: Bob Melvin (4th year with Diamondbacks, 290-290)
Offensive Leaders:
AVG: Orlando Hudson, .302
Runs: Mark Reynolds, 60
Hits: Orlando Hudson, 99
HR: Mark Reynolds, 19
RBI: Mark Reynolds, 58
SB: Conor Jackson, 6Pitching Leaders:
INN: Brandon Webb, 131
Wins: Brandon Webb, 13
ERA: Dan Haren, 2.72
Strikeouts: Dan Haren & Brandon Webb, 112
Saves: Brandon Lyon 19Bottom Line: Things get a little more log-jammed at the corner infield positions with the acquistion of Tony Clark, so Bob Melvin will have to juggle three players to squeeze the most out of them. Chad Tracy has been on fire as of late, hitting .476 with a homer and 7 rbis in his last 4 games. It will be hard to keep him out of the lineup at either first base or third base. Justin Upton could return this weekend from a rib cage strain that kept him out the last 5 games before the break.
Diamondbacks’ fans will be interested in seeing how Brandon Webb looks after being forced into action during Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Granted, Webb only threw 13 pitches in the 14th inning, but he wasn’t planning on pitching, and we know how pitchers are creatures of habit.
The Diamondbacks are 4-1 against the Dodgers this year, sweeping them in a 3-game series in early April and splitting a mini two game set in Los Angeles in late April.Arizona’s pitchers vs. Los Angeles:
Tonight: Doug Davis (2008: 3-4, 3.80 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 4-2, 1.33 ERA)
Saturday: Dan Haren (2008: 8-5, 2.72 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sunday: Brandon Webb (2008: 13-4, 3.23 ERA; career vs. Dodgers: 7-6, 2.83 ERA)
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Posted by Vince Marotta
Vince has been part of the Phoenix Sports scene in a few different capacities. First as a fan, Vince has been yelling at his tv during Suns and ASU games since the late 1970's. Vince also saw the media side of things as a radio talk show host from 1996 to 2002, and then again in 2007.
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