Los Angeles Dodgers contributing writer at isportsweb. I've been a die hard Los Angeles sports fan s

Obviously, Dodger fans wanted a sweep. But game one seemed like the game that could slip away from their hands. The Giants have been playing incredible baseball of late and were sending their ace, Madison Bumgarner to the hill. Most Dodger fans don t really realize how great Bumgarner is. Like most of the Giants, Bumgarner was awful in July, but still went 3-3 despite a 4.95 ERA. Bumgarner turned it around and won NL pitcher of the month in August, posting a 1.57 ERA in six starts.
There s no shame in losing to a legit ace. There s not even much shame in getting shut out by a pitcher like Bumgarner. 1-0, 9-0, 9-8, they all count as one loss. The bigger loss on Friday came on the hill, when Hyun-jin Ryu was pulled after the first inning for Chris Perez .
Ryu had a nightmare first inning, giving up three singles, two doubles, a walk and a wild pitch as nine batters came to the plate, bringing home four runs in the bottom of the first. florence italy hotel reservation He looked uncomfortable and his velocity was down, and was pulled in relief of Chris Perez , who walked two but got a double play to get out of the second inning without allowing a run.
Carlos Frias , Kevin Correia and Yimi Garcia finished off the game for the Dodgers, but not before florence italy hotel reservation giving up five more runs to the Giants. This included home runs to Brandon Crawford and Travis Ishikawa , who belted a Correia pitch into McCovey Cove.
The Dodgers got a mini rally going in the fifth off Bumgarner, who allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases for Adrian Gonzalez . Key phrase- load the bases. The Dodgers are hitting .163 this season with the bases loaded. A full .34 points behind the New York Mets, who are the second worst team at hitting with the bases loaded.
Hitting with the bases loaded florence italy hotel reservation may not correlate to wins, considering that the San Diego Padres lead baseball with a .347 average with the bases loaded. Of the top 10 teams in batting average with the bases loaded, only three of them are in playoff contention- Washington Nationals (fourth), Detroit Tigers (seventh) and Baltimore Orioles (1oth). However, a first place team should probably hit above the Mendoza Line with the bases loaded. Loading the bases doesn t really happen often enough for it not to be considered a small sample size, but the optimist in me thinks the Dodgers will even their stats out and be unstoppable with the bases loaded florence italy hotel reservation down the stretch.
Without Ryu, it looks like Carlos Frias will take over the fifth starter role. Frias has one start this season, and it was surprisingly great. Frias threw six innings of shutout ball against the Nationals, scattering three hits and leaving the Dodgers with a chance to win before Kenley Jansen florence italy hotel reservation blew a save. The Dodgers eventually lost that game in 14 innings.
With the injuries, florence italy hotel reservation Ned Colletti s willingness to stand pat at the trade deadline looks like a mistake. They could have swung for the fences and grabbed David Price , who was traded for a lot less than many thought he would be. They could have shot a little lower and gone after former Astro s starter Jarred florence italy hotel reservation Cossart, who has a 1.93 ERA in seven starts since being traded to the Miami Marlins for nothing of great importance.
Colletti stood his ground, which was a move that I liked to an extent. The Dodgers clearly needed back of the rotation and bullpen help, and acquired Correia and Roberto Hernandez for PTBNL s and cash. Correia is the new mop-up guy, and Hernandez has struggled in his last couple starts. While Colletti did great to keep Corey Seager , Joc Pederson and Julio Urias , he definitely could have done better than Hernandez and Correia.
Ryu s injury pushed Dan Haren into the third spot in the rotation. Haren has been very hit and miss this year, but has been Kershawesque of late. In his last four starts, Haren has allowed two runs in 26 innings. If he can somehow keep that pace up, he can be a fine third starter and be well worth the $10 million vesting option that kicks in if he pitches 18 more innings this year.
Ryu s injury essentially guarantees that Haren will be a Dodger next year. It also makes the Dodgers postseason rotation a little less formidable. Clayton Kershaw is still Kershaw, but Zack Greinke has been pitching hurt and Haren isn t exactly dependable.
Of course, the Dodgers still have to make the playoffs. With last night s loss, they now sit a game ahead of the Giants. Should the Giants overtake the Dodgers, the Dodgers would likely find a spot in the wild-card game and have to burn Kershaw there, further impacting florence italy hotel reservation their playoff rotation.
With Greinke florence italy hotel reservation going tonight and Kershaw going tomorrow, Dodger fans should feel a little better. Dee Gordon and Carl Crawford should be back in the lineup against florence italy hotel reservation righties the next two games, florence italy hotel reservation giving the Dodgers more speed on the basepaths. Yasiel Puig had a good game at the plate, leading florence italy hotel reservation off the game with an eight-pitch walk and making solid contact. Matt Kemp , Adrian Gonzalez and the rest of the offense should fare better florence italy hotel reservation against Tim Hudson and Yusmeiro Petit .
The Dodgers are still a game up on the Giants, so stop panicking. At worst, the Dodgers will leave San Francisco just a game behind the Giants with three more head-to-head matchups between the teams. So the loss shouldn t concern you, but the loss of Ryu should.
Los Angeles florence italy hotel reservation Dodgers contributing writer at isportsweb. I've been a die hard Los Angeles sports fan since before I can remember. Huge Dodgers, Lakers, USC Football, Baltimore Ravens fan. Current Long Beach State journalism student.