Dodgers Preview: LA Looks to Bounce Back in Game three
After starting the season 0-2, the Dodgers look to bounce back tonight vs. Joe Panik and the Giants.
Time: 6:10PM Pacific
Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Pitching: Kenta Maeda (0,0 0.00) vs. Derek Holland (0,0 0.00)
How to watch: Spectrum SNLA, NBC Sports Bay Area, MLB.tv (if you’re outside of Los Angeles or San Francisco)
Series results: 1-0, Giants (WP: Ty Blach (1-0), LP Clayton Kershaw (0-1)); 1-0, Giants (W: Tony Watson (1-0), L: Kenley Jansen (0-1), S: Strickland (2)).
LINEUPS:
LA Dodgers: SF Giants:
Taylor – CF Panik – 2B
Hernandez – SS Belt – 1B
Puig – RF McCutchen – RF
Kemp – LF Posey – C
Bellinger – 1B Longoria – 3B
Forsythe – 2B Crawford – SS
Barnes – C Pence – LF
Farmer – 3B Blanco – CF
Maeda – P Holland – P
Well, the Dodgers are 0-2. Though this is hardly the time worry, it’s not the most pleasant thing, either. The Dodgers are perfectly capable of beating the Giants, yet they haven’t been able to.
Why?
Two words; run support. The Dodgers haven’t exactly faced an uphill battle this season, not yet. They’ve been shut out in both games simply because, even when they did get on base, they couldn’t find a way to come around and score.
Giants pitching, however, has been better than I thought. Last night, Johnny Cueto brought a no-hitter into the 7th, and former Dodger, Tony Watson, continued to put up zero’s against LA.
Tonight, the Dodgers look to get their first W of the season against a new addition to the Giants, Derek Holland. Los Angeles will counter with Kenta Maeda on the hill, the question is, which Maeda will we see?
Kenta Maeda shined on the mound in the postseason, and the Dodgers are hoping he can translate what he learned from being a reliever, back to being a starter.
Safe to say, the experiment worked. The Dodgers decided to use Kenta Maeda out of the bullpen during the postseason, mostly in long relief. Last fall, Maeda maintained a 0.84 ERA over the course of 10.2 innings, only allowing a single run.
His regular season stats, however, are not as comforting. Over the course of 134.1 innings in 2017, he allowed 22 homers and entered October with a 4.22 ERA. Had the Dodgers re-signed Yu Darvish, or traded for another starter, chances are Maeda would still be in the bullpen.
So, which Maeda will we get tonight?
His 2018 spring stats seem to lean towards “Postseason Maeda.” Over the past month, he’s pitched 17.1 innings, given up 5 runs, and boasted a 2.60 ERA.
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Though Maeda isn’t an ace, I’m still confident in his ability to help the Dodgers to their first win of the season tonight.
For starters, Maeda had a 40.1 fly ball percentage in 2017, which could work in his favor tonight, given the cold, thick air in Los Angeles.
Like Alex Wood, who pitched a gem last night, Maeda has a solid ground ball rate, which could bring about numerous double plays.
His regular season stats from 2017 may not be great, but after looking a little deeper, it’s easy to feel confident.
The Dodgers know what’s at stake. They know that starting the season 0-3, and losing the first series of the season isn’t a good start. However, they also know that it’s April, and these games mean virtually nothing when September rolls around.
When Kenley Jansen was asked about the lower velocity of his cutter last night, he responded with “Who cares?”
Next: The Dodgers' biggest weakness has carried over
Jansen, though honest to the core, is right. Should the Dodgers make it to the World Series again, and are asked about how they started the season, “who cares?” should just about sum it up.