Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak Selections — April 21
By Jason Reed
The Washington Nationals jumped on Clayton Kershaw while Max Scherzer pitched a gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers‘ four-game winning streak ended on Friday as Max Scherzer ultimately got the best of his pitching duel with Clayton Kershaw. Although the Dodgers threatened late to make a comeback against the bullpen, the Nationals ultimately walked away with a 5-2 win.
This game also presented the first significant challenge to our Dodgers Beat the Streak series. Since the second week of the season, we have been selecting specific Dodger players every game that we think will get a hit.
One of the streaks was perfect heading into this game, one was looking to extend to four games. And, well, Max Scherzer definitely had an effect on both.
Friday’s picks:
Coming up against Max Scherzer and the Nationals was no easy task for the Dodgers and was no easy task for us to select which Dodger would get a hit.
Not knowing what to expect, I went with the best natural hitter on the Dodgers in Corey Seager. This selection defied my logic of not picking someone off of a hot game, but I did it anyway. If anyone was going to get a hit on Scherzer, it was going to be Seager.
After getting plunked in his first two at-bats Seager struck out twice and popped up; ending my streak at eight games.
Sarah had much better fortune as her pick, Chris Taylor, laced a leadoff triple to start the game and ultimately extend her streak. Taylor also followed that up with a double, probably to rub it in my face just a tad more.
Sarah’s pick (Current streak: Four): Corey Seager
WHY:
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My pick for tonight is Corey Seager. Last night he went 0-3 and I guess you could say he’s in a slump, but Seager never stays in a slump for long.
This is a player that has some pretty big expectations on him, and when he doesn’t produce there may be cause for worry. But then again, if you can’t find a reason to worry about a team at any given time, there’s probably something wrong.
Seager is bound to burst out of this slump, and I think it could happen tonight. This evening, the Dodgers will face a pitcher often referred to as the Nats’ second ace, Stephen Strasburg, who is 2-1 with a 3.08 ERA this season.
There’s no doubt that the Nationals are a very strong team, and though they haven’t looked like it too much lately, the Dodgers are too.
Jason’s pick (Current streak: Zero): Corey Seager
WHY:
For the first time in this series, Sarah and I will be matching selections and going with Corey Seager. Sarah, if you are reading this, I promise I did not steal your thunder. Seager was going to be my pick all along.
My logic thus far (which I went away from for some reason yesterday) has been that if a player went 0-for the game before then they were statistically due for at least one hit the following contest. I am going to bring back that logic, selecting Corey Seager in the process.
Seager went 0-3 on the night and is going to need to give the Dodgers a spark early against Stephen Strasburg. Not scoring any runs in the first inning of Friday’s contest, despite starting with runners on the corners, was a huge blow to the Dodgers. I have a feeling that the team will change that fortune against Strasburg.
Next: Is a closer by committee needed for Kenley Jansen?
C’mon Seager. You may have ended my eight-game hitting streak but I am relying on you now to help start my new path towards 57.