Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Streak selections — May 4
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers head down to Mexico to square off with the San Diego Padres and our Beat the Streak looks to continue.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off of two promising wins over the Arizona Diamondbacks that hopefully will give the team some momentum.
While there is still a long way to go, the pitching was great in those two games and Kenley Jansen looked dominant. All the Dodgers need is the bats to wake up, which will happen when Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig return and the team could get scarily hot.
We here at LA Sports Hub definitely need that to happen so our Beat the Streak selections can take off. On Thursday, those watching the game on Facebook Live saw one of our streaks continue.
Thursday’s picks:
On Thursday, Sarah and I went with the catching duo of Austin Barnes and Yasmani Grandal. With a southpaw on the mound and Grandal’s hot bat, it was safe to assume that Grandal would get the starting catcher nod while Barnes would play second base.
That was not the case, as Barnes served as the starting catcher while Grandal was limited to one pinch-hit at-bat. Grandal failed to get a hit in that at-bat, ruining my streak in the process.
However, Austin Barnes came away with a big hit, his only hit of the game. Barnes homered in the top of the second to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead; which applied enough pressure later in the game for the Diamondbacks’ bullpen to crumble and allow four runs in the eighth inning.
Friday’s picks:
More from LA Sports Hub
- Lakers: 5 Players to Target Through Trades to make another championship run
- LA Chargers: Week 8 against Denver Broncos is a must-win
- LA Rams: Jared Goff wants to keep the Los Angeles title streak going
- Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Clippers interested in Rajon Rondo
- LA Chargers: Justin Herbert wins AFC Rookie of the Month
- Sarah’s pick (Current streak: One): Yasmani Grandal
My pick for tonight is Yasmani Grandal. I’ve been picking him a lot lately simply because he’s been hitting. Grandal has been exactly what this team needs, something I doubt any of us saw coming. His power behind the plate and his ability to hit from both sides of it is going to be so valuable for the team going forward.
Oddly enough, I still think Grandal could be a trade candidate, because if the Dodgers DL grows even more, there may be no other option.
At the same time, I think that Grandal has greatly improved this season, and has helped this team that if, and it’s a big if, he gets traded, the Dodgers return is going to have to be pretty big. Grandal played stellar baseball the last time the Dodgers played his former team, and I expect tonight to be no different.
Jason’s pick (Current streak: Zero): Tim Locastro
I already know what you are thinking.
“What???”
Tim Locastro is about as unorthodox as a pick that we have had in this series. Typically, we cycle between the nine best hitters on the Dodgers, depending on how that particular person is swinging the bat and the matchup that is in play.
Tim Locastro is a recent minor league call-up who is better known for his speed on the basepaths; he nearly got a playoff roster spot because of it.
With a southpaw on the mound tonight for the Padres, it is likely that the right-handed hitting Locastro will get the starting nod in center field over Joc Pederson; who is pretty bad against left-handers.
After going 0-3 in his first appearance on the season, Locastro is in prime position to pick up his first ever big league hit. The opposing pitcher, Joey Lucchesi, is good, but not overpowering. I see Locastro shooting a hard-hit grounder down the right-field line for a triple.
Next: Manny Machado is not the answer
Is it bold? Yeah. Is it going to happen? Absolutely! (I hope).