Dodger Dynamic Hitting Posts 14 over Reds
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The Blue Crew can hit, there’s no doubt about that, and the best statistical offense in major league baseball earned their money last night with 18 hits en route to beating the pants off the Cincinnati Reds, 14-6.
Yes, it was old school Dodger baseball last night as they strung together several rallies throughout the game to give the Reds their seventh loss in the last eight games. Rafael Furcal led the way with four RBI finishing just a home-run shy of the cycle, and Matt Kemp homered in his second-consecutive game (his seventh of the season, all of which have come in the last 10 games) as the Dodgers won again despite giving up six runs. (more…)
Dodger Bullpen ‘Seeing Red Again’
Chad Billingsley struggled in his third outing of the season giving up seven runs in just three innings, and the Dodgers (6-7) failed to capitalize on a late rally dropping the first of the series to the Cincinnati Reds (6-8), 9-11.
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How does a baseball team still manage to stay below .500 despite having one of the most explosive offenses in the league? Pitching, or a lack thereof.
This time the Dodgers tried but couldn’t quite rebound from Billingsley’s latest meltdown. After giving up seven hits and four earned, most of which came in a six-run second inning, Los Angeles erased a six-run Reds’ lead late in the ballgame, but the struggling Dodger bullpen couldn’t come through in the clutch…again. (more…)
Ronald Belisario to the Rescue
It’s been a long and tedious off-season for relief pitcher Ronald Belisario, but the Dodgers are willing to put it all behind them if Belisario can help out their inefficient bullpen.
The Dodgers activated the Venezuelan pitcher just one day after sending veteran Russ Ortiz back to Triple-A Albuquerque. The move makes Belisario elligible to pitch in tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, and they may choose to go with him after last night’s latest bullpen meltdown when Ramon Troncoso walked two and gave up a two-run, go-ahead single to the Reds in the eighth.
As one writer so eloquently put it: “Cincinnati had the Dodgers bullpen seeing red…again.”
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Belisario could help stop the bleeding; he is coming back from a bright rookie season where he hurled an ERA of 2.04 in 70 2-3 innings and helped the Blue down the stretch when the starting rotation couldn’t get past the sixth inning.
But the pitcher does come with some baggage. He was arrested last year in California for suspicion of driving under the influence, and supposedly the ensuing court case created visa problems in his native Venezuela, which caused him to miss most of spring training. As a result, he’s been on the Dodgers restricted list prior to his activation this week.
Belisario may not be the only missing link to Los Angeles’ bullpen. The Dodgers also brought up Jon Link for his major league debut last night against the Cincinnati Reds. Link came in the sixth inning after the Reds jumped out to a 9-3 lead. The right-hander threw two scoreless innings allowing no hits and only one walk.
