Editorials

Dodgers vs D-Backs Pre-Game: Whatever Works to Win

Matt Treanor. Justin Sellers. Scott Van Slyke.

The average MLB fan couldn’t name them. The average Dodger fan couldn’t pick them out of a lineup.



At the end of the day though, who cares?

As the Dodgers continue their miraculous stretch of winning games with a lineup that resembles a mish-mash of leftovers, cast-offs and career minor leaguers, the team will turn to none other than Aaron Harang on Tuesday.

The Harangatang, who brought his ERA under four for the first time all year with seven shutout innings in his last start, has an ERA of just 1.29 this month. Even more reassuring, however, is the fact that he has allowed just two walks in his past two outings.

Opposing the Dodgers will be Trevor Cahill, a player whose performance is headed in the opposite direction of Harang’s. After allowing two earned runs in his first two starts, Cahill has allowed four runs or more in four of his six starts since.

Los Angeles Dodgers (29-13) at Arizona Diamondbacks (19-24)
6:40 PM PST, May 22, 2012
Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
TV: KCAL
Radio: 570 AM (English), 1020 AM (Spanish)
Game-Time Weather: 102 degrees, Sunny

Diamondbacks Projected Starters:
P: Trevor Cahill

C: Miguel Montero
1B: Paul Goldschmidt
2B: Aaron Hill
SS: Willie Bloomquist
3B: Josh Bell
LF: Jason Kubel
CF: Chris Young
RF: Justin Upton

Key Bench Players: OF Gerardo Parra, IF Ryan Roberts.

For more information on the Diamondbacks check out our pre-series report.

Dodgers Last 10: (8-2): W @ AZ, W vs STL, W vs STL, W vs STL, W @ SD, L @ SD, L vs ARI, W vs ARI, W vs COL, W vs COL.
Diamondbacks Last 10:
 (4-6): L vs LA, W @ KC, L @ KC, W @ KC, W @ COL, L @ COL, W @ LA, L @ LA, L vs SF, L vs SF.

Fun Facts:

  • As a team, the Dodgers are hitting just .164 career against Cahill. On the flip side, the Diamondbacks are hitting .306 against Harang led by Chris Young, who has three home runs in just 17 at bats.
  • James Loney continued his hot streak with a pinch hit home run last night, now having reached base in eight of his last 14 at bats with five RBIs and three extra base hits
  • The Dodgers are 10-4 on the season in game two of a series

Keys to a Dodger Victory:

– Keep it rolling
Two days ago you couldn’t name half the players on the current roster, but despite their anonymity, they keep producing runs. Any team that makes a serious run in the regular season needs to survive injuries and pick up wins where they’re there for the taking.

 Harangatang
As the least impressive pitcher on the Dodger staff, Harang has been outstanding thus far – going deep into games and keeping the Dodgers within striking distance. As with every game nowadays, the pitcher for the Dodgers needs to step up big in order for the game to stay close.

Best-Case Prediction: Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 1
Worst-Case:
 Diamondbacks 8, Dodgers 2

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

One Comment

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