SnakeBytes, 8/27: Kershawed edition

Recaps

[dbacks.com] Miley falls victim to Kershaw's brilliance - "Reality is he's a pretty tough dude to do too much against," said Mark Trumbo, who went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position against Kershaw. "But a big hit at some point would have been real nice. It stinks. You want to get the job done, especially against a good ballclub like this. But you got to take your medicine sometimes."

[ArizonaSports] Kershaw stymies D-backs as Dodgers sweep two-game set - Miley has averaged just 1.8 runs of support over his last four starts. He has gone 0-2 in those games. Miley has pitched to a 2.45 ERA over his last four starts, amounting to 25.2 innings pitched. Ender Inciarte recorded his 10th outfield assist of the season tonight, which ties him for the NL lead along with Puig and gives him the D-backs' franchise record for a rookie.

[AZ Central] Clayton Kershaw stymies Diamondbacks as Dodgers win - The homer brought Van Slyke's career line against Miley to 8 for 18 with five home runs. "It was a fastball in," Miley said. "It was actually a pretty good pitch. I went and looked at it and it did what I wanted it to do. I really didn't want to get a swing there. I wanted to go in off (the plate) and I did."

Team news

[LA Times] Wade LeBlanc out of Angels rotation; Could Trevor Cahill join team? - Among the potential trade targets for General Manager Jerry Dipoto are New York Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon and Houston right-hander Scott Feldman, who have reportedly cleared waivers, and Arizona right-hander Trevor Cahill. It is believed that Cahill has cleared waivers but it is unknown whether the Angels have put in a claim for him.

[AZ Central] Getting on base is an offseason priority for Diamondbacks - General Manager Kevin Towers already has something in mind. "It would be nice to have another bat that was not only an offensive player," he said, "but somebody who works the count, gets on base and can create more scoring opportunities." [What, you mean this year's quest for a home-run hitter, or the previous obsession with cutting down K's didn't do the trick? Who knew? Oh, hang on: anyone with a passing interest in sabermetrics]

[FOX Sports] D-backs' Peralta 'throws' for the cycle - Peralta, a right fielder, has "thrown" for the cycle in a 10-game stretch, gunning out base runners at all four bases. Given the time frame, that may be as rare as a offensive cycle. On that of that, Peralta has done it in order, with a countryman and a double-crosser among his victims.

[dbacks.com] Corbin likely to miss most of 2015's first half - [More on the delay likely to push our scheduled Opening Day starter well into 2015]. Corbin said he and Hernandez have had the most to commiserate about, as they're in similar stages of recovery, while Hudson and Reynolds are ahead of them. "It makes things easier, to ask those guys questions," Corbin said. "They've gone through everything we've gone through. … The biggest thing is you can talk to them about how you're arm's feeling and what to expect."

[AZ Central] Trumbo breaking out of slump in August - [Guess it's not just me who curses people by writing about them...] His on-base percentage is .390, far higher than his career best of .317 for a full season. His walk rate for August is a stellar 13 percent. Though he's never been known for his eye, Trumbo is big on improving his walk numbers. He thinks the recent boost is a result of better hitting. "They're not going to pitch around a guy that's not productive. That's usually the bottom line. The more hard contact you're able to make the more pitchers are going to shy away from you."

[FOX Sports] There's no place like home for replay review - The trouble, of course, is that they are no lane lines. A runner tagging up on a fly ball from third base is taking a completely different route than a player rounding the bag and attempting to score from second. Asked if there will be tweaks to the rule, Gibson said: "I think there probably will be... They are doing the best they can under the way the rule was written. But I think you see inconsistencies with the way it is interpreted."

And, elsewhere...

[ESPN] Ned Yost implores fans to show up to games - Royals manager Ned Yost pleaded with fans on Wednesday to show up for their remaining home games, one night after Alex Gordon's walk-off homer gave Kansas City a dramatic win over Minnesota that was seen by just 13,847 at Kauffman Stadium. "We've been working hard to try to make our fans happy and make our fans proud of us for a lot of years," Yost said, "and we'd like them to enjoy a night like that."

[SI.com] Zduriencik gets extension, but have Mariners really turned a corner? - If the season were to end today, the Mariners would occupy the second wild-card spot, qualifying them for the postseason for the first time since 2001. On the heels of four straight losing seasons, that's apparently enough to ensure the continued employment of general manager Jack Zduriencik. It's a surprising turnaround for a GM whose regime has been marked by turmoil and embarrassing gaffes to the point that he appeared on the brink of unemployment less than a year ago.

[Yahoo!] How macho baseball culture wants to ruin Yu Darvish's arm - The Texas Rangers are almost certain to shut down Yu Darvish for the season, because that's what a smart team would do, and the Rangers are no dummies... The fact that this is even an issue in 2014 - in a year that has seen pitcher after young, dynamic pitcher wake up from an anesthetic slumber with a scar on his elbow - speaks to the willful ignorance that still pervades certain factions of baseball.