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Yesterday’s game was extraordinary.
The D-backs fought hard. The D-backs won. The Dodgers have the highest winning percentage in baseball (.675) with a solid 12-game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers lost.
There were two keys to the game. First, excellent situational hitting - the D-backs had twice as many 2-out RBIs (6 vs 3). Second, player performances were noteworthy.
- Zack Greinke did “an exceptional job managing at-bats by throwing the right pitches in the right locations.” That’s not all! His homer gave the D-backs the lead.
- Ketel Marte, although clearly running carefully to protect his healing leg muscle, achieved his eighth consecutive multi-hit game, scoring twice.
- With 2 base-runners, Christian Walker hit his third career home runs against Kershaw, which tied him for for second-most by a player vs. Kershaw in his career.
- Greg Holland earned his 200th save.
This week, Torey Lovullo talked with his players about, “…staying strong, staying in the moment, and walking through some difficult circumstances…” Well said!
Today’s game.
Robbie Ray faces Ross Stripling.
- How many Dodgers will Ray strikeout? Robbie Ray ranks second in the NL for most strikeouts per 9 innings (11.7). The Dodgers have the lowest strikeouts per PA (.202) in the NL. If Ray strikes out at least 8 Dodgers, he won the strikeout battle! From April 2016 through today, Ray has struck out 8 or more Dodgers 9 out of 13 games. On September 4th of 2017, he struck out 14 Dodgers.
- Ross Stripling moved to the bullpen after his 4.2 inning start on April 25. After that, he has not pitched more than 2 innings. It is uncertain whether he will attempt to complete more than 2 innings - so this game looks like a bullpen game for the Dodgers.
Will the D-backs extend their winning streak to 3 games?
Line-ups for June 25
| DODGERS | DIAMONDBACKS |
|---|---|
| DODGERS | DIAMONDBACKS |
| Kike Hernandez - CF | Adam Jones - RF |
| Justin Turner - 3B | Ketel Marte - 2B |
| Alex Verdugo - RF | Eduardo Escobar - 3B |
| Chris Taylor - SS | David Peralta - LF |
| Will Smith - C | Christian Walker - 1B |
| Kyle Garlick - LF | Jarrod Dyson - CF |
| Matt Beaty - 1B | Nick Ahmed - SS |
| Alex Barnes - 2B | Carson Kelly - C |
| Ross Stripling - SP | Robbie Ray - SP |
Breaking news on possible addition to D-back rotation.
I am expecting Pitcher Alex Young to be called up from Reno by the Diamondbacks.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 25, 2019
- In June, he improved his ERA to 4.24 in 17 innings in AAA Reno.
- Wesley Baier of the AZ Snake Pit reported that on 23 June, “Alex Young pitched 2.0 scoreless innings, allowed just two hits while picking a runner off at first, and struck out two.”
- He is not on the 40-man roster.