Kershaw….Please…..HELP!!!!!

Dodgers Lineup vs. Arizona

Wade Miley-2-1 vs. Clayton Kershaw-3-2

 (Herrera gets his first start in left field as Crawford rests, for whatever reason. Oh wait that’s right, lefty on the mound herp derp. Ixnay that last herp derp. I found out Crawford’s tight hamstring has been acting up, and Mattingly wanted to give him an extra day of rest before their scheduled day off tomorrow.

Arizona, will be without their closer J.J. Putz, who injured his elbow during last night’s game. I had orginally thought it was his hand.)

The last place Dodgers have begun their long and painful journey into hell. After last night’s pathetic 5-3 loss to the Dbacks, the Dodgers have sunk into last place with a 13-19 record. They’ve lost six in a row for the second time this season. Clayton Kershaw may be our last and only hope.

The Dodgers currently have nine players on the disabled list. However two are due to come off that list soon. Zack Greinke is due to go on a minor league rehab assignment probably sometime next week, as is lefty reliever Scott Elbert. Both pitchers are trying come back early from their respective injuries. Elbert had off-season surgery on his elbow, which ended up being a second procedure to clean-up scar tissue from the first surgery. Elbert has yet to pitch at all this season, and would be a huge boost to a terribly ineffective relief corps.

Please help us Kersh!

Nothing has gone right for the Dodgers this season and things continue to get worse. This year reminds me a lot of the 2011 season which saw the Dodgers languish in last place for the entire summer. This year is a lot worse however. I mean it is one thing to lose with a 90 million dollar payroll, and lose with guys like James Loney, Tony Gwynn Jr, and Juan Rivera on the roster. But when you lose with a 200 million dollar payroll and with guys like Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier, on the roster, then that’s a whole different story.

It’s no surprise to me the Dodgers are in last place, and I fully expect them to stay there, and possibly challenge the Astros, and Marlins for the worst record in baseball. The Dodgers don’t do anything well, and fail at every aspect of the game.

Obviously Don Mattingly being out maneuvered in every game is one problem, but the Dodger’s problems are many. They rank at the bottom of the league in every aspect of the game. Bullpen, Bench, defense, base running, hitting with runners in scoring position, and the backend of the rotation is a mess. They have no fundamentals of the game in any way. Which makes me scratch my head in confusion. How does a Baseball team managed by Don Mattingly have no fundamentals at all? I can’t answer that.

The only thing the Dodgers do well is get guys on base, which they are able to do at a very impressive clip. Otherwise, that’s all they do well. That alone is not enough to win games.

The Dodgers are now 5-15 against the NL West, and have lost 14 of their last 17 to the Dbacks. Not only can the Dodgers not beat any team from their own division, the can’t beat them at home. After last night’s loss they fell to 2-9 at home against the NL West. Last night Dodger pitching allowed the Arizona lead-off batters to reach base in eight of the nine frames.

I’m sorry I’m not all rah rah rah Dodgers right now, but they suck. What are we supposed to do praise them for being in last place? I don’t think so. If this kind of play goes on any further, then I will be actively calling for people to be fired. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but this team is so bad right now, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they become the worst team in the National League. They are well on their way to that pathetic record. Honestly I didn’t expect the Dodgers to win the division this year, but I don’t think anyone expected them to be this bad. Alas they are though.

If anyone can snap them out of this slump it’s their ace Clayton Kershaw, who takes the mound tonight as the Dodgers try desperately not to be swept by the Snakes.

Arizona will send lefty Wade Miley to the mound to counter Kershaw. Miley had a great season last year. He finished with a 16-11 record, and placed second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. His ERA was 3.33 last season and he had a strikeout to walk ratio of nearly 4:1. This season he is 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA He has gotten off to another solid start whiffing 30 and walking only 17.

In his career against the Dodgers Miley is 2-1 with a 3.41 ERA, and 19 whiffs against only 6 walks. Miley has a career 2-0 record at Dodger Stadium, with a 2.11 ERA. Miley has pitched well against the Dodgers at the Ravine, whiffing 15 and walking only 4. The 26 year old left hander has only allowed five runs at Dodger Stadium in his career. He had a rough outing last time against San Diego. In that start he only lasted five frames, and allowed four runs on nine hits. He has held the Dodgers to a .288 (15 for 52) average against, and an .866 OPS. The Dodgers have hit three home runs off of Miley. Two from Matt Kemp, and one from Elian Herrera.

Clayton Kershaw has dominated the Snakes in the past, and the Dodgers are going to need him to be on his A-game tonight if they want to actually win a game against Arizona. Kershaw threw seven one-run innings last outing in San Francisco. The Dodgers still lost the game because they couldn’t give him any run support. As a matter of fact, Kershaw has received one of the lowest run supports in the game this season.

Despite that, Kershaw has gotten off to a typical Kershaw start to the 2013 season. He is 3-2 with a 1.66 ERA, and 52 whiffs against only 15 walks. Kershaw has only allowed nine runs all season, and remains the lone pearl on a Dodger roster filled with clams.

Kershaw is 7-6 against Arizona, but with a 2.36 ERA. Kershaw has whiffed 107 Snakes in 91 innings, and walked 34. Kershaw has held the Dbacks to a miniscule .181 batting average, and has not allowed a home run to any of these current Dbacks.  The Snakes have just a .505 OPS against Kershaw.  Only Gerardo Parra has an average above .200 against Kershaw. Parra is batting .308 ( 4 for 13) against Kershaw.

Wade Miley will be tryig to secure a sweep for the Snakes-Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Last night it was Paul Goldschmidt again, who is quickly becoming an annoying thorn in the Dodger’s side. It was his two-run home run last night off of the ineffective Brandon league in the top of the ninth inning that broke a 3-3 tie, and won the game for the Snakes. Goldschmidt is batting .330 in his career against the Dodgers, and .380 at Dodger Stadium.

Tonight’s game will be televised on KCAL, and game time will start at 7:10 PM. I am returning to the press box tonight, so I’ll bring you some more information on the injury updates, and potential roster moves. Stacie will be covering the game tonight, so look out for her postgame recap later on.

Tomorrow the Dodgers are off, and then the Marlins come into Dodger Stadium for a three game series. We will find out if the Dodgers truly are the worst team in baseball. If they can’t beat the Marlins, then they really are the worst team in the National League. At this point I have little confidence the Dodgers can beat anyone, even the Marlins. Can the Dodgers prove they can play competitive Baseball? Check in with us later tonight to find out. Go Blue.