Dodgers Face Another Tough Pitcher In Game Two

Dodgers Lineup Vs. Philadelphia-4-22-14

Crawford LF

Puig RF

Hanley SS

Gonzalez 1B

Kemp CF

Uribe 3B

Gordon 2B

Fedex C

Ryu P

A.J. Burnett-0-1 vs. Hyun-jin Ryu-3-1

The Dodgers will try to pick themselves off the floor, after their pathetic four-hit shutout loss to Cliff lee and the Phillies last night. This is a four game series, and now the Dodgers will have to win three in a row against Philadelphia in order to secure a series win. That seems unlikely, given how crappy they’ve played this month. We’ll still keep our hopes up regardless, even though the club looked like zombies on Monday evening.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Today the Dodgers will have to face another good pitcher, 37-year old veteran A.J. Burnett. The right hander was signed as a free agent by the Phillies this winter. He had spent the last two seasons with the Pirates, and pitched very well.

So far this season, Burnett is 0-1 with a 2.74 ERA in four starts. This season Burnett has had a huge control problem. Burnett has walked 16 batters this year, which leads the majors. However he does do a great job of keeping the ball in the park. He’s only allowed one home run this season.

Burnett was originally signed by the Mets back in 1995, so he’s been around the block more than once. Against the Dodgers, Burnett has a 4-4 record with a 3.73 ERA in 62.2 innings pitched. He’s whiffed 70, and walked 35 in those ten games.

At Dodger Stadium he is 1-4 with a 4.15 ERA in five starts. Burnett has always pitched better at home than on the road. On the road he has a 4.47 career ERA.

The current Dodgers don’t have a lot of experience facing Burnett. The guy that’s had the most at-bats against him is Carl Crawford, who is hitting .297 (19 for 64) with three doubles, and a home run. Overall the Dodgers are batting .278 (30 for 108) with two home runs against Burnett.

PA

AB

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

OPS

Carl Crawford

70

64

19

3

0

1

5

4

10

.297

.343

.391

.733

Juan Uribe

16

14

2

0

0

0

0

2

7

.143

.250

.143

.393

Adrian Gonzalez

12

10

2

1

0

0

1

2

4

.200

.333

.300

.633

Andre Ethier

8

7

3

0

0

0

0

1

0

.429

.500

.429

.929

Matt Kemp

7

5

0

0

0

0

0

2

5

.000

.286

.000

.286

Hanley Ramirez

6

5

3

0

0

1

2

1

1

.600

.667

1.200

1.867

Justin Turner

3

3

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

.333

.333

.333

.667

Total

122

108

30

4

0

2

9

12

27

.278

.352

.370

.723

Hyun-jin Ryu will counter for the Dodgers. Ryu’s last start was another beauty. He threw seven shutout frames against the Giants, in a 2-1 Dodger win. Ryu is 3-1 on the season, and has a 1.93 ERA. He’s whiffed 25 and allowed just nine walks. Even better, he has yet to allow a home run this season.

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Ryu has faced the Phillies only once last year. In that game he threw seven innings, and allowed two earned runs on seven hits. He whiffed six and walked three in that game, and picked up a no-decision.

The Phillies have hardly seen him, which should be an advantage for Ryu and the Dodgers. Although keep note that Chase Utley has hit two home runs against him.

PA

AB

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

Marlon Byrd

6

6

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

.333

.333

.500

Wil Nieves

5

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

.000

.000

.000

Jimmy Rollins

4

4

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

.250

.250

.250

Chase Utley

4

4

2

0

0

2

2

0

0

.500

.500

2.000

Domonic Brown

3

3

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

.333

.333

.333

Cliff Lee

3

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

.000

.000

.000

John Mayberry

3

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

.000

Jayson Nix

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

.000

.000

.000

Ben Revere

3

3

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

1.000

1.000

1.667

Carlos Ruiz

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

.000

.333

.000

Total

37

35

9

3

0

2

2

1

5

.257

.278

.514

Oh and today is Dee Gordon’s birthday. So happy birthday Dee, get some hits tonight. The Dodgers look to bounce back tonight in game two at 7:10 PM.

Go Blue!