The Games Go On: Dodgers Go For Sweep of Braves

It was hard for me to enjoy the stellar Clayton Kershaw start on Tuesday night when I was delirious with a fever and mourning the loss of our beloved Juan Uribe at the same time. Perhaps I get too emotionally involved with these baseball players, but it’s also part of the enjoyment of being a fan in my opinion. Sure, it’s a business. I understand that. Andrew Friedman is a shrewd business man who is all about the bottom line and the goal of creating the most versatile and successful team in the long-term, but sometimes you have to make considerations that are not necessarily on a statistical graph.

Zack Greinke (5-1) vs. Alex Wood (2-2, 3.83)

Juan Uribe, a once hated Giant, had perhaps the greatest player arc in the history of the Dodgers. I admit that I was wrong. I too cursed Uribe when he was hitting below the Mendoza line in 2011, and I probably wouldn’t have been a bit emotional about the third baseman getting designated for assignment back then. Uribe turned things around, and he changed my opinion of him. His epic 2013 NLDS homerun will forever be one of the top Dodger postseason homeruns of all-time, and I will surely miss him with all my heart.

There’s one achievement which would certainly take the sting out of losing Uribe for the rest of the season, and that would be a World Series victory. Even though I feel as though this trade is disappointing on many levels, I hope that the ends justify the means. Trading away one of the top postseason hitters in May  not be the right decision come October, but unfortunately Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi felt he was not needed now or then.

The games go on. While all this trade talk was brewing, the Dodgers have been beating up on the Braves and look to complete the three-game sweep on Wednesday with Zack Greinke on the mound. Greinke has been a pleasure to watch this season, and his quirky personality has really fueled Twitter this season. Zack Greinke reportedly has a secret Twitter account according to Dan Haren. The frightening part to Greinke’s great year so far is that he may not even be with the Dodgers next season (Andrew Friedman better not disappoint me again).

More from Dodgers Way

• Giants sign former Dodgers pitcher in another move that’ll get them nowhere
• Kevin Kiermaier being ‘top target’ to replace Cody Bellinger is bad sign for Dodgers
• Are the Dodgers really prepared to hand Shohei Ohtani a blank check?
• Dodgers fans shouldn’t dismiss interest in Dansby Swanson for this reason
• Giants laughably sign pitcher that Dodgers absolutely own

Lineup: 

Pederson CF

Rollins SS

Kendrick 2B

Gonzalez 1B

Turner 3B

Guerrero LF

Heisey RF

Ellis C

Greinke P

Even though Greinke has pitched well in his 9 starts, he hasn’t notched a win since May 5th. Last time out against the Padres, the Dodgers won 2-1, but Greinke wasn’t involved in the decision. He allowed 1 run on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk through 7 2/3 innings.

In Zack’s career, he is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 4 starts against the Braves. A.J. Pierzynski is hitting .404 against Greinke with 3 homeruns and 8 RBI. Jonny Gomes also has hit 2 homeruns against Greinke in the past. Greinke lost to the Braves in Game 2 of the 2013 NLDS, but he has pitched well against Atlanta during the regular season.

Alex Wood, the young left-hander, will be going to the mound for the Braves. He picked up a win his last time out against the Marlins after going 7 innings and allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits with 1 strikeout and 2 walks. He has no record with a 0.93 ERA in 3 games (1 start) against the Dodgers in his career. All three games were at Dodger Stadium. Sadly, Juan Uribe was the only current Dodger to have hit a homerun against Wood in the past. Wood missed his start on Friday, because he had a stomach bug.

A sweep of the Tomahawk choppers would surely make me feel a bit better, but it’s going to take me awhile to emotionally recover from the loss of Juan Uribe. The Matt Kemp trade was hard to move on from, but for some reason the Uribe trade has hit me even harder.

If the Braves lose Wednesday, they would have lost eight games in a row played at Dodger Stadium dating back to the 2013 NLDS. The Dodgers are still 2 games ahead of San Francisco in the standings, and both teams have won their last 2 games. The Dodgers have a MLB best 21-6 record at home.

Go Blue!