Dodgers Return Home, It’s Frias Vs Wacha

May 24, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Carlos Frias (77) pitches the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

So that road trip was anything but fun, losing 2 out of 3 in Busch and splitting a 4 game set in Coors that could have easily been a series win is clearly frustrating. However, there is some good news! Here the Dodgers sit, more than halfway done with the hardest 11 game stretch (7 games against the Cardinals, 4 games in Coors Field) they’ll face this season, and they’re 2 games in front of the Giants for first place in the NL West.

Look at the rest of the schedule in the first half, it’s pretty favorable going forward.

Perhaps the biggest win the Dodgers picked up over the past 4 game series in Coors was the fact that they survived a 4 game series in Coors without some horrible injury knocking the season off track.

While he won’t be back for this series, it appears that Yasiel Puig will start a rehab assignment tomorrow, this is significant because Joc Pederson just blasted his 17th dinger in last night’s awful loss. What this means is that Joc already passed Puig’s HR mark from last season, and only needs 2 more to tie Puig’s single season high mark for dingers. Pederson will go for his 6th straight game with a HR, and while picking Puig OR Pederson is an impossible affair, at this point Joc’s wRC+ is 12 points higher than it was in Yasiel’s rookie season.

They’re good, and it’s going to be even better the moment they’re hitting 1-2 in the everyday lineup.

On the mound is the dude who is inspiring sportswriters everywhere to use the overused “Jekyll and Hyde” comparison. It’s true though, Frias’ last two starts read 7IP 0ER, 4IP 10ER, respectively. Of course the latter was against the suddenly sad San Diego Padres while the former was against the best team in the league. So it’s really a mystery as to which performer the Dodgers are going to get, but if they’re going to win this game against Michael Wacha, a start that looks like the first line is priority number 1 for the team.

I doubt that Frias is going to keep the front office from trading for a pitcher, but while he’s in the rotation, a FIP- of 104 is perfectly acceptable if he eats innings.

Ultimately this team is flawed, the lineup goes through some maddening slumps, Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias are trying to defy all conventional wisdom, and the bullpen just feels so damn shaky for having a top 10 collective ERA. Despite all this, the team has a 2 game lead on everybody in the division and can close the gap between them and the best team in baseball.