Dodgers' pitching staff is a shutdown force

If the Dodgers get back to the World Series for a third straight year, much of the attention will focus on Cody Bellinger, who is having an MVP season.

But it is the moundwork that could make this team a three-time National League champion.

Hyun Jin-Ryu is having a masterful season, posting an 8-1 record and 1.48 ERA. Walker Buehler, the ace in waiting, is 6-1 with a 3.69 ERA and Kenta Maeda is 7-2 with a 3.61 ERA. Rich Hill came off the injury list and looks strong at 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

Then there's Clayton Kershaw, he of the diminished fastball who is 5-0 with a 3.20 ERA. He's doing it with smoke and mirrors these days, and a
devastating slider and curve, and the Dodgers just don't lose when he takes the hill.

And if those five were not enough, Julio Urias (3-2) and Ross Stripling (2-2) are working out of the pen and can start if Roberts needs them.

The only real weakness so far is the middle relief where Roberts hopes Urias and Caleb Ferguson can settle things down for closer Kenley Jansen, who has found his groove again.

The Dodgers are up 9.5 games on the Rockies and have the best record in the National League and second best in all of baseball.

They have won six in a row and 10 out of 11. It doesn't get much better than this.

When they cool off, which they inevitably will, that pitching staff will keep the slumps from getting out of hand.

As for that World Series, let's hope the third time is the charm.

Roach races and the Elvis - minor league baseball in America

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Southern League are the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, which is where this story starts.

In 1965, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series over the Twins, four games to three, as Sandy Koufax pitched three games to lead Walter Alston's club to the title.

I was nine years old that summer and loved going to Dodger games with my mom and aunt, sitting in the 75-cent left field bleachers.

Koufax didn't pitch Game One because it was Yom Kippur, but lost Game Two to put the Dodgers in a hole.

The Dodgers rallied for a win in Game Three behind Claude Osteen and Game Four behind Don Drysdale.

Koufax pitched a gem for a win in Game Five, but the Twins evened the series in Game Six with a win over Osteen.

That set up a Game Seven showdown between Koufax and Jim Kaat in Bloomington's Metropolitan Stadium where Koufax, pitching on two days rest, pitched a complete game shutout three-hitter for a 2-0 championship victory with Sweet Lou Johnson hitting a solo homer and Ron Fairly driving in Wes Parker with an insurance run.

So now some 54 years later I am sitting behind home plate watching the Blue Wahoos lose to the Mississippi Braves on a night when the highlights were the Roach Race and a report on the Elvis at the snack bar.

A local exterminator sponsors the Roach Race, which involves a horde of kids chasing a guy in a roach costume from the right field foul line to the left field foul line. One kid almost caught the roach.

Then there's the Elvis. The Elvis is a deep-fried banana with peanut butter. The guy behind me talked about getting one and when he came back he was a little disappointed.

He said, "it wasn't what I had hoped it would be."

Ya gotta love baseball.

Chilling in St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG – Watching the Dodgers dismantle Tampa Bay 7-3 on Tuesday in the comfort of air conditioning at Tropicana Field reminded me how much I appreciate air conditioning.

Spring is over in Florida. Temps are near 90 degrees and the humidity is climbing up the scale.

Raised out West, I have yet to acclimate to the humidity in the South. My children and grandchildren are the joys of my life and why I am living in Florida. It isn’t for the weather.

On the other hand, the half of the year that is not summer is very pleasant. From late October to early May, Florida is a delight. We get a little taste of winter but it’s over before you know it.

Which is why watching a baseball game in late May in Florida needs to be in a domed stadium with the AC cranked up.

Marlins Park in Miami, a much newer and more impressive stadium, is also air conditioned. I have been to several Dodger games in Miami and it too, is a delight.

I checked the schedule and the Dodgers will be back in my neck of the woods in August when they travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves.

I planned to go but may cancel those plans after this week’s game in St. Petersburg. Atlanta in August is about as hot and muggy as it gets.

I think I will watch it on the tube.

Kershaw Lite brings his game to St. Petersburg

In the last five seasons, the oft-injured Clayton Kershaw has seen his fastball decrease from 94-95 mph to 90-91 mph.

The dominating pitcher who once was hailed as the best in the game no longer exists.

But Kershaw 2019 still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Now relying on his off-speed stuff, Kershaw has started the season with a 3-0 record and respectable 3.40 ERA. He remains a tough competitor and workhorse in preparation.

Which is why tomorrow night when he takes the mound against the Rays in St. Pete, I will be sitting in Section 115, Row UU, getting a first-hand look at one of his generation’s best pitchers.

Kershaw is no longer the ace of the staff. Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-1, 1.52 ERA) and pitching mates Walker Buehler (4-1, 3.83 ERA) and Kenta Maeda (5-2, 3.51 ERA) are the backbone of the staff now. The Dodgers have a 3.38 team ERA, second only to Tampa Bay (2.98) in the major leagues.

Don’t expect the two-game set to be a slugfest, but you never know.

When L.A. is at the plate, look for Cody Bellinger, the hottest hitter in the major leagues (.405, 17 HR, 44 RBI), Alex Verdugo (.323, 4 HR, 23 RBI) and Justin Turner (.276, 6 HR, 22 RBI) to lead the way.

And if Tampa throws a righty look for Joc Pederson to get some at-bats. He’s only hitting .220 but has smashed 14 HRs and knocked in 23 RBI while platooning in left field.

The Dodgers go into the two-game set at 31-17, 5.5 games ahead of Arizona in the division and with the best record in the National League. Only Houston and Minnesota in the AL have better records.

Former farmhands blossoming at Chavez Ravine

The Dodgers have always prided themselves on having a strong farm system. Homegrown. Players that come up through the ranks. Like Lasorda, they bleed Dodger blue.

Which is why the emergence of Cody Bellinger in this third full season and Alex Verdugo, in his second year with the big club, along with Joc Pederson, in his fifth full season, and Corey Seager, in his fourth full season, has to put a smile on Dave Roberts' face.

Bellinger is the hottest hitter in baseball, hitting .432 with 10 dingers and 24 RBI in the first 21 games.

Verdugo, who possesses a sweet swing, is trying to crack the starting lineup but may force Roberts to call his number with the way he is swinging the bat. Verdugo is hitting .364 in 44 plate appearances with three homers and 12 RBI and last night displayed a gun for an arm when he fired a 98 mph strike to home to nail a Milwaukee runner at the plate.

Pederson, who was involved in a number of trade rumors in the offseason, is just starting to live up to the expectations created when he hit 25 homers in his first full season in the majors in 2015. Pederson went yard 25 times last year and is looking more hitterish at the plate in 2019. His .234 batting average is still below par but his pitch selection is vastly improved.

Seager, who missed most of 2018 with an elbow injury, is hitting a quiet .239 but has shown flashes of his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016 and his second All-Star appearance in 2017. Seager had 22 homers and drove in 77 RBI in 2017 and has a career .299 batting average.

Then there's the pitchers.

Walker Buehler and Julio Urias, along with Caleb Ferguson out of the pen, are the future anchors of the L.A. staff as Kershaw recedes. Buehler has ace stuff and Urias, still a spot starter, proved he has the right stuff last night when he held Milwaukee to one hit over six frames with nine strikeouts.

The future looks bright.