Daily Clips

August 25, 2016

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

DAILY CLIPS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

DODGERS.COM:

Hill outduels Cueto in Dodgers debut-Jack Baer and Chris Haft

Jansen breaks another Dodgers record-Ken Gurnick

Stripling faces Giants for first time since hitless debut-Jack Baer

Hill proves to be worth the wait for Dodgers-Tracy Ringolsby

Norris will return to rotation on Friday-Ken Gurnick

LA TIMES: October looks brighter with Kershaw, Hill, Maeda-Bill Shaikin

Rich Hill's pitching, Justin Turner's home run are enough for Dodgers' 1-0 win over Giants-Andy McCullough

Andre Ethier takes batting practice with Dodgers, still not cleared for rehab assignment-Andy McCullough

Yes, that's former Dodger Eric Gagne behind the bar ... and on the big screen-Chris Erskine

OC REGISTER:

Dodgers' Rich Hill proves worth the wait as his six scoreless innings help beat Giants, 1-0-Bill Plunkett

Dodgers lineups: Rich Hill finally makes his Dodgers debut tonight-Bill Plunkett

On deck: Giants at Dodgers, Thursday, 7 p.m.-Bill Plunkett

DODGER INSIDER:

Video: Orel Hershiser meets Carl Reiner-Jon Weisman

#VinTop20: No. 17, Mike Piazza, Giant-slayer-Jon Weisman

Dodgers find their thrill in Richard Joseph Hill-Jon Weisman

Rich Hill activated, Rob Segedin on paternity leave-Jon Weisman

Farm Fresh: August 23 minors highlights-Bart Harvey

In case you missed it: Rob Segedin’s big night-Jon Weisman

TRUEBLUELA.COM: Rich Hill worth the wait for Dodgers-Eric Stephen

Dodgers activate Rich Hill from disabled list, place Rob Segedin on paternity list-Eric Stephen

Dodgers try for 4th straight win in middle game with Giants-Eric Stephen

Chase Utley starts for Dodgers-Eric Stephen

DJ Peters homers in Ogden offensive barrage-David Hood

ESPN LA:

What we learned Wednesday: Rich Hill pads Dodgers' lead, Jose Fernandez stops Royals-David Schoenfield

Joc Pederson and Justin Turner show love for Mamba on 'Kobe Bryant Day'-Alex Tekip

For starters, Rich Hill gives the Dodgers the kind of outing they needed-Doug Padilla

Hill solid, Turner homers and Dodgers beat Giants 1-0-Associated Press

A birth and a beginning mark Rich Hill's debut with the Dodgers-Doug Padilla

NBC LA:

Rich Hill Delivers in Debut as Dodgers Extend Lead in the NL West Over Giants-Michael Duarte

Oh Baby, What a Month for Dodger Rob Segedin-Jill Painter Lopez and Jonathan Lloyd

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE:

Giants no match for battered Dodgers-Bruce Jenkins

CHICAGO TRIBUNE:

Cubs announcers bow to the greatest: Retiring Dodgers announcer Vin Scully-Ed Sherman

TODAYS KNUCKLEBALL:

Heyman: Dodgers not desperate to trade Puig-Jon Heyman

Josh Reddick’s struggles are frustrating, but not permanent-Jeremy Dorn

YAHOO SPORTS:

How baseball's quarter-billion-dollar underdog keeps winning-Tim Brown

LA TIMES: Dodgers Dugout: Looking back at Game 2 of the Giants series-Houston Mitchell

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

DAILY CLIPS

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016

DODGERS.COM

Hill outduels Cueto in Dodgers debut

By Jack Baer and Chris Haft

LOS ANGELES -- Rich Hill proved to be worth the wait, beating out Johnny Cueto in a pitchers'

duel and handing the Dodgers a 1-0 win over the Giants on Wednesday night. Los Angeles now

holds a season-high three-game lead in the National League West.

Sidelined with a blister since his acquisition from Oakland at the Trade Deadline on Aug. 1, Hill

threw 81 pitches before getting pulled following the sixth inning. The veteran lefty struck out

three and allowed five baserunners, all reaching on singles. Justin Turner's fourth-inning home

run and three scoreless innings from the L.A. bullpen, culminating with Kenley Jansen's perfect

ninth for save No. 37, assured that Hill would walk away with a win.

"Everything felt solid. Mentally, I felt great, body feels good," Hill said. "Something that I've

emphasized throughout the entire season in Oakland and carried over here into L.A. is just stay

within the moment, a pitch-to-pitch approach and really just making sure you execute each

pitch."

Hill's full arsenal from a first half in which he registered a 2.25 ERA was on display. He featured

a filthy curveball he can throw in any count and a four-seamer that can miss bats, and he threw

them both from multiple arm slots. He even mixed in a 52-mph eephus.

"I'm not really that surprised. That's Rich, I've seen it all year," said Josh Reddick, who came

over with Hill in the Oakland trade. "The guy is going to use his curveball. He utilizes it every

inning and no matter what count it is. It's something I've gotten used to from him, and it just goes

to show what kind of competitor he is after not pitching for so long and going out and shutting

down a lineup like those guys."

It was a tough loss for Cueto, whose one run allowed in six innings was one too many. While the

right-hander had exceeded 100 pitches in all but six of his starts entering Wednesday, Giants

manager Bruce Bochy pinch-hit for him in the top of the seventh after he'd thrown only 94

pitches.

The frustration continued for the Giants, who have lost four in a row, eight of their last 10 and

own a Major League-worst 11-25 record since the All-Star break. But Bochy believes his team

can straighten itself out and doesn't need a pep talk.

"They know. They've been through this. This group is battle-tested," Bochy said.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Turner takes one deep: The sole run of the game come from Turner, who hit a Statcast-measured

387-foot shot off Cueto in the fourth inning. It was his team-leading 24th long ball and part of

his fourth multihit performance in seven games.

"He only throws three pitches, but with the slide step and hesitation, it feels like nine or 10

pitches," said Turner. "He changes the tempo, and it messes with my timing. For me, it's a fight

because of my leg kick. That quick pitch, it makes it hard for me to get the leg kick. I try to

anticipate the quick pitch every time and be ready to go.

"It's a cat-and-mouse game every time. He's one of my favorite guys to face. I know how

competitive he is. I was with him with the Reds. You're always guessing whether he'll go quick

or slow or with the hesitation. Every time we face each other, he does something to make me

laugh and he laughs back at me. I always look forward to it."

Jansen sets another record: Save opportunities have been hard to come by recently for Jansen,

receiving just one in the 10 days before the San Francisco series. It seems that has left him rested

and hungry to close the door on the Giants. He notched a four-out save Tuesday and on

Wednesday tied Jim Brewer's franchise record for strikeouts by a reliever with two more to give

him 604 in his career.

"I always throw harder the more I'm pitching," he said. "The more I pitch, the sharper I get. I

hate sitting eight days, it's difficult pitching that way. When I pitch the most, my rhythm gets

better. I love the way [manager Dave Roberts] uses me. This is go time, the end of August. I

want to help my team win."

Not enough: Brandon Crawford nearly gave the Giants an eighth-inning lead when he yanked

Joe Blanton's 0-2 pitch to deep right field with runners on the corners and two out. The ball didn't

appear to be traveling at a sufficiently high trajectory to clear the wall, but it kept carrying.

Ultimately, Reddick caught up with the drive a step in front of the barrier, crushing San

Francisco's hopes.

"It's tough, but that's the way baseball is sometimes," Crawford said.

Good enough to win: Cueto (14-4) fell to 1-3 since the All-Star break despite a solid

performance. The pitch that Turner hammered was one of his few mistakes.

"It was a cutter," said Cueto, who has compiled a 1.60 ERA in his last five Dodger Stadium

starts. "It was supposed to be a cutter, but it stayed over the middle of the plate."

QUOTABLE

"Tonight was two pitchers going head to head and you knew that runs were going to be tough to

come by." – Roberts

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

The three longest active hitting streaks in baseball were at stake on Wednesday, but just one

lasted through the night. Adrian Gonzalez singled after Turner's home run to bring his streak up

to 17 games. Angel Pagan drew a walk, but went hitless to end his MLB-best 19-game streak

while Corey Seager went 0-for-4 to lose his 14-gamer.

WHAT'S NEXT

Giants: A game such as Thursday's 7:10 p.m. PT encounter was a big reason why San Francisco

acquired Matt Moore, who'll start the series finale at Chavez Ravine. The Giants were well aware

that many Dodgers are less effective against left-handers such as Moore.

Dodgers: Ross Stripling will face San Francisco on Thursday for the first time since his historic

MLB debut on April 8, when he threw 7 1/3 hitless innings before getting pulled in a 3-2 loss.

The right-hander will fill in for Brett Anderson, who hit the disabled list with a blister on

Tuesday.

Jansen breaks another Dodgers record

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- Kenley Jansen is filling up the resume this season, from a first All-Star berth

to the franchise save record to the latest milestone: tying Jim Brewer for the Dodgers' career

record for strikeouts by a reliever.

But what mattered more to Jansen on Wednesday night, when Ehire Adrianza became his 604th

strikeout victim, was locking down a 1-0 Dodgers win over the Giants. It extended the Dodgers'

National League West lead to three games and gave Jansen back-to-back saves in the first two

games of the showdown series against the upstate rivals.

The last time the Dodgers and Giants met, in San Francisco in June, Jansen was part of another

back-to-back achievement he's had trouble forgetting. He was tagged for losses in consecutive

games at AT&T Park.

"That series weighed on me for a whole month," said Jansen. "I was angry out there pitching.

Thank God it's here now, I face them and prove it. Now I've got another tomorrow and I've got to

stay focused, because my team might need me again. One thing you learn about these guys, the

Giants don't quit. They're too good of hitters, even with two strikes you've got to be cautious. For

me, stay focused and be at my best. "

Jansen followed up his four-out save on Tuesday by securing the team's first 1-0 win since

Clayton Kershaw beat the Reds by that score on May 23. Jansen has 37 saves on the season and

179 in his career, with each one adding to the franchise mark he took from Eric Gagne. His 1.86

ERA is on pace to be the lowest of his career for a full season.

Yet, instead of appearing tired after the four-out appearance, Jansen was throwing harder on

Wednesday night, fanning Brandon Belt before punching out Adrianza with a 95-mph heater.

"I always throw harder the more I'm pitching," he said. "The more I pitch, the sharper I get. I

hate sitting eight days, it's difficult pitching that way. When I pitch the most, my rhythm gets

better. I love the way Dave [Roberts] uses me. This is go time, the end of August. I want to help

my team win."

Jansen said a more disciplined offseason routine has him feeling fresher than usual this late in the

season. At 28 years old with free agency potentially months away, the timing is good for him and

his team.

"Sometimes you realize too late," he said. "I wish when I was younger, but you take stuff for

granted. I worked out this past offseason in L.A., worked hard and stayed consistent and it's

helped me during the season and I feel the difference. I don't feel tired out there. I feel great. I

missed Spring Training last year with the foot [surgery]. Sometimes stuff like that makes you

realize, don't take anything for granted."

Stripling faces Giants for first time since hitless debut

By Jack Baer

Dodgers rookie Ross Stripling will face the Giants on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium for the

first time since his historic MLB debut, with Trade Deadline acquisition Matt Moore making his

fifth start for San Francisco. Los Angeles will be seeking a sweep in the series finale between the

top two teams in the National League West.

The last time the Giants saw Stripling, it was the first week of the season and he was walking off

the mound in the eighth inning after not yielding a single hit in his first career start. It's a

memory that likely doesn't get them too down, as they went on to win that game, 3-2.

"I'll go back and I'll watch that game, just to see how I attacked them, see what I did well,"

Stripling said. "Trying not to go in there with expectations to not give up a hit. That's

unreasonable. Just go in and attack them, give us the best chance to win."

Since that game, Stripling has moved between the Majors, Triple-A Oklahoma City and being

shut down and sent to the Dodgers' training facility in Arizona due to an unspecified innings

limit stemming from March 2014 Tommy John surgery. He has also moved between starting and

relieving, acting as a stop gap whenever a hole opens in the Dodgers' rotation, a common

occurrence this season.

"Whenever you get that call saying, 'Hey, you're going back,' that's still as cool a feeling as the

first time you get it," Stripling said. "As far as staying ready, they've done a good job of getting

me up here with some days in advance. It's not like I have to fly in here and pitch tomorrow."

Moore is still looking for his first win since being acquired by the Giants on Aug. 1, holding a

4.70 ERA and 22 strikeouts in across four starts. He has struggled heavily with command this

month, walking 17 in 23 innings.

Things to know about this game

• Moore faced the Dodgers earlier this season with the Rays, allowing a season-high seven

earned runs in 4 1/3 innings on May 3.

• Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is riding an MLB-best 17-game hitting streak.

• Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley, a left-handed hitter, has been dealing with a sore foot,

so manager Dave Roberts is likely to sit him against the left-handed Moore and start Howie

Kendrick at second base. Kendrick is 6-for-14 with a double in his career against Moore.

Hill proves to be worth the wait for Dodgers

By Tracy Ringolsby

LOS ANGELES -- A year removed from the likes of David Price and Cole Hamels finding new

homes at baseball's non-waiver Trade Deadline, contenders scrambled this year, hoping to get

lucky in finding a veteran arm who could fill a stretch-run void.

By the time this year's non-waiver Trade Deadline of Aug. 1 passed, contending teams had taken

a gamble on 11 available pitchers hoping to fill rotation voids. The Giants came up with Matt

Moore, an All-Star with the Rays in 2013, and Drew Pomeranz, the Padres' All-Star rep this

year, found himself joining the Red Sox.

Nothing underscored the nature of the market as much as the Dodgers giving up three prime

prospects to acquire outfielder Josh Reddick and left-hander Rich Hill, both potential free agents

at season's end, from the A's. And they did it knowing there was no definite timeline as to when

the blister on Hill's left hand would subside enough for him to pitch.

Twenty-three days removed from his acquisition, 37 days since he last took the mound in a

Major League game, and 47 days since he last faced a hitter in a game, Hill finally made that

Dodgers debut on Wednesday night.

And nobody with the Dodgers was complaining.

Hill worked six innings in a 1-0 victory against the Giants in the second game of a three-game

series between the two teams battling for the National League West title, putting Los Angeles

three games up on San Francisco for the first time this season in what is easily the most

impressive effort from any of those 11 starting pitchers who found new homes in the past month.

"This was the first time I had a chance to see him in person," said Dodgers manager Dave

Roberts. "As much energy as was in the ballpark with the fans, Rich raised it another level. It

was impressive."

How impressive? Well, the 10 other starting pitchers dealt to contenders last month are a

combined 9-13 in 41 starts, with a combined ERA of 5.12. Their teams have won only 20 of the

41.

The Giants are looking for Moore to change all of that and help them avoid being swept by the

Dodgers when he starts the series finale on Thursday night. The left-hander, however, is 0-3 in

his four starts with San Francisco so far, and he has a 4.70 ERA.

Take those 10 starters other than Hill and only three of them even have a winning record with

their new team -- Ivan Nova, who is 3-0 in four starts for the Pirates; Bud Norris, 3-2 in seven

starts with the Dodgers; and Lucas Harrell, who is 1-0 in four starts with the Rangers. Nova is

the only one of the group who has made more than one start and has an ERA below 4.30.

At the other extreme, both Moore, and Andrew Cashner, dealt by the Padres to the Marlins, are

both 0-3, and while he doesn't have a decision, Ariel Miranda has seen the Mariners lost all three

of his starts since coming over from the Orioles.

And then there is Hill, who is now 10-3 this year after a combined record of 26-23 in his 11

previous seasons, and 11 of those wins came with the Cubs in 2007, the only season in which he

pitched more than 100 innings.

"To get him through six innings after not having pitched in over six weeks was big," said

Roberts. "He wasn't perfect, but he willed himself through six innings."

It's not like Hill struggled.

Sixty-three of Hill's 81 pitches were strikes. He went to a three-ball count just once, getting

Angel Pagan to bounce back to the mound on a 3-2 pitch for the second out in the third inning,

and giving up a two-out single to Hunter Pence on a 2-1 pitch in the first inning. And the only

time the Giants even had a chance with a runner in scoring position against Hill was in the first

inning when Buster Posey and Pence had two-out singles before Brandon Crawford struck out

looking.

"Everything felt solid," Hill said. "My body felt good."

And the Dodgers have to be feeling pretty good, too. They have, after all, rallied in the past 49

games from an eight-game deficit to a three-game lead on the Giants in the NL West, and they

feel like they plugged at least one hole in the rotation on Wednesday.

This is, after all, a team on which Hill's six innings marked only the 19th time in 49 games that

the starter even got an out in the sixth inning. It is a team beset with injuries to the point that six

starters are currently on the disabled list. It is a team on which Hill became the ninth pitcher to

start a game this month.

It is an opportunity Hill welcomed.

Norris will return to rotation on Friday

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers' rotation situation cleared up on Wednesday to the point that

manager Dave Roberts was actually able to name a probable starting pitcher for Friday night's

series opener at home against the Cubs.

That would be Bud Norris, who will be looking to do better than he did in his last two starts. On

July 31, he pitched one-third of an inning, went on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury,

then returned to last only 3 2/3 innings last Friday. Three days later, in a relief appearance, he

allowed hits to three of the five batters he faced.

Beyond Norris, Roberts said the other two starters for the Cubs series are still to be announced.

Candidates could include Julio Urias, Brock Stewart, Jose De Leon and Kenta Maeda, among

others.

Those others don't include Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson or Alex Wood,

although Roberts had updates all each of those injured starters.

He said Ryu is close to picking up a baseball after left elbow soreness derailed his two-year

comeback from shoulder surgery. Roberts sounded less optimistic that Ryu actually would pitch

for the club this season than he did buoyed by Ryu's determination to keep trying.

"We don't know how much we can build him up, but it's encouraging he wants to get back out

there," said Roberts. "As we look at the calendar, in talking to Hyun-Jin, he wants to give it a go

and see where he's at and see where it falls. He doesn't want to write the season off. We're not

putting any expectations on it. As a teammate, it's a good thing."

McCarthy, who was struggling with inexplicable wildness before being placed on the DL with a

sore right hip, threw a three-inning bullpen session on Wednesday. He is likely to soon face

hitters in a simulated-game setting. Anderson, who is out with a finger blister, will either pitch in

a simulated game or in a Minor League rehab game.

Wood, who had left elbow debridement surgery a month ago, is playing catch and will soon try

throwing off a mound. Roberts said the plan remains for Wood to return in relief.

LA TIMES

October looks brighter with Kershaw, Hill, Maeda

By Bill Shaikin

For the first time this season, the Dodgers could see October.

The Chicago Cubs could see October from the day they reported to spring training. The

Washington Nationals could see it in April, when they won nine of their first 10 games and

Daniel Murphy emerged as Babe Ruth for a new millennium.

The Dodgers? In the first half, their hitters did not hit. In the second half, half the game became

the new normal for their starting pitchers, at least for the few that were healthy enough to deliver

five innings.

You could see the Dodgers getting into the playoffs. You could not see them lasting very long, at

least not until Wednesday.

Game 1? Clayton Kershaw, of course. Kershaw could be back in about two weeks, in plenty of

time to prime for October.

Game 2? Rich Hill, who made his blister-delayed Dodgers debut on Wednesday. Hill, the

Dodgers’ grand prize at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, pitched six shutout innings in a splendidly

tense 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.

“With as much energy as there was in the ballpark, with our fans, Rich raised that level of

intensity,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said.

“The environment, the intensity, the excitement,” Hill said, “it was a lot of fun to be out there.”

The Dodgers surged into first place in the National League West without Kershaw or Hill. But

October looks much brighter with Kershaw, Hill and Kenta Maeda lined up to face Max

Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark against the Nationals in the division series, or

Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey and Kyle Hendricks against the Cubs in the League

Championship Series.

It ain’t over till it’s over, and a three-game NL West lead over the Giants with 36 games to play

is far from a sure thing, particularly in an even year. But momentum smells a lot like beating two

aces —Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto — in the first two games of this showdown series,

while dealing another ace into your hand.

Hill’s performance — efficient, lengthy, productive — is the kind the Dodgers have seldom

gotten from a starting pitcher this summer. It would be easy to shake your head and say the

Dodgers should have tried to sign Hill as a free agent last winter, except they did.

“We probably should have found a way to finish off that deal,” said Andrew Friedman, the

Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

Hill had reinvented himself as a curveball-first pitcher last summer, parlaying four extraordinary

starts for the Boston Red Sox in the final month of last season into a surprisingly competitive

free-agent market.

He was 35, and he could not expect to command more than a one-year contract. In this era of risk

minimization, there is no such thing as a bad one-year contract for a free agent. Hill had his pick

of teams, but he had to pick one where he could start.

If four good starts could get him $6 million last winter — as it did from the Oakland Athletics —

who knows what 20 good starts could get him in free agency this winter?

The Dodgers had Kershaw. Brett Anderson had just accepted a qualifying offer. They still were

hoping to bring back Zack Greinke, and they were talking to Hisashi Iwakuma too. They hoped

Hyun-Jin Ryu would return in spring training, and Brandon McCarthy in midseason. Julio Urias

and Jose DeLeon loomed.

Hill could not risk it. The A’s guaranteed him a spot in their rotation — and, after four months in

Oakland, the Dodgers finally got their man in trade.

“We felt like he was as good of an impact starter as there was available on the market,”

Friedman said.

Friedman, remember, had pledged that the Dodgers would pursue “elite-level players” at this

trade deadline. Hill might not carry the cachet of Cueto, David Price or Cole Hamels — the elite

pitchers on whom Friedman passed at last year’s trade deadline — but Hill now has a 2.09

earned-run average this season.

Of the 141 major league pitchers with at least 80 innings this season, Hill ranks second in ERA.

The pitcher that ranks first is his new teammate, guy by the name of Kershaw.

Rich Hill's pitching, Justin Turner's home run are enough for Dodgers' 1-0 win over

Giants

By Andy McCullough

For 22 days, Rich Hill existed as a Dodger in name only. He wore the uniform of the franchise

but never graced the field. On two occasions, the team scheduled him to start a game only to

scratch him because of a blister on his left hand. The only competitive outing he threw for the

team was a simulated outing at dusk in the desert.

The wait ended Wednesday night in a 1-0 victory over San Francisco, as the Dodgers bested

their division foes thanks to six scoreless innings from Hill. His performance reminded why the

front office of Andrew Friedman targeted him in the first place.

“I’m not really surprised,” said outfielder Josh Reddick, who accompanied Hill in the trade with

Oakland. “That’s Rich.”

Wielding a curveball unseen in Dodger Stadium since Clayton Kershaw injured his back, Hill

looked like an antidote to the travails of the rotation. He induced soft contact, scattering five

singles and never allowing a Giant to reach third base. He operated with efficiency, needing 81

pitches for 18 outs.

A day after roughing up Madison Bumgarner and scoring nine runs, the offense for the Dodgers

(71-55) consisted of a home run by Justin Turner and little else. The output was enough to

increase the team’s lead in the National League West to three games over the Giants.

“Everything felt solid,” Hill said. “Mentally, felt great. Body feels good. Just being able to stay

pitch to pitch, in the moment, is extremely advantageous.”

The drama did not end with Hill’s exit. In the eighth, Joe Blanton allowed runners to reach the

corners. With two outs, Manager Dave Roberts visited the mound. He decided to stick with

Blanton against left-handed hitter Brandon Crawford, rather than use left-handed reliever Grant

Dayton.

The move looked costly when Crawford stung a slider to the warning track. Reddick settled

underneath it. Inside the dugout, Roberts raised his fists to celebrate. “I felt much better when it

went into Reddick’s glove,” Roberts said with a grin afterward.

The Dodgers acquired Hill three weeks ago at the Aug. 1 trade deadline. He arrived as a

damaged asset, still nursing the blister on his left middle finger. The blister burst during a five-

pitch outing for Oakland on July 17, which forced Hill onto the disabled list. But the Dodgers

believed his upside exceeded the rest of the pitchers available on the affordable end of the trade

market, even after his lengthy layoff.

A journeyman for the first decade of his career, Hill refashioned himself into a front-line starter

late in 2015. A four-outing cameo with Boston earned him a $6-million contract with Oakland

for this season. Across his 14 starts with Oakland, Hill posted a 2.25 earned-run average and

struck out more than a batter per inning.

The Dodgers thirst for competence from their starting staff. On Tuesday afternoon, the team

placed Scott Kazmir and Brett Anderson on the disabled list. Brandon McCarthy is rehabilitating

a hip injury. Kershaw is still weeks away from returning. The rotation is held together by

rookies, bubblegum and Bud Norris.

So Hill was a welcome sight for the franchise. He walked out of the dugout by himself at 7:07

p.m. Three minutes later, he fired his first pitch as a Dodger. It was a fastball, clocked at 91 mph,

located a few inches outside the zone. He required 16 pitches to complete the first inning, as he

worked around two-out singles by catcher Buster Posey and outfielder Hunter Pence.

The second single annoyed the Dodgers. Pence topped the baseball toward third base and

narrowly beat Turner’s throw. But the hit allowed Hill to create a highlight. He froze Crawford

with an 0-2 curveball, thrown from a sidearm delivery. The pitch resembled a Frisbee as it bent

away from Crawford and into Yasmani Grandal’s glove.

His curveball was “very effective” on Wednesday, Hill said. “It came out of my hand great.”

Hill found a worthy adversary in the form of Giants starter Johnny Cueto, the tempo-disrupting,

rump-shaking right-hander. Cueto kept the Dodgers hitless through the first three innings. He

lost his chance for a no-hitter and his bid at a shutout with one swing from Turner in the fourth.

Turner pulled a slider over the left-field fence for his 24th home run of the season.

The offense could not generate much more. It did not need to do anything else. Hill retired the

final eight batters he faced. In the dugout after the sixth, he conferred with Roberts. Hill had not

pitched deep into a game since July 7, and the Dodgers plan to use him every fifth day into

October.

The two men shook hands. The rest of his teammates congratulated him on his effort. For 22

days, Hill had resided on the periphery of this roster, unable to aid his team’s efforts. On his first

official night as a Dodger, no man was more important.

“He willed himself through six innings,” Roberts said. “And we came out unscathed.”

Andre Ethier takes batting practice with Dodgers, still not cleared for rehab assignment

By Andy McCullough

Andre Ethier visited Dodger Stadium on Wednesday and took batting practice with his

teammates. But neither Ethier nor Manager Dave Roberts would reveal any details of the team’s

plan to return Ethier to big league action this season.

“No plan,” Ethier said before the Dodgers faced the San Francisco Giants. “Complete today.

That’s the plan.”

Ethier was recently cleared to face live pitching in a controlled setting at the team’s complex at

Camelback Ranch. He has been out all season after fracturing his leg with a foul ball during

spring training. He will need to begin a rehabilitation assignment before he can be activated.

The Dodgers initially hoped Ethier could rejoin the team by the middle of the summer. But his

leg has not cooperated. Asked if the fractures in Ethier’s leg had healed, Roberts only answered,

“They’ve improved.” Roberts expects Ethier to be activated in September, but he does not expect

him to perform at 100%.

Ethier said he came to the ballpark at the team’s request.

“They wanted to see me,” he said. “Maybe they weren’t believing the reports, and they wanted to

see me with their own eyes.”

Hyun-Jin Ryu will try to return this season

Hyun-Jin Ryu has informed the Dodgers that he will try to make a comeback this season.

Roberts has said he does not expect Ryu to pitch again this season, after Ryu was shut down in

July because of elbow inflammation. Ryu has pitched in one game since 2014 after undergoing

labrum surgery last season.

Ryu will resume a throwing program in the next couple days. He does not have enough time to

build up arm strength to start but he could, theoretically, pitch in relief.

“He doesn’t want to write the season off,” Roberts said. “He wants to continue to rehab, get

healthy and see where it takes him. For us, we’re not really putting any expectations on it. But as

a teammate, it’s a good thing.”

Short hops

Bud Norris will start on Friday against the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers have not revealed who

will pitch on Saturday or Sunday.

Yes, that's former Dodger Eric Gagne behind the bar ... and on the big screen

By Chris Erskine

Eric Gagne used to emerge from the bullpen like Darth Vader swinging a dental drill.

Even the dorky safety goggles hinted at impending doom. A blowtorch four-seamer. The change-

up that dropped like a bowling ball off a picnic table. Get a whiff of that, with three outs to go in

the bottom of the ninth. Whiff-whiff-whiff ...

The party-sized reliever has “reinvented himself,” as they like to say in this town. Now he’s a

movie producer and a bit actor … even on occasion, a professional pitcher.

Welcome to the jungle, circa 2016.

You’ll spot Gagne playing a bartender in the new Josh Duhamel biopic on Bill “Spaceman” Lee,

a love-of-the-game movie he helped finance.

You might not recognize him. The former Cy Young Award winner is leaner now, less a Panzer

tank. Still a stud, though. Lots of golf and baseball. Too much sun.

“People don’t know me. They saw me play maybe three or four years, and that’s all they know

about me,” he says over breakfast. “They think I’m super crazy because of what I did on the

mound. They don’t know I’m not aggressive at all.”

The biceps are as big as your thigh, and he pitches still — 93, 94 mph, he says, down only a few

degrees from his prime.

And if Dodgers fans still have an inflated sense of who he was — the dark superhero with

snidely scowl — it’s only because he played it to the hilt. The results were staggering: 161 saves

in 167 save opportunities — at one point, 84 straight.

So Gagne’s career features super crazy numbers, a record tarnished by a run-in with

performance-enhancing drugs late in his career that Gagne says he regrets. Without that, the

legacy was the stuff of gods.

Gagne is 40 now and lives in Scottsdale, Ariz. He’s teaching his six kids to pitch and working

with Dodgers pitchers during spring training, yet he’s light years from that Cy Young season in

2003, and a long way from 2008, when he finally left the game.

By the end, Gagne now says, he was a little burned out on baseball. Until he realized how deep

its hooks were.

That’s the theme of this Bill Lee movie — that baseball sticks to you like pine tar — and it’s the

theme of Gagne’s life. It’s probably the theme for any former pro who still thinks he could throw

an inning or two in a pinch.

What makes Lee’s exit different is that he never had one.

Like Gagne, Lee is like nothing we’ve seen. A lefty with a trick bag of breaking stuff, opposing

hitters would’ve had better luck catching a hummingbird with a hair net. Then came 1982, the

year baseball essentially blackballed him for being a gigantic pain in the glutes.

The ballplayer from Burbank, by way of USC, was a handful, challenging managers and general

managers, a hard-drinking iconoclast who showed up baked at ballparks and even appeared on

the cover of “High Times” magazine.

“He was one of my favorite players,” says Gagne, who grew up in Montreal. “In Montreal they

loved that kind of player … he’s not an outcast, he’s just different.”

Yeah, waaaaaaaaay different, with his hipppy-dippy ideas and penchant for quoting Buckminster

Fuller. In Montreal, adoring fans peppered the barfly with tiny bottles of tequila.

But it wasn’t just the outsized personality that appealed to writer/director Brett Rapkin, then to

Gagne, whom Rapkin personally recruited for a personal and financial stake in the movie. It was

Lee’s love for the game.

Rapkin’s terrific new take on Lee’s life zooms in on the months when he went from the Expos to

the beer leagues. If you liked “Bull Durham,” you’ll like the grit and edge of “Spaceman,” now

in limited release.

“His story is bigger than baseball … the fact that he is still playing,” says Rapkin, who once did

a documentary on Lee, then years later saw the dramatic appeal of a scripted feature. “He sits in

his front yard in Vermont, and says I’ll never quit playing.”

Yep, Lee is still playing. He is the Satchel Paige of our time.

The story of a baseball guru like that appealed to Gagne, who still pitches himself, despite two

Tommy John procedures. Says he feels better than ever, finally having figured out a curveball

after working on it with his sons.

He’ll pitch for Ottawa soon in the Can-Am independent league, then probably for Quebec City

next summer — about one game a year. A starter these days, he won’t let stadiums play the

“Guns N’ Roses” anthem that turned him into a folk hero.

“That’s not for when I start,” he says. “That’s for when I close.”

Game over? Never.

OC REGISTER

Dodgers' Rich Hill proves worth the wait as his six scoreless innings help beat Giants, 1-0

By Bill Plunkett

LOS ANGELES – Amazon Prime offers same-day delivery. The Dodgers had to be more

patient.

Twenty-three days after they traded three well-regarded prospects to the Oakland A’s for

outfielder Josh Reddick and someone suited to fill the void at the front of their starting rotation,

Rich Hill finally made his debut for the Dodgers.

There was no buyer’s remorse. Hill looked like the top-tier starter the Dodgers thought they were

getting – and have sorely lacked since Clayton Kershaw went to the DL. He pitched six scoreless

innings Wednesday night as the Dodgers won, 1-0.

“I’m not surprised. That’s Rich,” Reddick said. “I’ve seen it all year.

“It just shows what a competitor he is. He hasn’t pitched in over a month and he goes out there

and shuts down a lineup like that.”

Justin Turner provided the night’s only offense, ruining Giants starter Johnny Cueto’s own gem

with a solo home run in the fourth inning. The home run was the Dodgers’ first hit of the game

and one of only five they managed in the game.

With back-to-back wins over Madison Bumgarner and Cueto, the Dodgers have continued the

Giants’ second-half freefall. They are 11-25 since the All-Star break (the worst record in baseball

over that time) ceding 9-1/2 games to the Dodgers since the break. The Dodgers have gone from

6-1/2 games down to a season-high three games up, assuring themselves of a victory in the first

of three series between the two rivals over the final seven weeks of the season.

“We’re not panicking, I don’t think,” Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “Yeah, we

haven’t been playing well but hopefully we’ll turn it around.

“I think a clubhouse full of guys that have been through tough times before, that have pulled out

and been a World Series-winning team – we’ve been through tough stretches before, we wound

up winning the World Series at the end of the year.”

Hill came just as advertised in the catalog. He kept the Giants off balance with a variety pack of

off-speed pitches – one of which floated toward the plate at 52 mph.

The Giants had five hits in Hill’s six innings. All were singles and only one baserunner reached

second base. That came in the first inning when Buster Posey’s two-out single was followed by

Hunter Pence just beating out an infield single on a ground ball to third.

Hill didn’t walk a batter and 63 of his 81 pitches were strikes. It was only the ninth “quality

start” (six innings or more, three runs or fewer) by a Dodgers pitcher in 35 games since the All-

Star break.

“He knew exactly what he wanted to do,” Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “He got a lot

of pop-ups, a lot of soft grounders. He got ahead of hitters and knew how to put them away.”

Hill had not pitched since July 17 when a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand ripped

open five pitches into a start for the Oakland A’s. Before that he had made only two starts since

the end of May due to a groin injury and the blister problem.

“There’s nothing I can control about that,” Hill said of his delayed debut. “The only thing I can

control is to go out there and continue to pitch with conviction and passion and intensity. In

conjunction with staying in the moment, anything outside of that is really irrelevant.”

Roberts gladly accepted the gift of six innings from a starting pitcher – something he has gotten

just 16 times in the past 49 games (since Clayton Kershaw’s last start on June 26) – and

manipulated his bullpen to make the one-run lead stand up over the final three innings.

Pedro Baez and Adam Liberatore tag-teamed the seventh inning. But Joe Blanton found himself

with runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth with the left-handed Crawford coming up.

Rookie left-hander Grant Dayton was warming up in the bullpen as Roberts went out to the

mound.

“I wanted to go out there and look in his eyes and check on him a little bit, see how he felt,”

Roberts said. “I know he used a lot of energy with those first four hitters. But as I went out there

I just knew he had to stay in there. It’s the confidence I have in Joe Blanton.”

Roberts might have regretted that decision for a split second as Crawford sent Reddick back to

the wall in right field to haul in his drive.

“I felt much better after it went in Reddick’s glove,” Roberts said. “Regardless of the outcome,

he got ahead two strikes. I still liked that matchup.”

Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth for his 37th save of the season.

“This group has been in this position before. They’re battle-tested,” Giants manager Bruce

Bochy said. “Every day we think, ‘Hey, it’s our day to come out of this.’ They’re going out

there, going hard early. We put pressure on them. They got the big hit and we didn’t.”

Dodgers lineups: Rich Hill finally makes his Dodgers debut tonight

By Bill Plunkett

LOS ANGELES --More than three weeks after they sent three well-regarded pitching prospects

to the Oakland A's for him and outfielder Josh Reddick, the Dodgers finally get to see Rich Hill

pitch for them tonight.

Hill was activated from the DL today with Rob Segedin moved to the paternity list. Segedin's

wife gave birth to their first child -- a boy named Robinson Marley -- Tuesday night. The new

father is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Thursday, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Hill has not pitched since July 17 when a blister on the tip of the index finger on his left hand

ripped open five pitches into a start for the A's. In real terms, he has not made a full start since

July 7 when he went six innings against the Houston Astros and has made just two starts (plus

the aborted five-pitch outing) since the end of May due to a groin injury and the blister issue.

"I think I'm as excited as everyone. I know he's excited to finally make his Dodgers debut,"

Roberts said. "I know he's going to go out there and compete. I don't know his execution, how

perfect he's going to be. I know he's going to expect the best from himself as all competitors do. I

know he's going to give us a chance to win the game tonight and that's all we expect."

Roberts has learned to have low expectations from his starting pitchers. Dodgers starters have

failed to complete five innings 16 times in their past 41 games.

Click here for a look at how the 36-year-old Hill became a top-tier starter late in his career.

Meanwhile, Roberts said right-hander Bud Norris will make another start Friday against the

Chicago Cubs. He wouldn't name his starters for the rest of that series but Julio Urias (Saturday)

and Kenta Maeda (Sunday) are possible.

And Roberts said left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu might not be done for the season after all. Ryu

"doesn't want to write the season off," Roberts said, and will begin a throwing program in the

next couple days. Ryu has made just one start this season (back on July 7) following shoulder

surgery last season and has been shut down with elbow pain since then.

On deck: Giants at Dodgers, Thursday, 7 p.m.

By Bill Plunkett

Where: Dodger Stadium

TV: SNLA (where available)

Did you know? In four starts since being acquired at the trade deadline by the Giants, Matt

Moore is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

THE PITCHERS

DODGERS RHP ROSS STRIPLING (3-4, 4.04 ERA)

Vs. Giants: 0-0, 1.23 ERA

At Dodger Stadium: 2-3, 4.76 ERA

Hates to face: None

Loves to face: Denard Span, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt, all 0 for 3

GIANTS LHP MATT MOORE (7-10, 4.18 ERA)

Vs. Dodgers: 1-1, 5.73 ERA

At Dodger Stadium: 1-0, 0.00 ERA

Hates to face: Joc Pederson, 1 for 2 (.500), 1 home run

Loves to face: Corey Seager, 0 for 3

DODGER INSIDER

Video: Orel Hershiser meets Carl Reiner

By Jon Weisman

Carl Reiner doesn’t throw 94, but he is 94 — and he’s a legend. So even though he had to cancel

his plans to throw the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, it was still great to

see another legend, Orel Hershiser, meet him at his home for some pitching tips and a

conversation about their careers.

Reiner wrote more than 50 episodes of his creation, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and directed

such movies as “The Jerk,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” and “All of Me.”

#VinTop20: No. 17, Mike Piazza, Giant-slayer

By Jon Weisman

Between now and Vin Scully Appreciation Day on September 23, the Dodgers are revealing the

results of the fan vote ranking Scully’s top 20 Dodger calls of all time, one at each home game.

Here’s No. 17: Mike Piazza’s second homer in the 1993 season finale ends the Giants’ playoff

hopes.

Dodgers find their thrill in Richard Joseph Hill

By Jon Weisman

Sweetly, sometimes softly, Rich Hill mixed his pitches, his curveball surveying the scenic route,

his fastball sufficiently startling.

And a team starved for starting pitching suddenly has had two superb outings this week from

left-handers.

With six shutout innings, Hill duplicated the Sunday feat of Julio Urías — not to mention Hill’s

only previous appearance at Dodger Stadium, in 2007 — and the Dodgers edged the San

Francisco Giants, 1-0.

Justin Turner’s fourth-inning home run broke Johnny Cueto’s no-hitter, shutout and

(presumably) heart, and made the efforts of Hill and four relievers stand up.

The Dodgers (71-55) won their fourth straight, boosted their lead over San Francisco in the

National League West to a season-high three games, and are actually closer to potential playoff

opponent Washington (73-53) than they are to the Giants.

In terms of a playoff spot (i.e., the second Wild Card), the Dodgers have a five-game cushion

over Miami, with the Giants and Cardinals in between. Los Angeles evened the season series

with the Giants at six wins apiece with six games remaining.

Making his first competitive appearance since being sidelined by a blister problem July 17, the

36-year-old Hill silenced the Giants on 81 pitches, allowing five singles (and a trio of warning-

track flies), while walking none and striking out three. He retired the last eight batters he faced.

Hill’s strikeout of Brandon Crawford to end the top of the first inning had the Dodger Stadium

crowd oohing, as they got their first taste of what the hype about Hill since his trading-deadline

acquisition has been about.

Outs“This is the first chance I had to see him in person and up close, and as much energy as

there was in the ballpark tonight with the fans, Richy even raised that level of intensity and

focus,” Dave Roberts said.

“To go six innings, not having pitched in over six weeks, the command wasn’t perfect, but just

the will — he willed himself through six innings. And we came out of it unscathed, and it gave

us a huge boost.”

Not counting the day he was hurt and couldn’t throw a pitch, Hill has seven straight quality starts

with a 1.21 ERA since May 13. Asked how much the blister affected him at all tonight, Hill

replied, “None – it’s 100 percent. There’s no issues there.”

“Mentally felt great, body feels good,” Hill said. “Just being able to stay consistently pitch-to-

pitch in the moment is extremely advantageous, and the play from the guys behind me was

incredible. And (Yasmani Grandal) did a great job back there and stuck to the routine, and it

worked out in my favor.”

After Pedro Baez and Adam Liberatore combined to take care of the seventh, Joe Blanton

withstood yet another fly near the wall (by Crawford) to end the eighth. Kenley Jansen brought

the victory home with the save in the ninth, and in the process tied Jim Brewer for the Dodger

record for career strikeouts by a reliever with his 604th.

The last time the Dodgers beat the Giants by a 1-0 score was July 20, 2011, a night that Clayton

Kershaw struck out 13 in eight innings. This was only the second one-run game the Dodgers

have played in the past month, and they’ve split the two.

Adrián González extended his hitting streak to 17 games, but Corey Seager’s ended at 14.

Rich Hill activated, Rob Segedin on paternity leave

By Jon Weisman

The moment has arrived for Rich Hill, who has officially been activated from the disabled list to

start tonight for the first time as a Dodger.

Mike Petriello of MLB.com has a good piece today outlining Hill’s virtues and why the Dodgers

sought him out, even though they knew his debut would be delayed.

Rob Segedin’s placement on the paternity list created the roster opening for Hill’s activation.

MLB paternity leave lasts from one to three games.

Hill’s only career appearance at Dodger Stadium came on May 27, 2007, when he threw six

shutout innings for the Cubs, who lost in 11 innings, 2-1 (on Juan Pierre’s bases-loaded hit-by-

pitch).

Farm Fresh: August 23 minors highlights

By Bart Harvey

It’s been an excellent 24 hours for the Dodgers’ 2015 draft class …

Single-A Rancho Cucamonga’s Josh Sborz was named California League Pitcher of the Year

after leading the league in both ERA (2.66) and WHIP (1.03), before being promoted to Double-

A Tulsa on August 1. The 22-year old right-hander was selected by the Dodgers out of the

University of Virginia with the 74th overall pick in the 2015 draft.

On his way back from Tommy John surgery in August 2015, right-hander Walker Buehler made

his professional debut Tuesday, throwing two scoreless innings while recording three strikeouts

for the Arizona (Rookie) League Dodgers. According to Baseball America, Buehler’s fastball

velocity ranged from 95-97 mph. The former Vanderbilt standout was selected by the Dodgers

with the 24th overall pick in 2015.

Other highlights from around the Dodgers’ farm system …

Scott Barlow threw seven scoreless innings for Tulsa and limited the opposition to four hits

while striking out four. Barlow has pitched well of late, posting a 1.32 ERA in 34 innings pitched

over his last six starts.

First baseman Ibandel Isabel homered in his fourth consecutive game, increasing his slugging

percentage to .681 through 18 games with Single-A Great Lakes.

In case you missed it: Rob Segedin’s big night

By Jon Weisman

It’s been a whirlwind in Dodger land lately, and for no one more than Rob Segedin, who not only

hit his first two homers in the Majors on consecutive days, but also became a father late Monday.

Segedin and Andrew Toles became the first teammates in Major League history to hit their first

two MLB homers in the same two consecutive games, according to Elias Sports. Here are their

combined stats as Dodgers:

Doug Padilla has more on the Segedin saga at ESPN.com.

Let’s catch up some other things …

Josh Reddick came off the bench to play right field and draw a walk Monday in his first action

since, as Andy McCullough of the Times reported, he got his right middle finger caught in a

hotel door while holding the door open for a room-service cart. “I’m at rock bottom right now,”

Reddick said, whose slump was addressed Monday on Dodger Insider. “But I will climb out.”

Dan Johnson, a 10-year MLB veteran most noted for putting the 2011 Rays in the playoffs with a

pinch-hit home run while I was at Disneyland with my family, is reinventing himself as a

knuckleballer at age 37, as Bill Baer of Hardball Talk notes. The Dodgers have signed Johnson

to a minor-league contract.

Zach Walters, whom the Dodgers designated for assignment August 14 and released August 16,

signed a minor-league contract with the team.

A stretch of the 210 between Gould Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard, has officially been

named the Jackie Robinson Memorial Highway by the state of California.

R.J. Peete, the son of Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete, is the subject of this “Backstage:

Dodgers” report. The younger Peete has overcome autism to work as a Dodger clubhouse

attendant.

TRUEBLUELA.COM

Rich Hill worth the wait for Dodgers

By Eric Stephen

Rich Hill was every bit as impressive as the Dodgers hoped in his debut with the club, pitching

six scoreless innings to help the Dodgers to a fourth straight victory, 1-0 over the Giants on

Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. The win gave the Dodgers a three-game lead over San

Francisco in the National League West, their largest division lead of the season.

Justin Turner homered in the fourth for the game’s only run.

The start for Hill came 23 days after he was acquired by the Dodgers, and 38 days after his last

major league start, with Oakland. But in that July 17 start Hill left after just five pitchers,

experiencing the same blister problems on his left hand that has kept him sidelined since. So in

reality, his last real start was July 7, so this start on Wednesday was nearly seven weeks in the

making.

Hill was incredibly effective on Wednesday, holding the Giants scoreless on five hits for six

innings. The left-hander with a flourishing hop to finish his delivery struck out three and walked

none, keeping San Francisco off balance all night with a combination of fastballs and curves.

The three-week wait for Hill’s Dodgers debut was probably worth it just for this first-inning

curve to catch Brandon Crawford looking:

Hill threw 63 of his 81 pitches for strikes, and even though his pitch count was low he was pulled

after his six innings, understandable for his first real start in 48 days.

Hill also batted for the first time in a major league game for the first time since June 25, 2009.

He struck out twice in his two at-bats.

Johnny Cueto was nearly as good in his six strong innings for the Giants, striking out six while

allowing just four hits and a walk.

But one of those hits was a home run by Turner in the fourth inning, one of five hits he has in the

series.

Turner’s career-best month for home runs entering this season was six, hit in June 2015. His

blast to left field of Cueto on Wednesday was Turner’s sixth home run this August, with seven

games remaining in the month. This is following eight home runs this June, and seven more in

July.

The home run was one of two hits on the night for Turner, who is hitting .343/.361/.729 with 14

extra-base hits in 18 games in August.

The Giants threatened against Joe Blanton in the eighth, putting runners on the corners with two

outs, down a run. Crawford then tattooed a ball to deep right field, but on its way out of the park

the ball decided to cut short the trip, instead falling in Josh Reddick’s glove at the right field wall

to end the inning.

Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 37th save, giving him 604 career

strikeouts, tying Jim Brewer for the most by a reliever in Dodgers history.

Up next

The Dodgers send Ross Stripling to the mound in the series finale on Thursday, his first start in

seven days. The Giants counter with left-hander Matt Moore, acquired on Aug. 1 from Tampa

Bay.

Wednesday particulars

Home run: Justin Turner (24)

WP - Rich Hill (10-3): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 strikeouts

LP - Johnny Cueto (14-4): 6 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

Sv - Kenley Jansen (37): 1 IP, 2 strikeouts

Dodgers activate Rich Hill from disabled list, place Rob Segedin on paternity list

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers activated Rich Hill from the disabled list to make his start on

Wednesday against the Giants. It is Hill’s debut with the team, and his first real start since July 7.

To create room on the active roster, Rob Segedin was placed on the paternity list after his wife

Robin gave birth to their son Robinson on at 11:36 p.m. PT on Tuesday night, checking in at six

pounds, 14 ounces.

Hill was acquired from the A’s with Josh Reddick on Aug. 1 for minor league pitchers Frankie

Montas, Jharel Cotton and Grant Holmes. But Hill has been sidelined with blisters on his left

hand.

He technically made one start for Oakland on July 17, but left after just five pitches.

When he has been on the mound this season, Hill has been awesome, posting a 2.25 ERA and

2.54 FIP in 14 starts, with 90 strikeouts and 28 walks in 76 innings.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for Hill, who was playing independent baseball in 2015 after

totaling just 75⅔ innings from 2010-2014. He signed with the Red Sox late last year, and put up

a 1.55 ERA in four starts, with 36 strikeouts and five walks in 29 innings down the stretch.

Hill parlayed those four starts into a one-year, $6 million free agent contract with the A’s.

Hill will be the 30th different pitcher used by the Dodgers this season, one shy of the franchise

record set in 2015, and will be the 14th starting pitcher of 2016.

The minimum time for a paternity list stay is one day, with a maximum of three days.

Dodgers try for 4th straight win in middle game with Giants

By Eric Stephen

As the Dodgers try for a second win over the Giants in as many days, and for a fourth straight

win overall, here are some notes heading into Wednesday.

Corey Seager scored three runs last night to give him 86 on the season, on pace for 111 on the

season. He is two runs shy of the LA Dodgers rookie record for runs, scored by Steve Sax in

1982 (h/t to Jon Weisman).

Adrian Gonzalez has tied Justin Turner for the team lead with 73 RBI. Gonzalez has 11 RBI in

his last two games, with eight RBI on Monday and three on Tuesday. The last Dodger with three

straight 3-RBI games was James Loney in 2011.

Andrew Toles also has three RBI in his last two games.

Joc Pederson has three home runs against the Giants in 2016, the most by any Dodger.

The Dodgers have scored 194 runs in 34 games since the All-Star break, 5.71 runs per game.

They scored 197 runs in their 47 games leading into the break, 4.19 per game.

Kenley Jansen had one strikeout on Tuesday, giving him 602 in his career. The only Dodgers

pitcher with more strikeouts in relief is Jim Brewer (1964-1975), with 604.

Rich Hill’s last start of more than five pitches was July 7 with the A’s, 48 days ago.

The Dodgers have won 30 of their last 42 home games.

Game info

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT

TV: SportsNet LA, ESPN

Chase Utley starts for Dodgers

By Eric Stephen

Chase Utley is back in the lineup for the Dodgers on Wednesday against the Giants, despite a

foot issue that has bothered him for a month.

Utley singled and scored as a pinch hitter on Tuesday night, but was pulled after just one inning

on defense to get him off of his feet, manager Dave Roberts said after the game.

This is just the 92nd start in 96 games against right-handed pitchers for Utley in 2016. Johnny

Cueto starts on the mound for San Francisco.

Josh Reddick is also back in the lineup, batting sixth in right field after he did not start on

Monday and Tuesday, thanks to a combination of jamming his finger in his hotel room door in

Cincinnati and left-hander Madison Bumgarner starting on Tuesday night.

Reddick did appear as a pinch hitter in each of the last two games, and walked on Tuesday. He is

10-for-67 (.149) since joining the Dodgers.

Gorkys Hernandez starts in center field for the Giants, called up from Triple-A Sacramento.

DJ Peters homers in Ogden offensive barrage

By David Hood

The Dodgers' affiliates road home runs from hot hands Cody Thomas, Edwin, Rios, and Cody

Bellinger for a handful of victories on the farm.

Player of the day

Though some of the hot bats from the first half of the season have cooled for the Raptors, DJ

Peters continues to stand out offensively. Peters hit his ninth home run of the season, raising his

season OPS to 1.049 in 205 at bats. Peters' spray chart shows that his power is not just pull, with

five home runs to either dead center or right field.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers's bats fell silent in a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers). Sam

LeCure took the loss in a spot start, surrendering four runs in just four and a third innings

pitched. Roy Merritt made his Dodger debut in relief, allowing just one run across the final four

and two-thirds innings, striking out four and walking none.

Jack Murphy was the only Dodger to record a pair of hits, with one being a solo home run, and

the only run of the game. Chris Taylor went one for three with a stolen base, but struck out

twice. The Dodgers combined to strikeout fifteen times on the night.

Double-A Tulsa

The Drillers were hit hard early and could not overcome a large early deficit, falling to the

Arkansas Travelers (Angels) 8-4. Texas League Pitcher of the Year hopeful Chase DeJong had

arguably his worst start in Double A, allowing six runs on eight hits in just one and two-thirds

innings of work. Josh Sborz, freshly off being named the California League Pitcher of the Year,

allowed two unearned runs in two innings of relief work in Tulsa. New knuckleballer Dan

Johnson finished the game with two scoreless innings of work.

Kyle Garlick and Joey Curletta both homered for Tulsa as part of one for four nights. Kyle

Farmer had a pair of hits in three at bats, scoring a run. The Drillers committed six errors

contributing to the loss.

High Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes rode a late inning comeback to overcome an early deficit, defeating the Lake

Elsinore Storm (Padres) 4-2. Adam Bray made his best start since joining the Quakes' rotation,

allowing just two unearned runs across six innings, striking out seven and walking none. Rob

Rogers earned the win with two scoreless innings of relief, striking out two.

Brandon Trinkwon was the offensive hero for the Quakes, driving in three runs with three hits in

four at bats. Mike Ahmed also had two doubles in three at bats, while Ariel Sandoval doubled

and is now hitting .316 over his last ten games.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons held the the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres) to just four hits but couldn't muster much

offense in a 2-1 defeat. Caleb Ferguson left the game after five no-hit innings, striking out one

and walking just one. Luis De Paula and Ivan Vieitez could not follow his form, with each

allowing a run in relief.

Saige Jenco doubled and scored the Loons only run in a one for four game. Logan Landon

tripled for his only hit of the night, while the TinCaps held the hot Ibandel Isabel hitless, ending

his games with a home run streak at four.

Short Season Ogden

The Raptors edged out the Grand Junction Rockies in an 11-10 slugfest that saw the teams

combine for thirty hits over ten innings. Erroll Robinson, Gersel Pitre, and Keibert Ruiz each

had three hits, and it was a Pitre double and Robinson single that led to the walk off victory. DJ

Peters and Brandon Montgomery each went two for five with a home run.

Roberth Fernandez was the only pitcher to allow an earned run, surrendering five over four

innings. Brian Bass followed with two scoreless innings in relief, while Zac Grotz pitched a

clean tenth inning to earn the victory.

Rookie AZL Dodgers

The AZL Dodgers were off Wednesday and will resume play Thursday against the Brewers'

affiliate.

Dominican Summer League Dodgers 1 and 2

Both DSL Dodgers games were postponed.

Transactions

Triple A: The Dodgers received a trio of players, as Shawn Zarraga and Roy Merritt were

assigned to the team, and Louis Coleman was added to continue his rehab assignment.

Double A: Tyler Ogle was activated off of the seven day disabled list.

Tuesday box scores

Colorado Springs 5, Oklahoma City 1

Arkansas 8, Tulsa 4

Rancho Cucamonga 4, Lake Elsinore 2

Fort Wayne 2, Great Lakes 1

Ogden 11, Grand Junction 10 in 10 innings

Thursday schedule

4:05 p.m.: ET: Great Lakes (TBD) vs. Fort Wayne (Thomas Dorminy)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Logan Bawcom) vs. Colorado Springs (Hiram Burgos)

5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Seth Frankoff) vs. Arkansas (Alex Blackford)

5:30 p.m.: Ogden (Josh Kimborowicz) vs. Grand Junction (Alejandro Requena)

7:00 p.m.: AZL Dodgers at AZL Brewers

7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Tim Shibuya) vs. Lake Elsinore (Jerry Keel)

ESPN LA

What we learned Wednesday: Rich Hill pads Dodgers' lead, Jose Fernandez stops Royals

By David Schoenfield

1. It’s a Rich Hill sighting, and the view was great. The Dodgers gave up three good prospects to

acquire Hill and Josh Reddick from the A’s at the trade deadline, but hadn’t received any value

yet. Hill hadn’t pitched because of a blister issue, and Reddick is hitting .143 with no RBIs in 70

at-bats. Yes, good thing they dumped Yasiel Puig back to the minors to clear room for Reddick.

But I digress …

Hill finally made his Dodgers debut and was terrific in outdueling Johnny Cueto in a 1-0 victory,

Justin Turner’s fourth-inning home run providing the only run. The Giants discovered what

American League hitters already learned this year: It’s hard to hit this guy, as he hides the ball so

well with a deceptive motion. Even though he sits at 90, 91 mph with his fastball, Hill has 93

strikeouts in 82 innings and has allowed just 60 hits. He’s good, which is why the Dodgers were

willing to pay a steep price to get him.

In the bigger picture, the Dodgers have taken the first two games of the series and now lead the

National League West by a season-high three games, while it's starting to look like desperate

times for the Giants, who held a 6.5-game lead at the All-Star break. The Dodgers have survived

even though they’ve now used 14 different starting pitchers, tied for the most in the majors, and

the NL hierarchy is looking like this: Cubs, then Nationals/Dodgers, then the other playoff

contenders.

2. Jose Fernandez breaks Royals' winning streak. And by break, we mean the Marlins' ace

snapped the Royals' nine-game streak by dominating with his breaking balls and striking out nine

in seven scoreless innings. From Kenneth Woolums of ESPN Stats & Information:

Fernandez held the Royals to one hit in 12 at-bats ending in a breaking pitch. He recorded eight

of his nine strikeouts with either his slider or curveball, his most combined with those pitches

since July 18 versus the Phillies.

Fernandez induced a 39.3 percent chase rate, his highest in any start this season. The Royals

were 1-for-11 in at-bats ending on a pitch outside of the strike zone.

It was a much-needed stellar outing from Fernandez, who entered with a 4.60 ERA over his

previous eight starts. The movement Fernandez gets on his breaking stuff is seen in this number:

44.7 percent, the chase rate he gets on those two pitches. The only starters with a higher chase

rate on their breaking balls are Michael Pineda (46.6 percent), Corey Kluber (45.9 percent) and

Zack Greinke (45.8 percent).

Fernandez also broke the franchise record for K's in a season (Ryan Dempster held the mark).

The Marlins also acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur from the Braves in a three-team deal with

the Rangers. Francoeur has a .273/.313/.421 line against left-handers, so he's merely outfield

insurance or maybe platoons with Ichiro Suzuki in right field.

3. Rangers win another one-run game. They're now 28-8 in one-run games, winning 6-5 on

Wednesday as Yu Darvish hit one of the team's three home runs off Reds rookie Tim Adleman.

That's another of way saying the Rangers are 74-53 even though they've been outscored by one

run in total this season. Their bullpen is 27th in the majors with a 4.77 ERA, not a number you'd

usually associate with a good record in one-run games. In this game, however, the bullpen was

excellent as Darvish coughed up a 5-2 lead. The bullpen trio of Jake Diekman, Matt Bush and

Sam Dyson tossed three hitless innings, and Adrian Beltre's two-out double in the eighth plated

the winning run. By the way, if Beltre coming through late in a close game seems familiar, he's

hitting .373 in "late and close" situations.

That Texas bullpen? Despite that ERA they lead the majors with 30 wins.

4. Tough day for the Red Sox. David Ortiz became the oldest player to hit 30 home runs in a

season, but it was otherwise a gloomy day for the Red Sox (other than the Blue Jays also losing).

First, Andrew Benintendi sprained his knee on a bad piece of a base running. The rookie

outfielder was on second when a ground ball was chopped to shortstop. Even though he had

already passed the fielder, for some reason he turned back to second base and, as he tried to

avoid the tag, twisted his knee and ankle. Check tomorrow for the update on his status.

Then Evan Longoria homered off Rick Porcello in the eighth to tie the game -- Porcello's 113th

pitch of the game. Did John Farrell ask too much of Porcello? He'd retired 11 in a row at that

point, so you can see Farrell's thinking, and we can certainly overreact to the artificial round

number of 100. The bigger cause for debate is, it was the fourth time through the order. Brad

Ziegler and Craig Kimbrel each pitched Tuesday, but both had two days off before that, so

bullpen fatigue didn't seem like an issue. I'm not going to fault Farrell too much here, but

Porcello did throw a bad curveball that Longoria hammered.

Anyway, the game went 11 innings and the Red Sox lost on a walk-off error, the third time that

has happened this season (no other team has more than one such defeat). In the replay, you'll see

that Luke Maile was originally called out, but the call was reversed.

5. Gary Sanchez homers again. The Yankees beat the Mariners 5-0 as Masahiro Tanaka threw

his second straight scoreless outing. But the big story was rookie catcher Sanchez homering

again, his ninth in 19 games. He hit 10 in Triple-A all season. His line is now .389/.450/.847.

The Yankees are five games out of the wild card and are 13-9 in August. Maybe they should

have called the kids up earlier.

Joc Pederson and Justin Turner show love for Mamba on 'Kobe Bryant Day'

By Alex Tekip

Los Angeles city officials declared Aug. 24 "Kobe Bryant Day" to commemorate the Los

Angeles Lakers great, who wore the numbers 8 and 24 during his 20 seasons with the team.

Los Angeles Dodgers players Justin Turner and Joc Pederson joined in on celebrating the day.

Turner hasn't been shy about his appreciation for Bryant in the past. When Bryant played his

final NBA game in April, Turner tweeted a picture of himself decked out in Mamba gear.

Pederson's hat, which reads "live like a champ," seems fitting for a day honoring Bryant, a five-

time NBA champion.

For starters, Rich Hill gives the Dodgers the kind of outing they needed

By Doug Padilla

LOS ANGELES -- It only seemed as though Rich Hill climbed a mountain when he reached the

sixth inning Wednesday in his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With Dodgers starters struggling to give the club any length, Hill brought a new vibe to the

proceedings by delivering his six innings on just 81 pitches. He would have gone further, had it

not been his first start since July 17 because of a blister on the middle finger of his left

(throwing) hand.

The Dodgers rode their wildly successful bullpen the rest of the way to nail down a 1-0 victory

over the San Francisco Giants and move three games up in the National League West. It is the

Dodgers’ biggest lead of the season, surpassing the 2½-game lead they had April 24.

The Dodgers’ innings issue from the rotation is best illustrated by a few facts: The club’s most

recent pitcher to offer seven innings was rookie Ross Stripling on Aug. 12. The only other

Dodgers starter to throw a pitch in the seventh inning this month was Scott Kazmir on Aug. 10,

but he didn’t record an out in that frame.

Forgive the Dodgers if they thought Hill looked like a wrecking ball out there.

“It was awesome, man,” said Justin Turner, who supplied the game’s only scoring with a fourth-

inning home run off Giants starter Johnny Cueto. “He went out there and just competed. He just

got the ball and went, his tempo was great, and he pounded the strike zone. He felt he could have

maybe located better and was getting frustrated. I’m like, ‘Man, you’re doing an awesome job

right now. Just keep going. You haven’t pitched in a month.’ That was refreshing. That was nice

to see."

The Dodgers have remained successful, of course, even as the rotation has searched for length.

They have leaned heavily on the all-hands-on-deck bullpen and a resurgent offense that has been

as good as anybody’s in baseball over the past two months.

The Dodgers’ offense actually came to life in June, right around the time Turner started to add to

the attack that had basically been fueled only by rookie Corey Seager. In a tight game

Wednesday, it seemed fitting that Turner was the one to wedge his foot in the door by hitting his

24th home run, 20 of which have come since June 10.

But it has been starting pitching that the Dodgers have looked for ever since Clayton Kershaw

went down with a back injury in late June. Whether Hill can supply a 1-2 punch with Kenta

Maeda until Kershaw’s potential return remains to be seen. His blister issue was so bad during

his short July 17 start for the Oakland Athletics that all the layers of skin tore away from his

finger and left him bleeding on the mound. His return was delayed by the Dodgers multiple

times, but when Hill finally took the mound Wednesday, he felt he had more than 81 pitches in

him.

“I understand the situation, and of course you want to keep going,” the 36-year-old said. “With

the competitiveness of anybody at this level, you don’t want to come out of the game, but I

understand the situation. It’s been probably a month and a half since I have pitched in a

competitive game at this level, so it’s something that as a player you have to step back and look

at the team as a whole and what’s best for the team.”

Dodgers relievers have the second-most innings in the National League this season at 448⅔, so

any help they can get from a starter is appreciated. Kershaw is aiming for a September return, but

he is just one of six Dodgers starters currently on the disabled list.

Rookies such as Stripling and Julio Urias never were expected to be starting this late into the

season, as their pitch counts and innings totals have been protected, but the circumstances have

dictated that they are still out there contributing. Hill is a welcome addition to that starting group,

and his effort against the division-rival Giants was not only appreciated; it was marveled at.

“This was the first time I had a chance to see him in person and up close, and as much energy as

there was in the ballpark tonight with the fans, Richie even raised that level of intensity,”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “To see him take the mound with so much intensity

certainly raised our level. To go six innings after not pitching in six weeks, the command wasn’t

perfect, but he willed himself through six innings, and we came away unscathed.”

It wasn’t all cool breezes and back massages, as Brandon Crawford took reliever Joe Blanton to

the wall for the last out in the eighth inning, but the bullpen did its job, capped by Kenley

Jansen's 37th save. Jansen also recorded his 604th career strikeout, which is tied with Jim Brewer

for most by a Dodgers reliever. Hill moved to 1-0 as a Dodgers starter.

“The intensity was extremely exciting, with the crowd into it and the guys making unbelievable

plays behind me,” Hill said. “If there was anything I can look back at, it was just executing a few

pitches slightly better. But with that said, the environment, the intensity and excitement overall,

it was a lot of fun to be out there pitching.”

Hill solid, Turner homers and Dodgers beat Giants 1-0

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Justin Turner and the Dodgers aren't thinking cruise control just yet.

Rich Hill pitched six dominant innings in his first start with Los Angeles and Turner hit his 24th

homer, lifting the Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants 1-0 on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles has a three-game lead over the Giants atop the NL West after winning in back-to-

back nights facing Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto.

Turner homered in the fourth for the first hit against Cueto. Turner has 20 homers since June 10.

"It's time to put our foot on the pedal and get some separation," Turner said.

Hill (1-0) was on the disabled list with a blister on his left middle finger when the Dodgers

acquired him from the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 1 along with outfielder Josh Reddick. He

allowed five hits and struck out three while throwing 81 pitches in his first appearance since July

17.

San Francisco has lost eight of 10. Cueto (14-4) allowed a run and four hits over six innings, and

his lone mistake was the cutter he left over the plate to Turner.

"It's part of the game," Cueto said. "You win 1-0, you lose 1-0. There's nothing you can do. It's

part of the game. You just have to keep on grinding and keep your head up."

Kenley Jansen got his 37th save to complete the six-hitter. He reached 604 career strikeouts,

tying Jim Brewer for most career strikeouts as a reliever in franchise history.

Cueto had two wins in three previous starts against the Dodgers this season. He's still looking for

his second win in the second half of the season.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the eighth, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made a

visit to the mound to talk with reliever Joe Blanton. He left Blanton in the game, and then

Brandon Crawford flew out to the warning track in right to end the inning.

Roberts threw his arms up in celebration. It was the second important decision he made in the

game -- the first was taking Hill out after six shutout innings -- and both worked.

"I wanted to go out there and look in (Blanton's) eyes and check on him and see how he felt,"

Roberts said. "He took a lot of energy with those first four hitters, but as I went out there, I just

knew he had to stay in the game. It's just the confidence I have in Joe Blanton."

Said Crawford: "I thought I might have had enough. It got in on me a little bit, so I didn't square

it up quite as well as I would have wanted to. I was hoping it might have been enough, but

obviously it wasn't."

The 31-year-old Turner had 31 career home runs entering this season. He hit 16 in 2015, but

before that, he'd never hit more than seven in a season. Turner also singled Wednesday.

The Giants' Angel Pagan had his hitting streak end at 19 games. Los Angeles' Adrian Gonzalez

singled in the fourth to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: Andre Ethier (broken right tibia) took batting practice and was with the team for the

day. He's looking to return in mid-September. ... Alex Wood (elbow impingement) threw on flat

ground. ... Brandon McCarthy (right hip) threw a bullpen session. ... Chase Utley (left foot) came

out of the game and was listed as day to day.

RYU EYEING POSSIBLE RETURN

Hyun-Jin Ryu, who has been out the entire season after undergoing left shoulder surgery, is

expected to begin a throwing program in a couple of days. The Dodgers have missed Ryu and

Clayton Kershaw in the rotation.

"He's about ready to pick up a baseball," Roberts said of Ryu. "Obviously we don't know how

much we can build him up, but it's encouraging that Ryu wants to get back in in any capacity he

can."

UP NEXT

Dodgers: RHP Ross Stripling (3-4, 4.04 ERA) had his only appearance against the Giants come

in his MLB debut earlier this season, a game in which he threw 7 1/3 hitless innings before being

removed after 100 pitches.

Giants: LHP Matt Moore (7-10, 4.18) is looking for his first win with San Francisco since

coming over from the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 1. He is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in four starts for

his new club.

A birth and a beginning mark Rich Hill's debut with the Dodgers

By Doug Padilla

LOS ANGELES -- The birth of Rob Segedin's first child Tuesday night will transition perfectly

into the beginning of the Rich Hill era with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Segedin, who hit a home run Tuesday then raced to the hospital for the birth of his son,

Robinson, was put on the paternity list, opening a roster spot for Hill to start Wednesday against

the San Francisco Giants.

Hill will be making his Dodgers debut more than three weeks after he was acquired from the

Oakland Athletics in a trade that also yielded outfielder Josh Reddick. The Dodgers gave up

pitchers Frankie Montas, Jahrel Cotton and Grant Holmes.

If the Dodgers have a pitch count for Hill in his first start since having a blister rip away from his

finger in July, they are not talking about it publicly.

Hill was one of 27 different players the Dodgers have carried on the disabled list, matching a

record set by the 2012 Boston Red Sox. Every day begins a new roster scramble, but perhaps

none have been as seamless as Segedin bowing out for a day to make room for Hill.

"That worked out really well and we saw some pictures posted [of Segedin's son] so I know that

the Segedins are pleased," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Rob's going to take a day today

and spend time with his new baby."

Getting Segedin to agree to a minibreak wasn't so simple. He made his major league debut on

Aug. 7 and tried to talk the Dodgers into no break, but Roberts insisted on it. The compromise

was to let Segedin start Tuesday even though his wife had already been induced into labor at the

time of first pitch.

Segedin made the most of it by hitting a home run against the Giants' Madison Bumgarner,

leaving Dodger Stadium in the eighth inning to make it to the hospital and then seeing his son

born just before midnight, approximately 50 minutes after the last out.

Whether Hill's debut is as dramatic remains to be seen. The Dodgers have played well since staff

ace Clayton Kershaw has been out because of a lower back injury, but starting pitching has not

necessarily been a team strength.

In the past 41 games, Dodgers starters have failed to go a full five innings 16 times. On the

season, they have 30 starts of less than five innings.

Hill's debut comes at a key time since the club has six starting pitchers on the disabled list:

Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Wood and Scott Kazmir.

Segedin plans to be back with the Dodgers on Thursday so another roster move is on the horizon.

But for now, the team will be satisfied to soak in Hill's debut.

"You know what, I'm just as excited as anyone [for Hill] and I know he's excited too to finally

make his Dodgers debut," Roberts said. "I know he will go out there and compete. I don't know

how perfect his execution will be and I'm sure he will expect the best of himself, but I know he

will give us a chance to win the game tonight and that's all we can expect."

NBC LA

Rich Hill Delivers in Debut as Dodgers Extend Lead in the NL West Over Giants

By Michael Duarte

Good things come to those who wait.

Rich Hill made his long awaited Dodger debut on Wednesday night and did not disappoint as the

left-hander threw six scoreless innings, outdueling Johnny Cueto, and Los Angeles extended

their lead in the NL West to three games with a 1-0 victory against the San Francisco Giants at

Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers had to wait over three weeks on Hill to make his debut as he was immediately

placed on the disabled list with a blister on his left hand after he was acquired at the trade

deadline.

"It was great to get back out there. I've emphasized to stay within the moment and execute one

pitch at a time," Hill said of his return. "It sounds cliche, but if you can do that it's extremely

beneficial."

Hill (10-3) delivered in his first taste of one of baseball's best rivalries as he threw six shutout

innings with no walks and three strikeouts as he stood in the spotlight of a pressure-packed

pennant race.

"You can feel the passion that's out there," Hill said of pitching in the rivalry in the heat of a

division race. "Fans come to see effort and for me, that's what I like to bring out there to the

environment. It was extremely exciting. The intensity overall was a lot of fun."

Dodgers Offense Erupts for 7 Home Runs

Cueto (14-4) had a no-hitter through 3 and 1/3 before Justin Turner broke it up like a branch in

autumn with a solo shot to left field, providing the only run of the game.

"My first at-bat he pounded me in with fastballs, so on that at-bat he threw slider-slider and then

threw a third one in a row that he left up," Turner said of his home run. "I just barely got enough

of it to get out, but I'm happy it did."

The blast was Turner's team-high 24th of the season, the most of his career and ties him with

Albert Pujols and Mike Trout for 31st in the Major Leagues.

Turner's run would turn out to be all the Dodgers needed as Hill and four relievers combined to

shutout San Francisco the remainder of the way.

"I was hoping we would score a lot more," Turner joked after the game. "Tip your cap to Rich

[Hill] and the bullpen. They came in and did an unbelievable job."

Pedro Baez, Adam Liberatore, Joe Blanton and Kenley Jansen combined to hold the Giants to

just one hit over three scoreless innings of relief. For Jansen, he picked up his second straight

save, his 37th save of the season, and first one-run save since June.

Cueto was the hard-luck loser, allowing just the one run on four hits with six strikeouts in six

strong innings of work. The loss was Cueto's first in the month of August.

"It's part of the game. There's nothing you can do when you lose one to nothing," Cueto said

after the game through a translator. "You just have to keep on grinding and keep your head up."

However, the night was all about the return of Hill who gave the 44,000 fans in attendance their

first taste of the soft-throwing southpaw.

"This was the first time I had a chance to see him pitch in person and up close," Dodgers

manager Dave Roberts said. "As much energy there was in the ballpark tonight, Rich rasied that

level of intensity even more."

Fresh as the first beam of a sun, Hill earned his first victory in a Dodger uniform in his first game

on the mound since he threw a few pitches on July 17th. The last full start Hill made was on July

7th when he allowed one run on three hits in six innings against the Houston Astros.

Hill was acquired alongside his teammate Josh Reddick at the MLB trade deadline for three

pitching prospects and is undefeated in his last nine starts overall, posting a record of 7-0 with a

1.80 ERA.

"I wasn't that surprised. I've seen it all year," Reddick said of Hill's outing. "That goes to show

the kind of competitor he is after not pitching for so long to go out there and shutout a lineup like

those guys."

Adrian Gonzalez had a single in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 17

games.

Corey Seager saw his 14-game hitting streak snapped, and San Francisco outfielder Angel Pagan

went 0-for-3 and saw his season-high 19-game hitting streak get snapped.

The Dodgers recorded their MLB-leading 12th shutout of the season and their first 1-0 victory

over the Giants since July 20, 2011 at AT&T Park.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are now tied at six wins apiece through the teams first 12 head-

to-head matchups. They will meet seven more times over the next month in a sprint to the finish

in the National League West.

"Now is the time to put your foot on the pedal and keep going," Turner said of the Dodgers

three-game lead in the division. "You don't ever want to relax with those guys. We have to keep

working hard every day."

Players of the Game:

Justin Turner: Game Winning Home Run

Rich Hill: Six shutout innings

Kenley Jansen: 37th Save.

Three Takeaways:

1. E is for 'Eephus': Dodgers starting pitcher Rich Hill tried to throw a 52 MPH eephus pitch past

Angel Pagan in the top of the fifth inning. The pitch was a ball, but it surprised Pagan.

2. The Bold and the Beautiful: Dodgers super utility player Kiké Hernandez celebrated his 25th

birthday today and made a guest appearance on the CBS Soap Opera "The Bold and the

Beautiful." Hernandez played himself and the episode is expected to air on Sept. 12 when the

Dodgers play the Marlins in Miami.

3. Third Base: Justin Turner needs just four more home runs to join an elite list of Dodger third

baseman with 30 or more home runs in a single season.

Up Next:

Giants (68-58): Matt Moore takes the mound for the first time against the Dodgers wearing a

Giants uniform for San Francisco on Thursday.

Dodgers (71-55): Rookie Ross Stripling will make another spot start as LA goes for the sweep on

Thursday in the finale of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry at 7:10 PM PST.

Oh Baby, What a Month for Dodger Rob Segedin

By Jill Painter Lopez and Jonathan Lloyd

It has been a month to remember for the Dodgers' Rob Segedin.

On Tuesday night, he sprinted from the outfield to the dugout in the eighth inning of LA's 9-5

win over the Giants, received high-fives from teammates and flew down the stairs toward the

clubhouse en route to the hospital to meet his wife for the birth of their child.

That was just a few innings after getting his second major league home run — off Giants ace

Madison Bumgarner, no less.

"I don't even know if he showered," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Segedin was called in from the outfield for a double switch in the eighth inning. He confirmed on

his Instagram account that his son, Robinson Marley, was born at 11:36 p.m.

"After we made that double switch, he made a bee line to the hospital," Roberts said. "He was

moving pretty quickly."

Adding to what has been an amazing month for Segedin, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully

delivered a heartfelt welcome for the new baby during Wednesday night's broadcast. He did so in

typical Scully style, casually dropping it in during an at-bat by Chase Utley with the Dodgers

leading 1-0 in the sixth against the rival Giants.

"Oh by the way, I'm sure that the Segedins... are probably watching the game tonight," said

Scully. "Heartiest congratulations to Rob and Robin, and a little kiss to little Robinson. And,

welcome to the world."

The Dodgers went on to win again Wednesday, 1-0.

Segedin's second-inning homer on Tuesday came after getting his first big league homerun

Monday in an 18-9 win over Cincinnati. Segedin posted a photo on Instagram of him and his

wife in the hospital Monday while he was holding the ball from his first home run.

His wife went into labor Monday when Segedin was in Cincinnati. He went straight to the

hospital after the flight back to LA.

The 27-year-old debuted in the majors earlier this month after playing 561 minor league games.

He nearly retired last year when the Yankees demoted him from Triple-A to Double-A.

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Giants no match for battered Dodgers

By Bruce Jenkins

LOS ANGELES — As fans filed into Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night, they noticed a game

being replayed on televisions along the concourse. Clayton Kershaw was on the mound, back in

June, beating the Giants with an eight-inning masterpiece at AT&T Park.

It marked the essence of wishful thinking, with the Dodgers’ pitching rotation in tatters, and this

was before two more L.A. pitchers were added to the disabled list.

The way this National League West saga is playing out, though, you wonder whether the

Dodgers just might survive the whole mess.

Kenta Maeda, the one L.A. starter who has managed to stay on the roster all season, took the

mound against Madison Bumgarner and made the better, more well-timed pitches when it

mattered most. Both were long gone by the finish, but Maeda’s work set the tone for the

Dodgers’ 9-5 win, giving them a two-game lead in the division race.

This was one of those terrific baseball matchups, so rich in contrast as to be lifted from fiction.

Maeda hails from Japan, where he starred for the Hiroshima Carp and became something of a

national legend. Bumgarner is a down-home country rancher from North Carolina, at peace

among horses, woods and creeks.

Maeda is 6 feet tall and about 155 pounds, with a countenance suggesting quiet, studious

moments. Bumgarner likes to chop down trees, round up livestock and barrel down dirt roads in

his truck. In an MLB.com scouting report last year, Michael Clair described Maeda as “like a

hypnotist at a work retreat, and the baseball is the gullible volunteer.” Kevin Bumgarner once

said of his son, “There was a fire burning in that boy. All you had to do was throw a little coal

on. And he’d steal a steak off the devil’s plate.”

This is Giants-Dodgers 2016, and while it doesn’t always remind you of Mays, McCovey and

Marichal against Koufax, Drysdale and Wills, it has a beauty all its own. The baffling part, and

certainly an annoyance to the Giants, is that Bumgarner can’t seem to beat this team.

This was the fifth straight time the Dodgers have won a Bumgarner start, and it was christened

by a ton of respect from manager Dave Roberts. Removing a fair chunk of left-handed hitting

from his lineup, Roberts went without center fielder Joc Pederson and second baseman Chase

Utley, while right fielder Josh Reddick sat out with a hand injury.

It proved to be quite the balancing act. Rookie Rob Segedin, subbing for Reddick, hit a bases-

empty, second-inning homer that was long gone from the instant of impact. From the left side,

Adrian Gonzalez singled and hit a third-inning sacrifice fly that gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

And shortstop Corey Seager, who might soon end the talk about Brandon Crawford or anyone

else as the National League’s best all-around shortstop, followed a ringing double to right-center

with a deftly stroked single to left, scoring runs during each rally.

Bumgarner just wasn’t right, leaving with a 5-3 deficit after five innings, and as he made his

slow, deliberate walk back to the dugout after each inning, you knew he was seething. Some will

suggest he’s showing signs of fatigue, and considering the fact that he leads the major leagues in

innings pitched (1802/3) — with a workhorse-style career well in progress — it’s a valid notion.

It’s also a bit risky to cast doubt upon Bumgarner, who takes pride in his old-school durability.

He was calm and thoroughly unruffled after game, preferring to use “random” to describe the

Dodgers’ run of success and saying his outing “wasn’t too terribly bad.” Let’s see how

September unfolds before drawing dire conclusions. And you can almost hear the laughter in the

Dodgers’ front office as such a what-if theory gets debated.

Fatigue? The Dodgers would welcome that sort of malady. With Scott Kazmir (neck) and Brett

Anderson (blister) going on the disabled list Tuesday, six counted-upon starters are now

sidelined, including Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood. The Dodgers

have taken plenty of heat for their reliance upon oft-injured starters, and they appear to be paying

a formidable price. Rich Hill, scheduled to pitch Wednesday night, has made only one start —

lasting five pitches — since July 7 due to a lingering blister. But will it matter, with the team

responding so well in full survival mode?

Giants fans will be panicking all over the Bay Area, as is their custom, but manager Bruce Bochy

takes the long view. “We’re still right there,” he said. “But we need to start rollin’ here, get back

to who we are.”

It appears the Dodgers have found their identity, quite by accident. They stumbled upon it under

duress. Until further notice, it’s working splendidly.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Cubs announcers bow to the greatest: Retiring Dodgers announcer Vin Scully

By Ed Sherman

Pat Hughes has a cherished memory of his first encounter with Vin Scully.

Hughes was 16 when he and his brother sneaked into the Dodgers broadcast booth at Candlestick

Park. Scully was in the middle of doing a commercial for Union 76.

"When he was done, he realized we were there," Hughes said. "Instead of telling us to get out, he

winked and said, 'Hey, boys, how are you doing?' "

Hughes, now 61, doesn't have to sneak into the Dodgers' broadcast booth anymore. When the

Cubs play in Los Angeles, the Cubs' radio voice on WSCR-AM 670 always makes it a point to

visit with Scully.

That is why the Cubs' series against the Dodgers this weekend will be bittersweet for Hughes and

TV play-by-play man Len Kasper. The games could be the last time they will see Scully working

in the Dodgers broadcast booth.

Scully, 88, who has defied age for so long, finally is retiring at the end of the season. He is

putting the finishing touches on a career that began in 1950 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

To put his incredible longevity into perspective, Kasper, who is in his 15th year as an MLB

announcer, isn't even 25 percent of the way to matching Scully's 67 seasons in the booth.

Hughes, with 34 years, is barely halfway there.

"It's staggering when you think about it," Kasper said.

Hughes and Kasper insist Scully is going out while still at the top of his game. To say that he is

the Babe Ruth of baseball announcers is a gross understatement.

"He's so much greater than anyone who has ever done this," Hughes said. "It's not even close. It's

an embarrassment of riches. He's the best, he's done it the longest and he's been with one

franchise. It's amazing all of this can be said about one man."

Scully does the Dodgers games solo. Putting an analyst in the booth with him would be an

unwanted distraction. Baseball fans always have wanted as much Scully as they can get.

Hughes goes down a list of attributes that make Scully shine. He talked about his charm, recall of

baseball history and his intense preparation. Even at 88, Scully still grinds for every bit of

information.

Ultimately, though, Hughes and Kasper say it comes down to Scully's voice and command of the

language.

"He's so lyrical," Hughes said. "It's almost like he's singing his play-by-play."

Kasper uses another metaphor.

"It's so striking that what he says, and the words he uses, plays as well on paper as it does on a

broadcast," Kasper said. "He's like a great author. His pen is his voice."

Interestingly, both Hughes and Kasper marvel at how easy Scully makes it seem to do baseball

play-by-play. They know otherwise.

"I'm exhausted at the end of each game," Hughes said. "Vin makes it sound as if he is sitting in a

rocking chair."

However, Scully's announcing skills aren't the first thing people in the business mention when

they talk about him. White Sox TV play-by-play man Jason Benetti met Scully for the first time

this year while working a game for ESPN. He came away with a line that has been echoed by

countless others.

"I'll never forget his kindness and warmth, that's for sure," Benetti said.

"He's incredibly gracious," Kasper said. "He always is so welcoming."

When they meet with Scully, Hughes and Kasper always try to come up with a nugget of

information that Scully could use in a broadcast. Hughes took great delight in once telling Scully

that Harry Caray did a broadcast from the Polo Grounds on the day of Bobby Thomson's famous

homer in 1951. Scully also was on the call in his second year with the Dodgers.

"He said, 'I don't remember that. Thanks for telling me,' " Hughes said.

Hughes said it will be different going to Dodger Stadium next year and not seeing Scully in the

broadcast booth. He will miss talking to his old friend.

Scully's legacy, though, always will loom large. Hughes flashed back to an interview that gets to

the essence of Scully.

"I said to him, '100 years from now when people pull out tapes of your work — and they will —

what do you want people to feel about you?' " Hughes said. "He said, 'It boils down to two

things. I want them to think I was accurate. And I want them to think I was fair. If they want to

say anything else, that's fine. Those are the two main things.'

"It's so simple, but it makes a lot of sense to me."

TODAYS KNUCKLEBALL

Heyman: Dodgers not desperate to trade Puig

By Jon Heyman

The Los Angeles Dodgers have gauged interest in Yasiel Puig, but executives with interested

teams say the Dodgers don’t appear desperate to trade Puig, and in fact have rebuffed offers.

Teams appear to be bottom feeding for Puig in the hopes that the Dodgers want to give him

away, and while the Dodgers don’t seem anxious or even interested in calling him up to the

major-league team, the impression rival executives have is that the Dodgers are clearly not of a

mind to give him away.

While a Dodgers-connected person labeled it “doubtful” he’d appear with the Dodgers’ major-

league team again this year, the Dodgers remain cognizant of his youth and extraordinary talent,

which if anything has been re-affirmed in his brief stay so far with Triple-A Oklahoma City,

where Puig has a slash line of .419/.479/.721.

Perhaps as important, word is that Puig has behaved himself down there (at least since the

getting-acquainted party he seemed to throw on day one).

“He’s handled it exceptionally well and is in a great frame of mind,” one Dodgers person said.

Competing teams, hoping to get a bargain on Puig, have been disappointed. One rival GM said,

“They don’t seem ready to trade him.” Another says, “This guy has a lot of talent. They can’t

just give him away now.” Last week here, one scout expressed almost the opposite opinion.

Perhaps that isn’t such a surprise, as Puig engenders strong opinion.

Josh Reddick’s struggles are frustrating, but not permanent

By Jeremy Dorn

The Dodgers found themselves desperately seeking a package deal of a starting pitcher and

corner outfielder at the trade deadline. In the Oakland A’s, they found a perfect partner. So, to

Oakland went highly-regarded pitching prospects Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes and Jharel

Cotton. Back to Los Angeles came Rich Hill — one of the best pitchers in the AL this season —

and right fielder Josh Reddick.

Hill will finally make his team debut Wednesday against the division-rival Giants and Johnny

Cueto. The blister that kept Hill sidelined until now was a tough test in patience for Dodgers

fans, but they could finally be rewarded if he spins a quality start tonight.

An even bigger test of patience has been waiting for Reddick, whom the team believed could

step into Yasiel Puig’s vacated spot and provide a spark in every facet, to figure it out in Los

Angeles. The guy who the front office believed would bring some pop to the middle of the order,

plus some solid defense, plus some clubhouse camaraderie, plus some work ethic…has struggled

in every category, as far as we can tell.

Reddick, who was hitting .296 with an .816 OPS for Oakland, is 10-for-73 (.149) with one extra-

base hit, zero RBI and a .383 OPS in 19 games for the Dodgers. He’s also struggled in the

outfield, losing multiple balls in the sun and uncharacteristically conking one off his glove when

he took his eye off the ball.

As outsiders, it’s hard to tell if Reddick brings much to the clubhouse. Sans Puig, the unit already

seemed pretty tight, and though Reddick is reportedly well-liked in general, he’s been

completely anonymous to fans as he slogs through his first few weeks in Dodger blue.

Whether that’s due to putting too much pressure on himself to succeed with a new team or an

inability to adjust to a new league (Reddick had only played in the AL prior to this trade) or

simply the post-trade blues, we don’t know.

What we do know is that Reddick has fallen far short of expectations and isn’t doing much to fill

the gap left by Puig (who’s raking in Triple-A, by the way). For the high price the Dodgers paid,

they must expect more. In fact, the team is getting bigger contributions from two unheralded

rookies in right field (Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin) than they are from Reddick.

And, frankly, the team has been fortunate that Reddick, who has spent many of his games hitting

in the cleanup spot, is slumping horribly when the entire rest of the lineup is destroying

everything in its path. Despite his struggles, the team has surpassed the Giants and carries a two-

game lead into Wednesday’s tilt.

So, 450 words later, we’ve exhausted every inch of frustration that comes with Reddick’s rough

start in L.A. and we get to the question at hand: Is this it? Is this what the Dodgers traded for? A

massive bust? Or is there more in the tank for Reddick?

As unquestionably-frustrating as Reddick’s short tenure has been (and rest assured, Reddick is

more frustrated with his performance than any fan, coach or analyst), it’s not permanent. It’s just

not possible. Nobody falls off a cliff like that just because they switch cities.

Sure, a new team and city and league can wreak havoc on someone’s psyche and swing for a

while, but a veteran player who has been traded before won’t stay in this rut forever. Manager

Dave Roberts seems to agree, given that he’s been in the lineup more often than not. We’ve

already seen Roberts try to play with Reddick’s spot in the lineup a little bit to find the right fit.

With everyone else in the lineup on fire, it’s a luxury they have to move Reddick around until

they find the sweet spot.

Oftentimes, Reddick has been trying to pull every pitch he sees, which has resulted in a lot of

ground ball outs. This is, ironically, an issue Puig has dealt with on many occasions. Professional

hitters who start compacting their swings and take the “everything back up the middle” approach

seem to snap out of their funks quite quickly. Reddick probably knows this and is working on

correcting it.

Also, Reddick is exceptionally streaky. Ask anyone who watched him on the A’s. Once he

tweaks his approach and gets a couple hits in a row, that confidence will soar and we’ll have a

real major league outfielder on our hands. In fact, we’ll probably get a red-hot Reddick for a

couple weeks who will wash away all memory of his horrid start.

At his best, Reddick is a .275 hitter with 15-20 homers and 70+ RBI. Dodgers fans can expect

him to make adjustments and catch that hot streak soon and post numbers more in line with what

we’ve seen from Reddick in the past. The early struggles may be annoying, but they’re certainly

not permanent.

Dodgers fans have been forced to receive Ph.D’s in patience this season — what’s one more

waiting game?

YAHOO SPORTS

How baseball's quarter-billion-dollar underdog keeps winning

By Tim Brown

LOS ANGELES – If you’d arrived at Dodger Stadium early enough Tuesday, you’d have been

treated to Rich Hill and Brett Anderson, 60 or 70 paces apart, playing catch in left field.

Hill was already on the disabled list. Anderson would be in a few hours.

Behind them, in the bullpen, a tall figure with flippy hair and cut-off sleeves, that being Clayton

Kershaw, measured the stability of his body over 40 pitches. He’s been on the disabled list for

two months.

Going on five months into a season that probably should have been swamped by bad necks and

achy elbows and sore backs and sprained thises and thats and so, so many blisters, the Dodgers

nevertheless stood in first place in the NL West. The club on Tuesday sent its 27th different

player to the DL, Scott Kazmir doing those honors, and here it is important to point out Kenta

Maeda is the only starter to take the ball every turn, and later Tuesday he beat the San Francisco

Giants and Madison Bumgarner. In January, Maeda accepted a revised contract in which

financial incentives replaced guaranteed money because, yeah, he was believed by the Dodgers

to be a health risk.

(The other pitcher to run into the wrong end of a Dodgers’ medical evaluation last winter was

Hisashi Iwakuma, the free agent who subsequently re-signed with the Seattle Mariners and today

is 13th in the American League in innings pitched and fifth in wins.)

Science can be an inexact science.

None of this would be the least bit interesting (and still might not be) if not for the fact the

Dodgers are winning anyway, and have hauled down the Giants from eight games back, and

seem to be feeling pretty perky about getting Kershaw back before the nights turn too cool.

So, the question is, how? Well, roster depth, for one. A decent bullpen for another. And an

offense that came to life about the time Kershaw’s back locked up.

Here’s a theory kicked around in the clubhouse before Tuesday night’s game against the Giants:

For three seasons, those being with Kershaw No. 1 and Zack Greinke No. 2 in a rotation that

could hardly go wrong after those two, the expectation for winning outran the quest to win.

Therefore, with no Greinke and then no Kershaw, and so without the security blanket of two

wins out of five in the worst of weeks, the rest of the Dodgers were left to discover new ways to

win.

There’s probably not a great way to measure that, as it involves human emotions and frailties,

but, hey, whack 27 different guys from a roster and it makes as much sense as anything. Think of

the Dodgers, and particularly their starting pitching plans, as a box of Christmas ornaments that

fell from the top shelf of the closet, into the path of a walrus stampede, chased by city buses.

Maybe it’s a dumbly romantic view that a bunch of players could find themselves suddenly

without their most talented teammate and play better as a result. Could be a coincidence.

Probably is. On the other hand, the Dodgers are getting about an hour of real pitching a week

from most of their starting pitchers, and it hasn’t killed them yet.

For those who need to put a number next to all scenarios, we offer Corey Seager and Justin

Turner. In the middle of their lineup the Dodgers have two guys who not only hit, but in the view

of the other men in the clubhouse possess the rare gift to hit high-end pitching. That pushes an

offense every night, not just when facing the threes, fours and fives. On Tuesday night it

happened to be Bumgarner.

Seager’s batting average (and OPS) by month:

April: .250 (.707)

May: .301 (.892)

June: .343 (1.085)

July: .347 (.891)

August: .395 (1.054)

And, in 45 games since Kershaw went to the disabled list, Turner has a .326 batting average,

1.017 OPS, 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Anyway, if you’ve ever wondered what a quarter-billion-dollar underdog looks like, the Dodgers

think they could be your huckleberry.

A WEEK BEHIND:

Yasiel Puig in 14 games for Oklahoma City: .396 batting average, .448 on-base percentage,

seven extra-base hits (including four home runs), five walks, five strikeouts, one party bus.

And here’s the completely unrelated, unfair and gratuitous comparison: Josh Reddick in 18

games as a Dodger: .149 batting average, .208 on-base percentage, one extra-base hit (not a

home run), five walks, 12 strikeouts, one room-service mishap.

Said one scout who saw a handful of Puig’s Triple-A games: “He’s hitting the ball hard. I mean,

the infielders are backing up.”

A WEEK AHEAD:

Two fun series this weekend.

The first, Cleveland Indians at Texas Rangers. This may surprise you, but the Indians rake.

They’ve been outscored by only the Boston Red Sox, which they’ve managed with a total of nine

hits – all of them over two weeks in late April and early May – by Michael Brantley, who has

endured shoulder and biceps surgeries since November. The Indians get on base, they steal

bases, they hit enough home runs (Mike Napoli 29, Carlos Santana 27, Jason Kipnis 20), Jose

Ramirez does crazy things in the ninth inning, Tyler Naquin is a top-five Rookie of the Year guy,

and Francisco Lindor is their best player.

The matchups:

Thursday: Josh Tomlin vs. Cole Hamels

Friday: Corey Kluber vs. A.J. Griffin

Saturday: Carlos Carrasco vs. Martin Perez

Sunday: Danny Salazar vs. Derek Holland

The other, Chicago Cubs at Dodgers. The Cubs are who we thought they’d be, while the Dodgers

are who we thought they’d be if they had to use, like, 140 players. Julio Urias’ past three starts:

15 innings, 16 hits, two earned runs, 12 strikeouts, two walks. He’s getting there. He’s also

thrown 102 innings, majors and minors, which doesn’t sound like a lot, except he turned 20 two

weeks ago. And these things make some baseball folks nervous.

The matchups (attempting to nail down Dodgers starters is a fool’s errand, but anyway):

Friday: Mike Montgomery vs. Bud Norris

Saturday: Jason Hammel vs. Anyone’s guess

Sunday: Jon Lester vs. Maeda

SAW IT COMING:

Tim Tebow, the erstwhile quarterback, has invited teams to watch him hit and throw and catch

and stuff in L.A. on Tuesday, some 12 years after he gave up the sport to become a football

player. He was a good football player, if not quite a good NFL player, which left him with time

on his hands and, ultimately, a bat in them.

However many teams show up – 10, 15, 20, all of them – it seems most will attend the

showcase/tryout out of curiosity and duty, because what’s there to lose? An hour for a scout who

would’ve been in the area anyway? You go, you watch, you take notes, because what’s the worst

that could happen? Nobody’s going to be running deep outs.

Unsurprising is the number of current professional players who believe this is a farce, an

embarrassment to the game, and an insult to the grown men already toiling in the minor leagues

for their opportunities.

To which we would suggest: If a 29-year-old man who hasn’t played baseball in a dozen seasons

can take your job, either by name or game, then chances are your career was a wee bit wobbly to

begin with. And if an organization is so cruel as to release a deserving player simply to sell

tickets on the back of the great Tebow, then that player almost certainly is good enough to

warrant signing with another organization anyway.

How many former first-rounders hang around for years based on the fact they were very good

players … in high school? Plenty. The minor leagues aren’t always a merit-based system.

Sometimes they’re a reputation-based system, a signing bonus-based system, a there’s-just-

something-about-him-based system.

You know who that rarely applies to? The really good players. They seem to get all the breaks.

Now, let’s just see what all this Tim Tebow stuff is about.

DIDN’T SEE IT COMING:

The AL Cy Young Award is wide open, unless you actually have a responsibility to vote for it,

then you might describe it as a mess.

ERA:

1. Michael Fulmer: 2.58

2. Danny Duffy: 2.66

3. Cole Hamels: 2.80

4. Jose Quintana: 2.84

5. Aaron Sanchez: 2.99

WHIP:

1. Duffy: 1.01

2. Chris Sale: 1.03

3. Justin Verlander: 1.03

4. Rick Porcello: 1.04

5. Marco Estrada: 1.04

Fangraphs WAR:

1. Corey Kluber: 4.4

2. Masahiro Tanaka: 4.2

3. Quintana: 4.1

4. Sale: 4.1

5. Verlander: 3.7

Strikeouts:

1. Chris Archer: 186

2. Verlander: 181

3. David Price: 179

4. Kluber: 171

5. Sale: 165

Strikeouts-to-walks:

1. Josh Tomlin: 5.61

2. Tanaka: 5.07

3. Duffy: 5.07

4. Porcello: 4.89

5. Price: 4.59

Innings:

1. Price: 177.2

2. Verlander: 173.1

3. Kluber: 169.2

4. Sale: 168.2

5. Porcello: 165

Wins (for the older crowd):

1. J.A. Happ: 17

2. Porcello: 17

3. Sale: 15

4. Chris Tillman: 15

5. Hisashi Iwakuma: 14

And, then, Zach Britton.

LA TIMES

Dodgers Dugout: Looking back at Game 2 of the Giants series

By Houston Mitchell

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. There

was this strange sight on TV last night: A bunch of guys wearing Dodgers uniforms running

around and playing baseball. I haven't seen something like that on TV in ages.

Game 2 of the Giants series

I will be sending out a newsletter after each game of the Giants series. Here are some Game 2

thoughts:

--There was a Rich Hill sighting last night. Hopefully he isn't like Brigadoon and appears only

once every 100 years.

--If Hill continues to pitch like that and if Josh Reddick snaps out of his slump one day, that trade

is going to look pretty good.

--A rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Hill and Kenta Maeda in the playoffs is pretty good.

--My favorite part of the game was Dave Roberts letting Joe Blanton pitch to a left-handed

batter. It had to provide a lift for Blanton that his manager has enough faith in him to leave him

in. That could provide a huge dividend in the playoffs.

--Yeah, I know Blanton gave up a deep, scorched fly ball to Brandon Crawford, but the bigger

unsaid message, "I have faith in you," is still there.

--Of course, if Crawford had gotten a hit, I'd be blasting Roberts for not bringing in a left-hander.

See how much fun second-guessing is?

--With big hits like last night, Justin Turner keeps adding to the dollars he will be able to demand

when he becomes a free agent after the season.

--In 32 games since the All-Star break, Turner is hitting .333 with 11 homers and 30 RBIs. In 86

games before the break, he hit .256 with 13 homers and 44 RBIs.

--Don't look now, but the Dodgers are tied for the fifth-best record in baseball and are on pace

for 91 wins. Pretty impressive for a team that has had more than a full roster of players on the

DL and lost their ace for two months.

--The Dodgers are 30-19 since Kershaw was injured.

--I'd still rather see Andrew Toles or Rob Segedin in right field than Reddick.

--Here's something the Dodgers and all the people involved in the TV situation need to

understand: Seeing them on ESPN last night was nice, but we want to be able to hear Vin Scully

on TV, not the three guys on ESPN who were more interested in making each other laugh than

talking about the game.

--The Dodgers are guaranteed to have at least a two-game division lead when the Cubs come to

town. But a four-game lead sure would be nice.

--Tonight's scheduled starters are Matt Moore for the Giants and Ross Stripling for the Dodgers.

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memory, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish

selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Dan Feldman: So this was at least 20 years ago. I am delivering some printing to a client in

Beverly Hills. A very upscale women’s clothing store. I have my then-young son Jake with me.

He must have been around 6 or 7. So we walk in and who is at the counter? Vin! I quietly say to

Jake, “Jake, you know who that is? He cocks his head and says, Chick Hearn?” "No, that is Mr.

Vin Scully!” So we go up to say hello.

He was buying what seemed to be quite a bit of merchandise for his wife, so I walked up and

told him the usual stuff that we would all tell him if we met him. He was very polite, but seemed

like he wanted to get going. But then he looked down and asked who this nice young man was

standing next to me. I introduced Jake and then he did something that no adult ever has done

when meeting Jake. He got down on one knee so he could be eye-to-eye with him. He shook

Jake’s little hand and said, “Hiya Jake. Do you like baseball?” So they had a little chat and he

was so gracious and patient with my little guy while they talked baseball for what seemed liked

15 minutes. It was probably 90 seconds. Anyhow, he shook both our hands and said it was a

pleasure meeting us! Imagine that.

Fast-forward about 15 or so years, I am making a delivery to the same client and who do I see in

the parking lot? Vin again. I walk up and say hello, reminded him of our meeting years ago in

the same store he is about to go into. He says he remembers and how is my son? Quite honestly,

how could he remember? I think he was just being kind to a fan, but nonetheless what a

thoughtful thing to say. I tell him my boy is in medical school and Vin just clasps his hands

together and says in that wonderful voice of his, “Isn’t that wonderful! You tell him hello for

me." Oh I did.

The TV situation

If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: the

Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t

carry the Dodgers. Here’s whom to contact:

For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS ([866] 363-4377). (I hope you like form

letters.)

For Time Warner, click here.

For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here.

For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and

for the website.

And finally

Vin Scully welcomes baby Robinson Segedin into the world. Watch and listen to it here.