Latest Team News
The steaking Dodgers, winners of 7 in a row, have cut the Giant's lead to 2.5 games. While the Dodgers swept both of their series' for the week, it was the pitching that dominated and the offense did just enough to get the wins. The Dodger offense hit .258 for the week while the pitchers held the opposition to .151.
Eric Gagne was a machine this week saving all 6 games as he struck out 13 of the last 14 outs that he recorded. Gagne has been absolutely filthy this season. He has 45 strikeouts and only 5 walks in 25 innings of work. His K/9 ratio is at 16.2! The bullpen as a whole continues to shine as they allowed no runs for the week in 12.1 innings of work.
Beltre Woes Continue
Beltre had an absolutely dreadful month of April hitting .202 with a .256 OBP and .417 SLG. That's so poor for a corner infielder that it couldn't get worse. But it has, Beltre is hitting just .161 with a .226 SLG for May. He looks lost at the plate and is showing no signs of breaking out. He continues to start but simply isn't producing. There's no reason to have Beltre on your roster right now unless you're in a deep NL-only league.
Offense Needs Tuneup
The Dodgers offense is doing just enough to win games but overall the offense has been low octane. The Dodgers as a team have just 28 homers which ranks them last in the NL and 9 behind the second worst. Their 170 runs are also at the bottom of the NL and once again it's their lack of plate discipline that is hurting them - the Dodgers rank last in walks with 132. On the positive side, the Dodgers are the 3rd toughest team to strikeout in the NL.
Local Spin
With the Lakers out of the playoffs and Kobe's tears dry, the focus has turned to the Dodgers. The weekend games are near sell outs and the Dodgers look like the Dodgers of old (great pitching and enough offense to stay in the hunt).
With the offense struggling, the Dodgers from last year look eerily similar to this season. The Dodgers head to Milwaukee tonight where Shawn Green went on his offensive tear to drive the Dodgers into first at the All-Star Break. Last season on May 22nd, Green was hitting just .231 with 3 homers, 22 RBI and a .346 SLG. Five games later, Green had added 9 homers to his total. This season Green is hitting .265 with 5 homers, 22 RBI and a .448 SLG. Glendon Rusch started the game that Green hit 4 homers and Rusch gets the start tonight. As a Dodger fan, one can only hope that lightning strikes twice in Milwaukee this weekend.
Injuries Dave Roberts (CF) - 15-day DL (strained right hamstring)
Roberts plans to go on a two-day rehab assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas late next week. He hopes to be activated from the DL June 1st. He has resumed taking batting practice Wednesday and will continue to work out and undergo therapy during the teams six game road trip.
