Gagne Just Plain Filthy
Eric Gagne had another dominant week picking up 3 saves while striking out 8 in 3 innings of work. Gagne has now struck out an incredible 67 in 37 innings, an average of 16.3 strikeouts per nine innings. The major league record for relievers with at least 35 innings in a season in 14.95 strikeouts per nine innings by Houston's Billy Wagner. Gagne is also on pace to save 62 games, which would break the major league record of 57 set by the White Sox's Bobby Thigpen in 1990.
I attended Tuesday nights game against the Giants and Gagne made Benito Santiago, Edgardo Alfonzo and Jose Cruz look silly. He struck out all three throwing 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes. After throwing Santiago 96 mph heaters, Gagne struck him out with a 68 mph curveball. He worked similar magic on Cruz Jr.
Lo Duca's Streak Ends at 25
Paul Lo Duca was held hitless in Jason Schmidt's shutout performance on Thursday night ending his 25 game hitting streak. It was the longest Dodger hitting streak since Steve Sax hit in 25 straight in 1986; Willie Davis holds the franchise record with a 31-game hit streak in 1969. During the streak, Lo Duca hit .422 (43-102) with 8 doubles, 4 homers and 14 RBI.
Lo Duca is making a strong case for his first All-Star appearance as he currently ranks 2nd in OPS (.872) among NL catchers, trailing only Atlanta's Javy Lopez (1.020 OPS). Last season Lo Doca had a strong first half, however Bob Brenly selected Damian Miller who happened to be on the D'Backs.
Rumor Mill
The Dodgers chances of landing Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell jumped overnight with Chicago's acquisition of Jose Hernandez. Hernandez will now man third base for the Cubs and if he plays well, the Cubs probably won't deal for another third baseman. Dodger fans drool over Lowell's league leading 22 homers.
Injuries Kevin Brown (SP) - day-to-day (groin)
Brown strained his left groin running out a grounder in his last start against the Giants. He felt much better the next day and isn't expected to miss his next start.
Fred McGriff (1B) - day-to-day (groin)
McGriff has missed the last 5 games with an injured right groin. He's about 60-70% and will likely miss this weekends freeway series with the Angels. He should be back sometime next week.
Darren Dreifort (SP) - 15-day DL (right knee)
Dreifort had successful surgery on his MCL where a six-inch piece of a heel cord from a cadaver was attached to Dreifort's knee ligament. He'll hopefully be back at the start of the 2004 season.
Hot (last 7 days)
Paul Lo Duca (C): .360 (9-25), 3R, 4-2B, 1HR, 3RBI
Cesar Izturis (SS): .316 (6-19), 2R, 1-3B, 1RBI
Not (last 7 days)
Adrian Beltre (3B): .143 (4-21), 2R, 2-2B, 2RBI
Shawn Green (RF): .174 (4-23), 2R, 3-2B, 5RBI
Last Week's Results (4-2)
6/13: 4-3 win over Indians
6/14: 5-2 win over Indiants
6/15: 4-3 win over Indians
6/17: 4-1 win over Giants
6/18: 8-2 win over Giants
6/19: 2-0 loss to Giants
================================================
Check back every Friday for the latest Dodger news. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this column, please use the comments section below or feel free to e-mail me at dodgers@fantasyinfocentral.com
Posted by Chris Wang at June 20, 2003 12:26 PM
Ask Chris Wang a question here.
Discuss sports on the message board!
