Dick Allen Award: Marlins making runs matter

With Giancarlo Stanton having his best year and Dee Gordon adding juice to the top of their lineup, the Miami Marlins are much improved offensively. They are defending their first Dick Allen Award in two years this weekend against the Cincinnati Reds.

Giancarlo Stanton has 10 homers in June, approaching his own Miami Marlins records for most home runs in a month (Arturo Pardavila III/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Miami Marlins are defending the Dick Allen title for the first time in two years this weekend, which makes this a worthwhile time to look at two players on that club who really are ripping it up.

The Marlins took the Allen by winning three of four at home against the Colorado Rockies June 11-14 before going into four interleague games against the New York Yankees. The Marlins picked up their National League schedule this weekend in Cincinnati, where they were 35-55 all-time against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds won the opener Friday night, 5-0, marking the 11th straight time the Reds held Miami to four runs or fewer going back to May 14, 2013, about a month before the Marlins last won the Allen. The Marlins returned the favor Saturday with a 5-0 win against the Reds behind seven shutout innings by Justin Nicolino, who allowed only four hits in his Major League debut.

So, the Marlins and Reds will meet Sunday for the Dick Allen. The Reds are taking their third crack this year at the Allen, but they have yet to win it and they are 2-6 this season in Allen games.

After giving the impression of being a team on the rise last season, the Marlins are only 30-40 overall this season playing in the weak National League East. The problem is not their offense.

In 2013, the Marlins ranked last in the National League with only 39 games in which they scored five or more runs. Last year, they improved to 56 such games, raising their ranking to ninth in the NL. This year, they have reached five or more runs in 28 games, which ties them for fifth with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Their best hitter is Giancarlo Stanton, who is one of the best hitters anywhere. Stanton leads the Major Leagues with 25 homers, reaching that mark in only 67 games. Stanton became the fourth player in the last 10 years to reach 25 homers that fast, behind Albert Pujols (who did it in 49 games in 2006), Alex Rodriguez (63 in 2007) and Jose Abreu (67 in 2014).

Stanton has 10 home runs in June, approaching his own club record for most home runs in any month (12 in May 2012). The most home runs in a month by any player this year is 13 by Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals in May.

Then, there's Dee Gordon, who went to Miami from the Dodgers in a batch of trades that ended with the Dodgers getting Howie Kendrick from the Angels to play second base. A lot of people around the Dodgers like Kendrick at second base, but it's hard to say they're better off without Gordon.

Friday night, Gordon reached 100 hits this season in his 65th game, becoming only the sixth player in the National League since 1961 to get there that quickly. The fastest was another speed merchant, Ralph Garr, who reached 100 hits for the Atlanta Braves in his first 62 games of the 1974 season. Gordon entered this weekend's series on a pace to have 131 hits at the All-Star break, averaging 1.5 hits per game. He had one hit in each of the first two games of the Cincinnati series.

The Marlin last won the Allen June 20-23, 2013, on the road, taking three of four from the San Francisco Giants. The Marlins defended the prize twice before losing three straight on the road to the St. Louis Cardinals July 5-7 that year. Historically, the Marlins are 24-24 in games for the Allen, winning the prize three times and defending it in three of five attempts. This weekend's series is their 15th series for the prize all time.

Between their last successful title defense and this year's Allen victory against the Rockies, the Marlins were 4-12 in Allen games, failing four attempts to win it.

All-time in the Allen games, the Reds are 53-53. This weekend's series is their 36th for the Allen. They have won nine titles since the prize began during the 2011 season.

West League: Dodgers streak to seven straight

The Dodgers brought two northern opponents to Chavez Ravine last week and cruised to a 6-0 homestand, bringing their winning streak to seven. They have the early lead in the West League. But they travel this week to the haunts of the floundering San Francisco Giants.

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is swinging as much bat as anyone in the game right now, leading his club to a streaking start in all competitions (TonyTheTiger/Creative Commons Share Alike-Attribution 4.0 International license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A look at the early West League standings reveals that the balance of power in the west is in the south, particularly Southern California.

The Dodgers (9-3) have won seven in a row after wolfing down two northern opponents, the Seattle Mariners and the Colorado Rockies, in a 6-0 home stand that ended Sunday. The only other club that's even two games above even in the West League, the San Diego Padres, recently enjoyed a good home stand against two northern division clubs, winning three of four against the San Francisco Giants and two of three against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Maybe some of this will shake back as the Dodgers and Padres hit the road. We could find out quickly.

The Dodgers are in San Francisco Tuesday through Thursday, and even though the Giants are a scuffling 4-10, well, you know the rest.

Right now, though, the Dodgers are riding high. No one in the game is on-basing (.527), slugging (.939), or, therefore, OPSing (1.467) better than Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and he has company in that lineup. Two other Dodgers are in the OPS Top 20 across the Major Leagues — second baseman Howie Kendrick (tenth, 1.105) and rookie center fielder Joc Pederson (20th, .990).

So, the Dodgers are doing fine offensively without Matt Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Dee Gordon. They probably ought to be better defensively with those three replaced, respectively, by Pederson, Jimmy Rollins and Kendrick. Pederson has been terrific with the glove. Rollins, Kendrick and Gonzalez have been less so. But the Dodgers lead all of baseball with a team OPS of .885, which covers a lot of defensive problems.

Much was made during the winter about the Padres bring in a new outfield, and it's worked out well so far, with Kemp (162 OPS-plus), Wil Myers (114) and Justin Upton (191) all hitting. But they haven't outshined the Padres' new pitchers, which is why the Padres are fourth across baseball in staff ERA at 2.79. Give it to newcomers James Shields (2.84), Brandon Morrow (1.29) and Craig Kimbrel (1.42 with four saves).

Games of April 5

St. Louis 3, at Chicago (NL) 0.

Games of April 6

at Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 2.

at Detroit 4, Minnesota 0.

at Kansas City 10, Chicago (AL) 1.

Games of April 7

St. Louis at Chicago (NL), ppd.

Games of April 8

at Chicago (NL) 2, St. Louis 0.

at Detroit 11, Minnesota 0.

at Cincinnati 5, Pittsburgh 2 (11 innings).

at Kansas City 7, Chicago (AL) 5.

Games of April 9

at Cincinnati 3, Pittsburgh 2.

at Detroit 7, Minnesota 1.

at Kansas City 4, Chicago (AL) 1.

Games of April 10

Detroit 8, at Cleveland 4

Minnesota 6, at Chicago (AL) 0.

at Cincinnati 5, St. Louis 4.

Pittsburgh 6, at Milwaukee 2.

Games of April 11

St. Louis 4, at Cincinnati 1.

at Chicago (AL) 5, Minnesota 4.

Detroit 9, at Cleveland 6.

at Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 0.

Games of April 12

Detroit 8, at Cleveland 5.

St. Louis 7, at Cincinnati 5 (12 innings).

at Chicago (AL) 6, Minnesota 2.

Pittsburgh 10, at Milwaukee 2.

Games of April 13

at Chicago (NL) 7, Cincinnati 6.

at Pittsburgh 5, Detroit 4.

Milwaukee 5, at St. Louis 4.

Kansas City 12, at Minnesota 3.

Games of April 14

Detroit 2, at Pittsburgh 0.

Chicago (AL) 4, at Cleveland 1.

Cincinnati 3, at Chicago (NL) 2.

Games of April 15

at Cleveland 4, Chicago (AL) 2.

Detroit 1, at Pittsburgh 0.

at Chicago (NL) 5, Cincinnati 0.

at Minnesota 3, Kansas City 1.

at St. Louis 4, Milwaukee 2.

Games of April 16

at St. Louis 4, Milwaukee 0.

at Minnesota 8, Kansas City 5.

Games of April 17

at Detroit 2, Chicago (AL) 1.

at Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 3.

at Minnesota 3, Cleveland 2.

at St. Louis 6, Cincinnati 1.

Games of April 18

Chicago (AL) 12, at Detroit 3.

Cleveland 4, at Minnesota 2.

at St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 2.

at Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 2.

Games of April 19

at Detroit 9, Chicago (AL) 1.

at Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 2.

at Minnesota 7, Cleveland 2.

at St. Louis 2, Cincinnati 1.

Kershaw no Koufax ... and thank heaven!

Comparisons between Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax are inevitable and, fortunately, misguided. Kershaw will never be used as Koufax was used, which means we don't have to worry that Kershaw will retire at age 30 with a traumatically arthritic left arm. That aside, Kershaw not only is the best pitcher, but the best complete baseball player going today.

Clayton Kershaw, left, and Sandy Koufax, right, aren't exactly mirror images (Original crop and collage. Kershaw photo by kla4067/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Koufax photo by unknown. It is believed that this cropped, low-resolution image constitutes fair use in the absence of a public domain image).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Appropriate witness to the greatness of Clayton Kershaw is easily to be found, except in these pages, and we shall attempt to rectify that error forthwith.

Our version shall contain a slightly different wrinkle, however, for the usual account contains the details of Kershaw's standing merely as a pitcher, of which he is the best in the world at this moment, and for at least the last three or four years of moments, and, perhaps for three or four years of moments hence, if not for longer. 

If all one knows about Kershaw is the man on the mound and the pitches coming from his hand, that, alone, imparts the knowledge that the Dodgers left-hander is the best. The fastball isn't 100 miles per hour, but he has gotten it to 98, and he works it 92-95 with puzzling late movement that sometimes tails in on a right-handed hitter, highly unusual for a left-handed pitcher. But that slider, which touches 88, probably is his best pitch, and his looping 12-to-6 curveball is his most beautiful. They all work. Sometimes, rarely, he throws a changeup. It works, too. 

If all one knows about Kershaw is what appears on the spreadsheet, the black ink imparts the knowledge that the Dodgers left-hander is the best. Kershaw won his 19th game of 2014 on Sept. 14 in San Francisco, a 4-2 win against the San Francisco Giants. With 19 wins, Kershaw leads the National League, despite missing the entire month of April with injury. He missed four or five starts that way, enough for four or five wins. He's 19-3. He also leads the NL in complete games (six), ERA (1.70), winning percentage (.864), ERA-plus (210), fielding independent pitching (1.86), WHIP (0.826), fewest hits per nine innings pitched (6.1), strikeouts per nine innings pitched (10.6) and strikeouts per walk (7.82). He already won the Cy Young Award in 2011 and 2013, finished second in 2012, and has to win it again this year.

Kershaw now is working on his fourth straight NL ERA title, his third straight league leadership in ERA-plus, his fourth straight league leadership in WHIP, and his third league leadership in four years in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (which also is his fourth in six years). 

Comparisons with the all-time great Dodgers left-hander Sandy Koufax are inevitable, and they are rather forced. Each is the best left-hander of his time. That's where it ends, and where it should end. These are different times, and they are different men. Additionally, the great Koufax we remember and the great Kershaw of today are in different stages of their careers.

Behold, to begin, this composite of Koufax's last four seasons, 1963 through the present point in 1966. We'll never see anything like it again.

The closest to it that we will see today is this composite of Kershaw's last four years, 2011 through this point in 2014. It dazzles, but it does not compare.

We should remember, however, that Kershaw was much younger for the last four years than Koufax during 1963-1966. Kershaw is 26 today. Koufax was 30 when he retired at the end of the 1966 season. When we compare Koufax in the four years through his age 26 season to Kershaw's four years to this point, Kershaw is ahead, hands down. Here is the composite for Koufax for the four years ending with his age 26 season in 1962.

The Koufax we came to know began in 1963, his age 27 season, when he won the first of his three Cy Young Awards in four years. Kershaw will never be that guy, which is for the best. Teams invest too much in their premium pitchers today to load them up with 330 innings per year and force their retirements just so they may have functioning arms for the rest of their lives. Koufax did just that, and for just that reason, after the 1966 season.

At his retirement press conference, Koufax was asked, famously, how he could walk away from all the money he could make as a baseball player. Koufax replied that if a man lost the use of one of his arms, he would pay any amount of money to get it back and that, in a sense, is what he was doing. Koufax made $125,000 in 1966, claiming the highest salary in the game due largely to his dual holdout with Don Drysdale. 

Koufax already knew he was in trouble when he missed the last six weeks of the 1964 season with traumatic arthritis in his left arm. At the end of spring training in 1965, his arm was black and blue from hemorrhaging. He papered over it with cocktails of pain-killing drugs, ointments and ice, then pitched 335 2/3 innings that year. His feats of sacrificial endurance continued through Game 7 of the World Series, when he entered on two days of rest before all but ditching his curveball by the third inning. Throwing almost all fastballs, Koufax beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-0, in a complete-game three-hitter. 

Then came 1966, with its 27-9 record, its 1.73 ERA, its 41 starts, its 27 complete games, its five shutouts, its 323 innings and its 317 strikeouts, all league-leading totals. Then came his retirement.

Kershaw will never go through anything like that, and we should be grateful. No club would be dumb enough to abuse a great pitcher to that extent. The reason no club would be that dumb isn't so much that clubs are enlightened, as that they are invested. The Dodgers have Kershaw signed to a seven-year contract worth $215 millions. Or, we should say, Kershaw has the Dodgers signed to that contract. Koufax had the Dodgers signed to nothing, so tearing him up cost the Dodgers nothing. Those were the days before the union mattered, though Koufax also deserves credit for helping to make the union matter. His dual holdout with Drysdale showed players what they might accomplish by bargaining collectively. His early retirement showed players what they might lose by not bargaining collectively, though they were beginning to realize that already.

Kershaw is signed for six more seasons, at annual salaries from 2015 through 2020 ranging from $30 million to $33 million. At the end of that contract, Kershaw will be 32. Those salaries are guaranteed. The Dodgers are paying them even if Kershaw's arms fall off. The Dodgers will bear most any burden to keep those arms from falling off. The bore no such burden for Koufax.

So, Kershaw isn't Koufax, and we don't want him to be Koufax. Kershaw is something else, entirely, and, for this, he doesn't receive nearly his deserved credit.

Kershaw isn't merely a great pitcher, the greatest of our time. He is much more than that, an outstanding baseball player at all facets of the game. Pitchers aren't supposed to be great baseball players, and few are. They are supposed to be great pitchers, and few are even that. Kershaw is a great performer in every aspect of the game. He might not be Babe Ruth if he had the chance, but comparisons with Babe Ruth make about as much sense as comparisons with Koufax – if comparisons between Ruth and anyone make any sense, or, for that matter, if comparisons between Koufax and anybody make any sense. Ruth, of course, was a dominant left-handed pitcher with the Boston Red Sox before he became a dominant power hitter with the New York Yankees.

Kershaw has one home run in his whole life, a memorable blast on Opening Day 2013 to beat the Giants, 1-0. In his last four seasons, he is a .196 hitter, remarkable for any pitcher, considering that they place no emphasis on hitting. As a batter, Kershaw has positive WAR in his career (1.2). It is absolutely no rarity for Kershaw to throw a complete game and go one-for-three at the plate. Excepting the concern about possible injury, a manager in a bind wouldn't hesitate to run him up there as a left-handed pinch hitter.

Nor would such a manager hesitate to use Kershaw as a pinch runner, because he has more presence of mind and competitive drive on the bases than many everyday players. We saw a great example on Sept. 2, when the Washington Nationals visited Dodger Stadium. Batting with one out in the bottom of the fifth in a scoreless game, Kershaw singled. When Dee Gordon followed with a ground single to center field, Kershaw challenged Nationals center fielder Bryce Harper with a sprint to third base. Kershaw won the challenge, easily beating Harper's throw and enabling Gordon to take second. Kershaw, the pitcher, set a tone that day. Kershaw, the batter and base runner, finished it. With two out that inning, Adrian Gonzalez hit a ground ball to short and the Washington shortstop, Ian Desmond, lost so much nerve thinking about an aggressive Kershaw and a speedy Gordon that he threw wildly to home and both runners scored. The Dodgers won that game, 4-1.

As a defender, Kershaw's perfectionism continues. He won a Gold Glove in 2011, and certainly could argue for more. Kershaw has made only four errors in his entire career, which comes to 209 appearances (207 starts) his fielding percentages have been higher than the league averages for pitchers ever year starting with 2009 and, by the defensive runs saved metric, he saves five runs per game as a defender compared with other pitchers over the last four years.

Koufax, great of a pitcher as he was, never was any match for Kershaw as a hitter, base runner or fielder, by the metrics or by eye witness testimony.

It isn't simply that Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher of our time. There isn't a better complete player, period.

Editor's note: All advanced statistics in this piece are from Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise indicated.

Dodgers improve by inches, not miles

The Dodgers didn't create much of a sensation at the non-waiver trading deadline, obviously. But they did improve their ball club by adding three guys who weren't even stars with poor clubs. The Dodgers picked up what they need, which isn't stars.

Roberto Hernandez, pitching as Fausto Carmona for the Cleveland Indians in 2008 (Eric Kilby/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

On the heels of two huge deals involving high-end pitching at the at the non-waiver trading deadline two weeks ago, some wondered why the Dodgers were silent.

But the Dodgers got it right. Instead of dealing away a prospect or two for a high-priced, two-month pitcher rental, the Dodgers made precisely the kind of deal this corner advocates. In fact, they made three deals illustrating the principle that one improves a ball club by inches rather than miles, picking up three solid big leaguers to fill marginal roles and, apparently, giving up next to nothing.

Earlier discussions in these pages have addressed the typical over-valuing of "name" pitchers at the non-waiver trading deadline – a pitcher qualifying as a "name" if he happens to be the pitcher with the best reputation among those who are available at the moment. Last year, the "name" at the bewitching hour was Bud Norris.

At that moment, we took a stab at complaining about deadline trades, because so many of them miss the immediate principle behind the trade. The general rule here advised is this: You're dealing for right now. You're trading for outs, immediate outs. Not names. It doesn't mean you must bargain away future prospects. It means you need a pitcher who is getting batters out at this moment.

He might not be a famous pitcher. He might be someone who is lost in the shuffle, perhaps the third- or fourth-best starting pitcher on a last-place club like the Philadelphia Phillies. He might be a guy who's only going to cost $1.5 million bucks for two months of regular season, and a couple of less-heralded prospects. And you might get a guy who has been through a couple of battles.

He might be, for example, Roberto Hernandez, who came to the Dodgers last week in exchange for two players to be named later. One wonders when hearing about players to be named later how much of it is provisional on how well the Dodgers fare for the rest of this season, but reports indicate that at least it doesn't involve Corey Seager, Joc Pederson or Julio Urias.

Hernandez fits the bill as a pitcher who is getting hitters out now. He only did 6-8 with a 3.87 ERA for the Phillies before last week's trade, and his WHIP was 1.347. From 2011 through 2013, he was 13-31 with a 5.19 ERA 198 starts. In nine Major League seasons, Hernandez is 65-90 with a 4.58 ERA in 198 starts. Baseball-Reference.com puts his lifetime WAR at 6.2, with negative WAR in five of his last six seasons entering 2014. But none of that really matters. Hernandez is getting hitters out now.

Throw out his first five starts this year and he's got a 3.33 ERA with a .242 batting average against him on balls hit in play starting on April 29 through his last start with the Phillies on Aug. 1. That's two months with 93 1/3 innings in 15 starts, which means he has gotten into the seventh inning, on average.

In his last seven starts with the Phillies, beginning on June 23, Hernandez tossed a 2.85 ERA in 47 1/3 innings over seven starts, just about seven innings per start. Batters hit .189 against him, with a .212 batting average on balls hit in play. Only one home run against him.

So, maybe his name isn't David Price or Jon Lester – it isn't even Fausto Carmona! – but Hernandez has been getting the job done and, we add, those last seven starts came against, among others, the Atlanta Braves, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Milwaukee Brewers, the San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals, all strong playoff contenders.

In his first start for the Dodgers on Aug. 8, Hernandez simply did what he's been doing while hiding in plain site for the last two months. He gave up two runs in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, but that was all they got through his six innings and he left with a 3-2 lead. Had Hernandez pitched into the seventh, he would have fared no worse than the Dodgers bullpen, which promptly gave up four runs on the way to a 9-3 loss in Milwaukee.

If Hernandez keeps doing that, or close to it, then he's what the Dodgers need, which is just a fourth starter who will keep them in games for the rest of the regular season. As the No. 4, Hernandez isn't who Dodgers will lean upon to carry them through the playoffs.

Hernandez should get no more than one start in each playoff series, because the smart postseason play for the Dodgers is to lean on their strong front three of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu. Again, if the Dodgers had traded the farm for David Price, they would have acquired much more pitcher than they actually need in exchange for much more future than they need to give up. The postseason schedule never forces a team to play four days in a row, so it's no strain to pile almost every start on the front three while giving all of them their four days of rest each time, and maybe a little more.

Assuming one day off between series and a day off for each venue change within a series, and also assuming the maximum number of games in each series, let's additionally assume that the Dodgers go with Kershaw in their first game of the playoffs. If they follow, in turn, with Greinke and Ryu, they can keep all three in rotation on regular rest for as long as the playoffs take. In that event, they would only need Hernandez for one start in each series, and only if the series goes at least six games in the last two rounds.

Maybe the arrangement doesn't give the Dodgers maximum flexibility, but we can't say it doesn't give them enough starting pitching. Would it really be worthwhile to take starts from any of those three just to make sure Price gets enough starts? It it worth someone like Corey Seager or Joc Pederson? Do the Dodgers gain as much as they lose in that exchange?

Probably not, though we grant that the Detroit Tigers look a lot less wrong in the trade for David Price now that Anibal Sanchez has been placed in the disabled list and Justin Verlander might be going there. You can't plan for injuries, and the Tigers certainly didn't, because you really shouldn't plan for injuries, unless some player is especially vulnerable to injury. If the Dodgers should lose one of their front three, we won't blame the front office for laying off Price. It would be odd to say, "The general manager should have traded away two players who stand to be 10-year regulars for them, just in case Kershaw got hurt." The Dodgers have enough players to win already.

So, why do the Dodgers pick up guys who can't stick with the last-place Chicago Cubs, like Darwin Barney, or who are expendable to to last-place Minnesota Twins, like Kevin Correia? Because those clubs are searching for front-line guys, which these guys aren't, and the Dodgers don't need them for that. The Dodgers can use them more suitably.

Perhaps the Correia deal is a bit of a head-scratcher. Corriea has built a 12-year Major League career on not being very good. He has spent the entire time just on the right side of the line between being the proverbial "replacement" player and being just enough better than a replacement player to get a two-year contract for $10 million from the Twins entering his age 32 season in 2013. Bad teams need starting pitchers, too, and Corrieia has taken his turn with a lot of those clubs. He pitched six years for the San Francisco Giants before they were good, then he pitched a couple of years for the San Diego Padres, then he pitched two years for the Pittsburgh Pirates before they were good, then he was on to the Twins.

Baseball-reference.com gives Correia's lifetime WAR as 5.3 in 12 seasons, just barely better than a 4A guy would have done. But that's better than a lot of clubs have to fill the role the Dodgers have for Correia, which, they say, is to pitch long relief and take an occasional start. That's what a mid-rotation guy on a poor club becomes when he joins a good one. It certainly would be more cost-effective to just run a 4A guy out there, but the Dodgers don't have those guys lying around, so they're going for the little edge here, and it doesn't cost them a lot

The Cubs gave Barney three years to claim their second base position because he is such a spectacular fielder. But he was a poor hitter in his rookie season of 2011 (.666 OPS) and he has been progressively worse each year. If Barney could hit just a little bit, he would be a highly valuable player, an every day player who could draw a deal from a good team when he goes free agent in 2017. His range at second base is right there with anyone, and he makes some of the most remarkable throws of any player on any baseball field. But he hits so poorly that it's questionable if he will still be in the big leagues when 2017 arrives.

Could be, though, that Barney has a long future as a spare infielder who can at least catch it and throw it when the regular second baseman or shortstop goes down, something on the order of John McDonald, who now plays for the Angels. With so many more hitters than the Cubs, the Dodgers could even get away with Barney as the every day second baseman or shortstop for at least a while because he adds uncommonly to the infield defense. He's not going to move Dee Gordon off second base, of course, but Hanley Ramirez and his impending free agency project a hole at shortstop after this season.

It happens that Seager, the organization's top prospect, is playing shortstop every day at Chattanooga of the Southern League, a 20-year-old in a league where the average position player is on the high side of 24. He's batting .343 in 70 at-bats there after hitting .352 in 327 at-bats for Rancho Cucamonga of the California League, where the average player is nearly 23. So, Seager appears to be coming fast, and he might be the big league shortstop at the start of next season.

But if he isn't ready, Barney could be a nice one-year place holder so Seager can have a little more time for development. As much as Ramirez hits, Barney is so superior defensively that it might not even be a net loss – and that's a comfortable statement even though Barney has played very little shortstop in the Major Leagues. Maybe Gordon moves back to shortstop and Barney takes second base for a year. They could break Seager in gently, if they need to, and still be covered.

The Dodgers don't need any of these new acquisitions to be stars. They've got stars. They need complementary players to fill little gaps for this year and, maybe, beyond. They haven't made headlines. But they have made their club better.

Editor's note: All numbers in this piece are from Baseball-Reference.com.

A Dodgers-Giants division race? About time!

It's been 10 years since the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants duked it out in the National League West. Now, at long last, blaring out of the All-Star break, here it comes.

We thought a National League West race between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants might materialize in 2012, but it didn't. This season, it has (public domain image).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

We're just about to that point at which every club across Major League Baseball has played 100 games, and the last month of Dodgers games will never be confused with 42-8.

But it's certainly good enough for now. And only for now.

For now, the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants are right with each other on top of the National League West, trading the lead back and forth. The true reason is another June swoon by the Giants after they had won two thirds of their games. At the All-Star break, the Dodgers led the West by one game 54-43. A week following the All-Star game, the Giants hold the one-game lead at 56-44.

We're looking now at an enticing possibility, something we haven't seen in 10 years – a race for the NL West between the Dodgers and the Giants, who last really went toe-to-toe in 2004, when the Dodgers prevailed by two games over the Giants.

The Dodgers teased us a little in 2012, when they started so well, then the new ownership came in and splurged on players mid-season. But a true divisional race never materialized because that Dodgers club never synced together. The Giants won the division by eight games and played a solid postseason to win the World Series for the second time in three years while the Dodgers still hadn't won it since 1988.

Finally, last June, the Dodgers began to gel, hitting that 42-8 stride for the division championship while the Giants suffered the downturn of many defending World Champions. The Dodgers couldn't finish the job in the postseason, losing a six-game National League Championship Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, who then fell to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Now, though, here at mid-season 2014, we've got that race that was happening on two coasts more than 3,000 miles apart for a pretty solid 65 years. The Dodgers and Giants have taken their turns this year, just as we might expect. Through June 8, the Giants were 42-21, 9 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers, stumbling along at a mere 33-31.

Then, all that Giants hitting went away. From June 8 until the All-Star game, the Giants were 10-22, batting only .234 with a team OPS of .630. The Giants, at their best, aren't a great offensive club, and they were well beyond their powers with a .717 club OPS through June 8. At the break, they were .688 (against a league average of .697). They really lost the home run stroke. Through June 8, they had hit 69 homers in 62 games, and they hit 17 homers in 32 games leading to the break.

The Dodgers were 21-12 from June 8 until the break, but they didn't become that by increasing their offensive potency. Through June 8, they slashed .253/.323/.407/.731. From June 8 until the break, they slashed .267/.339/.380/.718. Those slugging percentages tell us the Dodgers actually hit with less power, and they scored substantially less – 4.3 runs per game through June 8 and 3.9 from June 8 until the break.

But we've seen some pitching lately, have we not? On May 20, the Dodgers' team ERA peaked at 3.69. From then until the break, the staff tossed up a 2.92, bringing the season number down to 3.29. The Dodgers struggled early with their bullpen, which choked up about a dozen games in the first six weeks. Through May 20, Dodgers relievers notched 13 saves, five blown saves, three wins and nine losses. From then until the break, it was 17 saves, two blows, a win and a loss. That bullpen, which was supposed to be a huge strength, really is one now. Kenley Jansen is 29-for-32 in saves (90 percent) and the team is 82 percent against a league average of 68 percent.

The recovery of the Dodgers' bullpen is Reason No. 1 for the club's rise in the standings. And the bullpen isn't even where the Dodgers pitching staff is at its best. Day after day, their starting pitcher is simply better than the other guy. With Josh Beckett throwing the way he was throwing before going on the disabled list, their No. 4 is better than half of the other clubs have at No. 1. The Dodgers should out-pitch the other club every day, and that has been happening.

We could say the Dodgers will go as far as their pitching can take them, which is pretty far, but we don't have to. Imagine what this club can do when it starts hitting.

By many measurements, the Dodgers are an elite offensive club within the NL this year, and they're not nearly as productive as they could be. With only 78 homers in their 102 games, they would have to hit one per game the rest of the year to match last year's total of 138 homers. If those homers come, the Dodgers will light it up.

The Dodgers have a few left-handed hitters who might pick it up a little. Last season, Adrian Gonzalez ran a 124 OPS-plus and now he's carding a 114, while Andre Ethier is down from 120 to 94 and Carl Crawford is down from 107 to 94.

Oddly enough for a club whose best hitters are right-handed, the Dodgers continue as one of the league's worst hitting clubs against left-handed pitchers. Against lefties, the Dodgers split .231/.315/.360/.675 with a relative OPS-plus of 90 compared with the league, which splits .252/.317/.391/.708 against left-handers. Right-handed batters Matt Kemp and Juan Uribe OPS .613 and .606 against lefties.

Yet, the Dodgers are, by the measurements, better offensively than they were last season. In 2013, the Dodgers slashed .264/.326/.396/.722, ranking third, third, sixth and fourth in the NL. But they ranked only seventh in runs with 649. This year, they are slashing .258/.329/.397/.726, ranking second, third, third and third. And they're also third in runs with 424.

The difference in terms of their offensive efficiency, just to pick one, is Dee Gordon, a forgotten man, who, out of nowhere, became a second baseman – and an All-Star second baseman, at that. Gordon has added a running dimension that this club sorely needed. The Dodgers already have stolen 91 bases (and been caught 35 times), with Gordon already swiping 45 bases in 55 attempts. Last year, the Dodgers swiped only 78 bases all year (and were caught 28 times). Their stolen base leader, Carl Crawford, was 15-for-19.

So, the Dodgers approach their last 60 games as a strong contender with a lot of room to grow. It bodes well for the remainder of this season. But there is one thing standing in their way. The Giants.

Editor's note: All advanced statistics in this piece are from or are extrapolated from Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise indicated.

Dodgers freeze in first inning

The Dodgers lack luster so far, and it shows in the way they start the game. The Dodgers have scored only 25 runs in the first inning. Only San Diego, among National League clubs, has fewer runs to show for the first frame.

Dee Gordon has made many contributions this season for the Dodgers, but he's still not getting the offense started in the first inning (bridgetds/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Those arriving so late as to miss the first inning at Dodger Stadium aren't seeing nothing happening.

Nothing happening is the Dodgers offense in the first inning, specifically at home. Across baseball through the years, the first inning is the best inning for scoring, but it's one of the worst this year for the Dodgers. Entering a six-game homestand on June 13, they've scored only 25 first-inning runs all season, the second-lowest total in the National League. Only the San Diego Padres, with 20, are less successful.

If you're able to see the road games because you're able to see the Dodgers on TV, you might not notice it as much. The Dodgers are about like a normal club in the first inning on the road, scoring in the first inning 11 times for a total of 17 runs (they're 8-3 in those games). The average Major League club has scored 31.8 runs in the first inning this year (home and road), so the Dodgers are close to the average just as a road team.

At home, the Dodgers have scored only six times in the first inning, totaling eight runs (They're 2-4 in those games.). When you look at the Dodgers having the second-worst home record in the league at 13-19, it would seem that failing to score in the first inning 26 times has something to do with it.

In 32 home games, the Dodgers have scored three runs or fewer 16 times. They have won one of those games. They have scored two or fewer at home 11 times, and won none of those games. They've scored one run six times, but they've been shut out once.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly suggested in The Los Angeles Times Friday morning that the expanded and refurbished clubhouse at Dodger Stadium might influence how badly the Dodgers are performing at home. That's an intuition and we'll leave that with the Dodgers. What really pops the eye is the numbers for their offensive performers in the first inning, when they emerge from the clubhouse.

Put Dee Gordon in the road greys and he's a snappy player, batting .296 with a .355 on-base percentage. Even at home, he's .274 and .306. But in the first inning, Gordon remains overmatched, going .265 and .294. Gordon has the third most first-inning plate appearances for the Dodgers (51), all at the top of the lineup, and he has scored only five runs. One of those was a solo homer.

But the problem isn't merely that Gordon doesn't get on to create first-inning opportunities, for he can at least boast the third-best batting average for the inning of any Dodgers hitter (with at least 10 first-inning plate appearances). Most of the hitters down the order are even worse.

Hanley Ramirez is a .240 hitter with a .725 OPS in the first inning (58 plate appearances, most on the club.). Andre Ethier is three-for-26 (.188) with one walk, four strikeouts and two RBI in the first inning.

It's no secret that Matt Kemp isn't what he used to be, especially in the first inning. During his should-have-been-MVP season of 2011, he slashed .383/.445/.798/1.243 in the first inning. All of those were his highs for an inning, except for a .455 on-base percentage in the eighth. His first inning runs (23), homers (11) and RBI (36) were his highs for an inning. This year, his first inning is two-for-15 (.133) with no walks and three strikeouts. He has reached base twice, but also grounded into three double plays, so he has a negative output concerning base runners in the first inning.

Not to suggest a correlation, but Kemp's work against left-handed pitching has fallen off the same way. The Dodgers have been turned out by left-handers for at least three years, but Kemp once gave them one guy who could tear lefties apart so badly that they were going to score, anyway. In 2011, he split .341/.461/.682/1.142 against left-handers, with 11 homers and 32 RBI in 132 at-bats, 30 walks and 29 strikeouts.

In 2014 against left-handers, Kemp is .176/.211/.294/.505 with no homers and five RBI in 68 at-bats, three walks and 18 strikeouts. He is literally less than half the hitter he used to be against left-handers.

This year, the Dodgers are batting .213 with a .644 OPS against left-handers, each being better than only the Padres in the NL. Their batting average on balls in play (.260) is barely better than the Padres at a bottom-ranking .259.

But the Dodgers do two things reasonably well against left-handers, and they count: they walk and they can occasionally run into a left-hander and take him out of the park (16 homers). None of those are balls batted into play.

The homers make the Dodgers about average in the NL. The benefit is multiplied, however, because the Dodgers have walked 62 times against 606 plate appearances, the second-highest such proportion in the league against left-handers. So, they are seventh in runs against left-handers (66), though also third in plate appearances (682).

Most of their damage to left-handers comes from the right side, naturally, and especially from Scott Van Slyke, who has six homers in 44 at-bats and a 1.243 OPS against left-handers. As far as how the Dodgers' left-handed hitters do against left-handed pitching, Clayton Kershaw is about as good as any of them.

We got sidetracked just now and began looking at how badly the Dodgers handle left-handers as the discussion got into Kemp. This is supposed to be about how the Dodgers score fewer runs in the first inning than all but one other club in the National League. We don't suggest any kind of cause and effect between the two. We can't even imagine which would be the cause and which would be the effect. We know, also, that struggling against left-handers is a long-term trait of the Dodgers, while we suppose that the first-inning problem will work itself out in the long run of cases this season.

The numbers are too weird to believe right now. The Dodgers, as said before, are 15th in the NL with 25 runs in the first inning. But seven American League teams have scored fewer first-inning runs than the Dodgers, and two of them are the Boston Red Sox (24) and Detroit Tigers (23). Can we really expect it to end this way?

The Red Sox pounced on everyone at the start last year, but their first inning this year reeks of Dustin Pedrioa (.619 OPS in the first inning) and David Ortiz (.631). For the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera is relatively lacking luster with his first-inning OPS of .843, and Victor Martinez is less than that at .669. But along with that, Ian Kinsler (.514) and Torii Hunter (.483) are next to nothing in the first inning.

Allowing that Hunter may be finally showing his age at 39, it's hard to believe that all these elite players between the Dodgers, Red Sox and Tigers are going to continue stammering through the first inning. With about 100 games left in the season, it's early enough to believe that these hitters will work it out.

The Dodgers have a couple hitters somewhat delivering in the first inning. Adrian Gonzalez has a .286 batting average and an .897 OPS, while Yasiel Puig has a .298 batting average and .888 OPS. But neither of those are sky high, and they're not enough to paper over all the other weak first-inning performers.

It should be mentioned that the Dodgers have a ninth-inning problem, as well, and it is serious. They are second from the bottom across baseball in ninth-inning batting average (.174) and OPS (.508). The average team has scored 22.6 ninth-inning runs and the Dodgers have scored 15. They have no one hitting in the ninth. The most culpable by OPS are Gordon (.649), Carl Crawford (.481), Ethier (.478), Van Slyke (.465), Puig (.440), Gonzalez (.269) and Kemp (.241). It would seem that the Dodgers struggle against the top relievers.

The ninth inning and the first inning are different problems. The first inning is never a do-or-die situation, but it always counts and it is the best opportunity for arranging offensive talent to strike against a pitcher who hasn't gotten into his tool box. That's why the first inning is the highest scoring inning. The ninth inning may or may not be crucial. If some team gets well enough on top, it isn't.

The Dodgers are flat-lining at 35-33 this year, and one reason is that they can't get on top of a game at Dodger Stadium. They seldom score in the first inning at home and, even when they do, they've still lost two-thirds of the time.

The probability gremlins discourage a flat prediction that the Dodgers will ultimately reach their level in the first inning. But the Dodgers certainly are paying enough bats to do it. The hot streak we're waiting for could ride on it.

Editor's note: All advanced statistics in this piece are from or are extrapolated from Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise indicated.

Ryu rolls: Dodgers 9, Milwaukee 2

The Dodgers picked up the rubber game of their three-game series in Milwaukee, 9-2, Wednesday, largely because the Brewers couldn't pick up ground balls. The Dodgers actually did pick up ground balls and starting pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu picked up half of the outs he induced on balls that hit the ground.

Dodgers right hander Hyun-jin Ryu improved to 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA Wednesday as the Dodgers won, 9-2, in Milwaukee (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Generic 2.0 license).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The game: May 22, Dodgers at Milwaukee, National League. The Dodgers entered the game 18-26, fifth place NL West, seven games behind Arizona. Milwaukee entered the game 18-26, fifth place NL Central, 10 1/2 games behind St. Louis.

The pitchers: Dodgers, Hyun-jin Ryu, left hander (4-2, 3.42). Milwaukee, Wily Peralta, right hander (3-4, 5.94).

The result: Dodgers 9, Milwaukee 2.

Summary: If it's any consolation to the Dodgers, they're not the worst last-place team in this league. Their victory gave them two out of three in Milwaukee, which isn't the worst last-place team in this league, either. Fortunately for the Dodgers and Milwaukee, there's still Miami.

The pitching: Dodgers starter Hyun-jin Ryu struggled with his control and velocity in the first two innings, during which he usually fell behind hitters, regardless of what he threw, and allowed three singles to go along with a walk. But he dialed up opportune ground balls, such as an inning-ending double play from Jonathan Lucroy with runners on first and second in the first inning, then an inning-ending grounder from Jeff Bianchi with a runner on third in the second inning. It had to help Ryu that his own hitters came through for him in the early innings, especially with a five-run second inning that gave him a 6-0 lead. A night earlier, we saw Dodgers consistently fail to hit with runners in scoring position through the early innings, and this was little help to Zack Greinke, who pitched under stress all night from his hitters failing and couldn't make it through the fifth inning. Ground balls produced 11 of the 22 outs that Ryu pitched ... Brandon League actually pitched the ninth without anyone scoring, but he came in with a 9-2 lead, so, uh, good for him ... He did get the Brewers to hit three ground balls, though ...

The Brewers had little hope with Wily Peralta, although the right hander was consistently 95-96 MPH with his fastballs. In the second inning, after Carl Crawford and Mark Ellis bashed first-pitch singles and Adrian Gonzalez reached on a fielding error, Peralta declined to test the strike zone and issued back-to-back, bases-loaded walks to Scott Van Slyke and Nick Punto, capping a five-run inning. Peralta allowed seven runs before he could get six outs. It figured that even the Dodgers could hold that lead ... The Brewers are on the bottom of the National League with a 4.53 staff ERA ....

The hitting: The Dodgers finished the day with 12 hits -- 10 of them were singles. They bunched five of them together with two walks and an error to score five runs in the second inning. They actually hit a bit with runners in scoring position (six-for-15) this time, but it was hardly a landmark performance against the National League's worst pitching staff ... Matt Kemp singled with a runner on third in the first inning Wednesday, going one-for-two with RISP for the game. This season, he now is .177 (eight for 45) with RISP. Eight singles ... Andre Ethier, who sat Wednesday, is eight-for-41 (.195) and a homer with RISP ... Ethier's replacement Wednesday, Scott Van Slyke, was two-for-four with a double and two RBI ... Dodgers pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu wore a zero for four collar Wednesday, dampening what has been a pretty good season at the plate between himself, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as starting pitchers batting ninth. Between them, the three now are .245 (13-for-53) with a homer and five RBI ... As the day began, the three were a combined .253. Six American League teams were getting lower batting averages from their designated hitters -- Cleveland (.247), Oakland (.246), Detroit (.237), Chicago (.226), Houston (.207), Tampa Bay (.187) and Baltimore (.160) ... In fact, the AL average across the league for designated hitters was only .251 ... Even crazier, the NL was getting a .284 average from its designated hitters in inter-league games ...

The base running: One of the upsides to playing against the Brewers is that you get to run against their catcher, Jonathan Lucroy. Wednesday, the Dodgers were two-for-two stealing against Lucroy, and the Dodgers didn't even play Dee Gordon in this one. Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp swiped those bases. For the season now, Lucroy is only two-for-20 throwing out base stealers, 10 percent. The league average is 30 percent ... By contrast, Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, who sat Wednesday, has been the NL's best at killing base thieves, 11-for-24 (45.8 percent). His replacement Wednesday, Ramon Hernandez, failed against the only Brewer who tried stealing against him. It was no one other than Lucroy. But Hernandez still is two-for-four this season ... We all know, of course, that the pitchers are vital as to whether their teams do or don't control the opposition's running game ...

The fielding: Nick Punto made an error for the Dodgers at shortstop Wednesday, and there's no apologizing for that, but he's one guy on this team about whom there is no question about his effort and alertness, so ... Remembering Tuesday, Punto couldn't handle hard short hop from Jeff Bianchi and everyone was safe, including Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez at third. Right away, though, Punto blocked a wandering Gomez off third base, took a pickoff throw from Matt Guerrier and made the tag for the out ... Good baseball play. The man redeems himself ... However, Brewers infielders Rickie Weeks and Jean Segura were beyond redemption Wednesday. Between them, their fielding misplays in the second inning cost the Brewers four runs and took them out of the game. With the bases loaded and one out, Dodgers leading only 1-0, Carl Crawford hit a routine ground ball to the left of Weeks, playing second base. It appeared that Weeks had a double play on his mind, but he didn't pick it up first. Instead, the ball bounced right past him, allowing two runs to score. The official scorer in Milwaukee, a soft touch, ruled it a base hit. The next hitter, Mark Ellis, singled, loading the bases. Then, Adrian Gonzalez hit a ball slightly to shortstop Segura's right. Segura, too, had a double play cooking, but he booted it, allowing another runner to score and keeping the bases loaded. Brewers pitcher Wily Peralta, apparently succumbing to the uselessness of getting ground balls, walked two more hitters to force home two more runs, capping a five-run inning .. In the sixth, Segura and Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez let a simple popup fall between them ...

Strategic moves: We all want Dee Gordon to succeed, because his speed is a nice dimension for the Dodgers' offense. Sadly, his mental errors are destructive. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly sat Gordon Wednesday after the shortstop made the worst squeeze bunt imaginable on Tuesday. Gordon bunted the ball right back to the pitcher, who had an easy play at the plate on Andre Ethier coming in from third ... There's talking among the Dodgers brass about bringing up outfield prospects Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig from Class AA Chattanooga. Probably not a good idea. They can't develop without playing, and it's not obvious where they would play for the Dodgers. The Dodgers certainly aren't going to sit Carl Crawford, the best of their outfielders right now, and that leaves only Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to be seated. Implausible ...

What now: The Dodgers improved to 19-26, still fifth in the NL West, but they gained a game on first-place Arizona, which lost to Colorado, so they are six games down. Milwaukee is 18-27, fifth in the NL Central and 11 down to St. Louis, pending the Cardinals' result at San Diego later in the day ... The Dodgers return to Los Angeles to play the Cardinals in a weekend series that begins Friday. Opening up that series, the Dodgers have scheduled left hander Chris Capuano (1-2, 4.84) against St. Louis right hander Lance Lynn (6-1, 3.27). Capuano is coming off two straight quality starts, during which he allowed a combined two runs in 13 2/3 innings against Miami and Atlanta ... The Cardinals lead the NL Central and have the best record in the National League, 29-16 entering Wednesday's games ... The Dodgers are done with Milwaukee for the year, winning four of six from the Brew Crew. Milwaukee won six of seven meetings between the two clubs in 2012 ... Teams playing against the Brewers this year apparently get better against them with familiarity. The Brewers are 8-8 in the first game of a series, 8-8 in the second game, 3-10 in the third game and 0-2 in the fourth game.

Beckett bombs, Dodgers blunder: Washington 6, Dodgers 2

The Dodgers didn't make pitches or plays in their 6-2 loss to the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium Monday night. The Dodgers batted only one-for-11 with runners in scoring position, and they matched that performance on the field and the bases.

Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett had to leave Monday night's 6-2 loss to Washington with groin pain after three innings (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Share Alike-Attribution Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The game: Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Dodgers, National League. Washington entered 20-17, second place NL East, one game behind Atlanta. Los Angeles entered 15-21, fifth place NL West, seven games behind San Francisco.

The pitchers: Washington, Jordan Zimmermann, right hander (6-1, 1.59). Los Angeles, Josh Beckett, right hander (0-4, 5.13)

The result: Washington 6, Los Angeles 2

Summary: Jordan Zimmermann tossed a nice start for the Nationals, scattering nine hits in 7 2/3 innings, while Josh Beckett had to leave after pitching the first three innings for the Dodgers, during which he allowed four runs. But the real difference in this game was that the Nationals made plays and the Dodgers didn't.

The pitching: Washington's Jordan Zimmermann didn't throw anything but a four-seam fastball for the first two innings and the Dodgers barely touched him. That was his ball game. Here it is. Hit it. Through five innings, he threw 59 pitches, all four-seamers except for eight sliders and four curves. Through seven innings, Zimmerman threw 83 pitches, all four-seamers except for 14 sliders, four curves. Through all of that, the Dodgers scored one run. They simply could not hit Zimmermann's fastball. All of the Dodgers hits against Zimmermann (they only had six through seven innings) came on fastballs, but so did all but three of their outs ... Zimmermann struck out five and walked none …

Dodgers starter Josh Beckett completely lost his control in the third inning and couldn't find the plate with either fastball or his changeup. He walked the pitcher leading off the inning on five pitches, then went 2-0 to Steve Lombardozzi before the hitter ripped a liner past Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Right off that, Beckett walked Bryce Harper on five pitches, then he went 2-0 to Ryan Zimmerman before the batter doubled to right, driving in two runs. Beckett left the game after the third, complaining of groin pain.

The hitting: When you have one of the fastest runners in the game, Dee Gordon, on third, with nobody out and the likes of Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier coming up, you should score. Unless you're the Dodgers, in which case you probably shouldn't. At least, the Dodgers didn't when that chance came their way in the fourth inning. The best swing the Dodgers got was Ethier's hard beater into the ground for the third out ... No big surprise there. Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann entered the game with opposing hitters batting .156 with runners in scoring position, and the Dodgers were batting .228 with runners in scoring position ... Kemp did get a hit later on with a runner in scoring position, extending his hitting streak to 12 games ... Washington hitters didn't exactly destroy the ball. Other than Ryan Zimmerman's third-inning double and the smash by Steve Lombardozzi that preceded it, Washington hitters just put the ball in play and let the Dodgers fielders take care of it. Or not.

The base running: Dee Gordon did some nice stuff on the bases  -- and some questionable stuff. In the fourth, he stole second, forcing an errant throw from Washington catcher Kurt Suzuki and taking third with no outs. But he didn't score, partly because nobody hit behind him, and partly because he didn't seize opportunity. When the next hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, popped out to second baseman Danny Espinosa in short center field, Gordon didn't run, even though the second baseman was running toward the outfield. That was a run the Dodgers missed … In the eighth, with one out, Gordon hit a ground ball, but beat out the back end of the double play to keep the inning alive. Now, the Dodgers were down, 6-1, with two out in the eighth and Gordon on first. Adrian Gonzalez then singled to right field, where Roger Bernadina, instead of Bryce Harper, was playing for the Nationals. Gordon didn't even consider trying to take third. He scored, anyway, because Matt Kemp followed with a single. Gordon would have broken all the verities of the game if he were thrown out at third to end the inning with his team behind. So, we can't really blame Gordon for not putting his speed to work there. But there is that little voice that wanted him to force a throw ... In the sixth, Carl Crawford stole third base with Kemp batting and two out. But Kemp popped up to end the inning ... The Nationals twice took third base from first on singles to right field.

The fielding: Washington made several good-but-not-great plays, those plays a team must make to contend. The Dodgers blew several fairly routine plays, which is one reason they're in last place ... In the fourth, with Dee Gordon on third and no outs, Washington second baseman Danny Espinosa made a nice catch with his back to the infield in short center on Adrian Gonzalez's pop-up. To end the inning, Washington first baseman Adam LaRoche kept a late hop from hitting his face on a ground ball by Andre Ethier, but recovered and made a seated throw to Jordan Zimmerman at first for the out. In the sixth, Washington shortstop Ian Desmond went quickly to his left to take a grounder up the middle from A.J. Ellis, then threw to first for the out ... Even the big disaster of the night at least illustrated that the Nationals are serious about their defense. In the fifth, Ellis hit a smash to deep right field. Washington right fielder Bryce Harper went after it full speed in a 6-0 game and smashed into the fence face first. Ellis ended up with a triple and scored on a ground ball. Harper, on the ground for several minutes with cuts on his forehead, chin and right hand, is day-to-day ...

Now, the Dodgers. In the third, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez misplayed a smash from Steve Lombardozzi for an error. The ball skidded into right field and opened up a three-run inning. In the fifth, shortstop Dee Gordon crossed in front of second base to misplay grounder by Lombardozzi, even though Dodgers second baseman Skip Schumaker was behind him for a relatively routine play. Gordon ended up screening off Schumaker and the ball went into center field for a single. One batter later, after Bryce Harper walked, Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra made a bad pickoff throw trying to take Lombardozzi off second. Gordon ended up having to lay out to the third base side trying to catch the throw, but it went into center field, allowing Lombardozzi to score and Harper to take third ... In the sixth, the Dodgers added two more miscues. First, catcher A.J. Ellis let a passed ball by him, allowing Jordan Zimmermann, who had singled, to take second. Later, Roger Bernadina hit a ground ball to first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, but pitcher J.P. Howell didn't cover first base in time and everyone was safe ... The Dodgers did make one notably nice defensive play, when third baseman Nick Punto went to his right to take a hard bouncer down the line from Danny Espinosa, then made a sharp throw to first for the out.

Strategic moves: Sometimes, one wonders what Don Mattingly is to do. Entering the Monday game, his No. 3 hitter, Matt Kemp, was six-for-36 (.166) with runners in scoring position, and his No. 4 hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, was 14-for-28 (.500) in those situations. With the tough right hander, Jordan Zimmerman, going for Washington, Mattingly flipped them, so the left-handed Gonzalez would bat third and the right-handed Kemp would bat fourth. How did that work out? Kemp was one-for-three with runners in scoring position, and Gonzalez was zero-for-two.

What now: The Dodgers fell to 15-22, increasing their last-place distance from San Francisco to 7 1/2 games in the NL West. Washington improved to 21-17 and remains one game behind Atlanta in the NL East. Tuesday night, it's back to left hander Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 1.62) for the Dodgers in their series with the Nationals at Dodger Stadium. The Nationals are going with veteran right hander Dan Haren (4-3, 5.17).