Dodgers, Angels still fighting to stay in First Division

The Dodgers improved their status in the First Division during the weekend, but at the expense of the Angels. The Dodgers swept three games from the Orange County club, pushing themselves slightly out of the relegation zone while the Angels fell to last place in the top tier.

Don Mattingly continues to do a lot right managing the Dodgers, but his club's struggle against top clubs continues to be costly in the First Division, despite a three-game sweep of the Angels during the weekend (Cbl62/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The First Division came to August divided into two divisions, with half of the teams seriously in the fight to win the championship and the other half desperately fighting to stave off relegation to the Second Division for 2016.

The Angels and Dodgers both are in the wrong half of that mix, and that didn't change with the Dodgers sweeping the Angels in a three-game series during the weekend at Dodger Stadium. What did change is that the Dodgers no longer are the bottom team in the top tier. The Angels have taken their place.

The dramatic home run hitting of Andre Ethier lifted the Dodgers in a big way Sunday. His solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Dodgers a 3-2 lead. His two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth gave the Dodgers a 5-3 win to go with wins of 5-3 on Saturday and 3-1 Friday.

With those victories, the Dodgers improved to 13-18 in the First Division, barely out of the relegation zone. The Dodgers are one-half game ahead of the Atlanta Braves, who are 12-18. The only club beneath the Braves is the Angels, who are defending their First Division championship from 2014 with a 5-11 performance in 2015.

The bottom two teams in the First Division are relegated to the Second Division for 2016.

The Dodgers never trailed in either of the first two games, winning Friday night behind right-hander Zack Greinke and winning Saturday afternoon behind left-hander Clayton Kershaw. Newly acquired right-hander Mat Latos wasn't bad, either, giving up one run on four hits Sunday in his six-inning Dodger debut.

The Angels are attempting to defend their First Division title from 2014 with a light schedule, which can work, but, as this season has shown, might not. The Angels have only six games left this year in the First Division, all at home – three against the Toronto Blue Jays Aug. 21-23 and three with the Dodgers Sept. 7-9.

The Angels could escape relegation by winning a majority of those games, but that remains to be seen and it will have a lot to do with how the Dodgers, Braves and Toronto Blue Jays (10-13) play out the rest of the year. Even if the Angels win a substantial portion of those six games, four or five of them, it guarantees nothing.

The Angels have the unwelcome distinction of being the best club ever relegated from the First Division, finishing 16-18 (.474 winning percentage) in 2011 and still going down. The Minnesota Twins that year turned in the worst ever performance for a First Division club with an 11-26 record (.297).

That demotion began a free fall for the Twins, who then were demoted to the Third Division for 2013 and the Fourth Division in 2014 before rising back to the Third Division this season.

Now the Twins are making a strong bid for a promotion to the Second Division as they lead the Third Division at 15-9, one-half game in front of the Arizona Diamondbacks (13-8). The Philadelphia Phillies (9-7) and Boston Red Sox (11-9) are the top teams in pursuit of those top two slots for a 2016 promotion.

The Angels barely missed promotion back to the First Division with a strong Second Division showing in 2012, but they won the Second Division easily in 2013 and took the First Division championship last season. In 2014, the Angels became the second team in as many years, and the third in four years, to win the First Division fresh in from a promotion. Now, the Angels are in danger of repeating the performance of the Texas Rangers, who won it in 2013 right off of a promotion, then bottomed into relegation a year later.

For the Dodgers, it's a matter of being unable to hold up against the better clubs, which we have seen again and again this season. Last week, the Dodgers went to Atlanta for three games against the Braves, a First Division team which, by the lights of the Major League standings, probably are the worst club in the top tier this season. But the Braves beat the Dodgers twice.

The Dodgers don't have a lot of First Division games left, either. In addition to the three in Anaheim against the Angels, they will play three against the San Francisco Giants at home Aug. 31-Sept. 2 and four in San Francisco Sept. 28-Oct. 1.

Henry Aaron Award: Dodgers go for streak record

The Dodgers are making an impressive run with the Henry Aaron Award, defending it five straight times entering this weekend's series against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers now lead all clubs with 13 Aaron game victories and 15 games defending the championship.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is leading his club to its best run of games ever with the Henry Aaron Award (pvsbond/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Dodgers were never particularly been a player in the Henry Aaron Award before 2015.

Entering this season, the Dodgers had won it five times — twice in 2011 and once each in 2012, 2013 and 2014. But in all those years, they only defended the prize twice in seven attempts.

So, the Dodgers are making history for themselves in 2015 with their present run of five straight title defenses entering this weekend's series against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers have established themselves as the team on top of the Aaron so far this year, 13-5 with 15 games of title defense entering the weekend.

The path hasn't exactly been challenging for the Dodgers in the last couple of weeks, which have included series against division cellar dwellers Colorado and the Milwaukee Brewers. But the Dodgers are beating those teams they have to beat and, when they don't beat them, they almost do. From the time the Dodgers won the Aaron from the San Diego Padres April 26-28 through May 14, the Dodgers lost five games, four of those by one run.

Against the Rockies, the Dodgers are going for their sixth straight Aaron title defense, which would tie the all-time record. The St. Louis Cardinals, who won the Aaron from the Texas Rangers in the 2011 World Series, defended it in their first attempts of the 2012 season, a total of six times.

In 2013, the Boston Red Sox won the Aaron by beating the Dodgers two-of-three at Dodger Stadium Aug. 23-25. The Red Sox then defended the title six straight times before losing it to the Baltimore Orioles two-of-three Sept. 17-19 in Baltimore. The Red Sox went all the way to win the World Series, but they didn't have the Aaron with them and the award retired with the regular season for the only time in its history.

2015 Henry Aaron Award results 

Total run tiebreakers, if applicable, are given at the end of the results.

San Francisco 2, Arizona 1 — April 6-8 at Arizona.
San Diego 3, San Francisco 1 — April 10-12 at San Diego.
San Diego 2, Arizona 1 — April 13-15 at San Diego.
San Diego 2, Chicago (NL) 1 — April 17-19 at Chicago.
San Diego 2, Colorado 2 — April 20-23 at Denver (San Diego, 26-16).
DODGERS 2, San Diego 1 — April 24-26 at San Diego.
DODGERS 2, San Francisco 1 — April 27-29 at Los Angeles.
DODGERS 3, Arizona 0 — May 1-3 at Los Angeles.
DODGERS 2, Milwaukee 2 — May 4-7 at Milwaukee (DODGERS, 28-16).
DODGERS 2, Colorado 0 — May 8-10 at Colorado.
DODGERS 2, Miami 1 — May 11-13 at Los Angeles.

Dodgers dolt up NLCS opener, lose in 13 innings

It seemed as though the entire Dodgers organization had a collective synaptic misfiring Friday, when they set their roster for the National League Championship Series quite questionably, then performed questionably in Game 1. It still took the St. Louis Cardinals 13 innings to beat them, 3-2.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran drove in all three of his team's runs and cut down a scoring chance for the Dodgers Friday night (djprybyl/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The Dodgers were so air-headed Friday that they just about had to lose their National League Championship Series opener to the St. Louis Cardinals, and they did.

The in-game decisions by players and manager alike are sure to be turned over endlessly if the series ends with the Dodgers losing. Upper management didn't cover itself with glory before the game, either. The Dodgers now are down, 1-0, with Game 2 coming up at 1 p.m. PST Saturday in St. Louis.

First, the game. The Dodgers lost, 3-2, in 13 innings. The end came after Dodgers reliever Chris Withrow gave up a single to Daniel Descalso and a walk to Matt Carpenter with one out in the 13th. The Dodgers manager, Don Mattingly, had no choice but to call his closer, Kenley Jansen, with Carlos Beltran coming to the plate.

You hate to use your closer in a tie game on the road, which is why Jansen didn't start the inning. But Withrow couldn't keep the bases clean, so the tying run moved into scoring position and, at that point, the situation is desperate. Jansen is his best guy in the bullpen, and Mattingly's best chance to keep the run from scoring.

Jansen threw strike one, then three straight fastballs too low, running the count to 3-1. At that point, Beltran had a free swing. Jansen threw the next fastball away and about knee high, Beltran took his rip and bolted it into right field to drive in Descalso. Game over.

But the Dodgers lost this game in so many other ways. Players didn't come through enough to get the job done earlier. Dodgers hitters were one-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They didn't knock out Cardinals starter Joe Kelly when they had several chances early.

The keynote was set in the first inning, when the Dodgers put runners at second and third with one out. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig struck out to end the inning. The Dodgers scored twice against Kelly in the third, but it amounted to minimal damage. Bases loaded, one out, Puig grounded to the pitcher, who threw home for a force out. Next, Juan Uribe singled through the middle to drive in two runners and move Puig to second base. Andre Ethier then flew out to center field, ending the inning.

The Cardinals came right back in their half of the third after their first two batters, David Freese and Pete Kozma struck out. Kelly somehow singled to left, then Dodgers starter Zack Greinke walked Carpenter. The next man up, Beltran, hit a drive to the center field wall. Ethier, rusty from not playing for a while in the outfield, came close to catching it at the wall, but missed. Two runs scored, tying the game, 2-2.

The game stayed that way until the 13th inning. Though the 10th inning, the Dodgers sent up only two more batters than the minimum. They could get nothing started. Seeing precious few scoring opportunities, Mattingly sent in Dee Gordon to punch run for Gonzalez after a leadoff walk in the eighth. Very interesting decision.

Why would you make it? Because you're not getting people on base, and you have a couple hitters coming up -- Puig and Juan Uribe -- who can give you a jolt. In fact, Uribe has four RBI in the last two games. A double by one of these players drives in a run if Gordon is running, and not if Gonzalez is running.

Why would you not make it? Because you don't want to take Gonzalez and his bat out of the lineup in a game that could be going to extra innings. And because you're probably not trying to steal second base against Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who threw out 43 percent of attempting base stealers this year. It's a move that says you're trying to take the lead right now so you can close it out with Brian Wilson pitching the eighth and Jansen pitching the ninth.

Mattingly’s explanation was a little disturbing. By the accounts, it went like this: “If we don't use (Gordon) there and the next guy hits a ball in the gap and he doesn't score and we don't score there, we're going to say, 'Why didn't you use Dee?’”

Sounds too much like Mattingly is wary from constant second guessing, and he sought to guard himself from another second guess. The problem is that people watching the game questioned it as a first guess.

Anyway, it didn't work. Puig hit into a force and Uribe hit into an inning ending double play. It was the first of three double plays that would end Dodgers innings. Michael Young, who replaced Gonzalez, hit into both of the others.

Young once was an excellent batsman who tacked up 200 hits in multiple seasons because he hit the ball hard to right field. But he turns 37 next week and he no longer has the bat speed of a .315 hitter. He's more like .275 or .280, which is better than most, but the difference shows up against postseason quality.

Many commentators have complained that having Young bat behind Hanley Ramirez took the bat away from Ramirez, as the Cardinals intentionally walked Ramirez in the 10th and 12th innings with Young on-deck. It's much more sensible to suppose that if you're the Cardinals, you're not letting Ramirez beat you even if Gonzalez is up behind him. The real damage from missing Gonzalez lies in the fact that he's simply a better hitter than Young and, being left-handed, he might have forced some uncomfortable decisions on Cardinals manager Mike Matheny.

With one out in the tenth, Mark Ellis tripled for the Dodgers. One wished at that point for Gordon to be available. But he wasn't, and the Cardinals walked Ramirez so they could pitch to Young. On a 1-0 pitch, Young hit a lazy fly ball to medium right field, with Beltran coming in on the ball to catch it.

Beltran is well known for his arm and Molina is well known for his excellence at blocking the plate. Ellis is not well known for his speed. But Ellis tried to score on the fly ball, with predictable results. He was out by several feet. There was some question of whether Molina actually tagged Ellis, but even Ellis conceded that he was out. When there's a collision at home plate and the catcher hangs onto the ball, he will get that call every time.

Nothing went right for the Dodgers in this one. Their roster setting decisions before the game didn't go right, either. Facing a St. Louis team that batted .238 against left-handed pitching this season, the Dodgers decided to leave lefties Paco Rodriguez and Chris Capuano off the NLCS in favor of right-handers Edinson Volquez and Carlos Marmol.

Mattingly told reporters that management discussed that call for five hours. One has to wonder what goes down in a decision making process that last five hours and lands on removing two lefties from your staff when you're playing a team that doesn't hit them.

But that's how the day went for the Dodgers. Not a very promising start to the NLCS.

Mattingly is winning ... or is he?

It would seem that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly's decision making is on permanent probation, and that he has a negative margin for error. In 2011 and 2012, he took poor Dodgers teams to winning records. In 2013, he took a good team to a division title before the end of August and now he has won the first round of playoffs in four games. But we still don't know if he has a 2014.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has marked winning records with poor teams, and now he's taking a better team to the National League Championship Series (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).


By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Do we get the idea that people are trying to fire Don Mattingly, no matter what?

When Juan Uribe hit that hanging slider about 500 feet Monday night, and Dodger Stadium shook, and the Dodgers snatched victory from dread to advance in the playoffs with a 4-3 win against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of their National League Division Series, we still didn't know if Mattingly was saved, and we still don't know. The Dodgers still haven't picked up his option for 2014. There's still a sense that Dodgers president Stan Kasten has someone else in mind, perhaps Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was eliminated from the playoffs Tuesday night. And Mattingly still is being second guessed in the media for sensible decisions after a win.

What does this man have to do? In 2011, his rookie season, Mattingly guided a terrible ball club under dreary circumstances to a winning record. That already told us that he has an affinity for this work. In 2012, he had a nothing team for half the year, and a haphazardly unmeshed group of talent for the other half, and he came in with a winning record. This year, he made the pieces fit, all but wrapped up the National League West before the end of August and won the first round of playoffs in four games.

Do we agree with every lineup he writes? No. Do we agree with every decision he makes within games? No. Do the players play for him? Yes. Does he win? Yes. Those last two are the really important questions about a manager. Yes to both. Has Mattingly earned his job? Yes. But will Mattingly keep his job? Don't know.

Here's the big question about your manager: Would you rather have a manager who is great from the first pitch of the game to the last, or would you rather have a manager who is great from the last pitch to the first pitch of the next game? Over here, we vote for the second, and every indication from player remarks and their performances on the field tell us that Mattingly has that part of it right. In that room with the lockers, the Dodgers have a lot of famous names, a lot of big contracts, a lot of hefty egos, and no dissension. That's the manager.

We all love to second guess the manager. It's the American way. But if you've been around the Major Leagues just a little, that's enough to tell you that your second guesses are wild guesses. There's never any telling what's going on between the field manager and the front office. There is so much happening between the manager and the front office, and between the manager and the players, and there is so much information the manager has that we don't; in short, we operate from a standpoint of such all-but-complete ignorance about the considerations from which the manager makes a decision, that we really don't know what the decision is. We only know what he decides, and if the players go hard for him, and if the team wins.

And when the Dodgers decide what they will do about Mattingly, it will be for reasons that we don't know. The reporters on the ground, covering the team, will get as much of it to us as they can, and they will know more about it than we do, but they, too, will be left with gaps in their knowledge to be filled with speculation. We can always speculate with them, and with their help, and we should, and we will. We can speculate and criticize, rightly and wrongly. Many of us have done it both ways, and we will continue to do so. If we didn't speculate so freely about our baseball teams, the baseball business wouldn't be nearly so lucrative. And even years down the road, when the central actors publish their self-serving books about what happened, it's still going to be guesswork.

Much of our guesswork issues from the reality that baseball management has become quite complicated. In the not so old days, maybe as few as a dozen years ago, the common division of labor had it that the general manager put together the team and the manager ran the game. That's a rough characterization. The lines were never precise. If, for example, the manager was a big star who had pull with the club owner, the general manager was weakened. In the very old days, when club owners might be baseball lifers going back to the origins of the major leagues, they might run the whole front office and write out the lineups. A fellow like Connie Mack would wear his coat and tie in the dugout and run the game.

In recent years, management structures within baseball teams are more complex, new techniques for understanding the game gained currency, and guys who never wore jockstraps began thinking they understood the game better than guys who never didn't wear jockstraps. Back when he was the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, it occurred to Sandy Alderson that the guy wearing pajamas and arguing with umpires was a middle manager, and it's just a small step to realizing that crucial business decisions were being made by middle managers, and in no other business do middle managers make so many crucial decisions. So, upper managers began assuming more control. Now, we get reports to the effect that field managers are being lectured by Harvard MBAs about who should be in the lineup.

In short, the field manager doesn't have the say that many of us think he does. A highly intelligent and successful field manager who makes a decision that goes badly will almost certainly catch hell from the front office, because there's always another decision that could have been made for reasons that are just as good. The event matrix within a baseball game can never be so precisely and specifically partitioned that a clear percentage move emerges from the data. And even if it could, the percentage is never going to be scientifically significant. In the end, players make plays. Or they don't. The manager's job is to put players in position to succeed, and that involves quite a lot more than lining them up in high percentage circumstances.

So, the Dodgers started left-hander Clayton Kershaw in Game 4 against the Atlanta Braves Monday night on three days of rest, the first time Kershaw has ever pitched on fewer than four days of rest. It has since emerged that Kershaw campaigned hard for the start during the course of several days. And he came through, pitching six innings without giving up an earned run. But guess what? After six innings and 91 pitches, he was tired. So, the Braves took a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning against reliever Ronald Belisario.

And we could see the flies circling around Mattingly's head as we envisioned the anxious Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke taking the ball for Game 5 in Atlanta. The question even came from TBS play-by-play man Ernie Johnson, an Atlanta guy who inflected a noticeable fondness for the Braves: Where's Kershaw? Deciding to start Kershaw was cutting against Mattingly both ways. On one side, Kershaw on three days of rest tired after six innings, and now he wouldn't be there for Game 5. On the other side, Mattingly removed Kershaw too quickly in Game 4, especially after Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez spared the Dodgers manager a decision by pitching to the No. 8 hitter with two out and first base open when the Dodgers threatened in the bottom of the sixth. A.J. Ellis grounded out to end the inning.

Then the Dodgers batted in the bottom of the eighth, down, 3-2, and leading off with Yasiel Puig, the night's goat after hitting into a rally killing double play and misplaying a ball in the right field corner into a triple that later became the lead run. Puig atoned somewhat, smoking a pitch by Atlanta reliever David Carpenter into the right-center field gap for a double. And up came Juan Uribe.

Now, if you're the Dodgers, there is one scenario that you absolutely can't have. You do not want to be down by any amount going to the bottom of the ninth inning, because the Braves will use relief ace Craig Kimbrel, and that ends it. Like almost every team, the Dodgers are helpless against Kimbrel. The Dodgers actually are more helpless than most. Counting Game 2, the Dodgers were two-for-18 with 11 strikeouts and no runs, inherited or otherwise, against Kimbrel in 2013.

However, if you can tie the game, Kimbrel might stay seated. During the regular season, tied on the road, Kimbrel would certainly stay seated. Facing elimination, the Braves might use Kimbrel in a tie game on the road. But in that case, he has to get six hitters out to succeed, and he didn't get more than four hitters out all year.

So, Mattingly played to tie. Perfectly sound strategy. Absolutely correct. That's what The Book says. Play to tie at home. A lot of fans today with analytical pretensions hate The Book, but The Book has sound reasons behind it. Every move carries a little risk, but if you put the runner at third with one out, you have two cracks at getting him in to tie the game and minimize the effect of Atlanta's closer. You would rather not have the bottom of the order coming up, but you also can't expect Kimbrel to come in for five outs. Maybe four.

Mattingly ordered up a bunt. Carpenter knew it and threw two pitches high and tight. Uribe couldn't get either one of them down and fell behind, 0-2. The swarm of flies around Mattingly's head now was thicker than ever. Next, Carpenter threw a fastball way high and Uribe let it go for a 1-2 count. Then a slider in the dirt and Uribe let it go for a 2-2 count.

Perhaps Carpenter wanted to get the next slider up a wee bit. Perhaps, he overcompensated. The next pitch, a lollypop slider, 84 miles per hour, tumbled into the hitting zone letter high. Uribe hit the ball so hard that you could practically hear it explode. You could definitely hear the stadium explode. The ball landed well beyond the left field fence and in the back of the Dodgers bullpen. The Dodgers were winning this game, 4-3.

One redemptive swing of the bat. Uribe has been a bum in this town for three years, but he's a hero now. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti will never hear another bad word about signing Uribe for three years and $21 million. The Dodgers are advancing. Mattingly is saved. For now. More or less.

But he still gets cat calls for bringing back Kershaw on three days of rest, and he's still second guessed for bunting with Uribe. And there's this idea going around that talent saved the Dodgers from Mattingly, as if he doesn't set a tone to maximize that talent. We're supposed to believe that Mattingly is no better than a lucky fool who fell into a pot of gold when the right decision was made wrong, then that wrong decision was made right by one redemptive swing of the bat.

So, the speculation continues about Mattingly in Los Angeles, and, perhaps, also around back rooms in the Bronx, USA, where New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi's is deciding if he will return. It stretches no part of the imagination to suppose that the Yankees are waiting this out, rather intrigued with the thought of bringing back Donny Baseball, who is more popular there than he ever will be here, no matter what he does.

Surprise! Matty tabs Kershaw for Game 4

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is making a bid to close out the Atlanta Braves before the home folks in Game 4 of the National League Division Series Monday night, shifting to Clayton Kershaw as his pitcher. But if the Dodgers can get it done, they shouldn't celebrate too much.

The Dodgers are setting the table for a big night at Dodger Stadium Monday, calling on Clayton Kershaw as their starting pitcher in Game 4 (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

A sports writer's memory is filled with remarkable events. As the Los Angeles Dodgers close in on winning their National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Atlanta Braves, a memory from 1995 presents itself.

The Cincinnati Reds had just defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS, marking the first year of expanded playoffs. Reds players celebrated, whooping, popping bottles and pouring stuff all over each other, really letting loose in their clubhouse.

The Reds owner, the late Marge Schott, often is vilified for certain badly aimed remarks. But as she surveyed the scene around the Riverfront Stadium while players and fans savored the victory, a moment of brilliance flashed before her and she asked, "What did I win?"

Answer: Nothing. The Reds went on to lose the National League Division Series (NLDS) to the Atlanta Braves in four games.

The Dodgers might end up celebrating Monday night at Dodger Stadium, where they hold a 2-1 lead in their NLDS with the Braves heading into Game 4. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is trying to make sure of it, making a last-second announcement Monday afternoon that his man on the hill will be the best there is, left-hander Clayton Kershaw. All along, the plan has been right-hander Ricky Nolasco for Game 4. But Nolasco has allowed 17 runs in his last three starts, and Kershaw fanned 12 Braves in a 6-1 Game 1 victory.

The move comes with some risk, though not much. Kershaw hasn't pitched with three days of rest all season. There is no guarantee that it will work. But this guy is such a tough nut and such an old soul, and this moment has enough largeness to bring it out of him. And even if it fails, the Dodgers will bring back Zack Greinke in Atlanta for Game 5. Is Greinke large enough for that moment? The Dodgers will hope they don't have to find out.

Dodger Stadium is the "Magic Castle" again this season. There seems to be some controversy as to when that name was coined. No one disputes that it belongs to the great Dodgers broadcaster, Vin Scully. But some accounts say it goes back to 1973, when that great crop led by Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Steve Garvey first became contenders, and others pin it to 1988, when the Dodgers last won the World Series.

It's not exactly World Series or bust this year for the Dodgers, but they also can't possibly be satisfied with winning an NLDS against an opponent that half-armed itself. It's true that the Dodgers already have made remarkable progress this year under new ownership that has dedicated itself to bringing back the Magic Castle. But winning this NLDS wouldn't take them any further.

This team is feeling it right now. Sunday night, they hammered out 14 hits in a 13-6 win against the Braves to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-three series. The Dodgers put 18 runners on base and left only five, going seven-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Their starting pitcher, Hyun-jin Ryu, produced a terrible night, and their batters took it out on the Atlanta starter, Julio Teheran.

Hanley Ramirez, the first shot in the new ownership's player procurement salvo last summer, has six hits in the series, tied for the most ever by a player in the NLDS. But everyone around Ramirez is hitting, too, or at least reaching base. And this moment is right for the Dodgers.

The Braves will attempt to stay alive behind right-hander Freddy Garcia, who has started three games for the Braves since they acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 23, and all three have been quality. But two of those lineups were the Miami Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers. The other was the Washington Nationals. None of those lineups can fire like the Dodgers.

In a worst case scenario for the Dodgers, they lose Game 4 and go to Atlanta with Greinke in Game 5. Which is to say that the Dodgers simultaneously face a can't lose situation and a no-win situation. The Dodgers surely can't lose the series at this point. If they do, the Dodgers and their fans will be more than disappointed. And even if they win, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. They will not have won anything.

That's life at the top. It's where the Dodgers want to be.

Puig needs to cool it, or he'll cool down the Dodgers

Yasiel Puig, 22, is a wonder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have become powerful contenders through his energetic style of play. As the competition becomes more serious, though, it becomes a question of whether his erratic style of play will derail the Dodgers' championship bid.

Yasiel Puig is hitting .352 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and winning games dramatically. But some of his dramas are potentially damaging (Ron Reiring/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

The saga of Yasiel Puig brings up a lot of the old dualities concerning the relationship between genius and reality.

Of course, "genius" isn't typically the word to describe dominance on the baseball field, and anyone who finds himself constantly groaning about Puig's reckless throws and base running misadventures will agree that genius is no part of his game. Nor is Puig's expression of the game especially original. It's just endlessly dramatic, perpetually thrilling and consistently inspiring. Maddening, too. But we'll take it.

By now, everyone knows that Puig showed up at Marlins Park in Miami Tuesday 35 minutes before stretching, a little bit after the second bus arrived from the hotel. Traditionally, players who don't take either of the buses from the hotel, whether because they have other transport or because they stay at other locations, are required to be at the yard before the second bus arrives. Puig has a home in Miami and reportedly was caught in traffic. As Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters, it happens.

So, Mattingly fined Puig the usual nominal amount, which is usually about $500, and benched the young star, which he was going to do, anyway. Puig was on an zero-for-11 and hadn't taken a day off since Aug. 4. Of course, his tardy appearance was huge news.

So, then, was his at-bat in the eighth inning, when he homered off the bench against the Miami Marlins to break a 4-4 tie and trigger a 6-4 Dodgers victory.

Moments like that are the upside with Puig, who was batting .352 with a .979 OPS. Puig was batting .353 against left-handers and .351 against right-handers with 12 homers in 261 at-bats -- seven of his homers coming in the sixth inning or later.

But it's only because Puig has such a flair for the dramatic that the Dodgers, or any other team, would put up with his warts, which include a tendency to show up veteran teammates on the field, throwing to the wrong base so he can show off his arm and running into outs as he attempts to show off his speed. Which is to say nothing of his harrowing confrontations with umpires.

Puig is untamed, flouting the conventions of the game, only to make the game his own in the end. Of course, that works against teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins, who have been losing all year long. In the playoffs, though, when all the teams you play are good, weaknesses not only are exposed, but they are exploited. When the playoffs come around, the Dodgers will lose a lot more from Puig's vices than they will gain from his virtues. The game is based in failure, and the fear remains that Puig will bring more failure on himself than he or his team can overcome.

Thus, the pundits have offered us two schools of thought about Yasiel Puig. One, which might be represented by MLB.com's Richard Justice, says leave the kid alone and let him be himself. Perhaps it is because of Puig's exuberance that the Dodgers have done as well as they have (50-20) since he came to the big leagues. The other, which might be represented by Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, says the Dodgers need to harness Puig and get him under control before he kills them in the postseason.

The inclination here is to agree with Plaschke. Puig will never reach his potential, nor will the Dodgers reach theirs, so long as they can't bring his game under control. In particular, these confrontations with umpires really need to stop. If he starts going badly, then calls start going against him, and if he's still missing cut-off men and running into outs, he's not going to be a very good player, at all.

The Dodgers do need Matt Kemp back, but not to remove Puig from the lineup. Indeed, as recent outings against David Price, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels have reminded us, a good left-handed starting pitcher is the best antidote to the Dodgers. The Dodgers will need Puig and Kemp in the lineup simultaneously to handle left-handed pitching.

But if Puig doesn't learn, or isn't taught, how to handle his emotions and harness his game, there's a real good chance that it won't end well. For all the promise and excitement that Puig has brought to the Dodgers with his upside, his downside can still keep them from realizing that promise and excitement in their fullest manifestations.

Is this the Dodgers? Is this for real?

The Dodgers suddenly have won five straight games, all against the National League West. They suddenly have all of their players back. And they suddenly look like they have purpose and possibilities, this last-place team with the highest payroll in the National League. And we ask: Is this real?

Hard to believe, but Clayton Kershaw pitched another dandy game Wednesday night, and the Dodgers actually won it (Keith Allison/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Generic 2.0 license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

So, now we ask ourselves: Is this the start of something?

We look up and see the Dodgers winning five in a row, sweeping three from the San Francisco Giants, winning a game for Clayton Kershaw. We see Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp in the lineup, and they're both making plays. We see Andre Ethier run hard out of the batter's box and hustling out doubles. We see Kenley Jansen coming out of the bullpen and not fiddling around. We see the standings, and the Dodgers are only six games out of first place in the NL West.

In short, we see the Dodgers, the Dodgers who we haven't seen all season.

It looks really nice.

Is it real?

It's kind of hard to believe, isn't it? The season is three months old now, and this team hasn't been good for any of it. If Kershaw didn't pitch a shutout, the Dodgers couldn't win for him. The batting order has never been solid. The bullpen has never been reliable. The defense has never been sound. The team often looked lazy.

Up until just now, the Dodgers had an eight-game losing streak and a six-game losing streak, but not even a three-game winning streak since the first week of April.

Up until just now, the Dodgers couldn't beat the teams within the National League West.

Up until just now, the Dodgers were, as manager Don Mattingly unfortunately said a couple of weeks ago, "on autopilot."

Up until just now, the season looked lost.

But, just now, the season is found again. Rediscovered. Unhidden.

Is it real?

It's certainly possible. It just seems so unlikely, even for a club with this talent, because these last three months have conditioned us to figure that the Dodgers somehow were missing something important. And, we remember, it's really been more than that. At the end of business on June 21, the Dodgers were 73-89 in the last year's worth of games, most of them with all of the big names who joined the team late last season. The group of players, over the course of a whole year, never, at any time, showed the ability to win. Injuries were a part of that. A part. The larger part was that this team had absolutely no flight.

But, all of a sudden, they won their last two in San Diego last weekend to gain a split in that series. And then, in came the Giants to Dodger Stadium, and, like that, the Dodgers swept them three games. And it's a funny thing about the Dodgers and the Giants, but they just have this way of striking keys upon each other. So, when the Dodgers sweep the Giants, wherever or however it happens, but particularly after three months of flat-lining baseball, it does put everything into a whole different perspective.

As always, the situation is fluid. As always, it's a long season. As always, tomorrow is another day. As always, it could flip right back.

Is it real?

Wednesday night, the Dodgers beat the Giants, 4-2, completing the three-game sweep. The end went like clockwork. Kershaw went into the ninth inning. When Marco Scutaro singled to start the inning, Mattingly had to hook Kershaw, because Buster Posey was due up. So the left-hander needed to leave after 104 pitches, and he had already allowed a home run to Posey in the game, anyway. Mattingly simply couldn’t let this game get away from Kershaw, who left the mound with a 2.08 ERA and still didn’t have a win since May 20.

So, the reliever had a job to do. We’ve been watching this team all year. We know what that means.

Posey singled against Jansen, moving Scutaro up to second. We’ve been watching this team all year. We know what that means.

But, just now, it meant something different. The reliever then struck out Hunter Pence, then Pablo Sandoval, and Brandon Belt popped up to end the game. Jansen threw nothing but fastballs, cutters and otherwise. He owned those at-bats against Pence, Sandoval and Belt. He owned the ninth inning. It almost didn't seem real.

Is it real?

Well, here's a reality check. After these next four games at Dodger Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers will go on the road. They will go to Arizona, Colorado and San Francisco. They will play three division rivals on the road. Even after sweeping the Giants just now, the Dodgers are 8-16 against those teams.

Let's see if the Dodgers can rip that up.

Then, it's real. For sure.

Right remark made the wrong way

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said last week that the club wouldn't suffer for his one-game suspension because it is on "autopilot." Mattingly didn't mean it as a knock against himself, but it described the club he is managing all too well.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said last week that his club is on "autopilot." He needs to fix that (Cbl62/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Unported 3.0 license).

By BILL PETERSON
Big Leagues in Los Angeles

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly made an unfortunate remark Friday, before his club began a three-game series in Pittsburgh. Mattingly, who was just about to serve a one-game suspension, sensibly told reporters that the manager's absence for one game isn't such a disaster.

But there was a "because" to it. The because was that the team "is on autopilot, anyway."

The Dodgers were ten games below .500 when Mattingly made that remark. They had lost four of their last five games, and they were about to lose another one that night. The Dodgers were "on autopilot," said the manager.

Leaving aside whatever disagreements one may have with Mattingly's field management, his "autopilot" remark struck a nerve. Two nerves.

The first nerve is the one that twinges about Mattingly's value to the Dodgers as their manager. When the manager says his team is on autopilot, he's saying he doesn't make a difference. He's saying it doesn't really matter who is managing or what he does. It could be anyone. For a manager whose job security is a running topic, that's a damning remark.

Mattingly's job performance has never been an issue until recently. Everyone, especially Joe Torre, knew the Dodgers were compromised in player acquisition under Frank McCourt. That's why Torre left the job and it came open for Mattingly, his protégé, before the 2011 season. Mattingly got an under-manned team to play for him and came in with a winning record. In 2012, still under-manned, the Dodgers started strong and ended with another winning season.

Of course, the new Guggenheim ownership with its bags of money arrived about one year ago, and we saw changes. The Dodgers began acquiring players. Coming into 2013 with a $217 million payroll and a manager who had gotten more out of less, the Dodgers were supposed to improve. They haven't. With the notable exceptions of Yasiel Puig and a couple of brawls involving Zack Greinke, the Dodgers have seldom been crisp or fiery.

And that brings us to the second nerve, which concerns the way the Dodgers are playing. They are playing as if they were on autopilot. By saying that the Dodgers are "on autopilot," Mattingly has offered an apt description of the team he is managing. It is not a flattering description.

We understand that Mattingly would not have meant for it to come out that way. We understand that Mattingly meant the groundwork has been laid, the plans have been set, the roles are established, and one night with a fill-in manager isn't going to make a big difference. All of that is true.

But it is too true. The Dodgers are on autopilot. They went on to lose two of three in Pittsburgh. They are at the bottom of the National League West, 7 1/2 games out of first place. They can thank the San Diego Padres for that. The Padres, who have won six straight, swept three from the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres, the next team up from the Dodgers, now are 35-34, two games behind Arizona. Every team in the division is participating in this race, except for the Dodgers.

As noted, there are a few signs that this ball club has a pulse. Mattingly served his one-game suspension for his role in the June 11 fight at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers and Diamondbacks threw pitches at each other until they decided to make their confrontation more direct. One of the marks against Mattingly was that players from the Dodgers disabled list jumped into the fray, which is a rules violation.

Just as the rule is, the fact that players on the DL stuck up for their guys is an indication that this club has some passion. If only the same passion were more often exhibited in more routine acts of baseball.

We always wish Mattingly the best. He is a very nice man with deep knowledge of the game. It's always a little sad to think of him as the one New York Yankees great who never appeared in the World Series. One hopes his managing career will be more successful, from that standpoint.

As it happens, the Dodgers are going to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series starting Tuesday night. Mattingly is so well regarded in New York that even the late George Steinbrenner knew better than to mess with him. A poor showing by his team in the Bronx would be unfortunate.

He needs to get his team off of autopilot.

Puig lifts Dodgers, but can they stay up?

The new Dodgers outfielder, Cuban defector Yasiel Puig, has really juiced up a flagging ball club. Better yet, he is going to make outfielders with big contracts fight for playing time. With two first-place clubs coming to Dodger Stadium in the next week, see if the Dodgers can make a move.

Yasiel Puig has added a new level of energy to the Dodgers two days into his big league career (Spanneraol/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license).

By BILL PETERSON

Big Leagues in Los Angeles

We're signing up for that chorus singing the praises of Yaseil Puig, his major league debut, and what it means for the Dodgers. Suddenly, and for however long, the Dodgers look like a team that might play a high level of baseball. Imagine the Dodgers, with the most errors in baseball, winning a game on a defensive play.

Sitting here on the morning of June 5, the Dodgers have a chance to move out of the National League West basement this evening as they attempt a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Trying not to go Pollyanna about this under-performing club, it's one sign among many that the worst is over for the Dodgers, and that they're not far from making a move. Could be wrong, of course. Been wrong many times before. The game is based in failure. 

We'll find out soon enough, because this proposal is being put to the test right away. The remainder of the present Dodgers home stand involves two visiting first place teams -- the Atlanta Braves of the NL East and the Arizona Diamondbacks of the NL West. If there's anything real in this new pulse we're feeling, it will be revealed in the next week, because it has been characteristic of the Dodgers that they don't handle teams their own size, which is the main reason they're not really that size. Against clubs that are .500 or better at this moment, no NL club is worse than the Dodgers at 11-22. They're not as good as they need to be against losing teams, either (only 14-10), but if you can't at least come in around even against the winners, the losing teams will not genuflect in your presence. They'll know you can be had.

So, they've been getting the Dodgers, much more than they should. Another group of teams that are getting the Dodgers much more than they should consists of their NL West brethren, against whom the Dodgers, on the strength of two wins in the last two days against San Diego, now are 8-18. 

This club's problems have been much discussed. Injuries have dug so deep into the pitching staff that a club wondering what to do with eight starters in the winter has wound up giving starts to Matt Magill and Stephen Fife. Too many of Brandon League's fastballs come in too high, so he has a 4.84 ERA as a closer. The Dodgers are fourth in the league in on-base percentage (.325), but only 13th in runs per game (3.61). With runners in scoring position (RISP), the Dodgers are 13th in the NL in batting average (.234), 14th in OPS (.636) and 15th, dead last, in slugging percentage (.315). 

When we crack open those RISP numbers a little bit, we see a lot of what we've seen on the field. With RISP and two out, the Dodgers are a middling team in the NL -- sixth in batting average (.234) and eighth in OPS (.639). Notice that the batting average and OPS are about the same either way, but the Dodgers are six and seven rungs lower in the NL when we look at all RISP situations compared with RISP and two out. That's what the numbers look like for a club that consistently fails to get the runner in from third with less than two out. No other team in the NL kills its own rallies quite like the Dodgers.

Here's a worthwhile comparison, considering that Arizona is the first-place team in the NL West. With runners in scoring position and two out, no one is worse than the Diamondbacks -- dead last in batting average (.183), dead last in OPS (.585), 12th in on-base percentage (.299) and 14th in slugging percentage (.286). The Diamondbacks aren't where they are because they get big two-out hits. They get big one-out hits. They get big no-out hits. They keep rallies going and put up crooked numbers. In all RISP situations, look how the Diamondbacks rise in the NL rankings -- still only 10th in batting average (.241), but seventh in on-base percentage (.326), seventh in slugging average (.393) and fifth in OPS (.719). 

Put a little differently, here are a couple of quick charts. First, here's how the Diamondbacks and Dodgers chart with RISP and two out:

Team         AB       H      TB      R     BB+HB   BA     OBP     SLG   OPS     

D'Backs    224      41      64      59        37       .183   .299      .286    .585

Dodgers    224      52      68      60        35       .232   .336      .304    .639

The Dodgers are a little better with RISP and two out, right in the middle of the NL, while the Diamondbacks are at the bottom. Now, compare these two clubs with RISP and less than two out:

Team         AB       H      TB      R     BB+HB   BA     OBP     SLG     OPS

D'Backs    244      72      120    131      32       .295    .392     .491     .883 

Dodgers    237      56        77     91      32       .236    .341     .324     .665

Look at that difference in scoring with RISP and less than two outs. The Diamondbacks have scored 40 more runs in about the same number of at-bats. Pretty much covers the whole difference in scoring this year between the Diamondbacks, who have scored 250 runs, and the Dodgers, who have scored 206.

We have complained here before that no one chokes up a rally the way Matt Kemp has been doing it this year, and our only regret was that we didn't include Andre Ethier in that same breath. But it's a slight regret, because Ethier isn't on the same plane as Kemp. If Kemp is gone and Ethier plays at the top of his game, then Ethier still isn't the Dodgers' best guy. Adrian Gonzalez is better. But if Kemp is at the top of his game, he's the best player on any team. Kemp is an elite player, whereas Ethier is the third best hitter on a contending team. So, we expect more from Kemp. We haven't been getting it. With RISP and less than two out, Kemp is four-for-32, all singles, with 14 strikeouts.

A couple of weeks ago, when Dodgers manager Don Mattingly started telling on his players in the media -- and they definitely had it coming -- he did Kemp a real favor by revealing that the outfielder still doesn't have himself right from reconstructive surgery on his front shoulder during the offseason. Suddenly, the fans and commentators began to see Kemp and his struggles in a new light. The man just wasn't there physically. Watching him talk to himself on the way to the dugout after another strikeout with one out and a man on second, we already knew he wasn't there mentally. Now, we began to kind of understand why.

If ever there might be gratitude about an injury, Kemp's slight pull of his right hamstring last week might be such a case. From the cheap seats, he already looked like he needed to get away. Now, he can rest his head and his shoulder while healing his hammy. Shutting Kemp down for a couple of weeks right now is the smart play on its own merits.

When the Dodgers also had to disable Carl Crawford, they made a desperate play. The Dodgers didn't want to call up Puig, the 22-year-old Cuban defector who they signed last year for seven years at $42 million. Seeing that size and speed in spring training, and seeing all that he did, batting .526 in the Cactus League, the Dodgers just wanted him to develop for a year. The Dodgers were right for wanting that, and they were just as right for calling him up because they had to.

What we've seen in two days of Puig in right field at Dodger Stadium is movie stuff. First game, he singled in his first at-bat, then he ended the game with a powerful throw to double a runner off first base. Second game, two home runs and five RBI. Two Dodger wins.

And, for all their trouble this year, we suddenly see a Dodgers team with a breath and a heartbeat. Then, when we look at the standings, they're only 7 1/2 games out. 

Suddenly, Hanley Ramirez is back, Puig is up, Kemp is getting straightened out and we're seeing contributions from Scott Van Slyke. Now, outfielders with big contracts are going to fight for playing time. See if we get a little more assertiveness out there. And there's still a schedule of 105 games left to be played.

The young outfielder, Puig, has given the Dodgers a nice lift. See if they can run with it.

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.