LA Dodgers 2011 Preview and loss to St. Louis early in the season (4/11)

     Allen Craig from nearby Temecula went 3-4 including a 3 run HR on a hanging slider to take out Clayton Kershaw and send the Dodgers to a 9-2 loss on April 16th.  He was subbing against the lefty Kershaw for a hot Lance Berkman who had hit 2 HR’s a couple nights before. Former Dodgers infielder Ryan Theriot had three hits as well. That teamed with starter Kyle McClellan’s (2-0 now) strong outing using offspead pitches to keep the hitters guessing gave the Cards 3 straight wins at Dodger Stadium.  The Cards hitters have finally got hot with Berkman Rasmus, Albert Pujols, Holiday and Freese stabilizing the middle of their potent lineup.  St. Louis’s big loss was 2010 20 game winner Adam Wainwright for the season with an arm injury and their bullpen has been terrible so far. 

     LA has now lost 5 in a row. The Dodgers were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and have been inconsistent so far this season.  Andre Ethier led the Dodgers with a pair of doubles and a single, extending his hitting streak to 13 games. The Dodger hitting attack has been quiet so far this season with the exception of Ethier and Kemp, both among the league leaders.

     Kershaw is the ace of the staff as they are counting on a strong season from Chad Billingsley and Jonathon Broxton (Both 2010 all stars who faded at the end of last season).  Kershaw wasn’t thrilled during interviews after the game about the strike zone as he got in trouble with deep counts and calls that didn’t go his way. Getting back a healthy Rafael Furcal and having Casey Blake (who just recently returned from the DL) return to prior form would help new Manager Don Mattingly’s case to keep the team in the NL West contention. They need some production from James Loney and free agent Juan Uribe to help their cause.  The team is thinking about calling up young outfielder Jerry Sands from AAA Albuquerque as he has been on fire down there. 

     Their biggest obstacles will be the defending World Series champs SF Giants and Colorado Rockies who I predict will be the toughest divisional foe this year. Photo below is of Mattingly, Tommy Lasorda and Mario Andretti before the game.

For more information, schedule and tickets, visit www.dodgers.mlb.com