Daily Clips May 31, 2017

Daily Clips May 31, 2017

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017 DODGERS.COM Dodgers deck Cards, move into 1st place Scott Chasen and Alaina Getzenberg Utley's hot bat mirrors Dodgers' surge Scott Chasen Seager leads NL shortstops on All-Star ballot Scott Chasen Tuesday's best: Merryweather excels in Triple-A debut Mike Rosenbaum Ryu faces Cards in return to LA's rotation Alaina Getzenberg Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers offense gave Kenley Jansen candy as an apology for no save situations Adrian Garro Dodgers' relievers dominant up in strike zone- Mike Petriello LA TIMES Dodgers move into first place after winning sloppy affair with Cardinals Andy McCullough Hyun-Jin Ryu to start for Dodgers on Wednesday against St. Louis - Andy McCullough OC REGISTER Dodgers move into first place with sixth consecutive win, 9-4 Bill Plunkett Dodgers Notes: Rookie Cody Bellinger s power numbers are hard to ignore but he does Bill Plunkett On deck: Dodgers at Cardinals, Wednesday, 5:15 p.m.- Bill Plunkett ESPN Utley, Forsythe lead rally as Dodgers beat Cardinals 9-4 The Associated Press Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger products of Dodgers' draft success- David Schoenfield TRUE BLUE LA Dodgers cruise into first place with another comeback win Ryan Walton Brendon Davis hits one of four Loons homers in their 8-5 win Craig Minami Corey Seager rests; Dodgers look to continue winning vs. Cardinals- David Young Trevor Oaks does everything in OKC 11-1 win over New Orleans- Craig Minami DODGER INSIDER Dodgers sit atop NL West with sixth straight win Rowan Kavner Seager day off means Hernández day in Rowan Kavner Old-Timers game featuring all-time Dodger greats to be played June 10- Rowan Kavner NBC LA Deja Vu for Dodgers as L.A. Wins Sixth in a Row, 9-4 over St. Louis Michael Duarte FOX SPORTS Dodgers hitters sweet gesture shows Kenley Jansen they haven t forgotten him Chris Bahr Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger is off to record-setting start and will get better- Ken Rosenthal

Dodgers deck Cards, move into 1st place By Scott Chasen and Alaina Getzenberg LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017 DODGERS.COM ST. LOUIS -- Seven Dodgers tallied RBIs and the bullpen came through with five innings of one-run ball as Los Angeles topped the Cardinals, 9-4, at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night, moving into first place in the National League West with the Rockies falling to the Mariners. "Are we really [in first]?" Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, when asked about the division race. "We're winning baseball games right now, but I think the intent right now is to focus on the day and not worry about the standings.... We've done a pretty good job of that." The Dodgers scored in nearly every which way, first getting on the board on a sacrifice fly to left in the third before Chase Utley hit a ground-rule double to cut the St. Louis lead to 3-2. The Dodgers added two more runs that inning on a single and an ensuing error before adding an additional three in the fifth -- two on walks with the bases loaded and another when Logan Forsythe beat out a potential inningending double-play ball at first. The final runs of the game came on a Kiké Hernandez sacrifice fly and Austin Barnes' RBI double in the ninth. "I think we all feel like we have a good offense. Just put together some rallies, scored some runs," said Utley, who has been swinging a hot bat. "We were able to capitalize on a few of [Michael Wacha's] mistakes." Chase Utley smacks a ground-rule double into the left-field seats, scoring Yasmani Grandal and slicing the Cardinals' lead to 3-2 in the 3rd Cardinals pitchers struggled with their command early and often. Wacha got the start, but lasted only three innings after a 36-pitch third. Tyler Lyons worked his way through the fourth, but was pulled after a sequence in which he gave up a single, hit-by-pitch and two walks in the fifth. The loss dropped the Cardinals to 24-25. They are 3-10 in their last 13 games. "We score three in the first, we anticipate that's a game we're going to add onto and win," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "I put a lot of weight on adding that next one on, who knows what they would have done if we were able to put someone on across the board there in the second and keep momentum going?... It's one of the better bullpens in the game right now, you get deep and they've got a lead, we've got work to do." Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda only lasted four innings before he was replaced by pinch-hitter Franklin Gutierrez, but the bullpen picked him up. The 'pen lost a 24 2/3-inning scoreless streak on a Yadier Molina solo shot in the eighth inning but didn't allow any more runs, as the Dodgers improved to 33-20 and won their sixth straight overall.

Franklin Gutierrez draws a walk with the bases loaded, scoring Chase Utley and giving the Dodgers a 6-3 edge in the 5th "There was a spot there for Kenta to go back out there for the fifth inning but," Roberts said, "we had to take a chance at adding on." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED One after the other: The Dodgers found themselves in a hole early, in part because of a couple of miscues. With two on and nobody out in the first, Matt Carpenter hit a single to center and Dodgers center fielder Chris Taylor tried to make a play at second, seeing Tommy Pham overrun the bag. Taylor's throw sailed past the base as the runners advanced. Dexter Fowler scored on the play after another error from Maeda, who wasn't in good enough position to back up the throw initially and made an errant toss as Fowler broke for home. Matt Carpenter singles into center in the 1st, and Dexter Fowler scores on Chris Taylor's throwing error to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead "It was ugly there early," Roberts said. "We kicked the ball around uncharacteristically." Maeda committed another error in the second, misfiring to first base after fielding a bunt by Wacha. The play gifted the Cardinals runners on the corners with nobody out, but the Dodgers would escape the inning unscathed. "Overall it was just not a good outing," Maeda said through an interpreter. "I just want to move on and work on what I have to work on." Returning the favor: The Dodgers would strike back in the third, taking the lead in a similar way to how they had fallen behind. With two out and two runs already in, Hernandez hit a ground ball up the middle. Ranging far to his right to field the grounder, second baseman Paul DeJong tried to fire the ball to first to complete what would've been a difficult play, but the throw flew past Carpenter and the Dodgers tallied an additional run. The Dodgers' offense continued to strike from that point on. Forsythe and Utley combined to reach nine times, with nine total Dodgers reaching safely. "We're finding ways to get on base and win 90 feet when we need to," Roberts said. "Guys were having good at-bats." QUOTABLE "It was an awful pace, I don't know what to attribute it to.... You could sense that there was just a different vibe. I think it's a shame we come out and score three like we did, top of our lineup doing what we do. It unfortunately was having a chance to put an exclamation point, opportunity first-and-third in the second [inning], I think that's a momentum shifter." -- Matheny, on the game clocked at 3:55 SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Molina's home run ended the Dodgers bullpen's scoreless streak. It so happens, a homer by the catcher on May 24 was the last one hit off of the bullpen before the streak began. The hit was also Molina's 750th hit at Busch Stadium III, where he is the all-time leader. UPON FURTHER REVIEW After allowing three to score before recording an out, the Dodgers appeared to finally record the first two outs of the inning on a ball hit right back to the pitcher. However, after a Cardinals challenge and quick review, the 1-4-3 double play was overturned, with Aledmys Diaz beating out the throw to first. The Dodgers also challenged a call in the fifth inning after Forsythe hit into a fielder's choice -- and nearly a double play to end the inning. They challenged the ruling that Diaz was on the bag to record the out at second, but the call stood after a review. WHAT'S NEXT Dodgers: In Game 3 of the four-game set at Busch Stadium, left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-5, 4.28 ERA) will return to the rotation and fill in for the injured Alex Wood on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. PT. Ryu's last outing came out of the bullpen against the Cardinals on Thursday, as he recorded a rare four-inning save in a 7-3 win. Cardinals: Right-hander Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.32 ERA) will get the ball Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. CT. Martinez has posted six straight quality starts, and in his last start at home on May 20, he allowed two hits and no runs against the Giants in nine innings, though the Cardinals lost the game in 13 innings. Utley's hot bat mirrors Dodgers' surge By Scott Chasen ST. LOUIS -- Chase Utley isn't quite sure what turned his season around. He isn't complaining though. After a rough start to the year that saw him hit.098 (5-for-51), the Dodgers' second baseman has been on a tear, capped off by a 3-for-4 performance against the Cardinals in a 9-4 win at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. "Yeah, it wasn't ideal," Utley said of his start to the year, pausing to add a chuckle. "It's not something you really anticipate, but it is what it is. I've been through some funks over the course of my career before." He's certainly been in some funks, but he's also been on some hot streaks -- like the one he's on right now. Utley is hitting.393 over his last 18 games with an at-bat, the last five of which have seen him record at least one RBI. He started off Tuesday with a triple and didn't slow down, pulling the team within a run with an RBI ground-rule double in the third inning and scoring the go-ahead run after a single by Kiké Hernandez and a Cardinals error.

"I think if you look at [last] three weeks, he's been as good as any player in the National League," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I think you throw out those first 50 at-bats, he's off to a great start." Roberts maintained that even while Utley was slumping, he was a valuable part of the team. He cited Utley's defense and clubhouse presence as ways he contributed during the slow start. It's probably no coincidence the Dodgers have gone on a run that coincides with Utley's hot streak. After winning their sixth straight game -- as well of 11 of their last 13 -- the Dodgers have catapulted into first in the National League West ahead of the Rockies, who lost to the Mariners on Tuesday. "It means we're playing pretty good baseball, but it's a long season," Utley said. "We've got to continue to improve and want to improve. [We] can't look too far ahead." Seager leads NL shortstops on All-Star ballot By Scott Chasen ST. LOUIS -- The day the Dodgers learned Corey Seager was atop the National League All-Star voting at shortstop was also a day of R-and-R for the youngster. Seager, who led all NL shortstops with 399,347 votes in the first Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot update -- around 20,000 votes ahead of the Cubs' Addison Russell -- was out of the Dodgers' lineup Tuesday, with Enrique Hernandez getting the start vs. the Cardinals. The day off came in the midst of the Dodgers' stretch of 16 games in 16 days, and manager Dave Roberts said he didn't need Seager tiring himself out in the cages in the meantime. "Just take a spa day," Roberts told the shortstop. "Show up when you want. Hang out in the training room. And be ready come the fifth inning and beyond." While Seager is in a fairly tight race with Russell, Roberts said he wasn't surprised to see his shortstop atop the leaders. "He should be [in first place]," Roberts said. "He's the best shortstop in the National League. Obviously, we have some very good young shortstops in our game, but to see Corey... he's very good for the game." While Seager has had some struggles at the plate this year -- he's hitting just.253 in May -- he's still slashing.285/.388/.468 this season, with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. "Corey has such high expectations for himself," Roberts said. "For us to win baseball games, produce runs where he's not where he feels he should be, means that we're doing OK." Justin Turner, who hasn't played since injuring his right hamstring on May 18, was in third at third base in All-Star voting, behind Chicago's Kris Bryant and Colorado's Nolan Arenado. Catcher Yasmani Grandal and outfielder Yasiel Puig were also listed in the voting, ranking fifth and 14th, respectively, at their positions.

Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, June 29, at 8:59 p.m. PT. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period for a maximum of 35 ballots cast. Following the announcement of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media. Tuesday's best: Merryweather excels in Triple-A debut By Mike Rosenbaum The Indians tasked Julian Merryweather with a tough assignment for his Triple-A debut on Tuesday, sending the freshly promoted right-hander to the mound for Columbus in a road matchup versus a loaded Scranton/Wilkes-Barre offense. The Indians' No. 25 prospect proved more than up for the challenge, as he allowed four hits and struck out eight over eight scoreless innings to lead Columbus in a 5-0 win. Merryweather threw 97 pitches, 67 for strikes, and retired the final 10 batters he faced in the outing, which matched the longest of his career. The 25-year-old also generated 10 ground-ball outs, a product of his heavy, sinking fastball in the low to mid-90s, all the while navigating a lineup that featured five prospects ranked in the top half of the Yankees' Top 30 list. Merryweather received a bump to the Minors' highest level after going 4-2 with a 3.38 ERA and.196 opponents' average over 50 2/3 innings (nine starts) with Double-A Akron. He'd struck out 52 batters against 10 walks, and led the Eastern League with a 0.93 WHIP. The rest of the best performances from top prospects Tuesday No. 75 overall prospect Derek Fisher (Astros' No. 4) homered for a third straight game to help power Triple-A Fresno past Albuquerque. The home run, a two-run shot in the first, was Fisher's 13th of the season and extended his hitting streak to six games, during which he's batting.480 (12-for-25) with eight RBIs.

A's No. 5 prospect Daniel Gossett matched his season high with eight strikeouts and allowed just two hits over six innings in his second straight scoreless start for Triple-A Nashville. The 24-year-old didn't issue a walk in either outing, something he was unable to do in any of his eight previous starts, and has seen his ERA drop from 4.31 to 3.19 behind 14 scoreless frames in that span. Fresh off of earning Player of the Week honors in the Midwest League, Blue Jays' No. 9 prospect Bo Bichette connected on a solo home run, his fifth, and reached base twice via walks in a 1-for-3 showing for Class A Lansing. The 19-year-old middle infielder is raking at a.415 clip (17-for-41) during his 10- game hitting streak, and he leads all Midwest League hitters in average (.372), slugging (.598) and OPS (1.050). Blue Jays' No. 12 prospect Max Pentecost belted his ninth homer and later added his first triple before finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Class A Advanced Dunedin. Defensively, Pentecost, catching for the first time since his pro debut after losing all of 2015-16 due to injury, has thrown out three of six attempted basestealers, without committing either an error or a passed ball, in 10 games behind the plate. Cardinals' No. 24 prospect Zac Gallen, 21, nearly went the distance en route to his fifth win for Class A Advanced Palm Beach. The 2016 third-rounder ultimately completed a career-high 8 2/3 frames, allowing one earned run -- which scored on a two-run homer after he'd departed the game -- on four hits with three strikeouts and 13 ground-ball outs. The righty is having a breakout full-season debut, as Tuesday's outing thrust him into a first-place tie in the Florida State League in WHIP (0.97) and into second in ERA (1.62). Dodgers' No. 26 prospect Johan Mieses bumped his home run total to six with his second twohomer game of the season for Double-A Tulsa. In doing so, the 21-year-old outfielder snapped out of a 1-for-26 funk. Dodgers' No. 27 prospect Brendon Davis went 3-for-4 and fell a double short of hitting for the cycle in Class A Great Lakes' win over West Michigan. The home run, a solo shot in the first inning, was the fifth of the season for the 19-year-old shortstop, who's posted a much improved.282/.398/.460 slash line through 46 games in his second tour of the Midwest League. Indians' No. 30 prospect Conner Capel continued his power surge as he went deep for the seventh time in his last 13 games for Class A Lake County. The toolsy 20-year-old outfielder's average has ticked up to.198 from.172 in that span as he continues to slug his way back from a slow start. Mariners' No. 4 prospect Andrew Moore scattered four hits over eight scoreless innings, with one walk and three strikeouts, in his best start since joining Triple-A Tacoma. D.J. Peterson (No. 11) went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run to pace the Rainiers offensively. With a.317 average (13-for-41), two home runs and 11 RBIs over his last 10 games, the 25-year-old first baseman appears to be finding his stroke after a slow start. Marlins' No. 9 prospect James Nelson extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his second homer in as many days for Class A Greensboro. After getting a late start to his season, the 19-year-old third baseman has racked up 47 hits in 35 games en route to a.343 average, third best in the South Atlantic League.

Mets' No. 29 prospect Jordan Humphreys became the first Minor League hurler to reach eight wins (8-1) as he allowed one unearned run on two hits with eight strikeouts over six innings for Class A Columbia. The 20-year-old righty -- the Mets' 18th-round pick in the 2015 Draft -- has been exceptional in his first full season, as he now leads the South Atlantic League in ERA (1.40), WHIP (0.66) and opponents' average (.153) after Tuesday's performance. What's more, Humphreys has compiled 73 strikeouts, good for second in the circuit, against just seven walks in 57 2/3 innings (nine starts). Reds' No. 9 prospect Tyler Mahle returned to his scoreless ways as he fired seven innings of three-hit ball to pace Double-A Pensacola in a shutout of Jacksonville. The 22-year-old right-hander issued one walk and matched his career high with nine strikeouts in the outing, ultimately throwing 65 of his 102 pitches for strikes. Overall, Mahle's six wins, 0.85 WHIP and 69 2/3 innings pitched all lead the Southern League, and he also ranks second in both ERA (1.55) and strikeouts (72). Ryu faces Cards in return to LA's rotation By Alaina Getzenberg The Cardinals and Dodgers will get the opportunity to show what has made their pitching staffs so successful on Wednesday night in the third matchup of a four-game series. While St. Louis starting pitchers have been on a roll in May, Los Angeles holds the lowest ERA in the Majors. The Dodgers will take advantage of their pitching depth on Wednesday, starting Hyun-Jin Ryu in place of Alex Wood, who was put on the 10-day disabled list recently due to left shoulder inflammation. Ryu rejoins the rotation after a brief stint in the bullpen. Coming on in relief of Kenta Maeda on Thursday against the Cardinals, Ryu earned a four-inning save without giving up a run. He has started seven games this year (2-5) and holds a 4.28 ERA. "I think Ryu is excited," manager Dave Roberts said. "It sort of goes back to obviously what he's known, as a professional baseball player.... To have the depth that we have, to be able to slot him in, it's good for us." On the mound for the Cardinals will be Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.32) making his 11th start of the season, which leads St. Louis. The right-hander ranks second among National League pitchers in opponent slugging percentage (.353), fifth in opponent average and has delivered six consecutive quality starts, despite a loss in his last outing against the Rockies on Friday. He pitched 7 1/3 innings in the game, giving up six hits and three runs. Martinez has excelled during this month, going 3-1 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts, after starting the season 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA. Things to know about this game Among starters, only the Mets' Noah Syndergaard and the Yankees' Luis Severino have fired more pitches at 98 mph or harder this season than Martinez (56), whose average four-seam fastball velocity (96.2 mph) ranks third among starters with at least 100 thrown. Martinez also ranks 10th in that group for average two-seamer/sinker velocity (94.8 mph).

Martinez is 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA (33 innings) and 34 strikeouts in seven career games vs. the Dodgers. He took a loss in a 2016 start in Los Angeles but won back-to-back starts against the team in 2015, allowing just one run over 14 innings. The Dodgers will be looking to end their spectacular May on a high note. Entering Tuesday, the Dodgers had outscored opponents 149-87 and had the best record in the NL during the month. Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers offense gave Kenley Jansen candy as an apology for no save situations By Adrian Garro Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen has only one save to his name in the entire month of May, which concludes on Wednesday. That might ordinarily imply that the club was going through tough times, but no: with the Dodgers' 9-4 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday, they're now alone atop the NL West at 33-20 and have won six straight games. The "problem," then, is that their offense has simply gotten the job done to the point of not needing to use Jansen to record many perilous late-inning outs of late. To wit, the only save he does have in May came in a game Los Angeles won over the Marlins, 7-2, as Jansen entered in the eighth inning of what was a much closer game. After Tuesday's win, which became another non-save situation for Jansen thanks to the Dodgers' two runs of insurance in the ninth, they felt bad about leaving him hanging yet again. So, as Yasiel Puig shared to Twitter, they placed a bevy of sweet treats around Jansen's locker as a token of apology -- and gratitude for his services nonetheless: Safe to say Jansen won't be hanging his head over any of this one bit. Dodgers' relievers dominant up in strike zone By Mike Petriello Cubs slugger Kris Bryant noticed something about the dominant Dodgers relievers after they were swept in Los Angeles over the weekend. "Their bullpen," Bryant said to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, "every pitch was right there at the top of the strike zone, every single one to all of us. It was unbelievable." Whether Bryant was expressing frustration or admiration -- perhaps both -- he is on to something, maybe more than he knew. The Dodgers' bullpen threw 12 scoreless innings (striking out 10) against the Cubs, they have by far the best bullpen in the National League, and a big part of it is exactly what Bryant pointed out. They're throwing the highest percentage of fastballs at the top of the strike zone of any bullpen in baseball, it's not even close, and it matters. Here's what we mean by that. Let's exclude splitters from our definition of "fastballs," since they're supposed to dive, and let's look at the percentage of fastballs that are either in the upper third of the zone or just on the border. The Dodgers relievers have placed 12 percent of their fastballs in that zone;

no other team has made it to even eight percent. The league average is below six percent. Texas is below four percent. It's a tremendous gap. Dodger relievers are throwing by far the most high-zone fastballs in 2017. It's not just one pitcher skewing the results, either, because there's pretty clear evidence of this being a team-wide strategy. So far this year, 290 relievers have thrown at least 50 fastballs, and if we sort those pitchers by percentage of fastballs that went high in the zone, the Dodgers have the first name and the second and the third and the seventh, 14th and 16th too. Percentage of fastballs thrown high in zone in 2017 by relievers 36.5 percent -- Ross Stripling, Dodgers 36.5 percent -- Josh Fields, Dodgers 34.3 percent -- Chris Hatcher, Dodgers 34.2 percent -- Shawn Kelley, Nationals 31.4 percent -- Nick Goody, Indians Pedro Baez (30.6 percent) is seventh; Grant Dayton (27.1 percent, 14th) and Kenley Jansen (26.1 percent, 16th) aren't far behind. Six of the top 16 relievers at throwing fastballs high in the strike zone are Dodgers, and while that's long been Fields' trademark, that simply can't be an accident otherwise. The Dodgers, it's fair to note, did this more than anyone last year, too, but they've still taken the biggest step forward this year -- and do note that most teams are actually doing it less often. If there's a trend here, the Dodgers stand somewhat alone in doing it. No bullpen has increased their high-zone fastball rate more than the Dodgers. So the Dodgers' bullpen is throwing a lot of fastballs high in the strike zone. Is that meaningful? Let's explain why it is right now, starting with the fact that in the wake of the trend of hitters actively trying to elevate the ball for power, we actually expected that we'd perhaps see more teams try to throw high pitches, given that a generation of low-ball hitters might have trouble elevating those pitches. It hasn't happened, not really. In 2016, we saw bullpens throwing 6.1 percent of their fastballs high in the zone. This year, that's 5.7 percent, meaning it's down. But there's evidence that if you can place those fastballs, you can really do some damage. The league average on those high fastballs is just.230, compared to.275 on middle-zone fastballs and.267 on low fastballs, and while conventional wisdom has long been that hitters will feast on those high fastballs if they're not placed well, the slugging percentage of.414 is better than.454 middle and comparable to.406 low. And the swinging strike rate high in the zone of 12.3 percent easily tops that of 6.5 percent middle and 4.8 percent low. You'll get fewer grounders, but you could get more strikeouts and lower averages -- if you can do it right. The Dodgers, it seems, have managed to do it right, because on those high fastballs, they have allowed by far the the lowest amount of damage. Looking at Weighted On-Base Average (or woba; think onbase percentage but giving more credit for homers and extra base hits rather than treating all times on

base the same) Los Angeles' bullpen has allowed a mark of just.217 on those high fastballs, where the league average is.306 and the last-ranked team, Washington, is at.498. If you go back to the list of relievers that showed the Dodgers had six of the top 16 in terms of throwing fastballs high in the strike zone, you get some interesting stories. Sure, Jansen is an absolute stud, whiffing 34 without a walk allowed in 19 innings, and his success is more about movement than location. But Stripling, for example, has turned himself from a low-upside back-end starter profile into an extremely valuable reliever, one who has struck out 33 in 28 1/3 innings so far with a 2.54 ERA, adding two miles per hour out of the bullpen and allowing the Dodgers the flexibility to not push Alex Wood or Kenta Maeda deep into games. Fields (0.84 ERA, 26 K in 21 1/3 innings) was a little-noticed Deadline day pickup from Houston last summer; Hatcher (3.33 ERA, 31 K in 27 innings) is finally showing off the skills the Dodgers hoped to see when he came over in the Dee Gordon trade, doubling his high-zone fastball rate from 17.8 percent to 34.3 percent. Baez, for all the frustration over his slow pace, has whiffed 21 in 22 1/3 innings and has a stellar 1.21 ERA. Interestingly enough, though Dayton shows up highly on this list, his high-zone fastball rate was actually down from 40.6 percent to 27.7 percent, and he's been unable to maintain his 2016 breakout success; he's spent much of May back in Triple-A. It's not that everyone should suddenly throw high fastballs, of course. But if you have the right pitchers and the right approach, throwing high heat can really work. For the Dodgers, it's working -- they have a 21 2/3-inning relief scoreless streak -- and then some. LA TIMES Dodgers move into first place after winning sloppy affair with Cardinals By Andy McCullough A corked bottle sat atop the desk inside the visiting manager s office at Busch Stadium. Dave Roberts swore its purpose was benign. Baseball does not award trophies for leading a division at the end of May. No, no, no, Roberts cracked after the Dodgers finished a 9-4 victory over St. Louis and claimed first place in the National League West for the first time since April 6. This is pinot noir! Roberts claimed he was not aware of the standings. A gleam in his eye gave him away managers often say they are not aware of the standings, especially this early in the season. But after an ungainly April, in which the Dodgers hovered around.500 and allowed Colorado to zoom atop the leader board, the fourtime defending champions of the West have roared ahead with 11 victories in 13 games. To capture their sixth in a row Tuesday, the Dodgers (33-20) performed in far from elegant fashion. The offense built rallies around errors and walks. Kenta Maeda lasted only four innings. The defense

committed three errors. The bullpen s streak of scoreless innings ended at 24 2/3 when Chris Hatcher gave up a home run in the eighth. Yet, the lineup still operated like a ruthless engine, vanquishing St. Louis starter Michael Wacha after three innings and feasting on the rest of the Cardinals pitching staff. Logan Forysthe reached base five times. Chase Utley doubled, triple and scored two runs. Enrique Hernandez drove in two runs. Chris Taylor scored three times. Dodgers mailbag: Should they pursue slugger Jose Bautista and outfielder J.D. Martinez? We were able to put together some rallies and score some runs, Utley said. We were able to put together some pretty good at-bats against Wacha. He s tough. Laid off some good pitches, and we were able to capitalize on a few of his mistakes. In the aftermath, Roberts focused on the early-evening sloppiness. Roberts referred to his team s play as ugly. He indicated the coaching staff is trying to diagnose why Maeda has struggled in the first inning. His fixation on the first few frames belies his level of confidence in his team: Even after a victory like this, when his team scored nine runs and won by five, invites room for improvement. The evening featured an eerie similarity to a meeting between Maeda and Wacha last week. In both games, Maeda gave up three runs in the first inning before finding a relative groove. In both games, the Dodgers punished Wacha and booted him from the game early. On Tuesday, the Dodgers added a new wrinkle, producing a three-run rally in the fifth despite recording only one hit against the St. Louis bullpen. The mid-game surge offset Maeda s opening stumble. The Cardinals nearly buried him in the first. He yielded three runs before he secured an out. A questionable call by umpire Mark Wegner squeezed Maeda, but so did an error by Taylor, a newly converted outfielder, and Maeda s own mistakes. St. Louis outfielder Dexter Fowler stroked a leadoff single. With a full count to outfielder Tommy Pham, Fowler broke for second base. A fastball from Maeda appeared to catch a piece of the strike zone, down and away. Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal fired to second base, where a tag awaited Fowler. Except... Hyun-Jin Ryu to start for Dodgers on Wednesday against St. Louis Each umpire has a different strike zone, Maeda told reporters in Japanese. I have to deal with that. Wegner called the pitch a ball. Pham trotted to first base. Fowler positioned himself at second. Both were in place when first baseman Matt Carpenter singled into center field, where Taylor was making his seventh appearance. His throw overshot the infielders, allowing Fowler to scoot home. We kicked the ball around, uncharacteristically, Roberts said. Two pitches later, Maeda watched Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina redirect a slider up the middle. The grounder trickled into the outfield for a two-run single.

Maeda needed 32 pitches to complete the first. In the second, he committed a throwing error on a bunt by Wacha. Maeda managed to strand runners at the corners. The recovery allowed his team to stay afloat. For us to be down 3-0 after the first, I guess was a good thing, Roberts said. The deficit disappeared in the third. A four-run flurry started with a walk by Forsythe. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez. A walk by Taylor brought up Utley. He tagged an RBI ground-rule double. Now came time for the Cardinals to play inept baseball. Hernandez smashed a liner up the middle. St. Louis second baseman Paul DeJong backhanded it but made a wild throw to first base. As the ball soared out of sight, two runs scored to give the Dodgers their first lead of the evening. The advantage expanded in the fifth. The Dodgers capitalized on the imprecision of Cardinals reliever Tyler Lyons. After a single by Taylor, Lyons hit Utley, walked Hernandez and walked Yasiel Puig to force in a run. Called in to replace Lyons, new reliever John Brebbia walked pinch-hitter Franklin Gutierrez. Forsythe grounded into a fielder s choice to drive home a third run. The game required nearly four hours to complete. It was far from pretty. As the night ended, though, the Dodgers stood alone atop the West. To be in first, by ourselves, I think it s good, Roberts said. But we all realize there s a lot of baseball left. Hyun-Jin Ryu to start for Dodgers on Wednesday against St. Louis By Andy McCullough hroughout the middle of last week, the Dodgers haggled with Hyun-Jin Ryu over his transition to the bullpen. The team wanted to synchronize a relief appearance with Ryu s workout routine, which has helped keep his shoulder strong after surgery in 2015. It was a complicated process that culminated in a four-inning outing that backed up Kenta Maeda s start against the St. Louis Cardinals. The tandem of Maeda and Ryu did not last long. With Alex Wood on the disabled list, resting for 10 days after experienced inflammation in his sternum, Ryu will start Wednesday against the Cardinals, manager Dave Roberts confirmed before Tuesday s game at Busch Stadium. I think Ryu s excited, Roberts said. He goes back to what he s known as a professional baseball player. To have the depth that we have, to be able to slot him in, it s good for us. Ryu, who has a record of 2-5 and a 4.28 earned-run average, ranks sixth on the team s depth chart of starting pitchers. But with the way the organization shuffles players through the rotation, he will continue to receive opportunities to start.

Corey Seager leads NL shortstops Corey Seager led National League shortstops in the first batch of All-Star game voting, released Tuesday. Seager held a narrow edge over the Chicago Cubs Addison Russell, who won the fan vote last season. Seager, then a rookie, still received a spot on the team. He s the best shortstop in the National League, Roberts said of Seager. Obviously we have some very good young shortstops in our game. But he s very good for the game. To see him at the top, rightfully so. Short hops Like the rest of the baseball world, Roberts was an interested observer in the fight Monday between Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper and San Francisco Giants reliever Hunter Strickland. Both players landed punches after Strickland drilled Harper in the hip with a pitch. That was a good one, Roberts said. It s hard to think that there wasn t intent right there. That was some big boys going at it right there. Enrique Hernandez will likely start for Yasiel Puig on Wednesday as Roberts continues to rotate the hot-hitting utility player around the lineup. OC REGISTER Dodgers move into first place with sixth consecutive win, 9-4 By Bill Plunkett ST. LOUIS Like reclaiming your favorite chair after company finally leaves, the Dodgers slipped back into first place Tuesday night. Overcoming a three-run first inning against Kenta Maeda, the Dodgers handed the St. Louis Cardinals a 9-4 defeat at Busch Stadium, extending their winning streak to six games. Coupled with a loss by the Colorado Rockies (their fourth in the past six games), the Dodgers moved into first place in the NL West by a half-game their first time atop the division since April 6 and the first time this season they have had sole possession of first place. Does this mean anything on May 30 with over 100 games to go? No, veteran Chase Utley answered predictably. It means that we re playing pretty good baseball. But it s a long season with a lot of games to play. You can t look too far ahead. The Dodgers have indeed been playing pretty good baseball. Tuesday s win was their 11th in their past 13 games and they have gone a major-league best 24-9 since April 25. However, this was not the best example of that baseball.

It was ugly there early, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, referencing Maeda s shaky start and three stranded runners in the first two innings by the Dodger offense including a leadoff triple by Utley in the second inning. We had an opportunity early and didn t cash in, situational hitting. Early on, Kenta didn t get a couple close calls and we kicked the ball around uncharacteristically. Roberts called the Dodgers fortunate to have been down only 3-0 after the first two innings. Maeda stumbled through the first inning, allowing the first four Cardinals batters to reach base and compounding a throwing error by center fielder Chris Taylor by making one of his own. Maeda made another throwing error on a sacrifice bunt in the second inning. Not a problem Cardinals pitchers were off the mark with their throws far more often Tuesday night. The Dodgers had 20 baserunners in the game 11 hits (including three by Utley), eight walks (including three by Logan Forsythe, who was on base five times) and a hit batter (Utley again). Five of the walks came in the third and fifth innings when the Dodgers scored seven times to take control of the game. There is a thing of Winning 90 feet when you need to Roberts said. We re finding a way to get on base and win 90 feet when we need to. Today, Logan was on base five times. For him to get on base five times, our offense goes from there. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha was pulled after only three innings, having squandered the Cardinals three-run headstart during a four-run third. A sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez, a double by Utley and a single by Kike Hernandez drove in runs but two walks and a throwing error by second baseman Paul DeJong added fuel. Two innings later, Taylor s one-out single was the only hit in a three-run Dodgers rally but it was followed by Utley nonchalantly taking a pitch off the arm and Cardinals relievers issuing three consecutive walks, the last two with the bases loaded. Maeda was gone by then, pulled after four innings in favor of the Dodgers dominant bullpen. Josh Fields was ill and unavailable so Roberts was down to seven relievers. He used six of them to hold the Cardinals in check over the final five innings. There was a hiccup, however. Chris Hatcher gave up a solo home run to Yadier Molina in the eighth inning, snapping a streak of 24-2/3 scoreless innings by Dodgers relievers. Still, the bullpen has allowed just that one run and nine hits while striking out 20 in 24-2/3 innings during the six-game winning streak. Dodgers Notes: Rookie Cody Bellinger s power numbers are hard to ignore but he does By Bill Plunkett ST. LOUIS Cody Bellinger doesn t want to talk about numbers even as his numbers add up impressively. With his 11th home run in Monday s win, Bellinger is the fastest player in Dodgers history to reach that total. Since 1913, only four players in the majors have hit more home runs through the first 32 games of their careers.

Going into Tuesday s game, Bellinger, who made his big-league debut on April 25, had hit nine home runs and driven in 27 runs in May. Only one player had more RBI in the month (Cincinnati s Adam Duvall with 28) and one more home run would make him the first rookie in Dodgers history to hit 10 in a calendar month. No Dodger has hit 10 home runs in a month since Matt Kemp hit 12 in April 2012. And his next home run will match his dad. Clay Bellinger hit 12 home runs in 183 big-league games with the New York Yankees and Angels from 1999-2002. That number Cody does know. I don t really look at stats or whatever, the Dodgers rookie said. You see them on the big screen. But other than that, I don t pay too much attention to it. I did know about my dad s home run total. Other than that, I don t like to know. It s pointless. Whether you know or don t know, you don t want to think about it. You just want to go out and play the game. Bellinger also has to play the game within the game. As opposing teams gather information on Bellinger, scouting reports become more refined and pitchers have more detailed gameplans to attack him. It s interesting because there are teams that try to crowd him and elevate late. And there s some teams that try to stay away from him, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Cody, to his credit, has made adjustments in the batter s box as far as his position. He s backed off the plate and given himself a little more room. But I think his ability to differentiate strike and ball puts him in good counts. The only other piece for me is that there s some tendency to miss fastballs in the strike zone. The first part of it is getting good pitches to hit. The other part is you ve got to put them in play. He s aware of that. But he s got the first part of that down. The Dodgers have been down a similar path with another young power hitter. As a rookie in 2015, Joc Pederson hit his 20th home run of the season on June 29, making him one of only three rookies in major-league history to hit 20 home runs before July (Wally Berger and Albert Pujols are the others). But Pederson hit just six more that year while batting.175 the rest of the season. I ve talked to Joc as well and he told me some things, said Bellinger, who also got advice from Pederson and Corey Seager this spring on being a top prospect in waiting. Bellinger wouldn t be more specific about that advice, saying only that we had some good conversations about it. This kid is a special young man. He s a heckuva baseball player. He s only going to get better, Roberts said. Cody s doing great. He s a great worker. He s a winning ballplayer and we certainly know we wouldn t be here without him. ALL-STAR In the first vote totals released by Major League Baseball, Seager led all National League shortstops. Seager was selected as a reserve on last year s NL All-Star team but a Dodger shortstop has not started the All-Star Game since Bill Russell in 1980.

He should be, Roberts said of Seager s standing (with a narrow lead over Cubs shortstop Addison Russell). He s the best shortstop in the National League. Obviously we have some very good young shortstops in our game. To see him at the top, rightfully so. Justin Turner was third among NL third basemen in the voting and Yasmani Grandal fifth among NL catchers. ALSO Roberts confirmed Tuesday that left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu would start Wednesday in Alex Wood s place. Wood went to the DL with sternoclavicular joint inflammation but is expected to miss only one start. Seager was not in the starting lineup Tuesday. Roberts said he told Seager to Take a spa day show up when you want. Hang out in the trainer s room. Be ready come the fifth inning and beyond to help us if need be. Kiké Hernandez started in place of Seager at shortstop on Tuesday and will probably give Yasiel Puig a day off in right field on Wednesday, Roberts said. On deck: Dodgers at Cardinals, Wednesday, 5:15 p.m. By Bill Plunkett DODGERS at CARDINALS When: Wednesday, 5:15 p.m. Where: Busch Stadium TV: SportsNet LA, ESPN THE PITCHERS DODGERS LHP HYUN-JIN RYU (2-5, 4.28) Vs. Cardinals: 1-1, 1.50 At Busch Stadium: 1-0, 0.00 Hates to face: Yadier Molina, 3 for 9 (.333), HR Loves to face: Jedd Gyorko, 0 for 9, 3 Ks CARDINALS RHP CARLOS MARTINEZ (3-4, 3.32) Vs. Dodgers: 2-2, 3.55

At Busch Stadium: 17-14, 3.58 Hates to face: Corey Seager, 2 for 3 (.667) Loves to face: Chase Utley, 0 for 5 ESPN Utley, Forsythe lead rally as Dodgers beat Cardinals 9-4 By The Associated Press ST. LOUIS -- Chase Utley was searching for his batting stroke in April. He's found it in May Utley, Logan Forsythe and Chris Taylor combined to reach base 12 times and totaled six runs, helping the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers rally past the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Tuesday night to move atop the NL West. The Dodgers went ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who lost 10-4 to the Seattle Mariners. Utley finished a homer shy of the cycle and was hit by a pitch as the Dodgers won their season-high sixth straight game. Forsythe reached five times, including three walks, and Taylor reached three times. "Hitting the ball where they're not playing to be honest, squaring some balls up, putting some good atbats together," Utley said. "Having a little success can breed confidence and I've always had the opinion that a confident hitter is a good hitter." Adrian Gonzalez's sacrifice fly and Utley's RBI double started the Dodgers comeback in the third. Enrique Hernandez tied it at 3 with a single, and Paul DeJong's throwing error on the same play scored Utley to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. The Dodgers scored three more times behind one hit in the fifth as relievers Tyler Lyons and John Brebbia each walked in a run. "I think the at-bat quality and there's a thing about winning 90 feet when we need to," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And guys were able to get on base and win 90 feet when we had too." Utley has hit.333 (22 for 66) in May and he has three homers in his last six games after hitting just.122 in April. "It wasn't ideal," Utley said of his slow start. "Not something you really anticipate, but it is what it is and I've been through some funks through the course of my career before. You try to stay positive. You try to stick with what you know and what helped make you successful and hopefully it turns around." Kenta Maeda spotted the Cardinals three first-inning runs for the second straight start, but once again held them scoreless after that to give the Dodgers a chance to come back.

Brandon Morrow (1-0) led a parade of six Dodgers relievers. The Dodgers bullpen gave up one run in five innings, the third consecutive game Los Angeles relievers had to get more than nine outs. The Cardinals, who've lost 10 out of their last 13 games, capitalized on a fortunate call and a couple of Dodgers errors to take a 3-0 lead in the first. Dexter Fowler appeared to be thrown out trying to steal second following a strikeout, but umpire Mark Wegner called a close 3-2 pitch to Tommy Pham ball four. Matt Carpenter followed with a single, Taylor's throwing error scored Fowler, and Pham and Carpenter took an extra base on Maeda's throwing error on the same play. Yadier Molina drove them both home with a single. "When we score three in the first we anticipate that's a game we're going to add on to and win," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We started out real well and then we couldn't get anything positive going." Molina had three RBI, and his homer off Chris Hatcher in the eighth broke the Dodger bullpen's scoreless innings streak at 24 2/3 innings. Michael Wacha (2-3) needed 77 pitches to get through three innings, the shortest outing for a Cardinals starter this season. Three of the four runs he allowed were earned. DODGERS BLUES Wacha has blown 3-0 leads in consecutive starts against Los Angeles. MAEDA LOSES GRIP Maeda made throwing errors in the first and second innings. It is the first time Maeda has had two errors in a game and his first error since June 30, 2016. TRAINING ROOM Dodgers: 3B Justin Turner (hamstring) will go on a rehab assignment, but a beginning date has not been determined. Cardinals: 2B Kolten Wong (left elbow strain) had an MRI on Monday that revealed no structural damage. OF Stephen Piscotty (personal) is expected back Wednesday. UP NEXT Dodgers: LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-5, 4.28 ERA) starts in place of LHP Alex Wood (left shoulder inflammation). Ryu is 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA in three career appearances against St. Louis. Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (3-4, 3.32 ERA) has received zero run support in his last two starts. He is 2-2 with a 3.55 ERA in seven career games against Los Angeles.

Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger products of Dodgers' draft success By David Schoenfield Yes, the money helps. The Los Angeles Dodgers have spent a lot of money on free agents and international players and re-signing their own stars. On the other hand: They've drafted in the top 10 only once since 1993. They nailed that pick, selecting Clayton Kershaw with the seventh overall choice in 2006. The baseball draft, even when drafting high, is more unpredictable than the NBA and NFL drafts, and it becomes less predictable with each selection. Few players drafted outside the top 10 ever make a significant impact in the majors. Still, the Dodgers continue to churn out young talent courtesy of the organization's player development system... and a key former executive. Logan White ran the Dodgers' drafts from 2002 until his departure in 2014, when he joined the San Diego Padres after the hiring of Andrew Friedman to run baseball operations in Los Angeles. White was the guy who drafted Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger, so as you watch the young dynamic duo on ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball against the Cardinals at 8 p.m. ET, give a tip of your cap to him. In 2012, the Dodgers drafted 18th. Seager had shot up draft boards late that spring as a high school senior in North Carolina, as reports cited his simple swing, his power and how the game seemed to come easy to him. Sound familiar? Most scouts, however, believed Seager would have to move to third base. White usually preferred to prioritize pitching in the first round -- his previous eight top selections had all been pitchers -- but he believed Seager could stick at shortstop. "A lot of people think he has to go to third," White said at the time. "He has Cal Ripken size. I think it's a mistake to move him off shortstop right away. Let him play and swing the bat. He's definitely an offensive player. He has a very good swing with power, and he's a good makeup guy." Seager soared through the minors and finished third in the MVP voting as a rookie in 2016. He's off to a good start in 2017 --.285/.388/.468, seven home runs -- and while he probably won't win any Gold Glove Awards, he has proven to be at least average at shortstop, with solid enough range and a strong arm. The following year, White tabbed Bellinger, a high school first baseman who had one home run his senior season at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. Like Seager, whose brother Kyle was in the majors with Seattle, Bellinger had big league bloodlines. His father, Clay, played briefly in the majors as a utility guy. Bellinger hit four home runs his first two seasons in the minors but filled out, adding strength and tweaking his swing to generate more uphill plane and torque, resulting in a breakout 2015 season in Class A, during which he hit 30 home runs. A series of injuries led to his recall in late April after limited time at Triple-A, but he has been ripping home runs since, with 11 in his first 32 games in the majors. Since his call-up, only Mike Trout has hit as many home runs. Bellinger has already put on an impressive display of power in his debut season. Since his call-up, the only other player in the majors with as many runs is Mike Trout. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images