One thing about this gene is the invisible and tangibles that they have.
This team is really becoming a family.
Let's not play one on Tom.
Let's lend it.
I love writing me these guys after the show.
So just thank you, give me are your attention, your fire, and not a piss.
This is world champion, Dodgers, world championing for a small.
Soft time they get up people. What they want to die in a row two is special. I'm like, yeah, it's not a headache. One of a con. This ball's gone. You ready to go? Sure, held time go to the South.
Grab your phone to get in on the show called eight six six nine eighty seven two five seven and go to the show. And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vasse.
We are live at Chase Field after the Diamondbacks defeat the Dodgers tonight by a final score of five to three. Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse with you until ten thirty tonight at eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy. The Dodgers still have baseball's best record at twenty five and thirteen. They're tied with the Detroit Tigers,
who are also twenty five and thirteen. This is the first meeting between these two teams, the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks, and incredibly, the first time the Diamondbacks have faced a team in the NL West all season long. We're thirty eight games into the season. The schedule is a little wacky. The Dodgers are not going to see the Giants or Padres until June. The only team they've seen in the NL West is the Rockies, and nobody's complaining about that
because you get some wins against that team. But nonetheless still a little strange with this so called balanced schedule where every team plays every team, and look, that makes the travel a little bit more challenging. The Dodgers are on the last leg of a three city, ten game and ten day road trips, so all of that factors
into a game like tonight. But I really believe the Dodgers had a great opportunity against the Diamondbacks bullpen to come back and win this game, and they certainly made it close because Brendan Fought had all the answers against the Dodgers tonight. Fought and Gabrielle Moreno, the two Diamondbacks that essentially beat the Dodgers tonight are household names in LA and they should be, because Fought and Gabrielle Moreno were the two players that really helped the Diamondbacks sweep
the Dodgers back in twenty twenty three. Fought was spectacular, whether he was coming out of the bullpen or making starts. Gabrielle Moreno hit some big home runs, including one of the four against Lance Lynn in Game three. Tonight, Gabrielle with a grand slam in the fourth inning off of Yamamoto, and that certainly seemed to be more than enough for Brandon Fott. But when you get into the Diamondbacks bullpen, they are without Justin Martinez, they're without aj Puck, and
they're a little thin in that department. And that's the reason why their bullpen, Elray and their bullpen every category is near the bottom of Major League Baseball. And the Dodgers just ran out of outs against that bullpen because they had a five nothing cushing going into the eighth inning. The Dodgers scored twice and Otani's home run with two strikes and two outs made it a five to three game.
But that's where it would end.
Eight six, six, nine eight seven, two five seventy is the phone number. I just didn't believe that Yamamoto and Will Smith were on the same page. You heard Mota bring up the point that the curveball was not in play as much as it has been and recent starts for Yamamoto, and that was that's a big pitch for him, right. I know, the cutter is a big pitch against lefties, but the curveball is a big pitch against righty's and lefties.
And we just didn't see it.
And Yamamoto was a little bit off, and like we talked about, we don't want to hear that he was only on five days rest. That's not the reason why he was not on his game tonight. It just wasn't his night tonight. And h you know, it just didn't seem to me that the catcher and the pitcher for the Dodgers tonight was on the same page. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's head downstairs right now to hear from manager Dave Roberts.
Yeah, I echo that I don't think he was as sharp as he has been. You know, even the three two breaking boat Peven Smith if he strikes that. I think it's a different inning, a different game, and you know, gets count leverage on Suarez and hits them with the split to load the bases. And I honestly thought Moreno took a good swing on a two zero cutter, but was behind the count to go opposite way. Really good swing, and then the Marchey home. I thought it was a
good pitch. It was down and in, maybe in off a little bit, but again, I think the story is he just wasn't completely sharp.
Tonight talks about it ahead of the game. Just obviously you knew that Diamondbacks were going to find a way to battle and try to win this one. What does this just say kind of about this matchup and kind of what you expect from this series.
It's a good matchup.
This is what we expected as far as kind of the back and forth tight ball games. And you got to give credit to their defense. Tonight, I thought they really caught the baseball well, certainly in the outfield. I thought we squared up a lot of baseballs and didn't get anything to show for it. So overall, I don't think the line score speaks to how well we swung
the bats. But you got to give credit to those guys running them down out there, and also that double play ball off comfort those bats a heck of a play by Martek.
Michael g t point encouraged just the last couple of days with how hard our.
Contact has been.
I do I do you know? He's taking good at bats, certainly not getting a whole lot to show for it. But I think for me it's easy to bet on him because the head is still there, the work is still there, and so they're going to fall. It's going to turn as long as he keeps having those good at bats.
All right, there's manager Dave Roberts who brought up a few really good points. Number one, the walk to Peven Smith in the fourth inning and also hitting Suarez with a pitch with two strikes on in the fourth inning by Yamamoto certainly put him in a bad spot with the bases loaded and nobody out in that fourth inning, which set up the Gabrielle Moreno Grand Slam. And look, it's not always about the home run or the Grand Slam.
It's what takes place ahead of that. Not only Peven Smith walking and Suarez getting hit by a pitch with two strikes, but Mookie Betts making a poor decision after making a great stop on a hard hit ground ball by Josh Naylor in that inning after the Smith walk. Smith is a pretty fast runner and Naylor's a really slow runner.
In fact, Josh.
Naylor, as a right handed hitter, has grounded into seven double plays, so as Michael Conforto as a left handed hitter. Tonight, his double play that ended the eighth inning was his seventh grounding into a double play. But nonetheless, Mookie Betts had a lot of time to get up and throw and get Naylor out at first base. That's where his momentum was care him to try to make a spectacular play to get the lead runner. That just wasn't the
right play, and hopefully Mookie learns from that. Obviously new at the shortstop position, it's one thing to be able to field ground balls make great stops. It's another thing to make the right decision. And on that one he did not make the right decision. And that just was part of the fourth inning that got Yamamoto to a point where he made a poor pitch to Gabrielle Moreno for a grand slam eight six, six, nine, eight seven two,
five seventy is the phone number. I also agree with Dave that the Diamondbacks played great defense tonight, and that's part of it, right, I mean, that's who they are. They're a fast team, they're an opportunistic offense, and they have pretty good starting pitching. That's how they beat you. Cormyan Carroll made a great catch going towards the line in the sixth inning on Will Smith. Michael Conforto in his first at bat tonight, flew out to center field on a ball.
That was hit one hundred miles an hour.
And in this ballpark, you got to have a good center fielder, and that's what Arizona has and Alec Thomas and Thomas made a really good catch to track that one down as well. Eight six, six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number. Dodgers fall to the Diamondbacks tonight, five to three. Let's go out to the phones for the first time tonight, Bill and Mission Viejo.
You're on Dodger Talk live from Chase Field.
Hi, Bill, Hi, thanks for taking my call. Did you know that the Dodgers lead the Majors had given up Grand Slams this year? It's been a early part of the year, but they've given them for.
Three okay, interesting and they still have baseball's best record.
That's quite a.
Feat, right, And also, when do you think the Michael Comforto situation is going to come to a head? Do you think there's a little more patience with him?
A lot of patients with him.
They signed him to a seventeen to eighteen million dollar cont tracked and you know he's a veteran that has the resume bill. They're not going to say they're done with Michael Confordo after forty games.
Okay, thank you, all right, thanks for the phone call.
Eight six six nine seven two five seventy is the phone number. Look, it hasn't been a great start to the season for Michael Confordo.
Uh.
Not only did he go oh for.
Thirty one which ended in Atlanta, but also the double plays are a problem. I mean, he's a left handed hitter that's hit into seven double plays this year. He's tied with a lot of right handed hitters for that distinction. So that eighth inning double play you could say was hit hard all you want it was ninety five miles an hour on the ground.
That still nagates. How hard you hit it.
It's not like it was a rocket up the middle that Marte had to dive and stop and turn a double play. It was hit right at him on the right side of the infield, and that's gotta stop. Confordo's got to get it somehow up in the air.
Easier said than done.
Hard game to play, but tonight, in his first two at bats, he hit the ball hard. So the Dodgers are seeing signs that it's getting better with Conforto. Let's go out to Norwalk. Jesse, you're on Dodger Talk Live from Arizona.
Hi, Jesse, Oh, I don't. I'm just going about the same thing the other the colinator about Conforto that you know, they seem to be having a lot of patients with him. Seems every time he comes up, he strikes out or hits into a double play or something.
Jesse, how about this? Yeah, he was zero for thirty. How about this. You guys can complain about Michael Conforto all you want, and he hasn't played well, But the facts are the Dodgers have the best record in baseball even with zero production from him and minimal production from their third baseman. So that's the reason why the leash is a little longer, because they have baseball's best record.
Yeah, but well, these games that they're losing because of him, that he doesn't he doesn't help them, but.
They're not losing that much. They have the best record in baseball. If they were losing, if they were thirteen and twenty five instead of twenty five and thirteen, then I would say the pressure would be on those guys to perform, But it's not.
So they can't send them to the minors.
Or no, no, they cannot, No, they cannot. Thanks for the phone call, Jesse.
Look for the first couple of weeks, Max Munsey was the punching bag. Even poor Chris Taylor, who barely plays, was the punching bag. Now I understand it's Michael Conforto. That's a little bit more fair, considering he did sign a lucrative contract during.
The off season.
They did kind of box themselves in with him having left field. But the facts are the Dodgers have the best record in baseball, which allows them to give Michael Confordo time to get himself out of this slump. And tonight, like I said, he hit the ball pretty hard. His first two at bats just didn't have anything to show for it. I mean, he hit a hard line drive that Martell made a great play on to get him out for the last out of the fourth innings.
So I think.
I'm gonna give it a little bit more time. I'm gonna give him more than forty games. How about that? Speaking of Michael CONFORDO, let's head back downstairs to the Dodger clubhouse to hear from the Dodger left fielder.
You know, I'm definitely frustrated, happy with a couple hard hit balls today, Frustrated about being in the situation to keep a rally going and not being able to beat that ball out. It's frustrating. It makes me sick. I
just gotta keep going. It's don't working hard, and you know a lot of it's you know, I'm putting together better better at bats and hitting the ball hard, and you know, I just gotta keep going out there and you know, just keep focusing on that and you know, hopefully find some holes and and start rolling it to feel close to where you kind of wanted to be just in church, like especially the heart contact and everything
that's sort of coming out of it. Yeah. Yeah, Uh, you know, two balls today hit well and you know, you know I wouldn't I wouldn't change anything about those those swings. Yeah, So you know, I definitely feel better about the swings for sure.
Things this way that you've been kind of working on here the last few weeks.
Uh, just being more consistent getting the barrel of the ball and being on the heater, being able to drive the ball, you know, just being being a tougher route. You take songs from some of those bat tonight or is it just more frustrating that you hit the ball
that way and that they don't drop it. Yeah, I mean, you know, I definitely you know, I'm trying to I'm trying to focus on what I can control and getting the ball hard is one of those things, and you know, and try to take that home with me and you know, build off of that. And but like I said, I mean, you know, just uh frustrated to not come through in the in the age.
You played in this division in the last you know a couple of years. And it's still pretty early in the season, but you know, how kind of deep and competitive can the NLS be? You know, just from your experience.
I mean, I think the records show, you know that there's a lot of great teams in this division. It's going to be very competitive all year, you know, all the way down to the end. And there's just a lot of a lot of good players in this in this division. Yes, we got to bring our EA game, take advantage of every opportunity.
All right.
There's Michael Confordo obviously cares a lot and not happy that he's not being able to contribute in key spots and grounding into that inning ending double play with the Dodgers rallying against the diamondbacks bullpen, certainly frustrating for him. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number I mentioned. The Dodgers have baseball's best record twenty five and thirteen, tied with the Detroit Tigers, which is surprising for the best record in baseball, but
the San Diego Padres are not that far behind. The Padres lost two in a row and are twenty three and thirteen, a game back of the Dodgers. The Giants percentage points back as well a game back of the Dodgers in Arizona. With their twentieth win of the year, they're twenty and eighteen, five games back of the Dodgers. Let's go back out to the phones. Bob in Malibu. You're on Dodger Talk Live from Chase Field.
Hi, Bob, Hey, Dave, how you doing man?
I'm doing good, feeling good.
Live in the dream Nott in Arizona. I love a DV always man, always positive.
I love it.
Hey, it's beats working.
Good on you, man.
You know two quick things. First of all, everyone needs to lay off Michael Conforto. You know, he reminds me of similar situations we've seen. We've seen it with Trey Turner in Philadelphia. Obviously not as big of a deal as Trey signed, but you know, give the guy a break. It's my prediction, and I'm going to go on the record with you now, Dave. I think Michael Conforto is going to be one of our biggest producers and a huge ally in the postseason for the Dodgers. That's what
I think. Post All Star break, Michael Conforto is going to be a player. We talk about a lot in a positive way.
I agree with you, Bob. He's a guy that cares.
It's one thing if he's performing this way and doesn't care, But from what I understand and what I've observed, he cares a lot. And if you don't care, you're not gonna be on this team because there's a certain level of accountability that you have to have with your teammates in that clubhouse. So Confordo definitely conforms to that, and he certainly is going to get an opportunity. The good
news is he's struggling while the team is winning. That's a little bit easier to digest in some ways, So they've given him some time to figure it out while they're twenty five and thirteen, lead the NL West and have the best record in baseball.
We're going to take a time out here on Dodger Talk.
When we continue, more of your phone calls at eight six six nine, eight seven two five seventy and you also hear Dave Roberts reaction to former Dodger Ross Strippling retiring.
Dave did not know surprise.
You'll hear his reaction on the other side as we continue live from Chase Field after the Diamondbacks defeat the Dodgers five to three on a five to seventy LA Sports.
Dodger Talk is available on AM five seventy LA sports dot Com. Hand on the iHeartRadio app Back to more Dodger talk with Dodger insider David Basse three two.
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Show Hey o'tany not giving away any at bats, even down to his final strike, the final strike of the game. He hits a four hundred and twenty six foot home run to make this game close, but the Dodgers fall tonight to the Diamondbacks five to three in Game one of the four game series. Here in the Desert, Daniels Jewelers presents the home run forecast. Go to AM five to seventy lasports dot com.
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Eight six, six, nine, eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number want to send a very special happy birthday to my guy l Titan Adrian Gonzalez. He was celebrating today with his wife Betsy in Los Angeles. So happy birthday, Adrian Gonzalez. You meant a lot to the Dodgers in your short time with the Dodgers, but it felt like you were a Dodger longer than any other team that you played for, and you certainly made a
huge impact right away. And I always say the Adrian Gonzalez trade that brought Adrian nick Punto, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford to the Dodgers in twenty thirteen or twenty twelve, excuse me, signified the start of this ownership group and how serious they were about winning. And it just showed Dodger fans that they were going to deliver on their promises.
And certainly that trade for Adrian Gonzalez and taken on all that money just to get Adrian certainly sent a message that Guggenheim was here to play for good and they certainly have. Like I said, a lot of owners come in, they say all the right things, but don't really back it up. The ownership of Mark Walter, Todd Bowley Stanksten Magic Johnson have backed up everything that they said they would and then some eight six six nine seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go
out to Eric, who is here at Chase Field tonight. Hi, Eric, you're on Dodger Talk.
Hey Dave, thanks for taking my call. First, I want to take you up on the where I was for Freddie Freeman's Grand Slam. I made sure to start at three am that day, and I drove up to Prescott hour and a half to watch the game with my family and my good buddy from high school and he actually went with me to the game tonight. And my main question was how do you fill the team's offense, especially is affected on these long road trips, being on the second half of this road trip with no rests.
And also what's the hold up on Dalton Rushing getting called up? Is it because he's not on the forty man or how does that work. I'm gonna go ahead and hang up and let you take it from there. Thanks for taking my call, all right?
Eric, love hearing that.
And like I said at the beginning of the season, I don't care if the Dodgers are in Arizona. I don't care what day it is. If you ever want to share with us where you were when Freddy Freeman it is walk off Grand Slam. That is fair game every night of the week and after every game. Love hearing those type of stories. And Freddie is actually going to join us on the pregame show tomorrow and we'll share part of that conversation with you on Dodger Talk
after tomorrow night's game as well. But as far as Dalton Rushing goes, the reason why he hasn't been called up is because the Dodgers don't have a position for him to play in the big leagues. They're locked into a contract with Michael Confordo. Freddie Freeman is not going anywhere at first base, and you got Will Smith as your catcher playing every day. Even if you were to say, well Rushing should back him up, how many days of the week is Rushing going to play behind Will Smith?
So in the beginning of the season, going back to spring training, the Dodgers told Dalton Rushing, We're not going to play you in left field anymore for whatever reason, And all of a sudden, now in the last week, Dalton Rushing has played left field twice, So the Dodgers are trying to find a position for Dalton Rushing because.
His back is for real, it's major League ready. They just don't have a position for him.
If he could play third base, which he can't, maybe there is a maybe there is a greater chance. If he could play center field, maybe there is a greater chance. But he's a catcher that the Dodgers are trying to make a little bit more versatile. And I kind of see him as and scouts have compared him to a mini Kyle Schwarber because of his built his swing, his power, the veracity that he plays the game so and the intensity.
I'm looking forward to seeing Dalton Rushing and Alex Friedland in the Big Days one Big Leagues, One day soon. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. Speaking of the Oklahoma City Comets, Michael Kopek made his first rehab appearance for Oklahoma City tonight.
It did not go so well results wise. I don't know, you know what.
It didn't go well at all because Coopek, who was the opener for Oklahoma City tonight, couldn't get a single out in the first inning. In fact, Kopek walked five batters and he gave up five earned runs in that first inning. Kopek threw twenty three pitches, only three of them were strikes. Not a great first appearance for Michael Kopek,
who is on his way back. So you know, I take that with a grain of salt, but I have never seen that before where a pitcher on a rehab assignment gives up five urned runs, walking five batters, not getting a single out, and only throwing three strikes in the first inning. So when I see Copek when he's back here active with the Dodgers, I'm gonna ask him about this first rehab appearance.
But he's healthy, apparently healthy, and we'll see where it goes from here.
Speaking of Oklahoma City as well, Clayton Kershaw is going to make another rehab start for Oklahoma City on Sunday, not sure if he'll make another one after that. He is able to be activated from the sixty day IL on May seventeenth, with possibly a start in the sits against the Angels on that Sunday afternoon May eighteenth, when the Dodgers return for this upcoming homestand so Sunday probably is Kershaw's last rehab start as he is coming back
from offseason left knee and foot surgery. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number in case you missed it. Last week, one of Kershaw's former teammates with the Dodgers announced his retirement on social media.
That was Chicken strip.
Ross Stripling announced his retirement after nine seasons in Major League Baseball. He was drafted by the Dodgers in twenty twelve in the fifth round out of Texas A and M. Made his major league debut with the Dodgers in twenty sixteen, and if you followed the Dodgers, you knew he was a very popular teammate and a fan favorite. I asked manager Dave Roberts before the game today what his memories were of Ross Strippling and whether or not he got the Instagram post that Stripling retired.
Well, congratulations of Ross.
I didn't know that.
I'm sure he's gonna be managing money going forward. I think I just valued he was just a good teammate. He did a lot of different things for us, helped us win a championship. I mentioned him in twenty twenty, and you know getting the trophy. He just a really good teammate. I'm happy I had a chance to coach him.
All right, there's raw.
Dave Roberts on Ross Stripling retiring last week. Certainly, Dave and Ross had an interesting time together with the Dodgers. Ross in his first start after coming back from elbow surgery, had seven no hit innings in San Francisco, and there was a lot of debate on whether or not he
should have been able to continue that start. Also, Dave Roberts after the Dodgers won the twenty World Series shout it out Ross Stripling even though he had been traded in the middle of that year, and thanked Ross Stripling for his contributions.
And speaking of Ross Stripling, he is going to.
Join us on our off day Dodger Talk show this Monday, so you don't want to miss that. That'll do it for us on Dodger Talk tonight postgame Dodger Talk tonight after the Dodgers fall to the Diamondbacks five to three. Tomorrow, Roki Sazaki will be on the mount for the first time against Arizona. He's won and one this year with an ERA of three eighty six. He made one start already on this road trip. That's where he won his
first major league game in Atlanta. He's going up against left hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who is one in three with an ERA of five to ninety two.
You may remember that name because as the.
Dodgers tried to acquire Rodriguez at the trade deadline in twenty twenty three, and he refused to waive his no trade clause.
Morongo Casino.
Dodgers on Deck begins at five thirty tomorrow, with first pitch at six point forty. Thanks to Colin Ye back out our Burbank Studios, Thanks to Dwayne MacDonald out here at Chase Field, and thanks to you for listening. In case you missed any of the show or our pre game conversation with Austin Barnes, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app once again. The final score tonight from Chase Field in Arizona. The Diamondbacks win the series opener
five to three. We'll talk to you tomorrow. Have a great rest of your night.
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