Dodger Talk (9-17-24)

Dodger Talk is sponsored by La Care Health Plan, providing affordable healthcare insurance to millions of Angelinos for over twenty five years. And now your voice for Dodger Talk. Like that, David Vasse.

We are live at Lone Depot Park in Miami where the Marlins defeat the Dodgers by a final score of eleven to nine. David Vaz say with you until the top of the hour on Dodger Talk. After the Dodgers played very sloppy defense in the first four innings of this game to give extra outs to the Marlins and somewhat stunning that the team with one of the worst

The Padres are three games back.

Currently, they are hosting the Houston Astros in San Diego, so we'll give you updates on that game as things go along. Right now, they are scoreless in the top of the fourth inning at Peco Park between the Dodgers and Astros. It would be a huge win for the Astros to help the Dodgers out tonight because after winning those last two games in Atlanta, you would believe the Dodgers were going to come to Miami and carry that momentum.

Yeah, I mean the main thing was just working behind hitters today. I mean, yeah, I finally cut the ball inside the ballpark, but I mean the downside, I mean two innings and a lot of pitches. I mean, the main goal today was keep the ball down and keep the ball on the ground, which I did for the most part. But you know, it was just finding gaps out there. So you know, at the end of the day, I was just falling behind accounts. That's really just the

No, Mark Cryer was out there kind of chatting with you. What was the conversation just amongst you guys, whether it was to find ways to settle you down or just kind of get out of some traffic.

Yeah, just talking about some sequencing. There's a couple of bad sequencing on my part, a couple of bad pitches that I shook to that I shouldn't have. But yeah, I mean they hit a couple of really good pitches as well. You know, Sanchez had a really good change up that I couldn't have executed any better. It was double down the line that threw above the strikes home.

There's Bobby Miller on sports Net LA and look, that's not a good outing when you're working behind in the count. That's not good when you're throwing ball one instead of strike one. And also these pitchers, these Dodger pitchers, like

And Daniel Hudson came in.

And speaking of Daniel Hudson, he was taking this loss pretty hard because he gave up a two run home run in the eighth inning to Jake Berger, and with the Dodgers rallying in the top of the ninth inning scoring two of their own, that was the difference between the Dodgers sending this into extra innings and losing by two runs at the end of the game. This game was to me, the Dodgers gave this game away in the first four innings with the way they play defense

But we want to get out.

To you and uh, let's not overreact too much over this loss.

Let's go out to Rancho Kuckamonga. Michael, you're on Dodger Talk.

How you doing, Michael, Hey, dB doing great?

Thank you for one to put pressed.

He sounds impressed, No, not depressed again. You know once again, you and Mona took all my talking points but pretty much touched on everything that I was going to ask. You know, if if it would make sense to uh bring up one of our younger guys and and said Bobby Miller, given that we got you know, eleven games left in the season. Uh, you know, unfortunately, like you said, you know, he just he just doesn't have it. You know, doesn't make much sense to run him out there again.

Well.

I think part of it is the pitchers, Michael, I mean the Dodger defense. Ever since Mookie Betts came back and they acquired Tommy Edmond and he's been playing.

It's been solid.

But these pitchers are throwing way too many pitches and innings and they're not throwing strikes. So the guys are on their heels and not on their toes. It's not an excuse, but that does happen. The Dodgers need strike throwers, They need their pitchers to throw strikes. They need quicker innings because we have seen longer innings with a lot of pitches being thrown in those innings. So if the Dodger pitchers can help themselves, it will help the defense behind them as well.

Thanks for the phone call.

Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number.

Let's go out to Burbank.

Andrew, You're on Dodger Talk with David Vasse live from Miami.

Hi Andrew, Hi, Dave. How you doing tonight Beside the loss?

I'm doing all right. It's an exciting season.

I mean, the Dodgers have put on a great show this summer, but obviously it's a little bit of nervous time with a Division race as close as it's been for the first time in three weeks.

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I agree, And you know that that leads me to my question, you know, I mean, whether or not we see Bobby Miller again. You know that's out of my hands. I agree with you and Jose. I don't think there's any need for the Dodgers to run him out there again. But whether or not starting pitching being what it is, I'm just curious. How confident are you now that the Dodgers do win the Division? I mean, the Padres are playing great ball down South

I wouldn't say that on certain nights like tonight. It looks that way, but the Padres, there is no disputing this, Andrew. The Padres are playing the best baseball of their season. They got you Darvish back, they acquired ten Or Scott from the Marlins, and they got Fernando Tatist Junior back along with the guys they already had. So they are hungry.

That's that's such an uneasy feeling, though, when your face is in your own hands like that, you know, I prefer if you know, the Dodgers could just win and you know, put it to bed themselves.

Yeah, they they control their own destiny. They're not trailing the Padres. The Padres are trailing the Dodgers. And the calendar's working against the Padres. And right now I got good news for you. The Astros went up to nothing in the fourth inning. So and if the Dodgers, uh yeah, that might tonight might be a mulligan and a blown opportunity for the Padres. And trust me, that puts more pressure on them considering they're the ones trailing the Dodgers.

Hi, David, Hey, Dave, pleasures be speaking with you today.

So the story rotation is very very there bones at the moment, and we don't have a break glass in case of emergency type starter anymore. You could probably argue about Rob Levski, but you know, we've heard, we've seen his his stuff up here, and he's just not ready. And there was a break glass in case of emergency kind of guy would be landing that, but he's already here. So I hope you forgive me for being a little a little crazy out here. Please know that I'm being

He got de ustared by the Red Sox.

Let's see if he wants to you know, like.

Come on, I don't ring.

I wasn't opposed to that.

It was kind of strange how the Red Sox deffade him after picking them up. They put him in some weird situations where they put him in a game with the bases loaded after just signing him. A guy that has been throwing a hundred pitches out there in the Cape Cod Little League, and then you know, they brought him in on back to back days. He's forty four years old. I felt like if the Dodgers were going to sign rich Hill, it would have happened by now.

Oh yeah, no, of course, yeah no. We love the cat, Matt. We know what he's done. He's an all star, you know, took the back.

Don't forget about Clayton Kershaw. Don't count out Kershaw either, David, thanks for the phone call. And speaking of Kershaw, you will hear from Clayton. We had a chance to catch up with him earlier today after he threw again off a flat round. He'll let you know how optimistic he is that he's going to return this year.

So don't go anywhere.

We got more Dodger Talk for you from Miami after the Marlins beat the Dodgers tonight eleven to nine on A five to seventy LA Sports.

On air at AM five to seventy, online at AM five seventy LA sports dot com, and available my podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

This is Dodger Talk with David Bassan, RG Rojas, swings and hammers. One jeep to left, that's going back. It is God over the wall.

Ro left fielder Sanchez had it in his glove.

And it leaped out over the wall.

Into the bullpen for a home run and Rojas ties the game at fine.

Miguel Rojas returning to Miami and continuing a great season for him. He just continues to be a big boost, not only with the glove but with the bat. Tonight has only hit a home run for the Dodgers in the fourth inning, his sixth of the season. Daniels Jewelers is the official sponsor of the Trip around the Diamond. Stop by any Daniel's location and say home run for your free team bracelet and fifty dollars gift card toward any purchase of ninety nine dollars or more. Daniels Jewelers

He hit a home run and a loss.

I thought his biggest at bat was in the sixth inning when he came up with runners at the corners and two outs and struck out. Just not trying to do too much right there. He's got to be able to shorten his swing and you know, bring out, as Dave Roberts likes to say, a different club. We've been seeing wild swings by Otani, and tonight was his first home run of the road trip.

And look, he's human.

You gotta know he's thinking about fifty home runs, but certain situations don't call for that type of swing. And in the sixth inning, I felt like there should have been a different type of swing from Otani in that situation.

But he's not perfect. He is going to make outs.

But the reality is the second half of the season, yes, he's hitting home runs, but He's only a two point thirty hitter the second half of the year, so you want to see a little more contact from him. But unfortunately, Otani and the Dodgers fall to the Marlins tonight. Eleven to nine eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number we were talking about the

Of his cooperates.

And again today Kershaw was throwing off flat round with his spikes on, and we really haven't gotten an update from him on how much that left toe has improved. So since he came into the clubhouse, I took the opportunity to ask the future Hall of Famer whether or not the left big toe has improved at all, to give him hope that he will be back this season.

This is making progress, you know. I think able to throw off the mound a little bit now. It's just trying to keep my arm going as best I can you know, the endurance part of it. So I'm throwing a lot of throws, just not at you know, max intensity, just because I can't quite push off the way I want to yet. But there's definitely some improvement. I think it's getting there, not as fast as I like, but

I guess, is there any medical quick fix or is it just rest and managing it?

Yeah?

I don't think. Yeah, some things just take time. Unfortunately, you know, I'm not the most patient person ever, so it's not I wish there's just some miracle thing I could do. But ultimately, yeah, it just needs time and I think we have enough of it, so we'll see.

Time for a postseason play. Is that what you're talking about? As far as time, I don't know.

I think time to obviously the postseason, but you never know. I mean, I keep thinking I'll wake up and be able to pitch, you know, so maybe maybe one of these next twelve days that'll happen and we'll see.

All right, there's Clayton Kershaw earlier today giving us the latest update on his left big toe. I never thought I would be giving you an update on Kershaw's left big toe, but that's where things are at right now. And you got to imagine that it is extremely painful for him to be sitting out this much time, and it seems like it's more than a turf toe. It seems like there is a little bit more extended damage in there, or he would have been back by now.

There's no way around it.

I'm not going to backtrack now and tell you, oh, come on, these are no big deal these losses. After telling you for the last month the Dodgers nine of their last twelve were against the Marlins and Rockies.

They've got to win these games.

They've got to win these series, especially with the Padres playing so well and the Padres coming into town next week. Eight six six seven, two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out to Irvine Wendell. You're on Dodger Talk Live from Miami.

Hi, Wendell, dated in Miami days.

How you doing days, I'm doing great. What'd you think think about what Kershaw had to say?

Well, honestly, I think Krishall is a non factor. I actually think he's gonna be a detriment to the team. What. Yeah, he's last postseason and he just doesn't think he didn't have it.

Yeah, his shoulder was hanging by a thread. He had to have surgery. Aren't you going to give him any credit for going on the mound. There's other guys like Max Scherzer, who tapped out in playoff games for a.

Lot less.

Kershaw is.

You know, I I love the guy.

He's he's like a family member in terms of.

You know, your family member out of the house.

Well, I just so I kind of wanted to highlight this point. So although the pitching staff isn't, you know, locked down, I actually think that could be a favorable, uh factor, because it really is going to force the offense to perform. And if you remember twenty seventeen twenty twenty teams, those teams, specifically the twenty seventeen Dodger teams, those were the comeback kids. Those guys were coming back.

So you saw that tonight the Dodgers almost came back from four runs down in the ninth inning. I'm with you, Wendel. They have the offense to be able to come back. There's no question in my mind about the offense. It's just about getting better starting pitching and not putting yourself in a four to nothing hole.

Even to the Marlins after.

Two innings, they've got to get more than two innings out of their starters. There's just such a domino effect in a negative way when you only get two or three innings from your starter and when they leave they've thrown sixty five pitches. It's an hour into the game and your infielders and outfielders are basically using focus out there.

Yeah, I think that the plan is to throw at some point later this week. You know, just trying to get that inflammation to go down a little bit, take the pain out of the back of the shoulder. But you know, it feels a lot better. I feel stronger in a lot of positions, and so hopefully, you know, whenever I start throwing again, there's no pain.

So is that really the biggest check?

You might be throwing from sixty feet and figure out where you're gonna go from there.

Yeah.

I mean, as long as there's no pain that I'm gonna throw. So that's really the only issue is just cleaning that up in the back of the shoulder and then seeing where that is right now. I really don't have many answers right now, but hopefully, like whenever I start throwing, there's no pain.

All right.

That's Gavin Stone and he was in great spirits. He's been in great spirits on this road trip and we're key up and our fingers crossed for Gavin Stone, who's a great guy. If you want to hear the full interview, find it on the iHeartRadio app. We do have good news at the end of five The Astros are still holding on to a two to nothing lead over the Padres at pet Goo Park.

Tomorrow.

It will be landon Nack on the Mound for the Dodgers. He's two and four with an ERA of three seventy, going up against former padre Ryan Weathers, who has made thirteen starts this season for the Marlins. He's three and five with an ERA of three fifty five. Morongo Casino. Dodgers on Deck begins at two thirty tomorrow with first pitch at three forty from Miami. My thanks to Dwayne McDonald here in Miami, thanks to Colin Yee back at our burd Bank Studios, and thanks to you for listening.

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