Dodging Bullets Part 3

By Patrick

Yuck

The Dodgers dominated yesterday. Clayton Kershaw was brilliant, save for one pitch to Miguel Olivo that produced all three Mariner runs. The Dodgers dominated Jason Vargas early, but he hung in there and saved the bullpen by getting through six innings. Shawn Kelley proved yet again that he sucks, giving up two more runs, and hopefully paving the path to AAA. 

Today presents a great opportunity for the bats to not only wake up and prove they can do the job at Safeco, but to take two of three from another great team. That would be a special result, but they'll need to hit a notorious strikeout artist to do so.

June 10: Ham Sandwich (3-5, 5.22) vs. Chad Billingsley (3-4, 3.80)

I feel like a fourth grader opening the lunch that my mom gave me earlier that morning. I open it up, and much to my dismay, "ham sandwich again?" Yeah, Beavan's pitching again. With Felix hurt, the Amigos have had a heavier workload. That's been fine for Kevin Millwood, but not for Blake and especially not for Hector Noesi. But Beavan will need his good stuff today, since the Mariners are facing a pitcher in Billingsley notorious for his strikeouts. He' s got a nasty breaking ball that hitters like the struggling Justin Smoak will have to watch out for and generally avoid. It will be important for M's hitters to get ahead in counts and be aggressive early to get Billinsley out of his game, since he is inconsistent through all of his out pitch ability. That being said, Billingsley is on a different and much higher tier than Beavan.

Players to Watch:

Mike Carp: Why not, right? The Mariners will need runs today, and Carp has fared terribly against breaking balls so far this season. So if he can right that ship today, he can make a big impact from the bottom of the order. he didn't start yesterday with the lefty Kershaw on the hill, but came in last and reached base. It would be great to see him on base twice today, and maybe even have him rip one into the gap or over the wall.

Adam Kennedy: Welcome back Adam! Good to see you and your giant chaws again. A key role player for the M's in 2011, Kennedy left in free agency for a better offer from the Dodgers. He's hitting .233 in limited action this year, and as his career winds down, he'll probably see less and less time in the lineup. Good to see him returning to Safeco though. Hard to believe he hit cleanup a bunch for the M's last year.

Prediction:

Dodgers 6, Mariners 2: Billingsley is a nasty righty that is susceptive to getting hit, but the Mariners haven't shown that they can really hit much in this series. Beavan has sucked lately and I don't see today being any better for him. If there's any consolation, it's that Kelley and Iwakuma, the bad relievers, pitched yesterday, so the good pitchers will be rested. So maybe the Dodgers only get as far as they do against Beavan. Still, little faith from me in the Ham Sandwich. Go M's.