Postgame Report: LAD (-115) Winner

The Dodgers picked up their second win in a row over the Padres with a 6-0 victory in last night's game at Chavez Ravine.

Blake Snell was the better pitcher last night.  That's how the boxscores tells it.  He didn't rack the strikeouts but the Padres as a team don't strike out too often.  Snell's line:  6.0IP 5H 0ER 3K 2BB -- that's good for a quality start and last night, a win.

Dylan Cease walked six hitters and that led to five runs, three earned and an early hook.  Cease only managed 3.1 innings and was pulled in the fourth.  

Walks are a part of Cease's game. As much as any pitcher in baseball, Cease likes to work around hitters and work for the punchout but he can also be ineffectively wild at times and last night Cease lost the game with four walks in the first.  

Errors are costly with a pitcher like Cease because he'll put a lot of base runners on.  In the second inning, Cease worked around Ohtani and Will Smith and an error charged to center fielder Jackson Merrill scored a pair.  5-0 Dodgers after two.

I made the pick last night on Blake Snell being the better pitcher and the Dodger's having an edge in the starting pitching matchup.  A big part of that was Cease's tendency to issue a lot of walks.  It can lead to a lot of runs.  Five in last night's game.

The Dodger's bullpen held last night.  It's a wrecking crew down there.  They know how to wreck wins as good as any bullpen in MLB but Edgardo Henriquez put in a nice effort in the seventh, striking out two.  Henriquez is not one of the Dodger's high profile relievers.  He is a 23 year old Venezuelan product of the Dodger's farm system who has been with Dodger's since his age 17 season.  He has big time strike out stuff.  His numbers in the PCL suggest he is prone to getting blown up but in limited work with the big club Henriquez has pitched well.

The Dodger's have four or five quality relievers on the IR.  It's expected that Michael Kopech, Taylor Scott, Kirby Yates and Brock Stewart will all return to the bullpen by the time the playoffs roll around.  This will certainly relegate Henriquez back to the AAA OKC.  They could miss his game in the playoffs.  

Two wins in a row for the Pickstreak, it's nice to have another winning streak on the line.  Two small paydays but they add up and I now have 1.82 units in play.