The Dodgers 3-0 win against the Cubs in Chicago is, technically, just another W in the books, but it was much sweeter considering that they set a franchise record for the most consecutive road wins with 13. It was a day dominated by Chris Capuano, Carl Crawford, and who else but, Yasiel Puig.
Since returning from the DL on June 19, Capuano has been the most inconsistent, hot-and-cold, frustrating pitcher on the team. In seven starts prior to Saturday he has given up the following earned runs: 0, 0, 5, 5, 0, 5, 0. Not much of a grey area there, and luckily for the Dodgers he put up another scoreless outing on Saturday.
Capuano pitched 6.1 innings, giving up six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. On top of a strong outing he induced three double play balls with an infield of Scott Van Slyke, Skip Schumaker, Hanely Ramirez, and Jerry Hairston Jr. Let's just say that is not the best defensive infield the Dodgers have fielded this year.
The Dodgers scored three runs of support for Capuano and finished the game with 10 hits and six batters reaching base on walks. Jerry Hairston hit a RBI single to score Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford delivered a two-RBI single in the sixth inning to score Skip Schumaker and Tim Federowicz. Crawford was 1-13 in the last three games, but hit 3-5 on Saturday.
One of the biggest reasons the Dodgers only had three runs was poor base running, but this time none of the blame is on Yasiel Puig. This time Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford were both the victims of rundowns in situations with run-scoring potential.
It is already frustrating to watch Puig get thrown out on whatever reckless decision he may make, but the seasoned players definitely have no excuse. Between the base running and striking out 10 times the Dodgers squandered plenty of run-scoring opportunities as they left 11 runners on base.
Speaking of Yasiel Puig, he put on another highlight-packed show with two fantastic defensive plays and a 2-3 day with a walk and a run scored. Playing with his usual reckless abandon may cost him a few days off though.
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On a drive to the right field wall in foul territory he leaped to make the catch but the ball bounced off his glove and hit the wall. Puig crashed into the wall and, in an awesome display of athleticism and hand-eye coordination, caught the ball as he was falling to the ground. Of course since the ball hit the wall it was already ruled dead, making the catch worthless except for watching over and over again.
Then in the seventh he made a diving grab, but took a violent nosedive into the grass and twisted his hand and wrist in ways that they probably never should bend. He was removed in the seventh and was diagnosed with a wrist contusion after the game.
Brandon League, Ronald Belisario, Paco Rodriguez and Kenley Jansen came out of the bullpen throwing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, combining for two hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Jansen earned his 16th save of the season.
The Dodgers have now won 30 times in 37 games, after taking 72 games to win their first 30 of the season. Sunday is the series finale with the Cubs with Stephen Fife expected to start against Carlos Villanueva.
Tweets From #Dodgers Nation
Will we see "Good Capuano" or "Bad Capuano" tonight? How about we flip a coin to find out.
Lets see which Capuano we get today #Dodgers — Lane Gillis (@LaneGillis) August 3, 2013
Thats the headache with Capuano.... he is all or nothing. Glad we are getting ALL today :D #Dodgers. — RGFLORES (@RGFLORES) August 3, 2013
Fans getting fed up with base running blunders...
#Dodgers what's up with the base running?!?!?#DodgerNation You're making little league mistakes. — Shanie (@shanie0107) August 3, 2013
#Dodgers make yet another base running error & run into an out... No clue why Mattingly lets it go... — Michael (@DurrtyMike) August 3, 2013
Non-Dodger fans must haaaate following Dodger fans on Twitter. PUIG PUIG PUIG everyday. Sorry, guys, but he is just that crazy of a ballplayer!
My heart skips every time Puig dives because I think we won't see him after the dive because of a ______ injury. #Dodgers — David Suarez (@DavidSuarez) August 3, 2013
Nice catch Puig!!! Now PLEASE DON'T KILL YOURSELF BUDDY! #bewarewallsandwrists #Dodgers — Angel Cazares (@silent_muse) August 3, 2013
This should be a real thing...
And once again we reset the 'days since Puig ran into a wall' counter to zero. #Puig #Dodgers #Cubs — dodger blue (@dodgerbluebelle) August 3, 2013
