Speaker 1: The quest for the three-peat has begun.
Speaker 2: Only four teams in Major League Baseball history have won
Speaker 2: three consecutive titles. The Dodgers are the favorites to become
Speaker 2: the fifth.
Speaker 1: This is World Champion Dodger Talk. Here we go again.
Speaker 1: We're getting ready to run it back. To get in
Speaker 1: on the show, call 866-987-2570.
Speaker 3: And be sure to follow Dodger Talk wherever you get
Speaker 3: your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, David Vasang. Welcome to Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: David Vasse, live at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium after
Speaker 2: the Cardinals put up a 13th spot and beat the
Speaker 2: Dodgers tonight 13-8. It's the most runs any Cardinals team
Speaker 2: has ever scored in a single game at Dodger Stadium,
Speaker 2: and this rivalry goes all the way back to Brooklyn. Obviously,
Speaker 2: the Cardinals came here back when this ballpark opened in 1962,
Speaker 2: but tonight, 13 runs was the most runs scored by
Speaker 2: any Cardinals team in a single game by any Redbirds
Speaker 2: ball club at Dodgers Stadium. That's not a distinction the
Speaker 2: 2026 Dodgers want to have, but that's the reality after St.
Speaker 2: Louis takes game one of this three-game series, 13-8.
Speaker 4: St.
Speaker 2: Louis scored seven runs off of Eric Lauer tonight in
Speaker 2: three innings, five in that third inning. The Dodgers came
Speaker 2: back with three in the bottom half of the third
Speaker 2: inning as Cardinals defense helped them out tonight to open
Speaker 2: that door. But a little too little too late being
Speaker 2: down seven runs after three innings tonight or two and
Speaker 2: a half innings tonight. Michael McGreevy was out of this
Speaker 2: game after five innings. So The Dodger offense looked good,
Speaker 2: looked better, did not give up at bats, even though
Speaker 2: they were down a ton going into the final three
Speaker 2: frames of tonight's game. So I guess that's the silver lining.
Speaker 2: But the biggest thing is that Eric Lauer just was
Speaker 2: not very sharp tonight. And let's not forget, he's Eric Lauer.
Speaker 2: He has pitched unbelievably well tonight. for the Dodgers since
Speaker 2: they acquired him from the Blue Jays. Tonight just was
Speaker 2: not his night, and he spoke to the media on
Speaker 2: Sportsnet LA after the game.
Speaker 4: I think overall my command wasn't very good. Too many misses,
Speaker 4: too many big misses. I didn't feel like I really
Speaker 4: had a good grasp on where the ball was going today,
Speaker 4: and that obviously hurt. Trying to trying to make in-game adjustments.
Speaker 4: I've got to be a little better at that and,
Speaker 4: you know, just making sure that I don't let things
Speaker 4: compound like that.
Speaker 3: Why did you think that you just didn't kind of
Speaker 3: have it today? Was it something you felt in your
Speaker 3: bullpen earlier, or did you think it's kind of one
Speaker 3: of those games where you kind of want to just
Speaker 3: put it aside and move forward?
Speaker 4: I think overall it's kind of one of those games where,
Speaker 4: you know, I felt good warming up, felt good in
Speaker 4: the bullpen, and then got out there and kind of just–
Speaker 4: lost it and you know it's it's one of those
Speaker 4: things where you know you try to make adjustments and
Speaker 4: you try to work on things between and i think
Speaker 4: i might have been just tinkering a little too much
Speaker 4: in between and you know getting outside of myself so
Speaker 4: um i think really just focusing on what i do
Speaker 4: well and repeating that and not trying to get too
Speaker 4: fancy and getting back to the basics is really really
Speaker 4: all i think i need to do.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Eric Lauer after tonight's game. And considering
Speaker 2: the injury to Rokey Sasaki, the Dodgers starting rotation is
Speaker 2: no longer a six-man rotation. It's a five-man rotation with
Speaker 2: Otani not pitching for the foreseeable future with Sasaki on
Speaker 2: the injured list and Justin Robleski in the bullpen. So
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are starting a nine-game stretch here at Dodger Stadium,
Speaker 2: and they're going to need another starter if they want
Speaker 2: to create an extra days of rest for the rest
Speaker 2: of this rotation.
Speaker 1: So the Dodgers need Eric Lauer.
Speaker 2: It just wasn't his night, and I know he had
Speaker 2: been really confident with as well as he'd been pitching,
Speaker 2: but this game will humble you. And tonight it humbled
Speaker 2: Eric Lauer, unfortunately, and put the Dodgers in a hole
Speaker 2: 7-0 after the top of the third inning. They would
Speaker 2: come back and score eight runs themselves, but it wasn't
Speaker 2: enough as St. Louis beat the Dodgers tonight 13-8. Coming
Speaker 2: up later in the show, you're going to hear from
Speaker 2: Dalton Rushing, who was active tonight. He did come off
Speaker 2: the bench, and also the Dodgers made a few other
Speaker 2: roster moves. We'll get to that in a moment, but
Speaker 2: the other big news of tonight's game was that Will
Speaker 2: Smith was behind the plate for the first time since
Speaker 2: June 4th, and that's something that was significant. Will Smith,
Speaker 2: we were told, just woke up one day in Phoenix
Speaker 2: with a bad sore neck, and it turned into a
Speaker 2: three-month ordeal for Will Smith. I'm not even sure he
Speaker 2: thought it would take this long to get back after
Speaker 2: what we were told. Still no real clarity on how
Speaker 2: his neck got so banged up and so injured. I
Speaker 2: would imagine a lot of it has to do with
Speaker 2: foul balls off the mask. Let's not forget, Will Smith
Speaker 2: has had a concussion. Sounds like I have one. Had
Speaker 2: a concussion a couple of years ago, and that's why,
Speaker 2: you know, former catchers talked about protecting the catching position,
Speaker 2: not by this Buster Posey rule, trying to avoid collisions
Speaker 2: from once in a while, but really, the concussions come
Speaker 2: from foul balls off the mask, and that's what happened
Speaker 2: to Will Smith. He's taken his share of them since 2019, so.
Speaker 1: Um, maybe that was part of this equation.
Speaker 2: We don't know, but Will Smith tonight in the seventh
Speaker 2: inning had his first hit since June and also drove
Speaker 2: in his first run since May 29th and has not
Speaker 2: spoken to the media during the period of time that
Speaker 2: he was on the injury list. He never shared with
Speaker 2: you what was going on with his neck until tonight.
Speaker 2: Will Smith spoke at his locker on Sportsnet LA.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it felt good.
Speaker 5: You know, it's been a while, a few months. So, uh,
Speaker 5: You got to go out there and compete with those guys.
Speaker 5: I've been watching every game for them. But to go
Speaker 5: out there and compete and play, that's what we try
Speaker 5: to do. That's what I want to do.
Speaker 3: I know this is probably one of those games when
Speaker 3: you kind of just look at the pitching or even
Speaker 3: just the results that the Cardinals are able to put up,
Speaker 3: you might want to just kind of turn the page,
Speaker 3: put it behind. But what were you seeing from the
Speaker 3: pitching staff as a whole today?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think they did a really good job sticking
Speaker 5: in their zones. They weren't chasing us. They were aggressive
Speaker 5: in zone. They were putting the bat on the ball
Speaker 5: a lot. You know, they were slugged in today. I
Speaker 5: think they hit five homers or whatever. So, yeah, you
Speaker 5: just tip your hat to them, turn the page, and
Speaker 5: it's good tomorrow.
Speaker 4: So when you went on the I.L., initially the hope
Speaker 4: was it was going to be like a couple days.
Speaker 4: Just like how frustrating did these last three months become
Speaker 4: the longer that the next thing went on?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, it was frustrating early. You know, just
Speaker 5: looking for answers why it's taking longer. But we finally
Speaker 5: got those answers, and then, you know, it was kind
Speaker 5: of a pretty straightforward process from there. So the last
Speaker 5: month or two hasn't been too bad.
Speaker 4: Do you remember what kind of turning point was for you?
Speaker 5: He was just giving it time. It was just an
Speaker 5: injury that needed time to heal.
Speaker 3: How did it feel to be back in the box,
Speaker 3: putting balls in the air, got the double?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it felt good.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it felt like I didn't miss a beat.
Speaker 4: Will, what was it like seeing Hunter Fiducia come back
Speaker 4: to the organization and step up with you and Dalton
Speaker 4: both getting hurt?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's... Fade that out. I mean, that that's enough.
Speaker 1: I mean, some of those questions.
Speaker 2: I mean, OK, well, I would love to have somebody
Speaker 2: follow up and ask him what the injury was that
Speaker 2: really kept him on the shelf for three months. But
Speaker 2: I guess somebody sounded like a blogger wanted to ask
Speaker 2: him about Hunter Fiducia. I mean, that's not the time
Speaker 2: or place. But anyway, it was great to have Will
Speaker 2: Smith back in the starting lineup tonight, and certainly he's
Speaker 2: going to be a big impact for the Dodgers, especially
Speaker 2: now without Andy Pahez. They have a guy that is
Speaker 2: a three-time World Series winning catcher, a guy that brings
Speaker 2: a stabilizing force behind the plate, a calming presence, if
Speaker 2: you will, and also the fact that he's one of
Speaker 2: the most clutch hitters the Dodgers have had since he
Speaker 2: got called up in 2019. Going back to that famous
Speaker 2: weekend against the Rockies in the middle of 2019 where
Speaker 2: they call it walk-off weekend. And he was a rookie
Speaker 2: amongst rookies, Matt Beatty and Alex Verdugo, all getting walk-off hits.
Speaker 2: And Will Smith hit a walk-off home run that summer
Speaker 2: weekend in June against the Rockies. him being back in
Speaker 2: this lineup was huge. He was hitting fifth tonight. So
Speaker 2: we'll see where that goes. That's a pretty good, you know,
Speaker 2: easing into playing again for the first time in three months.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't be surprised to see him higher in the order,
Speaker 2: maybe down the road in the next week or two,
Speaker 2: maybe hitting third. But he does give Max Muncy a
Speaker 2: right-handed bat protecting him. And when they have Freddie Freeman
Speaker 2: hitting cleanup, that's also a good protection behind him as well.
Speaker 2: And Dalton rushing We had a chance to catch up
Speaker 2: with him. Remember, before Sunday Night Baseball against the Red
Speaker 2: Sox a few weeks ago, Dalton Rushing was a late scratch,
Speaker 2: and he felt something in his right elbow. It's something
Speaker 2: that he had felt in college, but the Dodgers shut
Speaker 2: him down from throwing, and there was some question. about
Speaker 2: whether or not rushing season was going to be over
Speaker 2: because of his right throwing elbow giving him issues. But
Speaker 2: it looks like he is going to avoid surgery. And also,
Speaker 2: he's now throwing from 90 to 100 feet. And there's
Speaker 2: some optimism amongst Rushing and the Dodgers, in particular Andrew Friedman,
Speaker 2: that not only will Rushing be able to avoid surgery,
Speaker 2: but there's a chance that he could come back and
Speaker 2: catch this season. Here's what Dalton Rushing told us earlier today.
Speaker 6: I guess the restriction's new, but not really a different role.
Speaker 6: I guess you could say I kind of played this
Speaker 6: role a little bit last year, early on especially. um
Speaker 6: so i'm familiar with it in a way uh but
Speaker 6: at the same time yeah it was uh good news
Speaker 6: found out yesterday and uh yeah i was chomping at
Speaker 6: the bit i was uh very excited got a few
Speaker 6: live abouts today i've been hitting traject a lot and
Speaker 6: um here we go.
Speaker 2: Was there any doubt that you wouldn't be able to
Speaker 2: do this today or in september in.
Speaker 6: My eyes or my head no um sure there was
Speaker 6: throughout the org a little bit but uh no i've
Speaker 6: uh i felt pretty confident obviously on the hitting side
Speaker 6: but uh I feel even more confident on the catching
Speaker 6: side again. His throwing's obviously progressed a little bit.
Speaker 1: Oh, you're throwing?
Speaker 6: Yeah, I've been throwing. I haven't started.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how far do you throw?
Speaker 6: Strictly 90 to 100 feet right now, but it feels
Speaker 6: really good. It's in a really good spot, and I
Speaker 6: think it's going to progress really well down the stretch.
Speaker 2: Since you've been through this role where you've only been
Speaker 2: coming off the bench... You've got to find a routine,
Speaker 2: I would imagine, considering being the dominant everyday guy that
Speaker 2: you were.
Speaker 1: How do you find that new routine?
Speaker 6: I think you've got to challenge yourself a little bit
Speaker 6: in the cages. You're not getting challenged every day, so
Speaker 6: it's a little different. You have to find a way
Speaker 6: to challenge yourself when you get on trajectory. Find a
Speaker 6: way to challenge yourself on machine, whatever the case may be.
Speaker 6: And I think from there, it's just really take the at-bat. It's...
Speaker 6: something you've obviously done, and it's no different than a
Speaker 6: month ago when I was in the lineup.
Speaker 1: Yeah, compete.
Speaker 6: Yeah, just go up there and compete, do your job,
Speaker 6: and obviously coming off the bench, you're coming in crucial spots,
Speaker 6: help the team win, help the team score runs, and
Speaker 6: I think that's what excites me most.
Speaker 2: All right, there's Dalton Rushing, who had an 800 OPS
Speaker 2: before going on the IL.
Speaker 1: He had 12 home runs.
Speaker 2: He was definitely a threat at the bottom of the Dodgers' order,
Speaker 2: and If he can come back and catch at some
Speaker 2: point before the end of the regular season going into October,
Speaker 2: as you heard his voice right there, sounds very optimistic
Speaker 2: that he will be.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, you got a pretty.
Speaker 2: Good catching tandem in Will Smith and Dalton Rushing, the
Speaker 2: one you had before both those guys got hurt. Not
Speaker 2: to mention Hunter Fadusha has done a nice job as well.
Speaker 2: And just as far as the other roster moves go
Speaker 2: to make room for Rushing, to make room for Alex
Speaker 2: Freeland and Justin Robleski. The Dodgers designated for assignment Alec
Speaker 2: Thomas and Ben Rortvitz. So the Dodgers currently have three catchers,
Speaker 2: if you will, on the active roster. Rushing right now
Speaker 2: is relegated to just pinch hitting duties, but Fadush is
Speaker 2: the backup and you got Will Smith activated as well.
Speaker 1: So we'll see.
Speaker 2: Whether or not Rortvitz clears waivers and the Dodgers can
Speaker 2: bring him back into the organization. But They're pretty covered
Speaker 2: right now, and they must feel very confident that Dalton
Speaker 2: Rushing has a really good shot of coming back to
Speaker 2: catch this year. Also, I know we went over this
Speaker 2: for the last three or four shows on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: I tried to temper your expectations. People were getting your
Speaker 2: hopes up high that it was going to be James
Speaker 2: Tibbs or even a bigger long shot, Josue DiPaola being
Speaker 2: called up.
Speaker 1: That was.
Speaker 2: Not going to be the move the Dodgers made today. Instead,
Speaker 2: they called up Alex Freeland, who is going to get
Speaker 2: a lot of time again at second base because the
Speaker 2: Dodgers are going to split time for center field between
Speaker 2: Kike Hernandez and Tommy Edmund. I was a big proponent
Speaker 2: of more Kike in center field, more time for Tommy
Speaker 2: Edmund in center field. So that's a pretty good platoon.
Speaker 2: And once you get into October... I don't see any
Speaker 2: reason why Miguel Rojas, no matter if it's a righty
Speaker 2: or lefty, shouldn't get more time at second base because
Speaker 2: obviously his track record speaks for itself and he gives
Speaker 2: you great defense. He's a savvy veteran that knows his role.
Speaker 2: So for right now, Alex Freeland's going to get a
Speaker 2: lot of time. starting at second base against righties. Rojas
Speaker 2: this year has hit 210 against righties, 100 points higher
Speaker 2: against lefties. But when the postseason rolls around, that's going
Speaker 2: to be a part of the equation that I'm sure
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts is going to take into account. 866-987-2570 is
Speaker 2: the phone number. Dodgers fall to the Cardinals tonight, 13-8.
Speaker 2: Tommy Edmond had three hits against his former team. Mookie
Speaker 2: Betts has shown some signs of life in his last
Speaker 2: 11 games, hitting.
Speaker 1: 324 tonight.
Speaker 2: He was two for four with a gift, three-run double
Speaker 2: in the third inning, but he'll take it, finish with
Speaker 2: four RBIs tonight, but it wasn't enough. We're going to
Speaker 2: take a timeout here on Dodger Talk. When we come back,
Speaker 2: we'll check in with Jose Mota after the Dodgers fall
Speaker 2: to the Cardinals tonight, 13-8 on 570 LA Sports.
Speaker 1: Dodgers fans, this is Mookie Betts.
Speaker 6: You're listening to the home of the back-to-back world.
Speaker 3: Champion Dodgers on AM570 LA Sports.
Speaker 2: David Basset, live at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium after
Speaker 2: the Dodgers fall to the Cardinals tonight, 13-8.
Speaker 1: Michael McGreevey, the winning pitcher. Eric Lauer, the losing pitcher.
Speaker 2: St. Louis tonight hit five home runs and scored 13 runs.
Speaker 2: The 13 runs scored by the Cardinals is most by
Speaker 2: any Cardinals team in their franchise history in a single
Speaker 2: game at Dodger Stadium. We have not taken any phone
Speaker 2: calls tonight on Dodger Talk. Just want to let you
Speaker 2: know that we are having some phone issues. Can't even
Speaker 2: dial out to talk to our guy, Jose Mota. So
Speaker 2: a little technical issues. It's crazy how I heart, you know,
Speaker 2: it's a calling show and the phones seem to go
Speaker 2: out once a year around this time. And it's not
Speaker 2: because the Dodgers lost. I know many of you are
Speaker 2: suspicious and conspiracy theorists out there. It's not because the
Speaker 2: Dodgers lost 13-8. You know how much I would love
Speaker 2: to talk to Ken from Newport Beach tonight. Daniels Jewelers
Speaker 2: presents the home run forecast. For your chance to win
Speaker 2: a $ 50 Daniels Jewelers gift card, visit am570lasports. com, use the
Speaker 2: keyword home run, and to your name you could win
Speaker 2: Daniels Jewelers' own the dream. Hey, coming into the game tonight,
Speaker 2: I stumbled upon this earlier today. Freddie Freeman, we went
Speaker 2: through this on Sunday. He hit his 579th career double,
Speaker 2: which allowed him to pass Wade Boggs on that list.
Speaker 2: Next up is Robin Yount, five away from passing. The
Speaker 2: Taft High star who was drafted out of there at
Speaker 2: 18 years old. But here's something else lost in all
Speaker 2: of that. Freddie Freeman. is only five extra base hits
Speaker 2: away from a thousand in his career. 995 extra base
Speaker 2: hits in his career. Five away for a thousand career
Speaker 2: extra base hits. And you may say, you know, what's
Speaker 2: the big deal about that? Well, not too many players
Speaker 2: in baseball history have ever collected a thousand extra base
Speaker 2: hits in their career. In fact, out of all the
Speaker 2: thousands of players that have come through Major League Baseball,
Speaker 2: only 39 players have ever had 1,000 career extra base hits.
Speaker 2: Freddie Freeman, whether it's a home run, a double, or
Speaker 2: maybe a triple, he has 34 triples.
Speaker 1: It could be a triple.
Speaker 2: But any combination of extra base hits, five away from 1,000,
Speaker 2: Freddie Freeman would become just the 40th player in baseball history.
Speaker 1: To have 1,000 extra base hits.
Speaker 2: Tonight, Freddie Freeman had a couple of really good at-bats.
Speaker 2: They did not translate to extra base hits, but he
Speaker 2: was 0 for 2 tonight with a walk and extended
Speaker 2: at-bats against Michael McGreevy. So, five away from a thousand
Speaker 2: career extra base hits. And it's just a reminder.
Speaker 1: Of what we're watching.
Speaker 2: We're watching a future Hall of Famer come through these
Speaker 2: career milestones wearing a Dodger uniform. And I got to
Speaker 2: tell you, when we were in Atlanta this last trip,
Speaker 2: it's not the same as it was even a couple
Speaker 2: of years ago at Freddie Freeman going back there. Now,
Speaker 2: the first night, he got a lot of love. There
Speaker 2: was not a standing ovation, but there was an ovation.
Speaker 2: So that was nice, but it wasn't extended. He wasn't
Speaker 2: stepping out of the batter's box for that. And then
Speaker 2: the next two nights, it was barely anything, which goes
Speaker 2: back to now the question about not if Freddie Freeman's
Speaker 2: going to the hall of fame, but when he does
Speaker 2: go to the hall of fame, will he be wearing
Speaker 2: a Dodger cap or a Braves cap or no logo?
Speaker 2: Now I'm by Of course, I would want Freddie Freeman
Speaker 2: to wear the LA logo on his plaque in Cooperstown.
Speaker 2: His career signature moments are with the Dodgers and the
Speaker 2: only player in baseball history to have walk-off home runs
Speaker 2: in World Series games. Of course, game one, the walk-off
Speaker 2: Grand Slam, and then last year, the 18-inning walk-off home run.
Speaker 2: So I know he spent the majority of his career
Speaker 2: with the Braves, but a lot of career signature moments
Speaker 2: with the Dodgers, and of course, these milestones that he's
Speaker 2: going to be coming across in still very.
Speaker 1: very good.
Speaker 2: Seasons for Freddie Freeman, who even after going 0-2 tonight
Speaker 2: is hitting. 303 with an. 836 OPS. And by the way,
Speaker 2: those players, those 39 players that collected 1,000 extra base
Speaker 2: hits in their career, 29 of them are in the
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame. So Freddie Freeman will be on his
Speaker 2: way to Cooperstown as well. Speaking of all this road
Speaker 2: trips talk and everything, can you believe when we had
Speaker 2: Dino Ebel come in the booth and take phone calls?
Speaker 2: That night, iHeart had the phone system working, thankfully. But
Speaker 2: when Dino Ebel came up to the booth in Atlanta,
Speaker 2: we promoted it and recapped it on AM570' s Instagram page,
Speaker 2: my Instagram page, at OfficiallyVassay. And Alex Vessia is somewhat
Speaker 2: active on Instagram with the people he follows. And can
Speaker 2: you believe Vessia's like, hey, I saw that thing with
Speaker 2: you and Dino Ebel. You do a radio show? Vessia,
Speaker 2: you've been on the Dodgers for six years. I've been
Speaker 2: around you every single day. Do you think I'm down
Speaker 2: in the clubhouse just for your amusement, begging you for
Speaker 2: an interview every other day? No, we do a radio show,
Speaker 2: a highlight radio show. and then a call-in radio show
Speaker 2: when the phones are working. Tonight, if Vessia was up
Speaker 2: here taking phone calls, this would be completely embarrassing. But yes,
Speaker 2: I do a call-in talk show, even on off days,
Speaker 2: like last night at 7 o'clock. Sheesh, what do these
Speaker 2: guys think? Even Lauer, he's like, I asked Lauer, do
Speaker 2: you know what I do? Yeah, you talk into a microphone. Yes,
Speaker 2: technically that's true, but not just in the clubhouse. after
Speaker 2: and before games. I actually do a radio show. Lauer,
Speaker 2: Freddie Freeman knows I do this show. Alex call knows
Speaker 2: I do this show. I would venture to say 50%
Speaker 2: of that clubhouse knows what I do. I'm not, I'm
Speaker 2: not just there for their amusement, but that's a, that's
Speaker 2: for another night. And who knows, you know, that opened
Speaker 2: the door for me to tell Alex Vessia, Hey, would
Speaker 2: you like to come up and take some phone calls
Speaker 2: from the fans?
Speaker 1: Vessia?
Speaker 2: I mean, he is a free agent at the end
Speaker 2: of the year. You know, it's been six years. You
Speaker 2: might want to come up before, you know, things happen
Speaker 2: at the end of the year.
Speaker 1: Good or bad. You never know.
Speaker 2: Hey, speaking of the Dodger bullpen and lefties, the Dodgers
Speaker 2: acquired an underrate under the radar move at the trade deadline. Obviously,
Speaker 2: Scooble was the big one, but they also acquired Chris
Speaker 2: Bubik from the the Kansas City Royals, who was when
Speaker 2: he's healthy, he's really good. And the Dodgers are trying
Speaker 2: to get him healthy again. And tonight, he pitched a
Speaker 2: scoreless inning of relief for Oklahoma City with two strikeouts.
Speaker 2: He's a very interesting arm. Very, very interesting arm for
Speaker 2: the Dodgers going down the stretch in September. And he's
Speaker 2: very talented. When he's healthy, he's really good. He was
Speaker 2: actually teammates with Tommy Edmond and Nico Horner at Stanford.
Speaker 1: Yes, another Stanford man. on the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: So Tommy Edmond, Nico Horner, Chris Bubik, they were all
Speaker 2: teammates at Stanford as well. So that is a guy
Speaker 2: that the Dodgers took a flyer on, a buy low,
Speaker 2: high ceiling type of guy. And tonight, he looked pretty
Speaker 2: good from the highlights I saw. Scoreless inning of relief
Speaker 2: with two strikeouts. So that's another interesting arm for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers going into September. Now, I know many of you
Speaker 2: are freaking out, and if the phones were working, you
Speaker 2: would be freaking out right now on the radio. But
Speaker 2: you can tweet at me at TheRealUnderscoreDV. My phone is working.
Speaker 2: I'm not giving out my cell number, but you could
Speaker 2: tweet at me, and maybe I'll read some of the
Speaker 2: freak-out comments. But just wanted to let you know, and
Speaker 2: if you called in and be like, David, how could
Speaker 2: the Dodgers lose 13-8? When are they going to wake up?
Speaker 2: There's only 24 games left. See, that sounds like you, right?
Speaker 2: You'd be freaking out. I'd be like, you know what?
Speaker 2: It wasn't a good showing at home. Yes, you would
Speaker 2: like to come back to start a nine-game homestand, and
Speaker 2: I know they're playing a soft schedule to begin the season,
Speaker 2: but Tomorrow, the Dodgers have Yamamoto on the mound. The
Speaker 2: Cardinals are throwing a bullpen game. The Dodgers should win
Speaker 2: that game. If the Dodgers lose that game tomorrow night,
Speaker 2: I'm walking back home. I'll walk straight to Monty's in
Speaker 2: Woodland Hills if the Dodgers lose tomorrow night from here.
Speaker 1: How about that?
Speaker 2: That's how confident I am the Dodgers are winning that
Speaker 2: game tomorrow. And then on Thursday, my new guy, Tarek Scooble, Scoob,
Speaker 2: is going to be on the mound on Thursday for
Speaker 2: the Dodgers against the Cardinals.
Speaker 1: Come on.
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm feeling pretty good about the Dodgers winning
Speaker 2: the next two games. And then you got the Nationals
Speaker 2: coming to town. And by the way, the Braves are
Speaker 2: proving my point for me. Since the Dodgers left Atlanta,
Speaker 2: the Braves have not been as good as they were
Speaker 2: in those three games against the Dodgers. In fact, they
Speaker 2: have lost the first two games, or they lost yesterday
Speaker 2: to the Giants, and then they lost today to the Nationals.
Speaker 2: So I'm trying to tell you things guys get up
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers. Anyway, that's the good news because the
Speaker 2: Braves lost. So the Dodgers now are still one game
Speaker 2: ahead of Atlanta for the number two seed in the
Speaker 2: postseason picture in.
Speaker 1: The national league.
Speaker 2: And as you know, I'm a big advocate for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers to get that number two seed and have home
Speaker 2: field advantage. And it would behoove the Dodgers to, to
Speaker 2: win as many of these last 24 games. Because if
Speaker 2: you remember last year, they got to the world series
Speaker 2: and the blue Jays were one game better than.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers last year.
Speaker 2: And, uh, that prevented the Dodgers from not only opening
Speaker 2: the world series at Dodger stadium, but also having game
Speaker 2: six and seven in LA, instead of having to go
Speaker 2: all the way back to Toronto. And as everybody has
Speaker 2: been shoving down our throats for the last six weeks,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are.
Speaker 1: An older team.
Speaker 2: You don't want to have to travel as much as
Speaker 2: they did last year. So I would love for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers to just have their, you know, guys only team
Speaker 2: only five days off at the stadium. And then, not
Speaker 2: have to play those two wild card games after one
Speaker 2: day off of the regular season and not have to
Speaker 2: travel to Atlanta possibly to open up the NLDS. It
Speaker 2: would be great for them to be waiting at home
Speaker 2: for either San Diego or Atlanta, because if for some
Speaker 2: reason San Diego were to beat the Braves, that would
Speaker 2: mean San Diego is coming all the way back from
Speaker 2: Atlanta and to play the Dodgers in a best-of-five series,
Speaker 2: and I would imagine Michael King would only be able
Speaker 2: to pitch once in a best-of-five series as well.
Speaker 1: So for all those reasons, I.
Speaker 2: Hope the players, including Alex Vessia, who I hope now
Speaker 2: is very aware that I do a radio show after
Speaker 2: every game. That's why I stay here after a 13-8
Speaker 2: loss to the Cardinals. If I was not doing a
Speaker 2: post-game radio show, Vessia, I would be.
Speaker 1: Home by now.
Speaker 2: Somebody let him know what I do for a living.
Speaker 2: Please let half those guys know what I do for
Speaker 2: a living. I'm not just their punching bag. All right,
Speaker 2: tomorrow we'll be back for another Dodger talk after the game.
Speaker 1: That's my job.
Speaker 2: Um, our coverage begins at six o'clock with first pitch
Speaker 2: at seven, 10, maybe the phones will be working. So
Speaker 2: I hope that that's the case because this is a
Speaker 2: call-in show. Having the phones work actually help. If the
Speaker 2: phones went down during Rogan and Rodney, nobody would notice,
Speaker 2: but on Dodger talk, they notice. Yamamoto's on the mound tomorrow,
Speaker 2: going up against the Cardinals bullpen. I promise you, it'll
Speaker 2: be better tomorrow night, not only the show, but also
Speaker 2: the result.
Speaker 1: Of the game.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Colin Yee, who is trying to bang the
Speaker 2: phone down, reboot, you know, all that stuff. It didn't work, Colin,
Speaker 2: so good effort. Thanks to Dwayne McDonald out here, who
Speaker 2: is my audience. I appreciate you laughing at my sarcastic
Speaker 2: jokes that are just swinging and missing all night long.
Speaker 2: And thanks to you for listening. Like I said, I
Speaker 2: appreciate you listening. I'm sorry you couldn't call in to
Speaker 2: vent your frustrations tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow, and
Speaker 2: the Dodgers will win tomorrow. And if you want to
Speaker 2: carry over your frustrations from tonight to tomorrow, you know, ugh.
Speaker 2: There is that 24-hour rule on a talk show. You know,
Speaker 2: I don't like to look back. I like to move forward.
Speaker 2: So I'll allow some of those to come through, all right?
Speaker 2: I'll refund those calls. Once again, the final score tonight,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers fall to the Cardinals 13 to eight.
Speaker 1: Have a great rest of your night. See ya.