Speaker 1: The quest for the three peat has begne.
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 3: This is World Champion Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: Here we go again. We're going running back.
Speaker 4: To get in on the show called eight six six,
Speaker 4: not eighty seven two five seven, and be sure to
Speaker 4: follow Dodger Talk wherever you catch your podcasts.
Speaker 1: Here's your host, David Vasse.
Speaker 2: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse live at Corsfield. After
Speaker 2: the Dodgers defeat the Rockies by a final score of
Speaker 2: seven to six. We have phone lines open at eight
Speaker 2: sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy. I would
Speaker 2: hope this has satisfied the masses tonight, the Dodgers scoring
Speaker 2: what eighteen runs in the last two games at cor
Speaker 2: I know it's the Rockies, I know it's coors Field,
Speaker 2: But considering the way the Dodger offense has been going
Speaker 2: the last six weeks, it's refreshing to see them have
Speaker 2: nights like last night, and have nights to a certain
Speaker 2: extent like tonight, even though they were just three for
Speaker 2: twelve with runners in scoring position.
Speaker 1: That's something they have to correct.
Speaker 2: You can't just be swinging for the fences and trying
Speaker 2: to get that slug. You have to be aware of
Speaker 2: the situational what's going on, the situational hitting. You've got
Speaker 2: to be aware of that. And maybe my favorite example
Speaker 2: of that tonight was in the first inning with Freddie
Speaker 2: Freeman at first base, Andy Pajez, the number three hitter,
Speaker 2: up behind him with one out. It was a full count,
Speaker 2: and Dave Roberts put Freddie Freeman in motion. Remember the
Speaker 2: Dodgers lead Major League Baseball in the most grounded into
Speaker 2: double plays this season, so putting Freeman in motion in
Speaker 2: a full count with one out allowed the Dodgers to
Speaker 2: score their first run. If Dave Roberts doesn't put Freeman
Speaker 2: in motion and Pa Haz doesn't get a base hit,
Speaker 2: you're looking at a scoreless first inning. So kudos to
Speaker 2: Dave Roberts who put Freeman in motion in that first inning.
Speaker 2: Kudos to show Heyo Tani who hit his thirtieth home
Speaker 2: run of the year. Kudos to Taoscar Hernandez who has
Speaker 2: been struggling struggling moightily to have a double and a
Speaker 2: triple tonight to drive in a run and score twice.
Speaker 2: It was great to see that smile on Tao's face
Speaker 2: again because before the game he was not happy, Tao.
Speaker 2: He was actually very upset and sad Tao because of
Speaker 2: the way he's been hitting. So those things are good,
Speaker 2: and also the fact that Kyle Tucker had something positive
Speaker 2: happened tonight. In the fourth, Tommy Edmund doubles and Kyle
Speaker 2: Tucker doubles down inside the first baseline to right field
Speaker 2: and then scores on ti Oscar Hernandez is double. So
Speaker 2: whatever whatever it was, it was positive. I'm not going
Speaker 2: to say an eighty five mile an hour exit velocity
Speaker 2: chopper down inside the first baseline is the hit that's
Speaker 2: going to change tucker season. But it's been a long
Speaker 2: time since something positive happened for Tucker, and in fact,
Speaker 2: it's been a long time since he had a hit.
Speaker 2: Coming into tonight, he was oh for his last twenty
Speaker 2: four So at least something good happened for Kyle Tucker
Speaker 2: tonight and hopefully he can build on that tomorrow. Eight
Speaker 2: six six nine, eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. Also good news for the Dodgers, the Twins
Speaker 2: beat the Braves tonight four to one. So the Dodgers
Speaker 2: right now have a game lead on at Atlanta for
Speaker 2: the second seed in the National League postseason picture. The
Speaker 2: Brewers blew out the Mariners twenty two to nothing.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 2: The Brewers beat Jerry Depoto's poorly constructed Mariners twenty two
Speaker 2: to nothing. That's incredible. But yeah, the Brewers won their
Speaker 2: third in a row and they beat Seattle twenty two
Speaker 2: to nothing. They are the number one seed the best
Speaker 2: record in baseball, while the Dodgers have the second best
Speaker 2: record in baseball and Atlanta right there as well, So
Speaker 2: there's no disputing the National League is the better of
Speaker 2: the two leagues this season. Eight six six nine, seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. Let's head downstairs
Speaker 2: right now to the manager's office to hear from Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts on Sports at LA Day.
Speaker 5: First, just how is Hunter feeling and how was he doing?
Speaker 6: You know, I think we're just trying to hydrate him.
Speaker 6: He's got this stomach bug or food poisoning something like that.
Speaker 6: You know, he was scuffling all game, and so finally
Speaker 6: he went as long as he could go, obviously, and
Speaker 6: he'll be down tomorrow, but he gave us a great effort.
Speaker 5: When you look at this offensive performance, it seemed like
Speaker 5: last night it was the top of the order that
Speaker 5: was kind of bunching the hits, and then tonight you
Speaker 5: have the bottom of the order, Kyle, Ta, Oscar, Tommy,
Speaker 5: all three of those guys getting something going. What does
Speaker 5: that do just as you're looking for the collective to
Speaker 5: really kind of get back to themselves.
Speaker 7: That was great.
Speaker 6: You know, the bottom half of the order did a
Speaker 6: great job, even Feddie getting drawn a couple walks. Right,
Speaker 6: there was big in the bottom half, which you know
Speaker 6: fed into the top half, and you know show Hey
Speaker 6: with the big homer and Kyle with a big double,
Speaker 6: and obviously Tao swung the bat well, so a lot
Speaker 6: of good things. Freddy had a big hit, a couple
Speaker 6: of big hits. I think Munsey's just playing good baseball.
Speaker 6: I thought defensively we were really sound today. And you know,
Speaker 6: Eric coming off a long, extensive outing his last start,
Speaker 6: I just didn't think he was as sharp as he was,
Speaker 6: you know, the first few innings, but still, you know,
Speaker 6: found a way to you know, get through five, which
Speaker 6: I thought was huge. You know, I know he'd want
Speaker 6: that last homer versus I think Castro back, but still
Speaker 6: gave us a chance to win. And you know, after that,
Speaker 6: I thought the bullpen did a nice job and you
Speaker 6: know we got burned a little bit Evan walking that
Speaker 6: leadoff hitter. But you know, fortunately we had Tanner rested
Speaker 6: up and can do it one plus with him, which
Speaker 6: is which is big.
Speaker 5: We did say that to you in the four yeah,
Speaker 5: four outs from him.
Speaker 6: You know, I thought, you know, he filled up the
Speaker 6: strike zone, he did a great job, got the out,
Speaker 6: you know, got out to get out of that inning,
Speaker 6: which is big. And then I think Kard put together
Speaker 6: really good at bat, but you know, he got the
Speaker 6: outs that he needed and we kept him under thirty pitches.
Speaker 8: Orton as he've been this year, fluster with the time
Speaker 8: that everyone's miss is kind of what he was made
Speaker 8: to give you in.
Speaker 6: A lot of different roles out of that's very great man.
Speaker 6: Tanner doesn't complain. He's always ready, wants to pitch, wants
Speaker 6: to help his teammates, his team, and certainly given how
Speaker 6: last year went, for him to come back and you know,
Speaker 6: right the ship and he's been our most consistent reliever
Speaker 6: by far and you know, I trust him and feel
Speaker 6: like you can use.
Speaker 1: Him in any situation.
Speaker 8: It's good for a relation backs that as well, seld
Speaker 8: what was it about the way he handled last year
Speaker 8: when he came into the season that kind of gave you,
Speaker 8: guys that confidence and what you've seen continue over the
Speaker 8: course of the years.
Speaker 6: I think with Tanner, he's he's very good at you know,
Speaker 6: not kind of letting letting the noise affect him. He's
Speaker 6: got an inter confidence. He works really hard, he loves
Speaker 6: to just pitch. He just wants to pitch every day,
Speaker 6: so he doesn't run from you know, struggles, and he's
Speaker 6: got a lot of like I said, he's got a
Speaker 6: lot of interconfidence. And I think for me that's just
Speaker 6: an easy bet. And the talent it's you know, upper nineties,
Speaker 6: is a good slider and you'd like to think that
Speaker 6: every ball is not gonna be down the middle like
Speaker 6: it was last year. And that's what's happened, and he's
Speaker 6: turned in a fantastic season.
Speaker 2: All Right, there's manager Dave Roberts on Sports at LA
Speaker 2: singing the praises of the way Tanner Scott has come
Speaker 2: back this season after a poor year in his first
Speaker 2: year with the Dodgers, saying, look, I'm not sure you
Speaker 2: realize how good Tanner Scott has been this year. He
Speaker 2: has sixty two strikeouts and only eleven walks this year.
Speaker 2: He's limiting hitters to a two one hundred batting average,
Speaker 2: and he has seventeen saves in nineteen chances. He's been
Speaker 2: really good for the Dodgers, and especially now with Edwin
Speaker 2: Diaz back on the il with neck inflammation and Edwin
Speaker 2: Diaz missing three months because of removing bone chips from
Speaker 2: his right pitching arm, Tanner Scott without him, I'm not
Speaker 2: sure where the Dodger bullpen or pitching star would be
Speaker 2: right now. So you have to give him a lot
Speaker 2: of credit because the Dodgers have needed him and he
Speaker 2: is going to be the Dodger closer until further notice.
Speaker 2: And Edwin Diaz after a last night's game, I guess
Speaker 2: had some neck inflammation. So he's going to see doctor
Speaker 2: Watkins tomorrow and the Dodgers are going to treat it
Speaker 2: and then are optimistic that they can calm down that
Speaker 2: neck inflammation and then get him into their pitching lab
Speaker 2: and figure out how they can get him back to
Speaker 2: looking like Edwin Diz pre surgery, pre Dodgers, and get
Speaker 2: the guy that they signed, because we haven't seen that
Speaker 2: guy so far in a Dodger uniform. And the way
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are thinking is, yes, they have a really
Speaker 2: good thirteen man pitching staff to go into the postseason,
Speaker 2: just like they did last year, moving starters into the
Speaker 2: bullpen to get outs, even the final outs Roki Sasaki.
Speaker 2: But if they can get Edwin Dz back on track
Speaker 2: with probably twenty games, I mean that's the reality when
Speaker 2: he comes back, best case scenario, probably twenty games left in.
Speaker 1: The season to see what he has to see.
Speaker 2: If he resembles Edwin Diaz from last year and the
Speaker 2: majority of his career, then all of a sudden, you're
Speaker 2: talking about a lot stronger thirteen man pitching staff going
Speaker 2: into October eight six, six nine, eight seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Tonight's game brought to you
Speaker 2: by Modello. Modello the mark of a fighter. Let's go
Speaker 2: out to the phones Moreno Valley, Aladdin, you are on
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk. How you doing, Aladdin? A whole new world?
Speaker 7: They very good, y, very good. Just a little stressor
Speaker 7: right there, you know you said the keyword we held
Speaker 7: on as Dodgers. We can't be holding on like that.
Speaker 7: We just need to make our pitches do what we
Speaker 7: need to do as as we leavers. Uh lower another
Speaker 7: great game, like you said, and he deserves to be
Speaker 7: a starter. But we got glat Levine, the elephant in
Speaker 7: the room. Glass Nile's coming back, Like who's going to
Speaker 7: be the odd man out? Who's going to go into
Speaker 7: the bullpen? And right now, honestly, it's a tryout. It's
Speaker 7: a tryout for for who's going to be in that
Speaker 7: roster for come playoffs. Because we need the guy that's
Speaker 7: going to come in make the uh, make the pitches,
Speaker 7: come in and be a dog. And you know, hey,
Speaker 7: we missed those days, right the dogs, the dogs of
Speaker 7: the bullpen, Well where are they at? You know, we
Speaker 7: need them back. And also hitting is contagious and that
Speaker 7: happened today and I mean it's great to see the
Speaker 7: Dodgers hitting again. And you know, Kyle Tucker, hey we
Speaker 7: paid you, you're here, You're you're going to be here
Speaker 7: for a while, so hey, you know you're going to
Speaker 7: get out of your funk. And somebody said it said it,
Speaker 7: well last time, somebody said it. Well last time he
Speaker 7: said that, Uh, I think it was yesterday that it's
Speaker 7: going to be a playoff game where he's going to
Speaker 7: come in clutch or whatever the case may be. But
Speaker 7: you know what, like like I said, hitting Cotagious, it's
Speaker 7: already started. We already see it. We are supposed to
Speaker 7: beat the Rockies, we are supposed to beat the Royals,
Speaker 7: but hey, now we got to beat the teams that
Speaker 7: are in our way. The guys are right there with
Speaker 7: us and we need to get that distance from them. Now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm with you, Alad, and thank you for the
Speaker 2: phone call. What I'm interested to see is the Dodgers
Speaker 2: carry over what they're doing here at Corsefield offensively into
Speaker 2: the series at home against the Pirates, who are no
Speaker 2: pushovers themselves, and then I want to see what happens
Speaker 2: when they get a tougher test in the Tigers and
Speaker 2: Braves on the next road trip, because that Brave series
Speaker 2: is going to be pivotal. I'm not going to say
Speaker 2: it's to make it or break it. Whoever wins that
Speaker 2: series is getting the number two seed, but it matters,
Speaker 2: just like the Brewers series mattered, And I think we
Speaker 2: all forget that in that four game series against the Brewers.
Speaker 2: There was so much put on that final game against
Speaker 2: the Brewers.
Speaker 1: What about the first game of that series against the Brewers.
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz blew the game, blew the safe, blew the win.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers would have won the season series if they
Speaker 2: win the first game of that four game series. So
Speaker 2: we're you know, I'm not a guy that likes to
Speaker 2: put things off. I'm not a guy that procrastinates. But
Speaker 2: for everybody that was putting so much emphasis on that
Speaker 2: final game against the Brewers, you are a guy that
Speaker 2: likes to procrastinate. How about winning that first game and
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, we're not talking about the last
Speaker 2: game of that series. And that's not on the players,
Speaker 2: that's not on the position players, that's not on the offense.
Speaker 2: They had a four to two lead against the very
Speaker 2: good Brewers pitching staff and they blew that game.
Speaker 1: So keep that in mind as well.
Speaker 2: Eight six six, eight seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. We're gonna take a time out when we
Speaker 2: come back. More of your phone calls at eight sixty
Speaker 2: six nine eight seven two five seventy, and I'll tell
Speaker 2: you about another subplot to this season, and it is
Speaker 2: he up. Don't go anywhere more. Dodger Talk after the
Speaker 2: Dodgers beat the Rockies seven to six on five seventy
Speaker 2: LA Sports. Hi, It's Joel Danny. This is Dodgers Talk
Speaker 2: AM five to seventy LA Sports, your home of the.
Speaker 1: Dodgers Swings and Hammers. It dape Bright Center failed way
Speaker 1: back in.
Speaker 2: Gosh there it is number thirty for show.
Speaker 1: Hey o'tani.
Speaker 2: And the Dodgers waited three to one last night. Kyle
Speaker 2: Hurt caught the second home run that o'tani hit tonight. O'tani,
Speaker 2: as he was rounding second base, looking at his teammates,
Speaker 2: he wagged his finger.
Speaker 1: Nobody caught it. No points for any.
Speaker 2: Of those relievers out there catching home runs. And Otani
Speaker 2: now with thirty home runs on the season. As the
Speaker 2: Dodger beat the Rockies seven to six. Daniels Jewelers presents
Speaker 2: the home run Forecast. For your chance to win a
Speaker 2: fifty dollars Daniels Jeweler's gift card. Visit AM five to
Speaker 2: seventy LA sports dot Com. Used the keyword home run,
Speaker 2: enter your name, you could win. Daniels Jewelers own the
Speaker 2: Dream eight sixty six seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 2: phone number. Thank you to show Hey, by the way
Speaker 2: for the shout out for Dodger talk. Shout out right there.
Speaker 2: I did not know he did that, so thank you
Speaker 2: show Hey. And speaking of show Hey, speaking of home runs,
Speaker 2: and the Cubs just now walked off the White Sox
Speaker 2: for the second straight night. It was that you know
Speaker 2: Bregman uh that walked it off for the Cubs. And
Speaker 2: last night our guy Pete crow Armstrong from the Grade
Speaker 2: one eight Harvard Westlake walked off the White Sox with
Speaker 2: a walkoff home run, his first of his career. And
Speaker 2: one subplot to this season as we go down the
Speaker 2: stretch is the the MVP race in the National League.
Speaker 2: This may be the closest MVP race that Otani has
Speaker 2: been in since he was with the Angels and going
Speaker 2: toe to toe against Aaron Judge.
Speaker 1: And I would say that right now it.
Speaker 2: Is a flip of the coin because I know Otani
Speaker 2: has made fourteen starts. PCA could never do that. Otani's
Speaker 2: the greatest player on the planet. He's eight and two
Speaker 2: with an ERA of one to seventy nine. He hasn't
Speaker 2: pitched though since July third, and pek Row Armstrong has
Speaker 2: played more games this year than the dh Otani, who
Speaker 2: has been nursing a sore left knee all season long.
Speaker 2: PCA he's probably nursing a few different things as well,
Speaker 2: patrolling and playing gold glove center field in Chicago. PCA
Speaker 2: has played one hundred and thirty games, Otani now has
Speaker 2: played one hundred and seven seventeen. PCA has thirty one
Speaker 2: home runs, Otani has thirty. Otani has eighty RBIs, PCA
Speaker 2: has seventy nine. He has thirty one stolen bases. Otani
Speaker 2: not running the way he used to, but Otani has
Speaker 2: a better batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, and
Speaker 2: ops and Otani is one of one. But PCA certainly
Speaker 2: is making a case for himself to uh to get
Speaker 2: a lot of first place votes for the National League MVP.
Speaker 2: So I feel like it's going to be decided how
Speaker 2: these two guys finish down the stretch. And here's what
Speaker 2: Shohei Otani said after the game to us about whether
Speaker 2: or not he's paying attention to what PCA is doing
Speaker 2: on the North side of Chicago.
Speaker 5: But the butt regis say it could put us.
Speaker 1: Over mos No, really just focus in on our game
Speaker 1: and just making sure that I'm rehabbing well on the
Speaker 1: pitching side and continue to hit well.
Speaker 2: All right, that was a quick answer from Otani, but
Speaker 2: we'll take it. First time he's really talked about the
Speaker 2: MVP race, and you have to imagine that he is
Speaker 2: aware of what p crow Armstrong is doing. It was
Speaker 2: epic when the Dodgers were in Chicago. Picrow Armstrong leads
Speaker 2: off that game where Otani hits a home run to
Speaker 2: lead off the game, and then Pete crow Armstrong hits
Speaker 2: a lead off home run in the bottom of the
Speaker 2: first inning. So that is definitely something to keep in
Speaker 2: mind as we go down the stretch the National League
Speaker 2: MVP race between Otani and Pete crow Armstrong, I would
Speaker 2: say Matt Olsen from the Braves is a distant third
Speaker 2: to those two guys. Eight nine eighty seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Also, we talked about JDP
Speaker 2: last night and I was advocating for a September call up.
Speaker 2: What I have gathered since our Dodger talk show last
Speaker 2: night that it's not completely off the table, but it
Speaker 2: doesn't seem likely right now. And speaking of JDP jos
Speaker 2: Way de Paula. Tonight he hit a walk off three
Speaker 2: run home run for Tulsa. Eight six six nine eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go
Speaker 2: out to Sierra Madre. Jeff, you're on Dodger Talk. How
Speaker 2: you doing, Jeff?
Speaker 3: Oh, I'm well, DV. Thank you.
Speaker 1: Hey.
Speaker 3: I have a question about catching. All right, we know
Speaker 3: the injuries to Will Smith and Dultan Rushing and we
Speaker 3: missed her bats, of course, but what about the pitching
Speaker 3: and you know, receiving the ball. Does that make a difference?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it does.
Speaker 2: And that's the reason why the Dodgers targeted these two
Speaker 2: guys when they realize that Rushing was not going to
Speaker 2: be able to catch again this year, because these two
Speaker 2: guys are familiar with the pitching staff and the Dodgers
Speaker 2: obviously like they're receiving now. The Tampa Bay Rays are
Speaker 2: big on receiving as well, and they have really good pitchers.
Speaker 2: They have a great pitching staff. So Hunter Fiducia deserves
Speaker 2: some credit for that as well. And you're seeing now
Speaker 2: that we're starting to see that Fidusha is the guy
Speaker 2: that is catching more days than Rartvettz. So obviously the
Speaker 2: Dodgers believe Fidusha is a better fit than rart.
Speaker 4: Fit now, but what about the bats, Well, I.
Speaker 2: Would say Fidusha is a better hitter than Rartfit. I
Speaker 2: think he's shown that better, better at bats, better plate discipline.
Speaker 2: I'm not saying he's rushing or will Smith, but he's
Speaker 2: a better hitter than Rartfit. But when when we talked
Speaker 2: to Dave Roberts after the trade deadline, he basically laid
Speaker 2: it out for us that if you're going to divvy
Speaker 2: up days, Fiducia is going to catch three days, Rodfit
Speaker 2: two days. And that's the way it's gone down now. Tonight,
Speaker 2: Rodfit had to spring into action because I thought Hunter
Speaker 2: Fidusha was having some altitude sickness, because in the seventh
Speaker 2: inning he ran off after the first out of the
Speaker 2: inning and threw up right in front of the Dodger dugout.
Speaker 1: That's what happened.
Speaker 2: He started to get sick and had to throw up,
Speaker 2: and we never saw him again. Dave Roberts said he
Speaker 2: had some stomach bug. It could have been a stomach bug,
Speaker 2: but it could have been altitude sickness. Because that's what
Speaker 2: happens sometimes when you have it, and as a catcher,
Speaker 2: you know, it's a pretty tough job behind there.
Speaker 3: But that's that's great info, Dave.
Speaker 4: What about man can correlate like the losing to not
Speaker 4: having the SETI, you know, catching you know and receiving set.
Speaker 2: I would, I'm glad you brought that up. I wouldn't
Speaker 2: correlate it to the losing streak. When it comes to
Speaker 2: the pitching, I would correlate it to the offense. I
Speaker 2: feel like we all take Dalton Rushing for granted. If
Speaker 2: you stack up Dalton Rushing and Will Smith's offensive production
Speaker 2: this year, Rushing has outperformed Will Smith even before he
Speaker 2: got hurt. You're missing twelve home runs, You're missing an
Speaker 2: eight hundred ops. You're missing that threat from the left side,
Speaker 2: and the Dodgers don't really have a threat from the
Speaker 2: left side outside of Max Munsey and Freddie Freeman, and
Speaker 2: Freeman is not.
Speaker 1: A threat to hit the ball out of the ballpark.
Speaker 2: Dalton Rushing was, so I feel like, you know, for
Speaker 2: so much talk about missing Will Smith, which the Dodgers do.
Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong, he has not been a factor
Speaker 2: this year. The Dodgers had been winning and had a
Speaker 2: big lead. Without will Smith, they missed Dalton Rushing and
Speaker 2: they missed Dalton Rushing's bat.
Speaker 9: Oh, it totally makes sense. But you know, catchers, we're
Speaker 9: out over season, right, So it's like, you know, I
Speaker 9: think it's something where where it's like, hey, if you
Speaker 9: come in fresh, you're gonna be You're gonna be a stut.
Speaker 9: But if you've been catching one hundred and sixty two games,
Speaker 9: you're not.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it could be like Will Smith is the Blake
Speaker 2: Snell of catchers, right, he hasn't played all year. Virtually,
Speaker 2: He's gonna come in and be fresher than any other
Speaker 2: catcher in baseball. But it's not that easy when you
Speaker 2: don't play that long, when you don't hit that long.
Speaker 2: How much rust is Will Smith going to have? We'll
Speaker 2: have to wait and see. I mean, he was. He
Speaker 2: came back in the middle of the playoffs. Remember last
Speaker 2: year he had a broken right hand and he didn't
Speaker 2: play the rest of the regular season after or that
Speaker 2: it got injured in September in Pittsburgh or late August,
Speaker 2: and he started to catch what in the NLDS and
Speaker 2: he wasn't Will Smith until the World Series, So keep
Speaker 2: that in mind as well. He's not gonna show up
Speaker 2: day one and be Will Smith.
Speaker 9: But if you hit a home run in Game seven
Speaker 9: of the World Series, you're here.
Speaker 1: Yes you are.
Speaker 2: And nobody talks about him enough because he doesn't talk.
Speaker 2: I mean, we haven't heard from him since he got
Speaker 2: injured in Pittsburgh, and we never heard from him during
Speaker 2: the entire offseason. After the parade, he was the guy
Speaker 2: that hit the go ahead home run. All right, Jeff,
Speaker 2: great phone.
Speaker 3: Call, thanks a lot, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Speaking of Will Smith, Dave Roberts said he continues to
Speaker 2: trend in the right direction back in LA and if
Speaker 2: all goes well when the Dodgers head back out on
Speaker 2: the road after Sunday's game against the Pirates, Will Smith
Speaker 2: will head out on a rehabit and so that's good
Speaker 2: news as well. Now, like I mentioned earlier about JDP,
Speaker 2: Hosuay de Paula if Ta, Oscar Hernandez, and Kyle Tucker
Speaker 2: continued to struggle as we get into September, and the
Speaker 2: Dodger schedule gets much easier in September than it was
Speaker 2: in July and August. But there are options outside of
Speaker 2: calling up JDP. You can move Tommy Edmond to left
Speaker 2: field if you feel the matchups are better that day,
Speaker 2: and you could have Key k Hernandez or Miguel Rojas
Speaker 2: play second base. If you feel like you're missing matchups
Speaker 2: with Kyle Tucker in the starting lineup, you can have
Speaker 2: Key k Hernandez play right field. So there are options
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers. But certainly you know JDP uh, there's
Speaker 2: no questioning how good he is as a hitter, and
Speaker 2: like I said earlier, from what I've gathered, it's not
Speaker 2: it's not completely off the table, but it's not very
Speaker 2: likely at this point the Dodgers are going to call
Speaker 2: up their top prospect in jos Way De Paula. Here's
Speaker 2: another thing. By the way, the Dodgers tonight beat the
Speaker 2: Rockies seven to six. Eric Lauer wins again. The Dodgers
Speaker 2: have won eleven of his thirteen games, mostly starts, outside
Speaker 2: of one where he had an opener in Minnesota. They
Speaker 2: won that game as well, after he pitched six perfect
Speaker 2: innings after the opener, and the Dodgers right now are
Speaker 2: starting to feel better about themselves than they did after
Speaker 2: that four game series against the Brewers. Andy pa Haz
Speaker 2: tonight another big night for him. He came up with
Speaker 2: a couple of big hits last night, three hits for
Speaker 2: Piz Tonight he was one for five, but a big
Speaker 2: hit in the first inning to get Freddy Freeman to
Speaker 2: third base. And so much talk last week about Pi
Speaker 2: Haz and him not being very good at challenging pitches
Speaker 2: with the ABS system everybody last week that was the outcry,
Speaker 2: what's Paw has done?
Speaker 1: He can't challenge anymore? What are they doing? Don't they
Speaker 1: have a plan?
Speaker 2: Yes, the Dodgers do have a plan, and it's a
Speaker 2: very obvious one. They want to leave their challenges for
Speaker 2: their catchers late in the game, and they want to
Speaker 2: leave their challenges for their hitters late in the game.
Speaker 2: They don't want to burn their challenges in the first
Speaker 2: five or six innings unless it's a swing count, a
Speaker 2: swing situation meaning a big point in time in the game,
Speaker 2: and if you challenge a strike, it can change the inning.
Speaker 2: And that's the plan for the Dodgers now. Andy pa
Speaker 2: has has been very emotional with his challenges and just
Speaker 2: because there was an outcry last year doesn't mean Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts all of a sudden said oh, I have to react. No,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers have a plan and they are well aware
Speaker 2: that pa has was getting too emotional with his challenges.
Speaker 2: So I asked Dave Roberts during our managers meet presented
Speaker 2: by Downy Hunday last week, what is the new rules
Speaker 2: for Paz and the team when it comes to challenging
Speaker 2: and the ABS system.
Speaker 6: I think that's fair and we all see it, and
Speaker 6: it is an emotional decision by Andy in that moment
Speaker 6: in and at bat. We've talked, you know, at length
Speaker 6: to all of our players about the leverage and when
Speaker 6: you should do it, when you don't. You know, every
Speaker 6: at bat is important, but there's still a risk and
Speaker 6: a cost for a challenge, and so I think that
Speaker 6: right now we're going to kind of put the challenges
Speaker 6: from him on the back burner and do the work
Speaker 6: in the sense of after games go through what he
Speaker 6: thought could have been a strike could have been a
Speaker 6: ball was close, and so he can kind of recalibrate
Speaker 6: on the strike zone. But and he's had a great
Speaker 6: year offensively, defensively, and he's a young player who's still
Speaker 6: getting better each time out. But this is a learning
Speaker 6: curve for him that we as the coach has got
Speaker 6: to do a better job and kind of educating them more.
Speaker 2: How pivotal is the ABS going to be in October?
Speaker 6: It's going to be very pivotal, and you got to
Speaker 6: really lock it in because what you don't want is
Speaker 6: something like that and irresponsible emotional challenge or non challenge
Speaker 6: in a leverage spot to cost your game. And so
Speaker 6: I do think that it's great because it's made umpires
Speaker 6: better and kind of you know, no one wants to
Speaker 6: be embarrassed when you miss a ball by you know,
Speaker 6: a ball strike called by two and a half inches.
Speaker 6: You know everyone sees it. That doesn't feel good for them.
Speaker 6: So I think in general it's made them better and ultimately, players, coaches,
Speaker 6: fans want to get the call right and then it
Speaker 6: kind of goes into the strategy on when you use
Speaker 6: those challenges. But you know, this year is going to
Speaker 6: be different than any other year as far as the ABS,
Speaker 6: So we just got to be really locked in on
Speaker 6: our process. When we get to the postseason.
Speaker 2: Can you set the record straight, is it your preference
Speaker 2: to have both challenges in the last three innings for
Speaker 2: your catcher and your pitcher or is it for the
Speaker 2: hitters and pivotal situations.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know what, I just don't think it's hard
Speaker 6: and fast. I think that you know, you can win
Speaker 6: or lose a game in the first inning, you know,
Speaker 6: bases loaded, three, two, and there's a borderline pitch that's
Speaker 6: called and you know, if you're really certain that it
Speaker 6: was a ball, but it was called a strike. I
Speaker 6: think it's worthy of a challenge. So it's hard to
Speaker 6: kind of put players in that corner. But again, you
Speaker 6: really got to make sure that you know the squeeze.
Speaker 1: Is worth it.
Speaker 2: All right, there you go. You got it from the
Speaker 2: manager Dave Roberts. There's no more speculating. He explained that
Speaker 2: the red light has been put on Andy paj has
Speaker 2: for now until he gets better awareness of the strike
Speaker 2: zone and challenging in the ABS. He also outlined the Dodgers'
Speaker 2: flexible plan and try to explain what they're thinking.
Speaker 1: No hard and fast rules.
Speaker 2: The players just have to be smart about the situation
Speaker 2: and whether or not it's the time to use that
Speaker 2: ABS challenge. So there is nowhere else you can get
Speaker 2: that exclusive answer then right here on Dodger Talk. Thanks
Speaker 2: to our friends at Downy Hunday for presenting the managers
Speaker 2: meeting with Dave Roberts every week.
Speaker 1: So there you go.
Speaker 2: You got the exclusive answer from Dave Roberts on what
Speaker 2: the Dodgers' plan is for the ABS strategy and specifically
Speaker 2: as it pertains to Andy Pahz.
Speaker 1: So there you go, all right.
Speaker 2: Tomorrow, the Dodgers will look for the sweep against the Rockies.
Speaker 2: Roki Sasaki will be on the mound for the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: He's five and five with an ERA of four forty six.
Speaker 2: He just arrived in Denver today because the Dodgers sports
Speaker 2: science believe that it will benefit him on the mound
Speaker 2: tomorrow for not being in the high altitude.
Speaker 1: We'll see if it works.
Speaker 2: He's going up against Kyle Freeland, who's four and ten
Speaker 2: with an ERA of six twenty seven. Our coverage begins
Speaker 2: tomorrow at four point thirty first pitch with Rick Monday
Speaker 2: and Tim Neverriett from Corsfield. Thanks to Colinie back at
Speaker 2: our Burbank Studios, Thanks to Dwayn McDonald out here at
Speaker 2: Corsfield in.
Speaker 1: Denver, and thanks to you for listening.
Speaker 2: In case you missed any of the show, you know
Speaker 2: where to find it the iHeartRadio app also our pregame
Speaker 2: conversation with Tommy Edmund, who had two doubles tonight, and
Speaker 2: he also revealed what player he is considering drafting with
Speaker 2: the number six pick in his fantasy football league. So
Speaker 2: you can get fantasy football advice from Tommy Edmund as well.
Speaker 2: Find it on the iHeartRadio app. Make Dodger Talk a
Speaker 2: preset and you can stream all the Dodger games live
Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio app. Once again. The final score tonight
Speaker 2: the Dodgers defeat the Rockies seven to six.
Speaker 1: Have a great rest of your night.
Speaker 2: Only one hour until Ben Maller upsets everybody on Fox
Speaker 2: Sports Radio.
Speaker 1: See you so jeer struck on buying Ga