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Dodgers News: Did Roberts Make The Right Call?

Last night, rookie Ross Stripling had struggled through five innings of work, but he had the Los Angeles Dodgers in a position where they weren’t actually losing. Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Dodgers and Miami Marlins were tied at 2-2. So, it was a curious thing to see as Stripling went up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning.

At the point when Stripling batted with one out in the bottom of the fifth, he had already thrown 95 pitches. They were not stress free pitches, either. He threw 28 in the first inning, 22 in the fourth inning, and 23 in the fifth inning. He gave up a run in the fifth, and was allowed to hit for himself in a tie game in the bottom of that inning. But, manager Dave Roberts had his reasons.



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From Bill Shaikin, contact reporter for the Los Angeles Times :

By now, Roberts said, Stripling has been “built up” to last beyond 100 pitches. With the Dodgers trying to stay away from relievers Kenley Jansen, Pedro Baez and Chris Hatcher, and with the Marlins’ bottom four batters lined up for the sixth, Roberts said he wanted to get one more inning from Stripling.

It’s understandable since Roberts was trying to preserve his bullpen after a tough Sunday afternoon affair in the high altitude of Colorado, but it wasn’t like Stripling was exactly having a real go of it out there in the first place. He was struggling with command, with pitch count, and with fooling hitters. That was an issue.

In his 5.1 innings of work, Stripling made 107 pitches. Miami batters swung at 50 of them, but they only whiffed on four of them. That’s not exactly a great ratio. Stripling really isn’t a swing-and-miss pitcher anyways, but this further illustrates the point that he was scuffling out there. It was a curious decision to send his starter back out there, and it didn’t pay off. But the intentions and reasoning made sense. It just didn’t align with what was being shown.

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6 Comments

  1. I don’t mind him sticking with this guy so much but, damn, he sticks with Wood and Kazmir way too bleeping long!

  2. CraigTheroff  I agree, but he has to leave them out there. Other wise we’ll have a depleted bullpen by the all-star break. I say it’s easier to replace those two, as opposed to a bullpen that is still under construction for the last two years and has yet to be completed…

  3. itravel59 CraigTheroff OH, in a little over one week Stripling can go over 100 pitches. But while pitching a no hitter, 100 is the silly # that says he’s had enough. You let him bat with the game tied, while knowing he will go no longer than the next inning. I ask again, why didn’t  Honeycutt leave with Mattingly? If he did have influence with both managers, he should be fired. Or if he didn’t have it, he should still be fired. Speaking on that bullpen, it seemed to be tired when the season started. If our farm system is strong as the FO says that it is, tell me when will it show. With our current pen, we’ve seen this movie before. Maybe two or three times.

  4. Yes, he made a terrible decision right next to the Dodger executives who traded away Dd Gordon two years ago

  5. Exactly..And then to defend the move with some B.S…they think everybody can’t see these obvious ,inconsistent moves? Apparently the healing time for T.J surgery is now 18 months…and 2 weeks

  6. QUESTIONING WHETHER ROBERTS SHOULD HAVE LEFT STRIPLING IN IS ONLY SECOND GUESS.  PITCH COUNT IS HOGWASH.  A RULE IN BASEBALL IS THE PITCH COUNT.  HOW IS THE PITCHER PITCHING BATTERS CANNOT GET HITS OFF THE PITCHER AND TO THE BATTER’S DELIGHT THE MANAGER TAKES THE PICHER OUT BECAUSE OF 100 PITCHES.  SINCE ALOL MANAGERS USE THAT STRATEGY LET US MAKE IT A LAW AND PUT IT IN THE RULE BOOK.  WE USE TO SAY THE PITCHER IS “BLOWING UP”  THAT IS WHEN YOU TAKE THE PITCHER OUT WHEN THE BATTERS ARE HITTING HIM.

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