Editorials

Dodgers vs Reds Pre-Game: Battle of All-Star Snubs

In a battle of all-star game snubs, the Dodgers send Chris Capuano to the mound to face off with Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto. While Capuano was plagued by a plethora of pitchers deserving of the All-Star game, many with better numbers than his own, Cueto and his 2.26 ERA have become the most talked about snub this season.

As has been the trend lately, the Dodgers are coming off a loss as Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers bullpen ran out of steam last night in the team’s 8-2 loss.



Cincinnati Reds (44-35) at Los Angeles Dodgers (44-37)
Johnny Cueto (9-4, 2.26) vs. Chris Capuano (9-3, 2.69)
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
7:10 p.m. PST, July 3, 2012
TV: KCAL
Radio: 570 AM (English), 1020 AM (Spanish)

Dodgers Key to Victory:
Pitching:
As the Dodgers have proved lately, they just aren’t going to score a ton of runs. While that puts a lot of pressure on the starter, when you face a guy like Cueto it puts even more pressure on Capuano knowing its unlikely the Dodgers will score more than a couple runs. Capuano needs to give the Dodgers seven innings with less than two earned runs for them to have a chance.

Hitting: Get some hits! With a lineup that is all slumping at the same time, the Dodgers are limping to the finish line of the first half of the season. While Dee Gordon may return tonight, the Dodgers just need to put the ball in play and hope for the best, rather than over-thinking things constantly.

Fun Facts:

  • Brandon Phillips is hitting .448 (13-for-29) lifetime against Capuano, while Jay Bruce has two home runs in just eight at-bats
  • In two starts against Los Angeles last season, Cueto went 14 innings and allowed just 10 hits and two earned runs, however the Reds were 1-1 in his two starts

For more on the Reds, check out our pre-series article.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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