Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
Alex Wood has made two starts for the Dodgers, neither great, neither awful. In the first, he yielded four earned runs and 10 base runners over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-2 loss to the Phillies. In the second, which occurred Sunday in Pittsburgh, he lasted only five innings and yielded three earned runs and nine base runners. He exited with L.A. leading 5-3. For the seventh inning, the Dodgers summoned ...
Jim Johnson, another part of the 13-player three-way trade between the Dodgers, the Marlins and the Atlanta Braves . Johnson retired the first batter he faced. He would retire one of the next nine. Here's how the inning unraveled:
Strikeout looking, hit by pitch, single to right, single to right, sac fly, single to center, walk, infield single, single to center, single to left.
Johnson's unhappy totals: Six hits, one walk, one HBP. And, because Jung Ho Kang greeted reliever Joel Peralta with a three-run homer, Johnson was charged with eight earned runs in two-thirds of a inning. And a blown save. And a loss, his second in three nights. He'd also yielded the game-losing single in the 10th on Friday.
In four appearances as a Dodger, Johnson hasn't yet worked a scoreless inning. (He worked scoreless innings in 19 of his final 21 appearances as a Brave.) As a Dodger, he has recorded 11 outs against 12 earned runs and 15 base runners. He's 0-2 for his new employer with an ERA of 29.45.
The Dodgers still lead the National League West by three games over San Francisco. (The Giants were swept by the Cubs in a four-game series as the Dodgers were dropping three in Pittsburgh.) The massive trade that was supposed to secure the division title for L.A. hasn't brought immediate dividends. Mat Latos, acquired from Miami, is 0-1 as a Dodger with a 6.30 ERA. Wood is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA. Yes, that's a small sample size, but the Dodgers are such a high-profile team that nothing seems small.
From Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times: "When the Dodgers pulled off their three-team trade-deadline deal last month, much of the focus was on Mat Latos and Alex Wood, the two starters they picked up. But almost as significant to the front office was the addition of relievers Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan. Neither end of that deal has worked out as the Dodgers planned, however, with Latos and Wood going winless and posting a 5.91 ERA in two starts each. Yet they look like Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale compared to Johnson ."
From Mark Saxon of ESPN LA: "The Dodgers went shopping for bulk goods rather than name brands when they conducted their business before the trade deadline. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the quality of their returns has been negligible thus far . That might be putting it kindly."
From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register: "If you're fond of snap judgments, Johnson, Alex Wood, Luis Avilan and Mat Latos combined for an 8.68 ERA in their first week as Dodgers and took the loss in all four defeats on their new team's 2-4 trip to Pennsylvania. "
Meanwhile, Hector Olivera hasn't made an out as an Atlanta Brave. (OK, so he hasn't yet been activated. Details, details.)
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