MLB
Stripling Shined In Dodgers Win Over Pittsburgh Pirates
Last night, Ross Stripling shined in Dodgers win. Stripling had another fantastic performance as he hurled five scoreless innings in the 5-0 victory over the Pittsburg Pirates. Stripling only gave up four hits, had seven strikeouts and no walks during the outing. The 28-year-old started off the season as a reliever and has stepped up in the starter role. Stripling further improved his ERA to an outstanding 1.52 overall and an even better 1.02 since the start of May.
Pederson, Puig, And Bellinger All Hit Dingers
On the offensive end, Pederson, Puig, and Bellinger all hit dingers in last night’s win. Of the threesome, Pederson and Puig have been stepping it up lately, while Bellinger has been slumping. In the previous seven games, Joc Pederson has been batting .333 with three dingers. Further, in the same time span, Yasiel Puig has been hitting an impressive .423 with two home runs. While last year’s Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger has only been batting a lousy .150 with one homer over the previous seven. However, Bellinger’s slump isn’t just recent. He’s been hitting just .157 in his last thirty games, so his decline has been going on for a while. Bellinger needs to start picking thins up, or a trip down to the minors may be in order to regain his confidence.
Dodgers Are Back To .500
After a more than slow start to the season, the Dodgers are back to .500 baseball, with a 30-30 record and are within two games of first place. Although the Dodgers are leading the way with a 7-3 record in their last 10 played, the entire National League West has been stepping it up lately and have all been playing .500 or above baseball. Going into tonight’s game against the Pirates, the Boys in Blue currently trail the Diamondbacks by two games and the Rockies by one, with the Giants only a half game behind them.
Tonight Caleb Ferguson is making his Major League debut. The 21-year-old left-handed pitcher went 3-0 and had a 1.53 ERA in Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. Ferguson will be matched up against Pittsburg’s RHP Trevor Williams. Williams has a 5-3 record with a 3.84 ERA.
