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NL West: Giants loss is rest of division’s gain by The Sports Network
When San Francisco Giants star catcher Buster Posey went down with a devastating ankle and leg injury this week versus Florida, the rest of the National League West probably breathed a sigh of relief now that the defending champions will have a difficult task in winning over the majority without their top hitter.
Since the Giants will most likely miss the sweet-stroking Posey for perhaps the remainder of the season, the Dodgers, Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks have a better shot at winning the division, or freedom from the rest of the pack. San Francisco (27-22) currently owns a 1 1/2-game lead over surging Arizona in the West standings.
Posey suffered torn ligaments in his left ankle and a broken bone in his lower left leg, and is expected to undergo surgery in the near future. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year hasn’t been officially ruled out for the season and is expected to consult with more specialists before that prognosis has been made. Either way the Giants won’t see Posey for quite a while.
The slugging backstop, who batted .305 with 18 homers and 67 runs batted in a year ago, suffered the injury in a collision with Florida’s Scott Cousins during Wednesday’s 7-6 loss in 12 innings. Cousins scored the tie-breaking run by colliding with Posey. Posey is riding a 13-game hitting streak and is batting .284 with four home runs and 21 RBI this season. Eli Whiteside will take over the No. 1 spot behind the plate, while the club purchased the contract of Triple-A Fresno catcher Chris Stewart to provide depth.
“I’m not going to try to be Buster,” Whiteside said on the club’s website. “He’s our four-hole hitter and playing every day. I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”
Whiteside was true to his word and went 0-for-2 in Thursday’s 1-0 loss to the Marlins. The Giants were swept in three games by the Marlins after winning five in a row, and will begin a seven-game road trip tonight with the first of three straight games against Milwaukee followed by four tilts in St. Louis.
DODGERS: BANGED-UP CLUB BACK IN HOLLYWOOD
The Los Angeles Dodgers (22-29) limped back to Chavez Ravine and are hoping some home cooking will cure what ails them. They will begin a six-game homestand versus Florida and Colorado, and hope Andre Ethier will be healthy enough to make a contribution.
Ethier, who had a career-best 30-game hitting streak already this season but is in a 1-for-31 slump, has been held out of the starting lineup in each of the past three games because of a bruised right elbow, bruised lower back and a sprained big toe suffered after he crashed into an outfield wall on Sunday at U.S. Cellular Field against the Chicago White Sox. He could be back in full force tonight versus the Marlins.
Jay Gibbons has taken over in the outfield spot for Ethier and had a five-game hitting streak stopped in Wednesday’s loss at Houston. Nonetheless, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has been impressed with the veteran Gibbons.
“We’ll ride [Gibbons] a bit,” said Mattingly. “You want to play the guys that are going good. Gibby has been hitting the ball hard. And you can argue that Andre hasn’t been swinging it that good for the last few days”
Gibbons started his third straight game on Wednesday. Prior to going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the recent loss to the Astros, LA rookie Jerry Sands was hitting .462 with two homers, including a grand slam, five RBI and a .611 on-base percentage. Sands is hitting .309 in 17 road games this season and his road on-base percentage is one of the best at .424.
DIAMONDBACKS: KENNEDY ASSASINATING OPPOSING HITTERS
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ian Kennedy got his first taste of starting action when he went 9-10 with a 3.80 earned run average in 32 starts last season — his first with the ballclub.
Now Kennedy is building off of that experience to the tune of a 6-1 mark and a just-as-solid 3.01 ERA in 11 starts so far in 2011. Kennedy, the Opening Day starter, has held opposing batters to a .219 average with 19 walks and 59 strikeouts. Among Major League starters with a minimum of five starts, Kennedy is tied for second in wins and fourth in winning percentage.
Kennedy allowed only one run on seven hits with three strikeouts and two walks in a 2-1 win at Colorado on Wednesday, recording his first-ever win against the Rockies in his eighth career start. He has won three straight starts and is unbeaten (5-0) in his previous eight outings.
“Tonight I’m going to tip my cap to Kennedy,” Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta said. “He pitched really well. He kept the ball down. He didn’t make a mistake over the middle of the plate for the most part the whole game — maybe the one mistake that he made was the pitch to ‘Wiggy,’ [Ty Wigginton] and Chris Young made an outstanding play.”
Daniel Hudson has been just as hot lately, going 5-1 with a 2.59 earned run average in his last six starts. Hudson hasn’t allowed more than three runs in each of his outings during that span. Meanwhile, the Arizona bullpen has held opponents scoreless in 16 of 24 games in May, while closer J.J. Putz has converted 14 consecutive save opportunities.
The D’Backs (26-24) have won three straight and 11 of 13 games to pull within 1 1/2 games of San Francisco for the top spot in the NL West. They will visit Houston for three games this weekend.
PADRES: DENORFIA BEGINNING TO CARRY LOAD
San Diego Padres outfielder Chris Denorfia has taken over offensive duties from Chase Headley and Ryan Ludwick lately, but the ballclub is still last in the NL West standings.
Denorfia is batting .346 (27-for-78) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 12 runs scored since April 13. His .312 batting average is tops on the team even though he’s gone hitless in his last two games (0-for-5).
The Padres could use help from just about anyone and have only two wins in their last nine games. Former Rockies slugger Brad Hawpe is hitting .322 with 14 runs, eight doubles, four homers and 11 RBI since April 25. He has hit safely in 20 of 26 games for the Padres (20-30), who will open a six-game road trip Friday with the first of three straight games in Washington. San Diego will also visit Atlanta for three games on the road swing.
San Diego’s pitching staff currently consists of Aaron Harang and four other hurlers who haven’t lived up to expectations. Mat Latos is still struggling with a 2-6 mark and is one of five pitchers with only two wins, while Harang leads the crop with a 5-2 ledger. Clayton Richard draws the start for the Friars tonight in DC and he’s just 1-5 with a 5.06 ERA in his last six starts.
ROCKIES: DE LA ROSA SETBACK ADDS INSULT TO INJURED STAFF
A pitcher’s worst nightmare came true for Colorado Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa in Tuesday’s 12-4 win versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.
De La Rosa suffered a complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow and is scheduled to undergo ligament replacement surgery, a.k.a Tommy John surgery. De La Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin are tied for the team lead in wins with five in 10 starts this season, but the loss of De La Rosa only adds more strife to a rotation battling with the struggles of Ubaldo Jimenez and another injured starter in Esmil Rogers.
“It’s a Tommy John surgery,” Rox manager Jim Tracy said on the club’s site. “It’s another card that comes your way, and you have to deal with it.”
The only left-hander in the starting rotation, De La Rosa went 4-0 in five April starts and was taking over the role as ace with Jimenez still searching for his first win of the season (0-4 in 8 starts). The Rockies (24-25) will have to find ways to overcome their injuries and Greg Reynolds may be the guy to do that. Reynolds took over for De La Rosa when he went down this week. Colorado could also bring up prospect Juan Nicasio from Double-A Tulsa.
Rogers, meanwhile, has yet to perform a rehab assignment, but threw a bullpen session this week. Rogers, a right-hander, is battling a strained right lat muscle and is anticipating moving into simulated games soon.
“He’s working his way closer to getting up and running and getting close to pitching again,” Tracy said. “We’re getting very close to that.”
Colorado has lost three straight and six of seven games, and will host St. Louis this weekend for a three-game series.
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