LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. GIANTS: LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (1-1, 3.75 ERA in 2 GS)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
• Tossed six innings for the second game in a row in his last start, giving up seven hits, four runs, two home runs, two walks and striking out four…he is two wins shy of becoming the 121st man in MLB history with 200 wins.
• He moved into 23rd all-time on the Major League strikeout list, surpassing Mike Mussina (2,813) in his first start this season…he needs 180 more to become the 20th player in Major League history with 3,000 strikeouts
• Started four games in Spring Training, going 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA (7 ER/18.1 IP)with 16 strikeouts against just two walks…held a 1.04 WHIP
• Two victories came in his last two starts against the Guardians on March 21 and the Angels on March 26 at Dodger Stadium
VS. GIANTS:
• Last faced the Giants on Sept. 7, 2022, tossing 6.0 innings…giving up five hits, two earned runs, and sitting down eight while not factoring
in the decision
• Owns a lifetime 24-15 record against the club with a 2.01 ERA (84 ER/377.0 IP) and 388 strikeouts against 61 walks…has secured 10 of those victories at Dodger Stadium
2022 NOTES:
• Veteran southpaw had a stellar season, going 12-3 over 22 starts with a 2.28 ERA (32 ER/126.1 IP) with 137 strikeouts against just 23 walks
in 493 total batters faced…produced his 11th season of double-digit victories in 15 years
• Became the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader on April 30, 2022 against Detroit, striking out Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning, passing Don Sutton (2,696)…has 2,820 career strikeouts and stands 23rd on the all-time Major League strikeout list…passed Cy Young with strikeout 2,804 in game 162
• Tabbed a 9.76 strikeout-per-nine innings mark and limited hitters to a .206/.246/.310 slashline…did not allow a run in six of 22 starts, securing victories in five of the six outings: April 13 at MIN, May 7 at CHC, July 3 vs. SD, July 15 at LAA, Sept. 13 at ARI, Sept. 30 vs. COL
• Took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the Angels on July 15 before a single by Luis Rengifo broke up his Perfect Game bid…finished with 8.0 scoreless and became the first pitcher in Major League History to have two games of 7.0 perfect baseball in the same season since 1961…other occurrence was his first start and win of the year in Minnesota on April 13, striking out a season-high 13-batters on 80 pitches
• Tossed 5.0+ innings in 18 of his 22 starts, notching 12 quality starts for a .800 winning percentage, his highest mark since the 2017 season…also fired double-digit strikeouts three times: April 13 at MIN, July 9 vs. CHC, Sept. 19 vs. ARI
CAREER NOTES:
• Since the start of the live-ball era in 1920, has the lowest all-time career ERA (2.49) and WHIP (1.00) among starting pitchers with at least 1,500.0 innings pitched…his .209 opponents’ average ranks third among pitchers with that qualifier, behind only Nolan Ryan (.204) and Sandy Koufax (.205) and his strikeout-per-nine mark of 9.80 ranks 6th
• Became the ninth all-time pitcher to win three or more Cy Youngs after the 2014 season since the award was instituted in 1956…became the 4th NL pitcher to win the award via a unanimous vote in 2014…by winning the award in 2013-14, he became the ninth pitcher in either league to win the award in consecutive seasons…finished second in the 2012 and 2017 Cy Young voting, third in 2015 and fifth in 2016
• Became the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader on April 30, 2022 against Detroit, striking out Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning, passing Don Sutton (2,696)…has 2,807 career strikeouts and stands 24th on the all-time Major League strikeout list…passed Cy Young with strikeout 2,804 in game 162
• Became the all-time leader in postseason strikeouts with 207 after striking out six batters in Game 5 of the 2020 World Series…passed Justin Verlander (205) to earn the distinction
• Started his first Midsummer Classic in 2022 at Dodger Stadium, firing a scoreless frame and striking out one…was a member of his ninth AllStar team
• Topped the Majors with 301 strikeouts in 2015 and led the NL in Ks in 2011 and 2013…has collected 200-plus strikeouts in seven of his 11 big league seasons, which is the most in franchise history and the fourth most in National League history
• Obtained his 2,000th career strikeout in the second inning against Milwaukee on June 2, 2017, reaching the milestone in 1,837.2 innings, the
fourth fastest all-time behind only Pedro Martinez (1715.1 IP), Randy Johnson (1734.0 IP) and Max Scherzer (1784.0)…His 13 career postseason victories are the most by a Dodger pitcher in franchise history and is fifth overall in MLB history…also holds the franchise lead in postseason starts (30), innings pitched (189.0), strikeouts (207), and losses (12)
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Giants and Dodgers face off in both the series and homestand finale, with the winner earning bragging rights for the series victory…the Giants won’t host their NL West rival again until SF’s last series of the regular season on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at Oracle Park.
DIAMOND IN THE RUF: The Giants selected IF/OF Darin Ruf to the Major League roster on Wednesday and optioned RHP Sean Hjelle back to Triple-A Sacramento…Ruf signed an MiLB deal with San Francisco on April 8 after being released by the Mets on April 2…the slugging righty was traded at last year’s deadline to New York-NL on Aug. 2 in exchange for IF J.D. Davis, LHP Thomas Szapucki and a pair of minor league pitchers in RHP Carson Seymour and LHP Nick Zwack…Ruf hit .248 with 32 home runs, 98 runs, 99 RBI and an .814 OPS in 247 games with SF from 2020-2022…in 706 plate appearances against lefties, Ruf is a .272 hitter with 39 home runs, 102 RBI and an .891 OPS…his 22 home runs vs. lefties while with the Giants were tied for third most in the National League during that span.
NO SOUP FOR YOU: This Giants’ 5-0 victory on Tuesday was their first shutout of the season, and first shutout of the Dodgers since they won 2-0 at Oracle Park on June 12, 2022…the pivotal moment in the game was a bases loaded, one out situation in the top of the sixth…LHP Scott Alexander entered and promptly retired two straight batters to hold the 2-0 advantage…Alexander has not allowed a run in his last 14 games (12.2 innings), which dates back to Sept. 12 of last season…he has just two earned runs in 20.0 innings since joining the Giants bullpen last season (0.90 ERA).
NO WALK ZONE: Giants starters have done a terrific job at limiting walks in the early going…Tuesday’s starter LHP Alex Wood was the first to walk three batters this season…Giants starters total 12 free passes in 11 games, which is fewest in the Majors…the Dodgers rank second with 14 walks…tonight’s starter RHP Alex Cobb has allowed just one walk in two starts this season.
¡ADIÓS PELOTA!: The two home runs yesterday gave the Giants 20 on the season, tying them with the 2003 Giants for most big flies through the first 11 games in franchise history… it’s a good thing they’re hitting so many home runs as they also lead MLB in highest percentage of runs coming on homers with 33 of the team’s 53 runs (62%) scoring on a round-tripper (SIS).
MLB Leaders, Percent of Runs Coming via Home Run
Team % of runs on HR
Giants 62% 33 of 53
Marlins 61% 23 of 38
Dodgers 54% 37 of 69
Team % of runs on HR
Rays 53% 44 of 83
Orioles 52% 32 of 62
COBB SA-LAD: RHP Alex Cobb is looking for his first win in his fifth career start vs. the Dodgers…the veteran has a 4.98 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21.2 innings against LA…in two starts vs. the Dodgers at Oracle Park, Cobb has 11 strikeouts and a 3.86 ERA with eight hits and six walks allowed in 11.2 frames… the Dodgers DH J.D. Martinez has plenty of success vs. Cobb, batting .480 in 25 at-bats with five doubles and a home run… OF Mookie Betts is a .297 hitter vs. Cobb with three doubles and two home runs in 37 at-bats.
VI-STAR: IF David Villar and IF Brandon Crawford’s back-toback big flies last night became the third such sequence this season for SF, the second involving Villar…the home run to center was also Villar’s first at Oracle Park…its 102.9 MPH exit velocity off RHP Evan Phillips’ sweeper was Villar’s hardest hit HR off a breaking ball in his career…that surpassed his career high, a 102.4 MPH exit velocity home run on a slider by LHP Clayton Kershaw on Sept. 7, 2022…Villar’s 11 home runs since Sept. 5 of last season are tied for fifth most in MLB, trailing only OF Mike Trout, OF Aaron Judge, OF Kyle Schwarber and IF Pete Alonso.
JEKYLL & HYDE: In wins vs. losses, the Giants’ run-disparity has been dramatic as illustrated below
SLIDE ON OVER: LHP Clayton Kershaw has allowed two home runs on 67 sliders this season after allowing four on 786 in 2022…SIS notes that of those four home runs last season, the Giants hit three…SIS also mentions that Kershaw has surrendered a home run on his slider in four of his last five games vs. the Giants…Prior to that he had allowed just four in 18 appearances.
TODAY’S STARTER – ALEX COBB RHP #38
WITH THE GIANTS: Is in his 12th Major League season and his second with the Giants…he’s in his second year of a two-year contract
(with a third-year team option) with the Giants that he signed on
November 30, 2021.
LAST OUTING: Suffered the loss in his last start on April 7 against Kansas City despite a stellar outing…threw 7.0 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts…last season, Cobb had just three starts with 7.0-or-more innings all season with his season high being 7.1 innings on July 16 vs. MIL.
VS. LOS ANGELES-NL: Faced the Dodgers four times last year, going 0-1 with a 4.98 ERA (12er, 21.2) and 21 strikeouts…two of the four starts came at Oracle Park, where he posted a 3.86 ERA (5er, 11.2ip)…the Giants dropped all four games he started against Los Angeles-NL…prior to last season, Cobb had never faced the Dodgers in his career.
HOME COOKING: Cobb has pitched very well on the Shores on \McCovey Cove dating back to last season…over his last 12 outings here, he’s posted a 1.99 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP and a .220 opponents average…however, the Giants are just 5-7 in those games, as he’s received zero or one run of support in six of those 12 contests.
LICKETY SPLIT: According to SIS, Cobb’s splitter was much better in his last start against Kansas City, compared to his start against the Yankees…in his last outing he threw his splitter 41 times, 35 of which were strikes, had nine missed swings and recorded 15 outs…compared to his start against the Yankees where he threw his splitter 21 times, 10 of which were strikes, had one missed swing and recorded two outs.
AGE IS BUT A NUMBER: Only five Giants over the last 10 years have started a game at an older age than Cobb, who in his last start was 35 years, 182 days (Stats, LLC).
2023 SPRING TRAINING: Over four spring starts, Cobb went 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA (6er, 13.0ip), 18 strikeouts and a 0.92 WHIP…on March 11 against the Dodgers, he took a 102 mph line drive off his left knee…his tests came back negative and he was diagnosed with a left knee contusion…he was able to make his next start on March 16 at Seattle where he tossed 5.0-scoreless innings, but his knee continued to bother him and he did not make another spring start as he experienced some residual swelling down his leg…on Monday, March 27, he threw 4.0 innings (52 pitches) in Scottsdale in a backfield game and came out feeling good.
LAST SEASON: Finished the 2022 season and his first with the Giants going 7-8 with a 3.73 ERA over 28 starts…it was Cobb’s first season in the National League after 10 seasons in the American League with Tampa Bay (2011-2017), Baltimore (2018-2020) and Los Angeles-AL (2021)…his 49.2 innings were more than each of the last three seasons…he posted a career high in strikeouts (151) and his 3.73 ERA was his best over a full season since 2017 (3.66)…his 28 starts matched the second-most of his career (also 2018) and one shy of his career-best 29 from 2017.
