San Francisco @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2010 ) San Francisco 6, LA Dodgers 2
It’s a good thing Russell Martin doesn’t have durability issues because it appears he will be close to a one-man catching act again this season.
Martin has played in 449 games over the past three seasons, and it looks like he’ll again be needed to perform yeoman duty for the Los Angeles Dodgers after it was revealed that backup Brad Ausmus will miss about three months due to Thursday’s back surgery to repair a herniated disk.
Martin has played in eight of Los Angeles’ nine games entering the weekend series with the San Francisco Giants. A.J. Ellis, a 29-year-old with 13 major-league at-bats entering the season, is now Martin’s backup.
Martin was spelled a bit more last season when Ausmus was his backup. He played in 143 games last season after playing in 155 in 2008 and 151 in 2007.
The Dodgers were hoping to lighten Martin’s workload a little bit this season since the highly dependable Ausmus hit .295 last season. But now Ausmus, who turned 41 on Wednesday, is on the disabled list for the first time in his 17-year career.
Ausmus’ value to the Dodgers goes much deeper than his bat. The three-time Gold Glove winner is one of the smartest players in the game and his lengthy career means he has a wealth of information to provide when it comes to producing scouting reports on opposing players.
Similar to how New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was perceived near the end of his major league career, Ausmus is forecast to be a future major league manager.
There’s no telling how much the Dodgers can rely on Ellis. He did have two RBIs against Florida on Saturday, meaning he now has three times the number of career RBIs (three) as career hits (one).
So while manager Joe Torre will look for ways to give Martin some breathers, it’s clear the two-time All-Star will again be catching a lot of games. Martin was bothered by a groin pull during spring training and the Dodgers will be hoping that no ailments derail him as the season progresses.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers send Vicente Padilla (11.42 earned-run average) to the mound tonight against San Francisco. Padilla has been hit in his first two starts, giving up 11 runs and 14 runs in 8 2/3 innings.
The National League West-leading Giants will counter with Todd Wellemeyer, signed as a free agent over the winter. Wellemeyer lost his Giants debut against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings.
The Giants are hoping that they will see the 2008 version of Wellemeyer (13-9 record, 3.71 ERA) and not the 2009 version (7-10 5.89 ERA) whom opponents regularly feasted upon. Opposing batters hit .328 against Wellemeyer last season when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In other news, San Francisco traded outfielder Fred Lewis to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night for a player to be named later or for cash. Lewis had been on the disabled list with a rib injury.