Arizona @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 31, 2010 ) Arizona 4, LA Dodgers 5
One of the great things about a baseball season is the emergence of players who were unknown on the major-league landscape as late as spring training.
The front office has plenty of confidence in such players, but for most when their names scroll across the bottom of the television screen, there is very little national recognition.
At least, until they start making an impact.
For example, let's consider Los Angeles Dodgers hurler John Ely, who takes the mound Tuesday at Dodgers Stadium against the reeling Arizona Diamondbacks. He was moved up a day after the organization decided not to activate knuckleballer Charlie Haeger from the disabled list.
The right-handed pitcher comes from a small college – Miami of Ohio – and was acquired along with Jon Link in December from the Chicago White Sox for Juan Pierre.
Ely went 14-2 last season in Double-A and made three starts in Triple-A in 2010 before getting the call to the majors at the end of April. It was only supposed to be a short stint with Jeff Weaver’s return from the disabled list scheduled to happen not long after his promotion.
Here is the thing: The 23-year-old is still around and getting better with time. OK, he was sent down for a breather, but Ely is making the most of his first season in the bigs.
Ely is 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA and faces the team which he earned his first major-league win against. Ely has pinpoint control, recording 32 strikeouts and six walks in 39 innings.
He will try and keep it rolling against a team in the Diamondbacks that is going to have to muster up all of its intestinal fortitude after the last two defeats.
Losers of eight straight, Arizona has been struggling most of the season, but the last two games – against the San Francisco Giants and Dodgers – were cruel.
The Diamondbacks lost leads of 4-2 and 5-3 before falling 6-5 in 10 innings against the Giants on Sunday. On Monday, a 4-2 lead evaporated when Kelly Johnson made two errors on one play with two outs in the eighth. Then they lost it in the ninth on a “balk-off.”
Those kinds of defeats can rip the heart out of a team and it happened to the Diamondbacks, who might be without third baseman Mark Reynolds (quad) on successive nights.
If there isn’t something positive early in the game – like ace Dan Haren (5-4, 5.35 ERA) pitching out of a jam – Arizona might be easy pickings with a couple of early runs by the Dodgers.