Daily Clips

June 5, 2015

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPSFRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015

LA TIMES:The 20 greatest Dodgers of all time, No. 1: Sandy Koufax – Houston MitchellKenley Jansen explains absence; Dodgers lose to Cardinals, 7-1 – Zach HeflandJoc Pederson's home-run streak ends in 7-1 loss to Cardinals – Zach HeflandDodgers can't master Michael Wacha this time, fall 7-1 to Cardinals – Steve DilbeckProspect Zach Lee in L.A. to have tingling in fingers examined – Steve DilbeckKenley Jansen cleared to play after high blood pressure problem – Steve DilbeckAngels' streak of 3-million-ticket years could be in jeopardy – Bill Shaikin

DODGERS.COM:Offense can't get on track vs. Wacha in opener – Steve Bourbon and Jenifer Langosch'Physically beat up' Dodgers struggle vs. Cards – Ken GurnickPederson's homer streak ends at five games – Steve BourbonPuig gets two hits, hopes to return this weekend – George AlfanoMRI shows no damage to Kendrick's knee – Ken Gurnick and Steve BourbonAltitude triggers high blood pressure in Jansen – Ken Gurnick

OC REGISTER:Carlos Frias does his best, but gets no relief in Dodgers' 7-1 loss to Cardinals – Pedro MouraDodgers played it safe with Kenley Jansen's health, but it wasn't former heart issue – Pedro MouraOn deck: Cardinals at Dodgers, Friday, 7 p.m. – Pedro MouraThursday lineups: Cardinals at Dodgers, and Kenley Jansen's health – Pedro MouraCharter to start showing Dodgers games beginning Tuesday – Michael Lev

LA DAILY NEWS:Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen had high blood pressure in Colorado – Phil CollinDodgers games to start Tuesday for Charter Communications cable customers – Tim HoffarthWacha shuts down Dodgers, Cardinals win 7-1 – Phil CollinYasiel Puig makes a splash in Dodgers rehab game with Quakes – Tony Ciniglio

ESPN LA:Dodgers are looking tired and hobbled – Mark SaxonWacha, Cardinals beat Dodgers 7-1 – Associated PressRapid Reaction: Cardinals 7, Dodgers 1 – Mark SaxonDon Mattingly says Kenley Jansen's absence was health precaution – Mark SaxonArea Charter Communications customers to see Dodgers – Associated PressDon Mattingly, Bryan Price among those selected as All-Star coaches – Associated Press

TRUEBLUELA.COM:Kyle Farmer has three hits in Quakes win – Craig MinamiHowie Kendrick misses game with knee stiffness – Eric StephenDodgers fall to Cardinals in series opener, 7-1 – Eric StephenHector Olivera reaches base 3 times in pro debut for Double-A Tulsa – Eric Stephen and David HoodYasiel Puig doubles in first rehab game for Rancho Cucamonga – Eric StephenDodgers release David Aardsma – Eric StephenDon Mattingly honored, excited to join NL All-Star coaching staff – Eric StephenZach Lee experiencing tingling in fingers, in LA for examination – Eric StephenKenley Jansen cleared to pitch for Dodgers after high BP scare in Colorado – Eric StephenCarlos Frias goes for second straight win over Cardinals – Eric StephenGrant Holmes, J.D. Underwood, Michael Ahmed named Midwest League All-Stars – Eric StephenCharter to carry SportsNet LA beginning June 9 – Eric Stephen

DODGER INSIDER:Fully accessible Dodgers Dreamfield underway – Erin EdwardsHector Olivera has arrived – Cary OsborneKenley Jansen cleared to pitch tonight – Jon WeismanBefore Pederson, there was Pedro: 15 homers in June 1985 – Jon WeismanDodger minor league report No. 8: Urias’ road to recovery and Boom Boom Bellinger – Cary OsborneSportsNet LA joins Charter lineup Tuesday – Jon WeismanDon Mattingly confirmed for NL All-Star coaching staff – Jon WeismanGet your tickets for Dodgers All-Access – Erin Edwards

FORBES:Dodger Games (Finally) Coming To LA Area Charter Subscribers Beginning Tuesday – Maury Brown

NBC LA:Charter to Begin Carrying Dodgers' TV Channel Tuesday – Jonathan LloydWacha is Wonderful as Cardinals Crush Dodgers 7-1 – Michael Duarte

MYNEWSLA.COM:Dodgers host ‘Hollywood Stars Game’ before Saturday’s game – City News Service

FOX SPORTS:Dodgers claim umpires favor Cards at home; Matheny isn't buying it – Luke ThompsonSweet revenge: Wacha stifles sixth-inning rally en route to win in LA – Luke Thompson

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015

LA TIMES

The 20 greatest Dodgers of all time, No. 1: Sandy Koufax

By Houston Mitchell

We recently asked you to list your choices for the 10 greatest Dodgers of all time, and vote you did, as

we received an amazing 14,383 ballots. So many people voted that we decided to expand the list from

the top 10 to the top 20.

Remember, any Dodger — Brooklyn or Los Angeles — was eligible, including managers, owners,

announcers, etc. Points were assigned based on where you listed the person on your ballot. Your first

choice received 12 points, second choice nine, third place eight, all the way down to one point for 10th

place.

So without further ado, here is No. 1:

No. 1: Sandy Koufax (6,381 first-place votes, 135,389 points)

When you talk about the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time, you start with Koufax, add in Warren

Spahn, Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton and figure it out from there.

Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards (1963, '65 and '66), as well as the first

pitcher to win a Cy Young Award by a unanimous vote (1963, when he went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA). Many

people will tell you that the greatest pitcher in baseball history was Sandy Koufax on four days' rest.

Second greatest? Sandy Koufax on three days' rest.

Koufax pitched four no-hitters, one of those a perfect game, and led the Dodgers to two World Series

titles.

In 1999, Sporting News came out with a list of baseball's 100 greatest players. Koufax was No. 26. He

was also one of the 30 players named to the Major League Baseball All-Century team.

On the Dodgers' all-time list, Koufax is fifth in wins (165), first in hits per nine innings (6.79), third in

strikeouts (2,396), 11th in complete games (137), third in shutouts (40) and 10th in ERA (2.76).

Kenley Jansen explains absence; Dodgers lose to Cardinals, 7-1

By Zach Hefland

Twenty-four white Dodgers uniforms had been removed from hooks, buttoned up and worn out to the

field before Thursday's game, all except for one. The last dangled in front of its locker untouched,

prolonging a mystery that had begun the night before.

Where was Kenley Jansen?

The man, and the answers, appeared in the clubhouse at 4:20 p.m., after his teammates had already

gone to the field. He checked in with the training staff, met with the media and said the illness that had

sidelined him Wednesday was no longer an issue. He declared, "I'm ready to go tonight."

Ultimately, he wasn't needed. The Dodgers lost the series opener to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-1, their

sixth loss in nine games.

The day before, in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Jansen had been unavailable as four

pitchers combined to blow a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Afterward, the situation turned strange. A

team spokesman said only that Jansen "wasn't feeling well."

At his postgame news conference, Dodgers Manager Mattingly grew agitated. He reiterated four times

that Jansen "just wasn't available," or a variation thereof.

And Jansen was even more elusive. He stood at his locker and whispered with a team spokesman, who

then declared Jansen wasn't going to answer questions.

Then the speculation began. Was Jansen going to be traded? Was it related to his heart problems that

required surgery in 2012? Was he suspended?

By the next afternoon, Jansen and Mattingly were willing to talk. The absence, they said, was health

related, and Jansen has since been cleared.

Mattingly said he learned in the fifth inning Wednesday that Jansen would be unavailable.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly, who was without closer Kenley Jansen on Wednesday, questions a call

druing a 7-6 loss to the Rockies on Wednesday night in Denver. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

About that time, Jansen was receiving intravenous fluids, relating to what he described as a series of

symptoms that had him worried about his heart. He woke up fatigued, he said, and shortly before the

game, his blood pressure shot up and his head and stomach ached.

"In the beginning, you feel like all that memory, all the stuff that happened to you — 'Here we go

again,'" Jansen said.

He added: "The doctors just tell you that they don't want you to throw today. It gets you panicked a

little bit, but at the same time you feel like you want to go out, but at the same time you just think

about, 'Don't do it.'"

Jansen said the doctors were worried about an irregular heartbeat but later determined the symptoms

were altitude-related. Jansen experienced similar problems in Denver in 2012. That year, he had his

second stint on the disabled list because of heart problems, and in October of 2012, he underwent a

three-hour surgery to repair the problem.

Jansen said part of him felt as if he let the team down Wednesday, but, he said, the season is too early

to take a risk for one game.

"If the doctors tell you no, what can you do?" he said. "You can't fight them."

His refusal to talk the previous night, he said, was because he preferred to keep his health issue private

for the night. Mattingly said he wanted to honor Jansen's request.

"For me, there's all kinds of reasons why you wouldn't want to talk about something, alarm anybody at 1

o'clock in the morning," Mattingly said.

On Thursday, the only cause for alarm was the score. The Cardinals used a Justin Turner error to spark a

two-run rally in the third inning, and then added three more runs against Carlos Frias in the fifth to take

a 5-0 lead.

Jansen watched the rest of the game from the bullpen — this time without controversy.

Joc Pederson's home-run streak ends in 7-1 loss to Cardinals

By Zach Hefland

KEY MOMENT: When a grounder scooted under the glove of Justin Turner for an error in the third

inning, it seemed like a small mistake. There were two outs and no one on in a scoreless game. But the

Cardinals used three straight singles from Matt Holliday, Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds to take an

early 2-0 lead.

AT THE PLATE: The Dodgers threatened in consecutive innings but managed just one run against Michael

Wacha. In the fifth inning, Joc Pederson struck out with two runners on. And in the sixth, the Dodgers

loaded the bases but scored only one run, on a sacrifice fly from Alex Guerrero. Adrian Gonzalez, Justin

Turner and Enrique Hernandez all finished with two hits.

ON THE MOUND: Carlos Frias was stung by the two unearned runs in the third inning, and then ran into

trouble after walking the leadoff hitter in a three-run fifth inning. He finished with 10 hits allowed in 6

2/3 innings. Daniel Coulombe made his second appearance of the season in relief and pitched the final 2

1/3 innings. He worked out of a jam in the seventh inning but allowed two runs in the eighth inning.

STREAK BUSTED: Pederson had already begun a trot after blasting a ball to left-center field in the third

inning. He thought the ball was gone. Then it hit right off the "375" sign, and he had to run for a double.

That was as close as Pederson would get to a home run. Entering the game, he had homered in five

straight games, which tied the Dodgers record and the all-time record for all rookies. He was nearing the

record of eight, shared by Dale Long, Ken Griffey Jr. and Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly. "I hope he

breaks it and gets 10, 12 straight," Mattingly said before the game.

EXTRA BASES: Howie Kendrick was held out of the lineup after injuring his knee with a slide on

Wednesday. "We want to give him 24 hours and see if he's going to be able to bounce back," Mattingly

said. He indicated the injury could sideline him for longer. "We'll know more tomorrow with Howie, as

far as, he was stiff today, is he going to be a lot better?" … Right-hander Zach Lee, the Dodgers' first-

round pick in 2010, is experiencing tingling in his fingers and has been pulled from Triple-A to be

evaluated in Los Angeles. … Hector Olivera, the Cuban infielder signed to a six-year, $62.5-million deal

last month, made his professional debut with double-A Tulsa on Thursday. He played third base and

went one for four with two walks. … In his first rehab game since re-injuring a strained left hamstring,

Yasiel Puig was two for four with a double, a run and a strikeout at single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

UP NEXT: Left-hander Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42 earned-run average) will oppose St. Louis right-hander

Carlos Martinez (5-2, 3.13 ERA) at Dodger Stadium at 7 p.m. TV: SportsNet LA; Radio: 570, 1020.

Dodgers can't master Michael Wacha this time, fall 7-1 to Cardinals

By Steve Dilbeck

Once was nice, but beating Michael Wacha two starts in a row might just have been asking a lot of the

Dodgers.

It was Thursday night, the Dodgers going rather quietly to Wacha in a 7-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals

before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 45,058.

The Cardinals, who have eliminated the Dodgers in the last two postseasons, are now 3-1 this season

against L.A.

In Wacha’s last start in St. Louis, the Dodgers handed him his only loss of the season. This time out,

there never was much suspense.

Of course, the Dodgers did not get to their homes from Denver until around 4:30 a.m., so you can

excuse them a tad if they were less than bouncy.

They actually managed seven hits against Wacha (8-1) in his seven innings, just none that came at the

particularly right time. Otherwise, Wacha was pretty much in control all night. He did not walk a batter,

struck out five and lowered his ERA to 2.18.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals hardly had the same difficulty with Carlos Frias as they did when he beat

Wacha in St. Louis. In that game, Frias went seven strong innings, giving up just one run on five hits.

It was a different tale back at Dodger Stadium. Frias gave up five runs (three earned) on 10 hits and

three walks (one intentional) in his 6 2/3 innings. He never seemed particularly sharp in this outing.

Frias gave up two runs in the third inning, helped along by Justin Turner’s error, with an RBI single by

Jhonny Peralta and a bloop hit by Mark Reynolds.

The Dodgers were still down only 2-0 going into the fifth inning, when the Cardinals jumped on Frias for

three more runs. Then just for fun, they added two more in the eighth, Alex Guerrero again misplaying a

pair of drives to left.

The Dodgers’ only run came in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with one out on singles by

Adrian Gonzalez, Turner and Andre Ethier. Guerrero scored Gonzalez with a sacrifice fly before Jimmy

Rollins bounced out to end the rally.

Joc Pederson’s consecutive games with a home run ended at five. He thought he had another in the

third inning, standing at the plate a moment to admire his blast that ended up bouncing off the left-field

wall.

Prospect Zach Lee in L.A. to have tingling in fingers examined

By Steve Dilbeck

Zach Lee, the standout triple-A pitcher who has not had an opportunity to make a spot start for the

Dodgers this season, has suffered a setback.

Lee was in Los Angeles on Thursday to have tingling in his fingers examined after having his last

scheduled start for Oklahoma City canceled on Wednesday.

“He’s having some tingling in his fingers, and he’s here to get checked out,” said Manager Don

Mattingly.

Lee, the team’s No.1 draft pick in 2011, is 5-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 1.09 WHIP for the triple-A Dodgers.

The Dodgers have used five different triple-A pitchers to spot start this season.

The Dodgers also played Thursday without second baseman Howie Kendrick. Mattingly said Kendrick’s

right knee stiffened up after he slid into third base Wednesday in Denver.

“When he slid, he kind of stuck, and as the game went on it kind of stiffened up,” Mattingly said. “So I

think from there we want to give him 24 hours and see if he’s going to be able to bounce back.”

Kenley Jansen cleared to play after high blood pressure problem

By Steve Dilbeck

Considering how badly the Dodgers handled the Kenley Jansen situation Thursday night, they pretty

much had nothing but good news on Friday.

Jansen was bothered by minor symptoms Thursday -– head and stomach aches -- but when his blood

pressure rose, it was decided to shut him down for the night. Friday he was back with the team and

cleared by doctors to pitch.

So the silence from the Dodgers and Jansen over his not being available to close in Denver on Thursday

that opened themselves to all kinds of speculation -- heart, trade, suspension? -- apparently caused a lot

of unnecessary unease.

Jansen had surgery for an irregular heartbeat after the 2012 season so when his blood pressure rose,

Manager Don Mattingly said no one wanted to take any chances. The heart had acted up in 2012 after

also pitching in Denver.

“Even though I had the heart surgery, there’s still a chance of A-fib, particularly at high evaluation,”

Jansen said. “In the beginning, you feel like all that memory, all the stuff that happened to you, 'here we

go again.' You definitely, you see how the night’s going, you feel like you let all your teammates down,

all that stuff.”

Mattingly said he knew by the fifth inning of Thursday’s long game in Denver that Jansen would not be

available. The right-hander was inside receiving an IV. Without Jansen to close, the Dodgers’ bullpen

blew a 6-4 lead in the ninth inning.

Jansen said his high blood pressure was largely a result of the high altitude in Denver.

“It’s tough for me,” he said. “Elevation causes it. Traveling a lot, your body probably gets fatigued and

dehydrated. I just tried to stay calm in that situation.”

After the game Mattingly appeared angry when asked about Jansen’s lack of availability after the loss,

saying Jansen was unavailable and he wasn’t going to be the one to discuss it. Jansen also refused to talk

to the media after the game, fueling all kinds of speculation.

“It’s tough. You feel like you let the teammates down and it wasn’t a particularly good time to talk about

my medical history,” Jansen said.

Mattingly said Jansen was checked over by his doctor Friday, cleared all tests and is immediately

available to pitch.

“Given his history, we just weren’t going to take any chances,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly said after Thursday’s loss he was more angry about losing the game than continued questions

about Jansen.

“I think you’re angry just because we lost a tough game,” he said. “Nothing to be angry at Kenley

about.”

Angels' streak of 3-million-ticket years could be in jeopardy

By Bill Shaikin

As the first pitch was thrown at Angel Stadium on Wednesday night, the surrounding sight was all too

familiar — gaping blocks of vacant seats in the upper deck and near the foul poles.

The patches of sparsely populated sections during weeknight games illustrate that Angels owner Arte

Moreno's treasured attendance streak is in serious jeopardy. For the first time since 2002 — the year

before Moreno bought the team — the Angels could fail to sell 3 million tickets.

"It could trend below that," said Robert Alvarado, the Angels' vice president of marketing and ticket

sales.

The Angels' home attendance has dropped 4,556 per game from what it was through 29 games last year

— the third-largest decline in the major leagues, according to Baseball-Reference.com, through

Wednesday. They are on pace to sell 2.74 million tickets, down almost 20% from the record 3.41 million

in 2006.

The slide in season-ticket sales has been steeper. The Angels have sold about 17,000 season tickets this

season, Alvarado said — about the same as last year but down close to 30% from 2012 and almost 50%

from the record 31,000 in 2006.

The plummeting attendance appears peculiar, given conventional wisdom that star players and winning

teams sell tickets. The Angels boast the consensus best player in baseball, Mike Trout, and they are

coming off a season in which they had the best record in the American League.

Yet the trend does not surprise Alvarado. He said the strength of the resale market — StubHub,

Ticketmaster's Ticket Exchange, and similar services — means that fans do not have to buy or share

season tickets to get a good seat. And, since the recession hit in 2008, fans have become increasingly

interested in mini-plans rather than in buying a seat for all 81 games.

"It's not that they have quit on the Angels," Alvarado said. "They may have just stepped down from

season seats."

The Angels have focused on selling good seats at strong prices rather than using deep discounts to try to

sell every seat in the house, Alvarado said, adding that fans buying a $5 ticket are less likely to spend

much on food, drinks or merchandise.

He said the Angels are about even with last year in revenue from tickets and concessions. Group sales

are up, and so are luxury suite rentals. Donated tickets — charities and civic groups buy blocks and give

them to schools, military personnel and the like — are down.

The Dodgers are on pace to lead the major leagues in attendance for the third consecutive year and

could approach the club record of 3.86 million tickets sold, set in 2007. Alvarado said the Angels have

not heard from fans canceling Angels seats to buy Dodgers seats.

The Dodgers have capped season-ticket sales at 35,000. Alvarado said the Dodgers build that base in

part by selling blocks of seats to brokers and resale outlets.

"They've got a significantly larger wholesale business than we do," Alvarado said. "We choose not to go

that model."

Such practices are common in sports, driving attendance in the hope that fans with discount tickets

might spend on parking, food and souvenirs and might pay more for a ticket in the future. The Dodgers

declined to discuss their models for ticket sales.

"We are very lucky to have such a strong and loyal fan base and they continue to come to Dodger

Stadium in record numbers," said David Siegel, the Dodgers' vice president of ticket sales.

Jered Weaver, who has pitched in Anaheim since 2006, was not about to wonder aloud where the fans

have gone.

"We've had some loyal fans through the years," Weaver said. "We've been getting 3 million for a long

time now.

"When you win, they're going to show up. When you're not winning, they're not going to show up."

But ticket sales did not go up after a season in which the Angels won 98 games.

"It was sporadic," Weaver said. "It wasn't like we were hot for six months. I've got nothing but great

things to say about our fans. They come out and show their support as often as they can."

The Angels are the fourth major league team for closer Huston Street, after stints with the Oakland

Athletics, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres. Though the Angels' attendance decline is significant,

the team still averages 33,861 per home game, which ranks sixth in the major leagues.

"This feels like a packed house every night," Street said. "I've been in other places where it is decidedly

not that way. We'd have Wednesday day games where you were counting the fans.

"You play in front of 30,000-plus people every night, it feels pretty cool. You appreciate it."

The Angels' attendance might yet rise, as school lets out for summer. The New York Yankees come to

Anaheim in June, the Boston Red Sox in July and the Dodgers in September. If the Angels compete in a

tight pennant race, Alvarado said, they might challenge the 3-million mark.

The Angels won the World Series in 2002. They hit 3 million for the first time the next year, and in every

year since then.

"I don't know if we'll ever see our season-seat sales where they were eight or nine years ago," Alvarado

said. "It may take another world championship or two to create that frenzy again."

DODGERS.COM

Offense can't get on track vs. Wacha in opener

By Steve Bourbon and Jenifer Langosch

LOS ANGELES -- Jhonny Peralta reached base four times and Michael Wacha pitched seven innings as the

Cardinals beat the Dodgers, 7-1, on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

Wacha scattered seven hits and allowed just one run on seven hits for his eighth win of the season. He is

now tied with Bartolo Colon, Gerrit Cole and Felix Hernandez for the Major League lead in wins.

Dodgers starter Carlos Frias lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and five runs (three earned) while

throwing 106 pitches.

"With where we were at tonight, we really couldn't have asked for much more," Dodgers manager Don

Mattingly said. "I know it wasn't a win and he could've been throwing zeros, but we love the effort he

gave tonight."

The Cardinals Nos. 1-4 hitters reached base in 14 of 20 plate appearances and had four RBIs. The

Dodgers have have been held to one run or less in three of four games against the Cardinals this year,

and St. Louis leads the season series, 3-1.

"That's a good team and this is going to be a tough series. We know that," Cardinals manager Mike

Matheny said. "You take what you can, and right now, we're doing a couple things right. It's nice to see

some offense after having a couple down games back home. But we know this is going to be a long,

tough series with these guys. It always is."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Two-out tallies: The Cardinals scored four of their first five runs with two outs, including both runs

scored in a third inning that was extended by third baseman Justin Turner's error. St. Louis followed the

fielding miscue with three straight singles to take an early lead. Jason Heyward added a two-out, two-

run single off Frias to cap the team's three-run fifth.

"I just think it helps seeing a guy in back-to-back starts," Heyward said. "He's got really good stuff, I feel

like. We just took what he gave us, didn't try to do too much."

Tired bullpen: Coming off a doubleheader Tuesday and a loss on Wednesday in which the Dodgers used

five relievers, Los Angeles needed Frias to go deep into the game. So with runners on the corners and

just one out in the fifth, the Dodgers left Frias in the game to hit. He bunted, moving Kiké Hernandez to

second base, but the ensuing hitter, Joc Pederson, struck out looking to end the inning.

Escape artist: Though Wacha became the third National League pitcher to eight wins with his eighth

quality start of the season, it wasn't all smooth over his seven innings. He stranded a runner in scoring

position in the third, two more in the fifth and wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the sixth

while allowing just one run on an Alex Guerrero sacrifice fly.

"That's when you have to make your pitches, because you obviously don't want to give up those runs,"

Wacha said. "Maybe you bear down a little bit more, but I think the focus definitely increases when guys

are in scoring position, for sure."

Just missed: Pederson entered the game with a home run in five straight games, and in his first two at-

bats, it looked as though the rookie might extend the streak. Heyward made a leaping catch on the

warning track in the first inning and Pederson launched a shot that clanged off the wall in left-center for

a double in the third for his lone hit of the night.

QUOTABLE

"Carlos kept us in the game and Danny [Coulombe] was huge for us as far as not having to use anyone

else. On a night that you don't win, those two guys are the heroes of the night as far as hopefully getting

us back after that Colorado series." -- Mattingly, on resting his bullpen after four games in three days

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Wacha improved to 6-0 on the road with the win, making him the first Cardinals pitcher to win his first

six road decisions in a season since Chris Carpenter (12-0) and Matt Morris (6-0) in 2005.

REPLAY REVIEW

In the top of the first, the Cardinals challenged the ruling on the field for an inning-ending double play.

Matt Holliday chopped a grounder to second base and was ruled out at first base on the field. After a

short review, the call was overturned and Holliday was ruled safe. Frias struck out Mark Reynolds two

hitters later to end the inning without damage.

WHAT'S NEXT

Cardinals: Carlos Martinez will make his second consecutive start against the Dodgers as the Cardinals

continue their four-game series at Dodger Stadium with a 9:10 pm CT game on Friday. Martinez pitched

seven shutout innings against the Dodgers last weekend and will enter Friday's start riding a scoreless

innings streak of 20 1/3.

Dodgers: Brett Anderson takes the mound on Friday at 7:10 p.m. PT looking for his first win since May 8.

Anderson was solid against the Cardinals last Sunday, allowing two runs in six innings, but he took the

loss. However, Anderson is undefeated at home with a 2.89 ERA in five starts at Dodger Stadium.

'Physically beat up' Dodgers struggle vs. Cards

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- More games like this one and Kenley Jansen won't be the only Dodger with high blood

pressure.

The Dodgers opened their seven-game homestand Thursday night with a Coors Field hangover, looking

like those four games in three days left the entire club, and not just the closer, under the weather.

They lost to the Cardinals, 7-1, and there's nothing new about that, having lost two of three in St. Louis

last weekend and, well, you know about October.

Michael Wacha and the Cardinals didn't let Carlos Frias beat them again, and the only reason Frias made

it into the seventh inning was that manager Don Mattingly shifted the sacrificial burden to him and away

from a bullpen that, in his words, "ran out of steam" after Tuesday's ill-fated "bullpen game."

This game wasn't so much about winning as it was surviving, which often is the case when visits to Coors

Field turn into nightmares.

"Carlos kept us in the game and Danny [Coulombe, 2 1/3 innings] was huge for us as far as not having to

use anyone else," said Mattingly, who was set on resting Adam Liberatore, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher

and Josh Ravin, as well as Jansen in anything but a save situation.

"On a night that you don't win, those two guys are the heroes of the night as far as hopefully getting us

back after that Colorado series."

For example, down 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out and runners on the corners,

Mattingly didn't pinch-hit for Frias and had him sacrificing. If he had a full deck, Mattingly said he would

have pinch-hit.

"But you manage the game that you have and the team that you have tonight," he said.

Coulombe will probably be "rewarded" for his effort with a Minor League demotion, as he won't be

useable for a few days and Mattingly said a discussion will take place about bringing in a fresher arm.

It wasn't just the bullpen that could cause the manager anxiety. The offense looked like it was missing

the spacious dimensions and thin air of Denver, not to mention the Rockies' accommodating pitching

staff.

The only run the Dodgers scored off Wacha came on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Alex Guerrero,

whose outcome with the bases loaded in Coors Field Tuesday night scored three more runs than that.

While Yasiel Puig finally is on the verge of a return and Hector Olivera has begun the final steps toward

his Major League debut, now the Dodgers are worried about the sprained right knee of second baseman

Howie Kendrick, who played most of Wednesday night's game with it but couldn't answer the bell

Thursday.

"Obviously you need your guys," said Mattingly, "but we were physically beat up today with the number

of guys available. So that's where we were at today, so I expect we'll be a little bit of a different club

tomorrow."

Pederson's homer streak ends at five games

By Steve Bourbon

LOS ANGELES -- Joc Pederson took a hefty swing and launched a screaming liner to left-center field. The

rookie held his bat for a few steps and took a second to admire it out of the batter's box before trotting

to first base in the Dodgers' 7-1 loss to the Cardinals.

Only the ball wasn't a home run -- an anomaly these days for Pederson -- it caromed off the wall and

Pederson cruised into second for a double.

Entering Thursday, Pederson tied a club record with a home run in five consecutive games during the

span of four days and was about five feet from breaking the record. Pederson finished Thursday's

contest 1-for-4 and the streak ended at five.

"I hit it pretty good, but that's not why you play the game," Pederson said. "You play to win and we

didn't win tonight. We have to play better tomorrow and get the 'W.'"

Pederson tied Shawn Green, Matt Kemp and Roy Campanella for the club record, and he's the first

rookie in franchise history to reach that mark.

Pederson flirted with history twice in the game. In his very first at-bat, Pederson turned on the 2-2

offering from Michael Wacha and sent a deep fly ball to right-center field, only to have Cardinals right

fielder Jason Heyward make a running catch at the warning track.

With injuries decimating the Dodgers' outfield, Pederson has stepped up to be one of the premier

hitters on the team.

As the rookie goes, so do the Dodgers. Pederson is hitting .288 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in wins as

compared to .233 with seven home runs and only eight RBIs in losses.

Pederson is tied for third in the Major Leagues with 17 home runs on the season, just one behind co-

leaders Nelson Cruz and Bryce Harper, and only trails Harper in home runs per at-bat this season.

Joc Pederson becomes the first Dodgers rookie in the modern era to smash a total of five home runs in

five consecutive games

Pederson also ranks third in the National League in walks (35).

It hasn't been all good for the 23-year-old, however, as he ranks third in the NL with 66 strikeouts. He's

dealt with ups and downs at the plate as pitchers have adjusted. Pederson hit .298 in April, only to see

his average swoon as he hit .236 in May.

In June, however, Pederson seems to have adjusted back. He's hitting .333 with four home runs in five

games this month.

"That's part of baseball. It's kind of a cat and mouse game," Pederson said. "You just have to keep

grinding and stick to your game plan."

Puig gets two hits, hopes to return this weekend

By George Alfano

LANCASTER, Calif. -- Yasiel Puig went 2-for-4 in his rehab appearance for the Class A Advanced Rancho

Cucamonga Quakes on Thursday night, his first since an aborted appearance on May 8, and hopes to be

back with the Dodgers this weekend.

Puig, who had a strained left hamstring and then reinjured it during his May rehab stint which lasted

only two games, has not played in a Major League game since April 24.

"I feel good," said Puig, who also scored a run in the Quakes' 8-5 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks. "I

want to be back by Saturday, but it's not my decision. We'll have to talk with the doctors."

Puig laced a double to center field in the first and hit an opposite-field single in the sixth. He grounded

out to third in the second and struck out against left-hander Evan Grills in the fourth.

As planned, Puig played seven innings. That included going out to right field in the bottom of the

seventh.

Puig appeared to move without trouble, and his only real in-game test came when he grounded out to

third. On that play, he got out of the batter's box slowly but then ran reasonably hard to first.

"I thought he looked great, and the hamstring looks good," Rancho Cucamonga manager Bill Haselman

said. "He ran great. With a pulled muscle, the body eventually heals itself."

"I'm not 100 percent now, but it felt comfortable," said Puig, who is in his third season with the Dodgers

and has a career batting average of .304. "I did my job, did my rehab in Arizona and I'll come back here

[to Lancaster] tomorrow night."

MRI shows no damage to Kendrick's knee

By Ken Gurnick and Steve Bourbon

LOS ANGELES -- An MRI ruled out structural damage to the right knee of Dodgers second baseman

Howie Kendrick, who said he will better determine the extent of the injury if it loosens up by Friday.

"If I don't feel good tomorrow, I don't know what will happen," said Kendrick, who injured the knee

sliding into third base Wednesday night at Coors Field and was held out of Thursday night's 7-1 loss to

the Cardinals.

Kendrick said nothing was torn, but the knee was stiff and sore by the end of the game Wednesday night

and had not improved on Thursday.

"He kind of got caught in the wet [ground], and as the game went on, he kind of stiffened up," manager

Don Mattingly said. "From there, we wanted to give him 24 hours to see if he's able to bounce back."

In his absence, utility man Kiké Hernandez played second base and the Dodgers shuffled their batting

order. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez slid up from his usual spot at cleanup to the void left by Kendrick

at the No. 3 spot. Third baseman Justin Turner moved to fourth in the lineup.

Kendrick is hitting .285 this season, with five home runs and 23 RBIs. Kendrick has appeared in 52 of the

team's 53 games this season, making 50 starts at second base.

Altitude triggers high blood pressure in Jansen

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen received medical clearance to play Thursday after being

unavailable to pitch Wednesday night in Denver because of high blood pressure believed to be triggered

by altitude, he said.

Jansen, who pitched Tuesday night, said he woke up Wednesday feeling fatigued, received an IV at the

ballpark in the belief that he was dehydrated, but headaches and stomach discomfort continued and he

was told by doctors not to play because of the high blood pressure, information that manager Don

Mattingly said he received around the fifth inning.

"If the doctors tell you, "No, don't play,' What can you do?" Jansen said. "It's tough for me to play there.

If I go out there feeling like that, I might have an episode. I don't think Donnie was frustrated with me. It

was a tough loss."

Without Jansen, Mattingly's bullpen blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and lost to

the Rockies at Coors Field, 7-6.

After the game, Mattingly wouldn't discuss why Jansen was unavailable. On Thursday, he said he was

respecting the player's wishes for confidentiality. Jansen confirmed he didn't want his condition

discussed until tests could be done, which he said was part of the reason that he refused to speak with

reporters after the loss.

"It was a tough night and I was feeling guilty seeing how the game went down, and it just wasn't time to

talk about it," he said. "I was being kind of private."

Jansen attributed that to his 2012 ablasion surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat, having suffered an

episode that year in Denver. Jansen often has said he feels sluggish in Denver. He said the club will take

preventative measures, including daily IVs, to avoid more problems when the Dodgers return to

Colorado in September.

Although the 2012 surgery was deemed a success and Jansen is not known to have had additional

irregular heartbeat episodes like the one in Denver that year, he said he lives with the underlying

condition and high elevation can trigger high blood pressure and the serious health issues that come

with it.

"Because of my history there [in Denver], I was beginning to think, here we go again," he said. "Then in

the ninth inning, I felt I let all my teammates down. That's why I didn't want to talk about it."

Mattingly said he wasn't mad at Jansen, but he did sound annoyed with reporters.

"I was angry from the standpoint that we just lost a tough game," Mattingly said. "There was nothing to

be mad at Kenley about. I am taken aback by you [media] guys thinking you're entitled to every bit of

information, whether it's related to family or different things. There's situations if you can't give up that

information, you can't do it. It's his situation that we're talking about. So you're always going to respect

that situation first."

OC REGISTER

Carlos Frias does his best, but gets no relief in Dodgers' 7-1 loss to Cardinals

By Pedro Moura

LOS ANGELES – Carlos Frias wasn’t leaving that mound, no matter how many line drives the St. Louis

Cardinals laced off of him Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

With several members of his bullpen unavailable after four games in three days in Colorado, Dodgers

manager Don Mattingly had to leave Frias in the game past his typical expiration date. In exceeding his

career high for pitches thrown by 10, Frias served up 10 hits and allowed five runs as the Cardinals

comfortably topped the Dodgers, 7-1.

“I thought he showed a lot of heart,” Mattingly said of the rookie right-hander. “For where we were at

tonight, we really couldn’t have asked for anything more. He did a great job of staying in the game. We

loved the effort.”

Mattingly thought Frias was “really pretty good,” all things considered. The shape of the team’s bullpen,

he admitted afterward, was the opposite – “not very good.”

The Dodgers were not very good on offense against Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha, the man

who no-hit them for five innings last weekend in St. Louis. Like last time, they scored their first run

against him in the sixth inning.

But, last time, they scored four off of him in that frame. This time, it was just one run, via an Alex

Guerrero sacrifice fly.

They had seven hits against Wacha and nine hits in all, including more extra-base hits than the Cardinals.

They left eight men on base and were held to one single in six at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Rookie sensation Joc Pederson’s streak of five straight games with a home run ended, but just barely.

With two outs in the third inning, Pederson powered a Wacha fastball to the opposite field, and it

bounced off the left-field wall, about a foot from exiting the field of play.

The Dodgers stranded him at second.

Frias followed an awful, 10-run outing against San Diego with a sterling performance against St. Louis

over the weekend, in which he out-pitched Wacha with seven innings of one-run ball. Thursday’s start

was closer to the former than the latter. He struck out as many Cardinals as he walked – three.

“They took advantage of my mistakes,” he said. “It’s good to learn, so next time you don’t get too

comfortable on the mound.”

The Dodgers did not help him on defense, and two of the five runs he was charged with were unearned.

Justin Turner made an error at third base, and Alex Guerrero misplayed multiple balls in left field.

Frias went 62/3 innings, allowing Mattingly to use only one reliever, rookie left-hander Danny

Coulombe, who also set a career-high for pitches thrown (42).

Coulombe may be ticketed for the minors Friday, with a roster move to add additional relief help likely.

Closer Kenley Jansen, cleared before the game to pitch after a health scare Wednesday, did not warm

up in the bullpen. He has pitched just once in the last week.

“If he absolutely he had to, he could’ve thrown,” Mattingly said.

This season, the Dodgers (31-23) have won three of 13 games against the two above-.500 clubs they

have faced – the Cardinals and Giants. Against the seven other subpar teams they’ve faced, they’re 28-

13.

Dodgers played it safe with Kenley Jansen's health, but it wasn't former heart issue

By Pedro Moura

LOS ANGELES – Kenley Jansen awoke Wednesday feeling sick to his stomach. His head pounded. He felt

dehydrated.

As the Dodgers’ rain-delayed game against the Colorado Rockies finally began at Coors Field, after 7 p.m.

PT, Jansen decided to tell the team’s medical staff he wasn’t feeling “quite all right,” as he put it.

They evaluated him extensively, giving him an IV and an electrocardiogram. His blood pressure was high,

and he has a history of heart issues, so the doctor recommended he not play. Manager Don Mattingly

found out in the fifth inning his closer was unavailable, and, as it turned out, he really could have used

him – two Dodger relievers turned a two-run ninth-inning lead into a loss.

“I don’t think anybody’s willing, at this point, to take any chances with his health over trying to win a

game,” Mattingly said Thursday afternoon.

Late Wednesday night, immediately after the Dodgers lost, the manager was far more curt. Mattingly

said only that Jansen was “unavailable,” and that whatever had led to his unavailability had come up

“during the game.”

Thursday, he said he was respecting Jansen’s wishes in not delving into the details, which the pitcher

confirmed. The ordeal stressed him out too much to talk.

“It was a frustrating moment for me last night,” the 27-year-old right-hander said. “You feel the guilt.

You feel like you let all your teammates down.”

Jansen missed time in 2011 and 2012 with atrial fibrillation, and, in October 2012, he underwent a

catheter ablation procedure to normalize his heartbeats. He said he hasn’t had any heart problems

since.

He visited his cardiologist Thursday and was fully cleared to pitch, conveniently on the same night a

bobblehead depicting him was given out to fans at Dodger Stadium.

The next time the Dodgers visit high-elevation Coors Field in September, Jansen said he plans to receive

daily IVs and take further precautions to prevent disturbances.

REHAB ASSIGNMENTS

Right fielder Yasiel Puig went 2 for 4 with a double and played seven innings in the field for High-A

Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night in his first game in four weeks. He has been sidelined with a

strained left hamstring that flared up in a previous appearance for the Quakes.

Puig figures to return to the Dodgers at some point next week.

At Double-A Tulsa, $62.5-million signee Hector Olivera made his professional debut, starting at third

base and playing the first 12 innings in a marathon game. He went 1 for 4 with a single and two walks,

one of which came at the conclusion of a 10-pitch at-bat.

Right-hander Brandon Beachy (Tommy John surgery) does not expect his own rehab assignment to

begin for another week or so, he said. He threw the equivalent of two innings to minor-league hitters

Monday, while the Dodgers were on the road.

He said he’ll throw a bullpen session over the next few days and then wait for word on where he’ll pitch

in the minors. When he begins the assignment, he’ll have a maximum of 30 days to complete it before

the Dodgers activate him.

“We’re slowing things down before the big push,” Beachy said.

AROUND THE BASES

Dodgers second baseman Howie Kendrick sat out Thursday’s game due to a sore knee sustained sliding

into the damp ground near third base during the seventh inning of Wednesday’s game in Denver.

Mattingly said it stiffened as the game continued. “Emotionally, we’re good,” Mattingly said of the team

in general after a rough 3-4 road trip. ”Physically, we’re a little beat up.” ...

Dodgers pitching prospect Zach Lee, the team’s first-round selection in 2010, is in Los Angeles to be

medically examined. Mattingly said Lee reported feeling tingling in his fingers while pitching for Triple-A

Oklahoma City but did not provide any further information. Lee has impressed so far this season, with a

2.38 ERA in 10 starts. ...

Veteran right-hander David Aardsma opted out of his minor-league contract with the Dodgers when

they did not add him to their major-league roster within 72 hours of the June 1 opt-out date he had in

his contract. Aardsma, 33, posted a 2.41 ERA in 18 2/3 innings as the Triple-A team’s closer. He has not

pitched in the major leagues since 2013.

On deck: Cardinals at Dodgers, Friday, 7 p.m.

By Pedro Moura

Where: Dodger Stadium

TV: SportsNet LA

Did you know: Joc Pederson’s 17 home runs entering play Thursday give him the most ever by a Dodger

in the first 71 games of a career.

THE PITCHERS

LHP BRETT ANDERSON (2-3, 3.42 ERA)

Anderson had a great May, with a 2.27 ERA in six starts, but the Dodgers went just 3-3 in those starts. He

still has not really established himself deep in games. His seven-inning start two outings ago was his

longest of the year. Anderson has thrown at least 100 pitches in three straight outings, while struggling

with his control a bit more than before, but still not very much at all.

Vs. Cardinals: 0-1, 3.00 ERA

At Dodger Stadium: 1-0, 2.89 ERA

Loves to face: Yadier Molina, 0 for 3

Hates to face: Jhonny Peralta, 2 for 11 (.182), 2 HR, 5 RBI

RHP CARLOS MARTINEZ (5-2, 3.13)

Martinez is a hard-throwing 23-year-old who has had a lot of potential for a while, and he’s starting to

realize it this season. In his last three starts, including a dominant outing against the Dodgers, he has 21

strikeouts, seven walks and no runs allowed – on 10 hits, all singles. He’s beginning to look like a

someone who can be a dominant pitcher for a long time.

Vs. Dodgers: 1-1, 3.43 ERA

At Dodger Stadium: 0-0, 1.69 (51/3 innings)

Loves to face: Alex Guerrero, 0 for 3, 3 SO

Hates to face: A.J. Ellis, 2 for 6 (.333), 1 HR, 3 RBI 2 BB

Thursday lineups: Cardinals at Dodgers, and Kenley Jansen's health

By Pedro Moura

LOS ANGELES -- Kenley Jansen woke up yesterday feeling sick. Dehydrated, he said. A headache. And, as

the Dodgers' game against the Colorado Rockies was beginning at Coors Field, he told the team's

medical staff he wasn't right.

They evaluated him, found he had high blood pressure, and made the decision to hold him out of

pitching. Manager Don Mattingly found it in the fifth inning his closer was unavailable, and, as it turned

out, he could've really used him -- the Dodgers turned a two-run ninth-inning lead into a loss.

After the game, awkwardness ensued. Mattingly would say only that Jansen was "unavailable," and that

whatever issue causing that unavailability had come up "during the game."

Mattingly said today that he was respecting Jansen's wishes in not delving into the details, which the

pitcher confirmed.

"It was a frustrating moment for me last night," the 27-year-old right-hander said. "you feel the guilt.

You feel like you let all your teammates down."

Jansen has had heart problems before, missing time in 2011 and 2012 with atrial fibrillation. In October

2012, he underwent a catheter ablation procedure to normalize his heartbeats. He has not had

publicized problems since.

He visited his cardiologist this afternoon and was fully cleared to pitch tonight, on the same night a

bobblehead depicting him will be given out to fans at Dodger Stadium.

Here are the full lineups for tonight's 7:10 p.m. series opener against the Cardinals, which will begin a

seven-game homestand for the Dodgers following an unsuccessful 3-4 road trip. The pitching matchup is

a rematch of the lone contest the Dodgers won in St. Louis -- Carlos Frias against Michael Wacha. Second

baseman Howie Kendrick rests with a sore knee.

“Emotionally, we’re good," Mattingly said of his team. "Physically, we’re a little beat up.”

CARDINALS

Kolten Wong 2B

Matt Carpenter 3B

Matt Holliday LF

Jhonny Peralta SS

Mark Reynolds 1B

Jason Heyward RF

Yadier Molina C

Jon Jay CF

Michael Wacha P

DODGERS

Joc Pederson CF

Yasmani Grandal C

Adrian Gonzalez 1B

Justin Turner 3B

Andre Ethier RF

Alex Guerrero LF

Jimmy Rollins SS

Kiké Hernandez 2B

Carlos Frias P

Charter to start showing Dodgers games beginning Tuesday

By Michael Lev

Charter Communications followed through on its promise.

Less than two weeks after merging with Time Warner Cable and saying it would carry SportsNet LA – the

near-exclusive home of the Dodgers that only about 30 percent of the Los Angeles/Orange County

market has seen since its launch – the cable company announced a start date.

Beginning Tuesday, SNLA will be available to Charter customers on the carrier’s most widely subscribed-

to tier of service, Charter Spectrum TV Select. The Dodgers play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks at 7

p.m. that day.

Charter is the first major distributor to carry SNLA other than Time Warner Cable, which operates the

Dodgers-owned channel. SNLA launched in February 2014, but other carriers have resisted adding it,

mainly because of a reported monthly fee of about $5 per subscriber. Charter is offering the channel at

no additional cost to its subscribers, according to a source close to the situation.

TWC is the largest cable carrier in the Los Angeles/Orange County market with about 1.27 million

subscribers, a market share of about 28.6 percent. Charter has about 250,000 subscribers (5.6 percent).

“We’re thrilled that Dodger fans will now be able to watch SportsNet LA’s 24/7 Dodger programming on

Charter’s systems,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. “SportsNet LA

continues to deliver unparalleled coverage of the Dodgers, and we hope other providers come on board

soon so all fans can enjoy the network’s first-rate programming.”

How soon that happens remains to be seen. DirecTV, the second-biggest provider in L.A. (1.082 million

subscribers, 24.2 percent), did not change its stance when Charter announced its merger with TWC and

its intention to carry SNLA. It’s believed that others will follow once DirecTV breaks the logjam. But that

might not happen until the 2016 season.

The merger between Charter and TWC still requires FCC approval. However, company officials have said

Charter will continue to carry SNLA regardless of whether the merger is approved.

SNLA will air on channel 44 in standard definition and channel 789 in HD in the Los Angeles market.

Cities where Charter is available include Long Beach, San Bernardino, Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale and

Calabasas. SNLA also will be available to Charter customers in San Luis Obispo and Porterville.

LA DAILY NEWS

Dodgers’ Kenley Jansen had high blood pressure in Colorado

By Phil Collin

The great mystery surrounding Kenley Jansen and the Rocky Mountain fever has been solved and the

closer was back and ready to perform again for the Dodgers Thursday.

Jansen, who underwent a procedure in 2012 to correct an atrial fibrillation condition, was not available

during the Dodgers’ loss to Colorado in Denver on Wednesday. He reported a headache, an upset

stomach and tests revealed his blood pressure had elevated. He underwent an electrocardiogram and

had fluids replaced with an IV.

When the Dodgers returned home in time to open a four-game series with St. Louis on Thursday, Jansen

was cleared by doctors.

Jansen said when the symptoms first hit him, he was concerned because of his history.

“I knew something wasn’t quite right,” Jansen said. “Even if you did the ablation surgery, if your blood

pressure is high it can cause a-fib . . . especially with the high elevation; it’s not smart. I wanted to go out

there. That’s why I was frustrated yesterday.”

What caused the biggest stir was that Jansen did not meet with the media after the game and Manager

Don Mattingly was short with reporters when addressing the situation.

“I didn’t feel like talking about myself at the time,” Jansen said. “When they started the IV, I had all

these memories of all the stuff that happened like ‘Here we go again.’ ”

Mattingly said he merely didn’t want to intrude on Jansen’s personal issues.

“I wasn’t angry,” Mattingly said. “I didn’t know about it until the fifth inning. That didn’t bother me as

far as that situation. It works a lot of times like that, a guy might have something going on through the

course of the game we’re not going to be able to use this guy.

“I don’t think you’re angry, really. We just lost a tough game. Nothing to be mad at Kenley about. I don’t

know, I get taken back a little bit by the fact sometimes you all think you’re entitled to every little bit of

information that sometimes could be related to family, could be related to other things.

“It’s his situation that we’re talking about and you’ve always got to respect that situation.”

Jansen said that the next time the Dodgers visit Colorado, the medical staff will devise a strategy to deal

with the effects of the altitude.

Owie for Howie

Second baseman Howie Kendrick was held out of Thursday’s series opener because of stiffness in his

knee. That resulted from a slide into third base in Colorado.

Dodgers games to start Tuesday for Charter Communications cable customers

By Tim Hoffarth

The 300,000 Charter Communications cable subscribers in Southern California will have access to the

Dodgers’ SportsNet LA channel beginning Tuesday at no additional charge, the company and team

announced Thursday.

The move, an about-face spurred by merger talks, also allows residents in Charter coverage areas who

have DirecTV, Dish, AT&T U-Verse or Verizon FIOS to change providers if they want access to the

Dodgers-owned channel, which launched in February 2014 and has only been available to Time Warner

Cable subscribers as well as a small pocket of Bright House and Champion Broadband in the San Gabriel

Valley.

The bulk of Charter’s Southern California customers live in parts of Long Beach, Pasadena, Glendale,

Burbank, Malibu, West Covina and some of the San Gabriel Valley, San Bernardino and much of the

Inland Empire. That is only about 15 percent of the 2 million TWC cable customers already in the region.

SportsNet LA will be on Charter’s Channel 44 for standard-def and Channel 789 for high-def in the L.A.

market. Because the Dodgers’ territorial rights expand to parts outside Southern California, it will also

be on Charter’s systems in San Luis Obispo and Porterville. The SportsNet LA Spanish-language telecast

as well as secondary audio that has Korean-language service is also included.

“The Dodgers are an iconic franchise and part of the fabric of the community,” Tom Rutledge, president

and CEO of Charter Communications, said in a statement. “We are very excited to be bringing the

Dodgers back to Charter customers in the L.A. area.”

On May 26, it was announced that Charter would seek federal approval to buy out Time Warner Cable in

a $55 billion merger, and a promise was given that Charter customers would begin to get the Dodgers

channel during the approval process. No date was given at that time.

Before the merger talks began, Charter had dug in against Time Warner Cable, along with DirecTV and

many other competitors, claiming the reported $5 per subscriber fee was too high and it did not want to

pass that on to its customers who were not interested in having that channel added to their system.

TWC and DirecTV have recently added surcharges to customer bills to augment the costs the companies

have incurred for sports-related channels that have higher monthly fees based on rising rights fees

involved in the negotiation of those deals.

The Dodgers’ deal with Time Warner Cable was reported in early 2013 to be a 25-year contract that will

bring the team some $8.35 billion over that period. TWC outbid previous Dodgers’ rights holder Fox

Sports West/Prime Ticket.

The Charter launch on Tuesday will have Vin Scully calling the Dodgers’ home game against Arizona at

7:10 p.m.

Meanwhile, Congressman Brad Sherman, D-Los Angeles, issued a statement again requesting binding

arbitration for DirecTV and other cable and dish companies that have yet to accept the Time Warner

Cable parameters to adding SportsNet LA.

“I am pleased that Charter Communications will begin carrying SportsNet LA, but the work is not done

yet,” he said. “Too many Angelenos still won’t have access to the Dodgers because of a 14-month

dispute between cable companies over how to provide Los Angeles residents with access to Los Angeles

Dodgers television broadcasts.

“I am reissuing an earlier request for Time Warner Cable into enter binding arbitration with DirecTV and

others. This would be a fair and fast way to return programming to consumers. Time Warner Cable has

agreed to enter into the arbitration process. They have offered to make SportsNet LA available

immediately to all fans upon the initiation of binding arbitration. Immediate binding arbitration is the

only mechanism that will get the Dodgers games on the air now.”

Wacha shuts down Dodgers, Cardinals win 7-1

By Phil Collin

With that 24-hour sage of Kenley Jansen behind them, the Dodgers returned home to face those St.

Louis Cardinals again.

But what could have been the new drama giving way to the more traditional drama was a dud.

Michael Wacha (8-1) silenced the Dodgers for seven innings, which meant Jansen could take another

day off after his health scare in Denver.

And after a 7-1 loss at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, suddenly the Dodgers have lost five of their last

eight games, which included two losses to the Cardinals last week in St. Louis.

The Dodgers were hoping Carlos Frias could eat up enough innings to give some relief to the rest of their

bullpen, which manager Don Mattingly said “ran out of gas” in the Colorado series.

Frias (4-3) lasted 6 2/3 innings, was victimized by a two-out error in the third inning but didn’t help

himself with a leadoff walk in the Cardinals’ three-run fifth.

The main issue for the Dodgers turned out to be trying to steal some innings.

“Carlos kept us in the game and was huge for us. Daniel (Coulombe) did a great job too,” Mattingly said.

“Those two guys were big, kind of getting us back on track after the Colorado series.”

With one out in the third, Matt Carpenter reached on a one-out error by third baseman Justin Turner.

Matt Holliday singled, as Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds behind him and it was 2-0.

Kolten Wong led off the fifth with a walk for St. Louis and took third on a double to center by Carpenter.

Holliday got one run home with a sacrifice fly and Peralta was intentionally walked.

Frias looked like he could escape after getting Reynolds on a tapper to the mound, but Jason Heyward

delivered a two-run single to make it 5-0.

“I had to help the guys because they were pretty tired after Colorado,” Frias said. “(The Cardinals) take

advantage of the mistakes.”

The Dodgers had two on with two outs in the fifth, but Joc Pederson grounded out. Pederson had his

home run streak stopped after hitting one in five consecutive games, tying the club record.

Pederson gave it a shot, though, hitting one off the fence in left-center for a double in the third. He was

just one of eight runners the Dodgers stranded on the night.

“We came back from Colorado, it didn’t go our way today but we have to keep on grinding,” Pederson

said. “I hit it pretty good, but that’s not why you play the game. You play the game to win.”

The Dodgers finally got on the board in the sixth when they got consecutive opposite-field hits from

Adrian Gonzalez, Turner and Andre Ethier before Alex Guerrero’s sacrifice fly to center made it 5-1.

Coulombe, who relieved Frias in the seventh, gave up a two-run double to Wong in the eighth to set up

the Cardinals’ bullpen with a 7-1 lead.

Coulombe pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, which is just what the Dodgers needed. What kind of shape

was the bullpen in and how many pitchers did Mattingly want to stay away from?

“Not very good,” Mattingly said. “There were a number of guys.”

Yasiel Puig makes a splash in Dodgers rehab game with Quakes

By Tony Ciniglio

LANCASTER >> Yasiel Puig was back.

Nearly a month after having his initial minor-league rehabilitation stopped short, Puig strode to the

plate for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes single-A affiliate in the top of the first inning Thursday.

Puig being Puig, he did not disappoint, launching a drive off the center-field wall for a standup double to

the delight of the numerous Dodger fans who packed The Hangar for a glimpse of the Cuban star.

All in all, it appeared to be a success for Puig, who went 2 for 4 with a double and a run.

More importantly, it did not look like Puig’s right hamstring was giving him any issues even after he was

forced to test it several times throughout the game.

“I felt good,” Puig said in English.

Puig also made four catches in right field of varying difficulty and used his speed to chase a ball into the

corner and hold Lancaster’s A.J. Reed to a double in the first inning.

Respect.

Puig took the field for the first time since playing two games for the Quakes on May 7-8, batting .143

with a solo homer before re-aggravating his hamstring.

Puig credited extended time at the Dodgers’ training facility in Arizona with helping him prepare for his

rehab and his expected return.

“I have my job — the preparation in Arizona, play here for two days — my doctors and my boss can

make the decision (on when to come back),” Puig said. “I hope to be back Saturday or Sunday, but it’s

not my decision.”

There seemed to be no ill effects. Just your normal Puig showmanship.

Puig stood at the plate and admired his first-inning shot off the wall, eventually speeding up and

accelerating smoothly into second base.

His second at-bat was a hard-hit ball that was snared by Lancaster third baseman J.D. Davis, who threw

out Puig to end the second inning and strand a runner at second.

Puig struck out on five pitches in his third at-bat in the fourth inning.

Then, Puig delivered a sharp single to right field in the sixth, though he seemingly jogged to first base

and did not make his usual explosion around the bag.

There was no limping. No grimacing. No awkwardness.

Puig arrived an hour earlier than the Quakes’ team bus and was greeted by five diehard Dodgers fans

from the San Fernando Valley.

Puig immediately received treatment in the locker room with Dodgers athletic trainer Nancy Flynn

Patterson.

Puig then came out to the field with Patterson and did a series of stretches and sprints to get loose for

the game.

During batting practice, Puig put on a show, taking four rounds of swings and hitting several balls over

the wall, including one on his final swing that he called “el mejor,” — the best one.

There was plenty of Dodger blue among the fans waiting in a long line to get into the stadium. The seats

down the lines — normally empty — were packed in what was easily the biggest crowd — 4,683 — at

the Hangar this season. The JetHawks said it was their first official sellout.

All to see Puig, who had gotten off to a slow start with the Dodgers, batting .279 with two homers and

four RBIs in his first 11 games before sustaining his hamstring injury.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Puig could return to the big-league club next week and would slide

back into his usual right-field position. Andre Ethier would then move to left field.

Puig is scheduled to play in another rehab game Friday at Lancaster.

ESPN LA

Dodgers are looking tired and hobbled

By Mark Saxon

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers looked like a beaten-down team Thursday night.

Seven games in six days with rain following you all around the middle of the country can tend to make a

team look a little soggy. So can landing at 3 a.m. and having to be at the ballpark 10 hours later. So can a

heavy dose of young St. Louis Cardinals ace Michael Wacha, particularly when your pitcher puts you in a

5-0 hole by the time you bat in the fifth inning.

The Dodgers knew what they were up against – fatigue, a radically depleted bullpen and an unfavorable

pitching matchup – going into Thursday, which made a 7-1 loss to Wacha and the Cardinals fairly easy to

swallow, to put it bluntly.

The state of the Dodgers going into Thursday was pretty well summed up by manager Don Mattingly’s

glowing praise for young pitchers Carlos Frias and Daniel Coulombe, who took all seven runs and 12 hits

worth of abuse from the Cardinals lineup so that the remainder of the bullpen, used heavily in Colorado,

could rest its arms.

Mattingly called Frias and Coulombe the “heroes of the game,” an interesting choice of words from the

manager of a $270 million team after a six-run loss.

Granted, those two pitchers were able to help get the bullpen back into order, but the rest of the team

is showing signs of going to shambles. Howie Kendrick has a sore, stiff knee from an awkward slide on a

wet field late Wednesday night in Colorado and Mattingly hinted that, if Kendrick doesn’t improve

overnight, he could be headed to the 15-day disabled list.

Kendrick would join Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke among Dodgers hitters sidelined by

injuries. The pitching staff is in worse shape, down two starters and three relievers. But the Dodgers

realize that nobody is going to care about their excuses if things start to go sideways because their front

office has been talking about the team’s depth for months and nobody feels sorry for the rich teams

anyway.

Plus, there could be help on the way. Puig figures to return next week and Hector Olivera, the 30-year-

old infielder from Cuba who the Dodgers signed for $62.5 million, is at Double-A and might not be far

from joining the major-league club. In his professional debut for Tulsa, Olivera went 1-for-4 with two

walks Thursday night.

The Dodgers have gone 9-13 in their past 22 games. In their only games against winning teams, they are

3-10. Asked about the fatigue of the team and the mounting injuries, Mattingly said the only thing he

could say without sounding like he was reaching for excuses.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “you win or you lose.”

Wacha, Cardinals beat Dodgers 7-1

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers are quite familiar with each other

because of the last two postseasons, and they could be on course for another October showdown.

Michael Wacha is certainly ready.

"That's a long time away, but both teams are playing good baseball and you never know what will

happen," Wacha said Thursday night after pitching the Cardinals past the Dodgers 7-1 in the opener of a

four-game series between the National League's top two teams. "There's definitely a good chance."

The Cardinals, who knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs in each of the previous two seasons,

increased their NL Central lead to 6 1/2 games over idle Pittsburgh. The Dodgers' advantage in the West

shrunk to 1 1/2 games over San Francisco.

Wacha (8-1) allowed a run and seven hits over seven innings without walking a batter, five days after the

Dodgers beat him 5-1 at St. Louis in a game that was delayed more than 2 hours by rain. This was the

right-hander's first road start against the Dodgers, whom he defeated twice in the 2013 NL

championship series while shutting them out in 13 2/3 innings.

"I felt like I got the fastball and the cutter established on both sides of the plate, and I was just working

off those pitches," Wacha said. "I was attacking the hitters and throwing a lot of quality strikes."

Wacha became the first Cardinals pitcher to begin a season 6-0 on the road since 2005, when Chris

Carpenter won his first 12 decisions away from Busch Stadium and Matt Morris his first six.

"He was spotting his fastball a little bit better than last time. But other than that, I didn't see anything

different," Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said. "It's not like we didn't hit him tonight. We just

couldn't get anything going."

Carlos Frias (4-3) was charged with five runs -- three earned -- and 10 hits through 6 2/3 innings in his

rematch with Wacha.

St. Louis opened the scoring in the third with two unearned runs. Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds had

RBI singles after a two-out error by third baseman Justin Turner on Matt Carpenter's grounder in the

hole and Matt Holliday's single.

The Cardinals increased the margin to 5-0 in the fifth on Holliday's sacrifice fly and Jason Heyward's two-

out, two-run single.

"That's a tough pitcher that we were facing again today, but our guys were putting great at-bats

together against him and getting the big hits whenever we needed them to," Wacha said. "It was a lot of

fun watching those guys go to work up there at the plate."

The Dodgers loaded the bases in the sixth. Alex Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly, but Jimmy Rollins grounded

out.

Los Angeles rookie Joc Pederson, who homered in his previous five games to give him 17 for the season,

doubled in the third and was stranded when Grandal flied out. In the fifth, Pederson stranded two

runners in scoring position when he took a called third strike.

"We were attacking him all day," Wacha said. "We were staying pretty hard with him away and not

giving him too much in the middle of the plate, because he'll make you pay for those kind of pitches. I

ended up getting him with a backdoor cutter, and it was good to get out of there without any runs."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was cleared by the team's medical staff to pitch, a day after the altitude in

Denver caused high blood pressure, a headache and an upset stomach. ... 2B Howie Kendrick was held

out because of a sore knee, which he hurt sliding into third base Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (5-2) hasn't allowed a run in his last three starts, spanning 20 1/3 innings.

Last Sunday he held the Dodgers to one hit over seven innings and struck out eight in a 3-1 victory,

following an emotional pregame tribute to his late teammate and best friend Oscar Taveras, who was

killed in a car accident in October.

Dodgers: LHP Brett Anderson (2-3) goes into his rematch with Martinez 0-2 with a 3.28 ERA over his last

four starts.

Rapid Reaction: Cardinals 7, Dodgers 1

By Mark Saxon

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t in a full-scale rut, but they’re teetering on it.

They continue to lose when they play quality teams, which hasn’t been often so far, lucky for them. They

lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers have lost 13 of their

last 22 games.

How it happened: The Dodgers’ starting lineup contained hitters who have combined to hit 63 home

runs this season. The Cardinals’ lineup had 33 collective home runs. But sometimes the swarming attack

can be just as deadly and the Cardinals tend to line-drive Dodgers pitchers into submission. They

sprayed singles all over the field to beat Carlos Frias and the Dodgers Thursday night, giving them three

wins in the rivals' first four head-to-head games.

Frias gave the Dodgers much-needed length, pitching into the seventh inning, but against Michael

Wacha, he simply allowed too many runs to keep the Dodgers in the game. Frias allowed five runs on 10

hits, all but one of them a single. Meanwhile, Wacha did what he had done the previous start against the

Dodgers. He cruised until he got in a little trouble late.

This time, he was able to avoid the big hit as the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, but came up

with just one run in the sixth. Alex Guerrero looked like he just missed hitting his second grand slam in

three days. It reached the edge of the warning track for a sacrifice fly.

What it means: The Dodgers haven’t been able to beat good teams yet this season. Against the Cardinals

and San Francisco Giants, the only teams with a current winning record they’ve encountered, they are 3-

10. Against everybody else, they’re 28-13.

Notable: Joc Pederson’s home run streak ended at five games. He looked like he thought he hit another

one in the third inning when he sent a soaring drive to left field, but it collided with the wall, forcing

Pederson -- who was watching the flight of the ball -- to sprint to make it into second with a double.

Pederson finished three games shy of the major-league record, held by three players, including Don

Mattingly. ... Alex Guerrero has had some misadventures in left field lately. He seemed to have a bead

on Randal Grichuk’s line drive in the seventh inning, but as he ran laterally, the ball sailed over his head.

St. Louis added two runs after the misplay. ... The bullpen got heavy usage in Colorado, where the

Dodgers played four games in three days, influencing a strategic move in the fifth inning. Mattingly let

Frias bat with one out and runners at the corners. The Dodgers did not score that inning, but Frias gave

the team another 1 2/3 innings of work.

Up next: The series continues Friday evening at 7:10 PT. Brett Anderson (2-3, 3.42 ERA) starts for the

Dodgers opposite Carlos Martinez (5-2, 3.13 ERA), who dominated the Dodgers last weekend in St.

Louis.

Don Mattingly says Kenley Jansen's absence was health precaution

By Mark Saxon

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers shed a bit more light Thursday on the mysterious circumstances that made

their closer unavailable to them as their bullpen was blowing a two-run, ninth-inning lead to the

Colorado Rockies the night before.

During Wednesday's game at Coors Field, Kenley Jansen was undergoing tests, including an

electrocardiogram, to rule out a recurrence of the irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation that

had affected him three years earlier in Colorado, he said.

Jansen said he alerted the team's trainers that he had an upset stomach and headache in the first

inning. He was treated with intravenous fluids and given some tests, including the EKG, which found that

his heart was in a normal rhythm, Jansen said. Because his blood pressure was elevated and because of

his history of A-fib, the consulting doctor recommended Jansen not pitch in the game.

Jansen was cleared by the team's medical staff to pitch in Thursday's 7-1 loss at Dodger Stadium to the

St. Louis Cardinals, though he did not make an appearance.

"Kenley's had some history, and I don't think anybody's willing, at this point, to take any chances with

his health over trying to win a game," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

The mystery grew in the wee hours of the morning at Coors Field after Mattingly gave only curt, vague

answers when asked after the game about Jansen's lack of availability, repeating only that he was

unavailable. Four Dodgers relievers walked three batters, gave up two hits and saw Colorado score three

times to win it. Mattingly wouldn't even tell reporters whether it was a health-related matter or

something else, which led to speculation.

Jansen did not speak to reporters after the game. He had told head trainer Stan Conte that he did not

want the team to discuss his condition, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

rules protect players' privacy in such situations.

"There are all kinds of reasons why you wouldn't want to talk about something and alarm anybody at 1

o'clock in the morning," Mattingly said. "You respect a player's wishes at that moment."

On Thursday -- coincidentally Kenley Jansen bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium -- Jansen said he didn't

speak after the game in part because of his frustration over how the day had played out. Jansen had an

ablation to correct his irregular heartbeat in October 2012. He said he has had no diagnosed recurrences

of atrial fibrillation since then.

"I didn't feel like talking about myself at that time," Jansen said. "When they started the IV, I had all

these memories of all the stuff that happened there, like, 'Here we go again,' dealing with stuff like that.

Then, you see how the ninth's going and you feel like you let your teammates down and all that stuff."

One of the primary symptoms of atrial fibrillation is acute anxiety. Jansen said his symptoms might have

arisen because of his worry over having another episode of atrial fibrillation. He also thinks the mile-high

elevation played a part.

"It gets you panicked a little bit," he said.

Area Charter Communications customers to see Dodgers

By Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Charter Communications customers in Los Angeles will be able to watch Dodgers games

on television starting Tuesday after being shut out for over a year.

SportsNet LA, the team's exclusive TV network through Time Warner Cable, said Thursday it is making

games available in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo and Porterville. The network's Spanish-language game

telecasts will also be available to Charter customers.

Team President Stan Kasten said he hopes other providers come on board soon so all Dodgers fans can

watch the games.

Only customers of Time Warner have been able to watch the Dodgers since the contract to broadcast

the team's games was bought by the cable company in 2013. That has left out subscribers of major

providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon and AT&T.

SportsNetLA is owned by the Dodgers.

Don Mattingly, Bryan Price among those selected as All-Star coaches

By Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Los Angeles Dodgers' Don Mattingly and Cincinnati's Bryan Price have been picked as

All-Star coaches by NL manager Bruce Bochy of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Houston's A.J. Hinch and Seattle's Lloyd McClendon were selected for the July 14 game in Cincinnati by

AL manager Ned Yost of Kansas City, Major League Baseball said Thursday.

The NL staff also includes Bochy's Giants staff: assistant coach Shawon Dunston, bullpen coach Mark

Gardner, first base coach Bill Hayes, third base coach Roberto Kelly, batting coach Hensley Meulens,

pitching coach Dave Righetti and bench coach Ron Wotus. Cincinnati head athletic trainer Paul Lessard

and Colorado assistant athletic trainer Scott Gehret also were selected.

The AL on-field staff includes Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland, catching coach Pedro Grifol, bullpen

coach Doug Henry, third base coach Mike Jirschele, first base coach Rusty Kuntz, hitting coach Dale

Sveum and bench coach Don Wakamatsu. Los Angeles Angels head athletic trainer Adam Nevala and

Tampa Bay assistant athletic trainer Paul Harker will join them.

TRUEBLUELA.COM

Kyle Farmer has three hits in Quakes win

By Craig Minami

Player of the day

Kyle Farmer continues to lead the California League in hitting with a .356 average. Despite just one

home run, Farmer is slugging .548 due to his 11 doubles and six triples.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The Dodgers fell behind and could not catch up as they lost to River Cats (Giants) 5-4. The third straight

loss to River Cats guaranteed the Dodgers first home series lost this season and it was also their fourth

overall straight loss.

Deck McGuire started and he pitched six innings and gave up four runs, eight hits, one walk and struck

out two. Ramon Troncoso returned from the disabled list and in his two innings, he gave up a run on two

hits.

Darnell Sweeney went 3-for-4 and a double. Corey Seager had one hit and two walks. Scott Schebler had

a triple and an RBI.

Double-A Tulsa

The big news in this game was the debut of Hector Olivera at third base for the Drillers. Eric Stephen and

David Hood wrote about that here.

As for the game, it went 14 innings and the Rockhounds (Athletics) won 9-3.

The Drillers had a 3-0 lead until the seventh innings when the Rockhounds tied the game.

Mickey Storey started for the Drillers and he pitched 6⅔ innings. Storey gave up three runs, six hits, two

walks and struck out two.

The score remained tied until the fourteenth inning when Chris Reed gave up six runs in ⅔ inning. Reed

allowed four hits, two walks and one grand slam home run.

Adam Law was 3-for-5 with two walks.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga

The Quakes hit the road and took on the JetHawks (Astros). The Quakes were able to win the first game

of their road trip, outscoring the JetHawks 8-5.

A familiar face started his rehab with the Quakes in Lancaster. Outflelder Yasiel Puig started in right field

on Thursday night and Eric Stephen wrote about his evening here.

The game was tied 2-2 going to the third inning and then the Quakes scored three runs to take the lead.

With one out, Kyle Farmer singled and then Cody Bellinger hit his eleventh home run of the season. A

sacrifice fly scored the third run.

Farmer doubled in another run to make it 6-2. The JetHawks made it 6-4 but then a two-run home run

by Tyler Ogle put the game out of reach.

Erik Bedard started and he went 4⅓ innings and he gave up four runs on six hits. Ramon Benjamin got

the win and Rob Rogers picked up his third save.

Low Class-A Great Lakes

The Loons moved over .500 with their 7-3 win over Chiefs (Cardinals). The Loons went to 27-26 and took

the first two games of this three game series.

Trailing 1-0, the Loons scored three runs in the third inning. Alex Santana drove in the first run with a

sacrifice fly. Ivan Vela singled in the next two runs.

Jacob Scavuzzo hit his fourth home run.

Joe Broussard pitched a strong four innings, allowing one run on six hits. Despite giving up two runs in

2⅔ innings, Derrick Sylvester got the win.

Johan Mieses, Jimmy Allen and Scavuzzo each had two hits.

Transactions

Triple-A: Dodgers released David Aardsma. Placed third baseman Brian Burgamy on the 7-day disabled

list. Activated pitcher Ramon Troncoso from the 7-day disabled list.

Double-A: Infielder Hector Olivera assigned to Drillers.

Class-A: Outfielder Yasiel Puig assigned to Quakes. Pitcher Rudy Owens assigned to Raptors. Pitcher

Ramon Benjamin assigned to Quakes.

Thursday box scores

Sacramento 5, Oklahoma City 4

Midland 9, Tulsa 3

Rancho Cucamonga 8, Lancaster 5

Great Lakes 7, Peoria 3

DSL Mariners 11, DSL Dodgers 2

Friday schedule

7:30 a.m. PT: DSL Dodgers vs. DSL Mariners

4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes (Trevor Oaks) at Perioa (Austin Gomber)

5:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Jose De Leon) vs. Frisco (Rangers) (Andrew Faulkner)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Scott Baker) vs. Sacramento (TBD)

6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jharel Cotton) at Lancaster (Troy Scribner)

Howie Kendrick misses game with knee stiffness

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers were without Howie Kendrick on Thursday night, as the second baseman

felt stiffness in his left knee, an injury suffered on Wednesday at Coors Field in Colorado.

Kiké Hernandez got the start at second base in place of Kendrick, who was not even available to pinch

hit.

"We weren't willing to use Howie tonight," said manager Don Mattingly.

Kendrick advanced from first to third base in the second inning on Wednesday but jammed his knee as

his left foot caught on the bag. The throw got away and landed in the dugout, allowing Kendrick to

score.

He remained in for the rest of the game, but the knee felt stiff on Thursday. Mattingly said how Kendrick

feels on Friday will go along way toward determining when the second baseman might return.

"We'll know a lot more tomorrow. He was stiff today. Will he get better? It's hard to answer that right

now," Mattingly said. "It's a possibility that if it ends up being too long we'll have to do something."

I missed Kendrick after the game, but he spoke with some reporters, including Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Kendrick this season has played in 52 of 54 games for the Dodgers, starting 50, and is hitting

.285/.347/.430 with five home runs, 12 doubles and 23 RBI on the season.

Up next

The Dodgers will send Brett Anderson to the mound on Friday night, his first June appearance since

2011. The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Carlos Martinez, who pitched seven scoreless innings

to beat the Dodgers last Sunday and has pitched 20⅓ scoreless innings in his last three starts.

Dodgers fall to Cardinals in series opener, 7-1

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers returned home to find an unwelcome visitor on Thursday night, as the

Cardinals had their run of the bases in a 7-1 win to open a four-game weekend series at Dodger

Stadium.

St. Louis had three doubles, nine singles and five walks, putting up crooked numbers in three different

innings for their third win over the Dodgers in four meetings this season.

Five of those runs came against starter Carlos Frias, who recorded 14 ground ball outs and pitched into

the seventh inning on a night the Dodgers bullpen definitely needed some length from their starting

pitcher.

"I thought he showed a lot of heart from the standpoint of hanging in there," manager Don Mattingly

said. "For where we were at tonight, he did a great job of staying in that game. We love the effort."

Frias walked three and allowed 10 hits, the second time in three starts he allowed double-digit hits.

"That happens when you make mistakes," Frias said. "That's good to learn, for next time. Hopefully I

won't make the same mistakes."

The game was almost the inverse of Saturday's game in St. Louis, a game won by the Dodgers 5-1. But

they didn't have as much success against Michael Wacha on Thursday at home, scoring just one run on

seven hits in his seven innings. Wacha struck out five and walked none, improving to 8-1 on the season.

Daniel Coulombe continued the take-one-for-the-team effort for the Dodgers, pitching the final 2⅓

innings, matching his longest outing since the start of the 2014 season. The left-hander threw 42

pitches.

Mattingly said after the road trip and specifically the series in Colorado, the Dodgers bullpen was not in

good shape for Thursday's game. Kenley Jansen was available but with the lopsided score and the

Dodgers trailing he was not used.

"There were a number of guys we weren't willing to use," Mattingly said. "There were a couple more

guys we really didn't want to use."

The current seven members of the bullpen made 19 relief appearances in six days on the road trip

totaling 17 innings, including 11⅓ innings and 13 appearances in Denver.

"Carlos kept us in the game, and Danny did a great job," Mattingly said. "Those two were the heroes for

me tonight, hopefully getting us back in order after that Colorado series."

Joc Pederson doubled to the left field wall in the third inning, a ball that both Pederson and left fielder

Matt Holliday was a home run, which would have been Pederson's sixth straight game with a homer.

Mattingly is one of three players to hold the major league record with eight straight games with a home

run.

"I hope he breaks it, and hits 10-12 in a row," Mattingly said before the game. "I'm not going to give Joc

too much advice. Just keep doing what he's doing."

Adrian Gonzalez doubled in the eighth inning, his 21st of the season to lead the majors. He is on pace for

63 doubles this season.

Thursday particulars

Home runs: none

WP - Michael Wacha (8-1): 7 IP, 7 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts

LP - Carlos Frias (4-3): 6⅔ IP, 10 hits, 5 runs (3 earned), 3 strikeouts

Hector Olivera reaches base 3 times in pro debut for Double-A Tulsa

By Eric Stephen and David Hood

Dodgers infielder Hector Olivera made his professional debut on Thursday night for Double-A Tulsa,

going 1-for-4 with a two walks against the Midland RockHounds (Athletics).

Olivera started at third base and batted fifth in his first game for the Drillers.

He popped out to first base in the first inning, a three-pitch at-bat.

In the third inning he singled on a chopper to second base on a 1-0 pitch for his first professional hit.

Olivera walked in the sixth inning on six pitches.

In the eighth inning, Olivera walked again, this time on 10 pitches, a battle that included five straight

foul balls.

In the 10th inning he popped out to shortstop on the first pitch.

With two runners on in the 12th inning in a 3-3 game, Olivera struck out looking on five pitches to end

the inning.

On the night he saw 27 pitches in his six plate appearances.

Olivera gets in defensive position at third base on Thursday (Photo: David Hood).

He saw two plays in 12 innings at third base, catching a line drive in the first inning, and a ground out in

the seventh, both hit by RockHounds right fielder Josh Whitaker. But that wasn't the only ball hit his

way.

Physically, it's quite apparent Olivera is a man playing with boys at the Double A level. He's broad

shouldered and muscular, with a narrowing waist and legs. he looks every part a third baseman or even

a corner outfielder. I didn't get the chance to see his athleticism or defensive skills on display, but his

hands and defensive actions looked polished between innings.

On the one play he did attempt to make, Olivera was slow to react on a hard hit ball to his left, where he

took a step and then fell-dove for the ball. It was only one look, but Olivera looks far too large to capably

handle second beyond a spot start or two.

Offensively, Olivera looked a little overeager, despite his two walks. He hits from a low crouch and his

weight shift is exaggerated. He showed decent barrel control in attacking a high fastball for a base hit.

Given the movement in his swing, I'm interested to see how he'll manage good off speed pitches going

forward, since his approach requires better pitch recognition.

Tulsa resumes its homestand on Friday, hosting the Frisco Rough Riders (Rangers). Olivera's next starting

pitcher faced will be left-hander Andrew Faulkner.

Yasiel Puig doubles in first rehab game for Rancho Cucamonga

By Eric Stephen

Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig began his second rehab assignment this season with the Class-A Rancho

Cucamonga Quakes on Thursday night, going 2-for-4 with a double against the Lancaster JetHawks

(Astros).

Puig batted second and played seven innings in right field.

He doubled to center field and scored in the first inning, then grounded out to third base in the second

inning, struck out swinging in the fourth, then singled in the sixth.

Puig last played for the Dodgers on April 24, sidelined for six weeks with a strained left hamstring.

Manager Don Mattingly said on Wednesday that Puig could be ready for a return to the Dodgers as soon

as next week.

Rancho Cucamonga continues its weekend series in Lancaster on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Dodgers release David Aardsma

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Thursday granted relief pitcher David Aardsma his release rather than

add him to the active roster.

The right-hander had an opt-out clause in his minor league contract that allowed him to become a free

agent if the Dodgers didn't call him up to the major leagues.

Aardsma was 0-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 20 games for OKC, with 15 saves in 15 chances. The right-hander

struck out 23 and walked seven in his 18⅔ innings. He last pitched on Tuesday night, a scoreless inning

with two strikeouts against Sacramento, his seventh consecutive scoreless appearance.

The move as at the very least somewhat curious by the Dodgers considering the large amount of roster

turnover they have had this season. There have been 14 different pitchers to pitch in relief for the

Dodgers this season, including four who were added to the 40-man roster since the season began.

Aardsma sent out a few tweets Wednesday and Thursday, confirming his status.

Even with Wednesday night's implosion fresh in the minds of many, the Dodgers bullpen ranks fourth in

the National League in ERA (3.09), FIP (2.75), strikeout rate (27.1%) and K-BB% (18.3%), second in

strikeouts (173), xFIP (3.30) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.09).

Don Mattingly honored, excited to join NL All-Star coaching staff

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was officially named to the National League All-Star

coaching staff, appointed by Giants manager Bruce Bochy, manager of the NL All-Stars.

Bochy also named Reds manager Bryan Price as part of his coaching staff.

This is the first time participating in the All-Star Game for Mattingly as a manager. He was an All-Star for

six straight years (1984-89) as a player, elected to start at first base in 1987, and as the Yankees hitting

coach in 2004 was a part of manager Joe Torre's American League staff.

"I'm honored, and excited about it," Mattingly said on Thursday.

The 2015 All-Star Game will be held on Tuesday, July 14, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati,

roughly a three-hour drive from Mattingly's home in Evansville, Indiana.

"It's close to home, and I'd be there anyway," Mattingly said. "Everybody likes days off, but any All-Star

Game situation you're just honored to be a part of it."

The last Dodgers manager to serve as an All-Star coach was Joe Torre, part of Charlie Manuel's staff in

2009.

Zach Lee experiencing tingling in fingers, in LA for examination

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers pitcher Zach Lee is in Los Angeles to be examined after feeling a tingling

sensation in the fingers of his right hand, manager Don Mattingly said on Thursday.

Lee was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday with what

manager Damon Berryhill told reporters was a minor injury. Lee was also pulled from his last start after

three innings and 40 pitches on Friday, at the time presumed to be in good health.

"He's having some tingling in his fingers, and he's here to get checked out," Mattingly said Thursday.

As of now there is no other information about Lee, as we await test results.

The first two pitchers that came to mind with tingling fingers, at least in recent Dodgers history, are Josh

Beckett and Chad Gaudin. Both had nerve issues that required surgery.

Beckett had a rib removed to relieve nerve pressure caused by Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and missed

the final five months of 2013. Gaudin had a rare neck surgery called a phrenectomy, also to relieve

nerve pressure, that caused him to miss the entire 2014 season.

Gaudin, who signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February, had similar tingling in spring

training and hasn't pitched since March. He had carpal tunnel release surgery in May, and could be

pitching by the end of June, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.

Lee, the Dodgers' first-round pick in 2010, is 5-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 10 starts in Triple-A this season.

Kenley Jansen cleared to pitch for Dodgers after high BP scare in Colorado

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- Dodgers closer has been cleared by doctors and is available to pitch for the Dodgers on

Thursday night as they open a series against the Cardinals at home. Jansen and manager Don Mattingly

also cleared up the confusion from postgame on Wednesday in Colorado, when information was scarce.

"Early in the game yesterday, Kenley was feeling something in his stomach and had a headache, so we

checked him out, and his blood pressure was up," Mattingly said. "We were being cautious with Kenley

because of his history at that point."

Jansen's history includes cardiac arrhythmia and surgery in October 2012 to correct the problem, which

was essentially an irregular heartbeat.

"In the beginning, you feel the memory of all that stuff that happened to you and think, 'Here we go

again'," Jansen said. "I wanted to go out, but it wasn't smart.

"The season is still early. For me to go out there, and the next thing you know you might have an

episode going on. You want to make sure you don't have [atrial fibrillation] again."

Jansen said he wasn't experiencing any symptoms or feeling sick in his save on Tuesday night, the only

game he has pitched in the last eight days. He began feeling something before the game, and Mattingly

said he knew by the fifth inning that Jansen would be unavailable to close on Wednesday night.

Jansen was examined in Los Angeles on Thursday, and cleared to pitch.

Without Jansen, four Dodgers relief pitchers combined to record one out in the inning, turning a two-

run lead into a 7-6 Rockies win. After the game, Jansen told a Dodgers public relations member that he

didn't want to talk about it, feeling it would be selfish, especially right after a loss.

"It was a tough night. You feel guilty, and even though you can't do anything about it you see how it

goes down and you feel like you let your team down," Jansen said. "Seeing the team lose, I wasn't going

to talk about my own medical history."

That led to a situation where Mattingly didn't offer much beyond Jansen being unavailable, though he

did offer that Jansen's status did change during the game, which only brought more questions and

speculation.

"I'm always going to respect the players' wishes," Mattingly said Thursday. "I get taken aback a little bit,

because sometimes you all [reporters] think you need every little bit of information, that could be

related to family, could be related to different things. There are situations where, if you can't give up

that information you can't do it."

This tweet by Rick Sutcliffe, who was part of the ESPN2 broadcast team in Colorado on Tuesday, didn't

help.

Sutcliffe on Wednesday backtracked a bit.

Asked if he saw any of the news or reaction to his situation on Twitter, Jansen just smiled.

"I don't do social media," Jansen said. "I don't pay attention to that stuff."

Carlos Frias goes for second straight win over Cardinals

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers will battle the Cardinals for a second straight weekend, this time at Dodger

Stadium for four games. Thursday night's opener features a rematch of the one game that went the

Dodgers' way last weekend in St. Louis.

Carlos Frias had a wonderful bounce-back start after allowing 10 runs to the Padres on May 24, pitching

seven strong innings to set a new career high. He allowed only one unearned run and struck out three,

while getting 10 ground ball outs, including three double plays.

Among the 152 major league pitchers to have pitched at least 30 innings in 2015, Frias ranks seventh

with a 56.7-percent ground ball rate.

The Dodgers hung the first loss of the season on Michael Wacha last Saturday, thanks to four runs in the

sixth inning. But they were also no-hit in the first five innings.

Wacha in the first five innings of his 10 starts this season has a 1.80 ERA, and opposing batters are

hitting .171/.242/.282 against him. After that, in all of 13Ы�ŝŶŶŝŶŐƐ͕ �t ĂĐŚĂΖƐ��Z��ŝƐ�ϰ͘Ϭϱ�ĂŶĚ�ďĂƩ ĞƌƐ�ĂƌĞ�

hitting .283/.333/.453.

The Dodgers' lineup has a little bit of a switch on Thursday, with Yasmani Grandal batting second, with

Justin Turner batting cleanup.

Howie Kendrick has the day off, with Kiké Hernandez starting at second base. Kendrick hurt his knee on

a slide at third base in the second inning, on a single by Grandal. Kendrick scored on the play as the

throw made it into the dugout.

"Sliding into third base he banged his knee, and it stiffened up as the game went on," manager Don

Mattingly said. "I wanted to make sure to give him 24 hours."

Grant Holmes, J.D. Underwood, Michael Ahmed named Midwest League All-Stars

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- Grant Holmes leads a trio of Great Lakes Loons to be named to the Eastern Division

team for the Class-A Midwest League All-Star Game, joined by pitcher J.D. Underwood and infielder

Michael Ahmed.

The All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, June 23 at Dozier Park in Peoria.

Holmes, the Dodgers' first-round draft pick in 2014, is 3-0 with a 3.22 ERA in 10 starts this season, with

only three home runs allowed in 44⅔ innings. Holmes, 19, is third in the Midwest League with 58

strikeouts and has a 30.5-percet strikeout rate in his first full-season league.

Underwood, 23, has been excellent in relief for Great Lakes this season, putting up a 2.25 ERA in 14

appearances, with 28 strikeouts (a 26.2-percent rate) and only five walks in 28 innings. The Dodgers

drafted Underwood in the fifth round in 2013.

Ahmed, 23, is hitting .253/.335/.355 with 12 doubles and 21 walks in 48 games this season, and leads

the team with 17 stolen bases in 22 attempts. He has started all over this season for the Loons - 15

games at shortstop, 15 at third base, 10 games at second base, and even three games in left field and

two more in right. Ahmed was drafted by the Dodgers in the 20th round in 2013.

Charter to carry SportsNet LA beginning June 9

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES -- SportsNet LA will be carried by Charter beginning next Tuesday, June 9, the network and

cable provider announced on Thursday. The Dodgers that night will host the Diamondbacks in the

middle game of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Charter is in the process of acquiring Time Warner Cable in a reported $55.3 billion merger that is

expected to be completed by next year.

SportsNet LA will be available for Charter customers on the Charter Spectrum TV Select tier, in the Los

Angeles area, San Luis Obispo and Porterville on the following channels:

Los Angeles: channel 44 in standard definition; channel 789 in high definition

San Luis Obispo: 44 SD; 773 HD

Porterville: 44 SD

In addition, the Spanish-language game telecasts and Korean-language SAP broadcasts will be made

available to Charter customers.

"The Dodgers are an iconic franchise and part of the fabric of the community," said Charter president

and CEO Tom Rutledge in a statement. "We are very excited to be bringing the Dodgers back to Charter

customers in the LA area."

DODGER INSIDER

Fully accessible Dodgers Dreamfield underway

By Erin Edwards

Youth baseball is more than hitting, pitching and fielding. Being part of a youth baseball or softball team

means instant friends and aids children in being accepted.

So when Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation director Nichol Whiteman announced at the LADF Blue

Diamond Gala that the foundation was about to break ground on LADF’s first universally accessible

Dodgers Dreamfield, life became a little sweeter for children with disabilities in the Los Angeles area.

“Everyone deserves a chance to play baseball,” Whiteman said. “We are thrilled that children with

special needs throughout Los Angeles will benefit from this wonderful field and know that it was created

with their needs in mind. Given there are over 80,000 students with disabilities in the Los Angeles

Unified School District alone, we are confident this field will provide memorable opportunities to many.”

This week. the universally accessible Dodgers Dreamfield at the Baldwin Hills Recreation Center took its

first steps toward becoming a reality. Demolition and grading activities that included removing fencing

and asphalt began. Next up is the installation of lighting poles and underground electric and water lines.

Once completed, the field will include an adaptive synthetic turf surface to allow free movement of

wheelchairs and walkers. The baseline field will feature black vinyl chain link fencing including a

backstop, sideline and home run fencing. The dugouts will be oversized with metal roofs for shade and

protection from the elements. Energy-efficient LED field lighting will allow safe extended play on the

field. A large scoreboard area with signage and video board that resembles the scoreboard at Dodger

Stadium will be a focal point.

The new Baldwin Hills field is slated to be completed by July. Many disabled children who generally were

only spectators will now have the opportunity to “Play Ball” this summer.

Stay tuned for progress updates, and visit dodgers.com/ladf for more information or to support the

LADF.

Hector Olivera has arrived

By Cary Osborne

Hector Olivera arrived, literally on Thursday. The 30-year-old Cuban infielder, who the Dodgers officially

signed to a six-year deal on May 19, made his professional baseball debut in America on Thursday for

the Double-A Tulsa Drillers in Tulsa. He made his debut against Oakland affiliate Midland just hours after

flying into town.

Olivera, who started at third base, went 1-for-4 in the game. He popped up in his first at-bat, hit an

infield single in his second and walked in his next two at-bats. He popped up and struck out looking in

his final two plate appearances before being pulled for a defensive replacement in the 13th inning.

“For a guy that hasn’t played in that long, his at-bats were really good,” Tulsa manager Razor Shines told

MiLB.com’s Jake Seiner. “He had quality at-bats. He picked up his first base hit. He had a couple of balls

defensively in the infield and he handled them well. He looked really good.”

Seiner has more on the debut here.

Olivera is expected back in the lineup today when the Drillers host Texas’ Double-A affiliate Frisco at

7:05 p.m. Central Time.

Kenley Jansen cleared to pitch tonight

By Jon Weisman

Kenley Jansen has been cleared by medical staff to pitch tonight after being held out of Wednesday’s 7-

6 Dodger loss to the Rockies.

Jansen, who has faced 20 batters this season and allowed one hit and no walks while striking out 11,

complained of headaches and an upset stomach and was found to have elevated blood pressure,

according to Don Mattingly, who said he learned Jansen would be unavailable in about the fifth inning.

Mattingly said he did not discuss the specifics of Jansen’s condition after Wednesday’s game out of

respect to Jansen’s wishes. Jansen, however, is expected to speak to reporters before tonight’s game.

In other medical news, Howie Kendrick has been given a rest from the starting lineup tonight after his

knee stiffened following a slide into third base Wednesday. Kendrick has started 50 of the Dodgers’ first

53 games in 2015.

Also, Triple-A pitching prospect Zach Lee has experienced tingling in the fingers of his right hand, and is

in Los Angeles to be examined.

Before Pederson, there was Pedro: 15 homers in June 1985

By Jon Weisman

With Joc Pederson on his latest homer spree to open June, it’s hard not to recall the exploits of the

greatest month of circuit clouting in Los Angeles Dodgers history — especially since it took place exactly

30 years ago.

In 30 days from the start to the end of June in 1985, Pedro Guerrero blasted 15 home runs, a mark only

previously achieved by a Dodger in any month by Duke Snider’s 15 in August 1953.

Guerrero hit his 15 home runs in only 25 games. Only Mark McGwire (July 1999) has hit more home runs

in a single month while playing in 25 games or less.

Appropriately enough, Guerrero started out with a home run on the first day of June — in the 11th

inning off National League saves leader Jeff Reardon of Montreal. But Guerrero’s pace over the next

several days was not especially rapid. By June 9, he had a modest four homers in the month — matching

his total from April and May combined.

Guerrero homered again on June 10, but thanks to some Midwestern rain, three straight days without

games further slowed his progress. After that, things got serious: Four homers in three games in

Houston’s spacious Astrodome put the slugger at nine for the month, and five more in the next 10 days

put him within one of Snider and the MLB record for home runs in June, shared at the time by Babe

Ruth, Bob Johnson and Roger Maris. (Eventually, Sammy Sosa would hit 20 homers in June 1998.)

Over the next three days, through his 29th birthday on June 29, Guerrero went homerless. One day

remained in June: a rare midweek day game at Dodger Stadium against the Braves. Guerrero grounded

out in his first at-bat and hit two furious but futile fly outs in his next two. He had one more trip to the

plate left.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Ken Landreaux on first, the Dodgers down by a run and future

Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter on the mound, Guerrero launched a game-winning, milestone-

achieving shot halfway into the left-field pavilion.

“I don’t remember a moment like this, except in the World Series,” Guerrero told Gordon Edes of the

Times. “To hit a home run my last time up on the last day, the last chance, as the song goes — to go out

and do it …”

Guerrero laughed and shook his head, Edes wrote, and then asked, “How did I do it?”

Here’s another anecdote from Edes:

In the Dodger bullpen, where Carlos Diaz was warming up with catcher Steve Yeager, Tom Nidenfuer

leaped up and said: “There it goes.” Yeager turned to follow the flight of Guerrero’s ball and caught a

pitch from Diaz flush in the forehead.

“I just hung the ball,” Sutter said. “He doesn’t miss very many of those. He’s not a schoolkid.”

But Guerrero acted as excited as one as he toured the bases. He exchanged high-fives with his mentor,

Dodger coach Manny Mota, as he rounded the bag at first and again at the plate with Greg Brock, the

on-deck hitter. The rest of his teammates poured out of the dugout, with manager Tom Lasorda locking

him in an embrace.

As impressive as that achievement was, Guerrero wasn’t done. He made a game-saving play in the ninth,

catching a sinking line drive to left by Albert Hall and throwing to second to double off Gerald Perry for

the final two outs of the game.

Amazingly, in July, Guerrero was an even better hitter, batting .460 with a .563 on-base percentage and

.794 slugging percentage, figures that all exceeded his June totals. From July 23-26, he set a franchise

record by reaching base in 14 consecutive plate appearances, on three doubles, two homers, six walks

and a hit-by-pitch, before the streak ended with a sacrifice fly.

Guerrero finished the year leading the NL in OPS (.999) and adjusted OPS (182) by wide margins, but

finished third in the NL Most Valuable Player vote behind Willie McGee and Dave Parker. But there has

never been a doubt in my mind that he was that year’s MVP.

Dodger minor league report No. 8: Urias’ road to recovery and Boom Boom Bellinger

By Cary Osborne

Star reporter Julio Urias reported on Thursday that Julio Urias will be ready to return from eye surgery in

a week. Urias took to Twitter to tell the baseball world the news. The 18-year-old had cosmetic surgery

one week ago on his left eye.

Urias last pitched in a game on May 12 for Double-A Tulsa. He was expected to miss a month of action

due to the surgery.

Now, let’s see what’s percolating around the system …

Oklahoma City Dodgers (AAA)

Thus far: 34-18

After Corey Seager’s monster run May 25-May 28 (a six hit game on May 28, 13 for 18 overall), Seager

went hitless in his next three games (0 for 11). Then the last two games he goes 4 for 9. Ah, the roller

coaster that is baseball.

Zach Lee was scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday. According to The Oklahoman writer

Jacob Unruh, he was sent to Arizona to undergo some tests for a minor injury. Lee threw only three

innings in his last start on May 29 and allowed just a hit and struck out two. Lee has a 2.38 ERA/1.09

WHIP in 10 starts this season.

Ryan Buchter, who we saw a little of in Spring Training, has been fantastic for OKC. In 15 games (21

innings), he has allowed two earned runs (0.86 ERA). He has allowed 11 hits and struck out 26. His 12

walks stick out, but he hasn’t walked anyone in his last two outings (four innings).

Tulsa Drillers (AA)

Thus far: 20-29

Jose De Leon struck out 11 batters on Friday in seven innings of work and allowed one earned run. De

Leon is tied for the minor league lead with 77 strikeouts on the season. He is averaging 13.7 strikeouts

per nine innings.

Since May 5, reliever Ralston Cash has allowed one earned run in 10 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old has a

2.45 ERA/1.23 WHIP in 22 innings this season.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (High A)

Thus far: 31-21

Cody Bellinger had a monster May. All told, the first baseman hit seven home runs and drove in 27 runs

with a slash line of .314/.371/.619. Bellinger ranks tied for fifth in the California League with 10 home

runs, is third with 41 RBI, fourth in total bases with 107, sixth with a .560 slugging percentage and

seventh with a .923 OPS.

Catcher Kyle Farmer leads the Cal League with a .342 batting average, is second with a .408 on-base

percentage, seventh with a .538 slugging percentage and fifth with a .947 OPS. Farmer’s average hasn’t

been below .300 since April 13.

John Richy, the Dodgers’ 2014 third-rounder, was the California League’s Pitcher of the Week for the

week ending May 31. On May 28, Richy pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and no

walks while striking out five. Overall, the Dodgers’ No. 20 prospect has a 3.99 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 58

2/3 innings.

One more note: Right-hander Jharel Cotton made his season debut on May 26 and has now pitched in

two games. He has allowed eight hits, one walk and three earned runs while striking out 13. Cotton, who

was lights out in the second half for the Quakes last season (2.55 ERA/1.03 WHIP, 93 strikeouts in 84 2/3

innings), returned from a broken wrist.

Great Lakes Loons (Low A)

Thus far: 26-26

Right-hander Trevor Oaks has pitched two consecutive games in which he hasn’t allowed a hit until the

fourth inning. In those two games, he has allowed eight hits, no earned runs and no walks, while striking

out eight in 12 innings. Oaks has a 3.17 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 59 2/3 innings.

Center fielder Jacob Scavuzzo is starting to pick up some steam. In his last 10 games, he is 14 for 31

(.452) raising his average 40 points to .290. He also has three home runs. Scavuzzo, 21, hit .307 with 14

home runs in short-season Rookie League Ogden in 2013, but dipped to .209 with five home runs last

season with Great Lakes.

Top 10 prospects thus far

Corey Seager (OKC) .303/.346/.451, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 11 extra-base hits in 30 games

Julio Urias (Tulsa) 7 GS, 36 IP, 25 H, 9 BB, 46 SO, 3.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP

Grant Holmes (GL) 10 GS, 44 2/3 IP, 36 H, 24 BB, 58 SO, 3.22 ERA, 1.34 WHIP

Alex Verdugo (GL) .222/.265/.304, 7 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBI

Chris Anderson (Tulsa) 10 GS, 54 2/3 IP, 51 H, 27 BB, 48 SO, 3.95 ERA, 1.43 WHIP

Jose De Leon (Tulsa/RC) 9 GS, 50 2/3 IP, 32 H, 12 BB, 77 SO, 1.95 ERA, 0.87 WHIP

Darnell Sweeney (OKC) .255/.322/.375, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 20 for 26 SB

Scott Schebler (OKC) .213/.303/.378, 6 HR, 14 RBI

Zachary Bird (RC) 10 G (9 GS), 40 1/3 IP, 32 H, 31 BB, 43 SO, 5.13 ERA, 1.56 WHIP

Chris Reed (Tulsa/OKC) 16 G, 25 IP, 21 H, 12 BB, 18 SO, 3.96 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

SportsNet LA joins Charter lineup Tuesday

By Jon Weisman

SportsNet LA, the 24/7 Dodger channel, will be made available to Charter Communications customers

beginning Tuesday.

SportsNet LA will air on Charter Spectrum TV Select, Charter’s most widely subscribed tier of service, via

channels 44 SD/789 HD in Los Angeles, 44 SD/773 HD in San Luis Obispo and channel 44 SD in

Porterville.

SportsNet LA’s Spanish-language game telecasts and Korean-language Secondary Audio Programming

(SAP) will also be made available to Charter customers.

“We’re thrilled that Dodger fans will now be able to watch SportsNet LA’s 24/7 Dodger programming on

Charter’s systems,” Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “SportsNet LA continues to deliver

unparalleled coverage of the Dodgers, and we hope other providers come on board soon so all fans can

enjoy the network’s first-rate programming.”

Said Charter Communications president and CEO Tom Rutledge: “The Dodgers are an iconic franchise

and part of the fabric of the community. We are very excited to be bringing the Dodgers back to Charter

customers in the L.A. area.”

In addition to live games and pregame/postgame shows, SportsNet LA’s comprehensive coverage of the

Dodgers includes documentary series such as “Backstage Dodgers,” “Dodgers Clubhouse,”

“Dodgermentary” and “Connected With …,” as well as full games from the past in “Timeless Dodgers.”

Don Mattingly confirmed for NL All-Star coaching staff

By Jon Weisman

Dodger manager Don Mattingly has officially been named a National League coach for this year’s All-Star

Game, along with Cincinnati manager Bryan Price. NL manager Bruce Bochy of the Giants invited

Mattingly and Price to join.

With the Dodgers playing .585 ball (31-22) so far this year, Mattingly remains on pace to become the

second manager in the past 100 years to improve his won-lost record for the first five full seasons of his

career (as noted in the April issue of Dodger Insider magazine).

Get your tickets for Dodgers All-Access

By Erin Edwards

A week from today, on June 11, the Dodgers will host Dodgers All-Access, an event that offers an inside

look at the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium.

Event highlights:

Batting practice in the Dodgers’ batting cages

Pitching in the bullpen

Call play-by-play action with AM570 LA Sports on historic Dodger moments in the Vin Scully Press Box

Stadium tours

Photo opportunities with alumni and at iconic spots throughout the stadium

The business perspective: Get to know the Dodgers’ ownership and management and understand the

challenges of fielding a major league competitor

The team perspective: Current Dodger players and management share stories and discuss the current

season.

Fifty percent of the proceeds generated by this event will be directed to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Foundation to help fund their cornerstone programs, which benefit undeserved youth in the greater Los

Angeles area. Also benefiting from the event is the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission,

whose mission is to seek, host, promote and retain major sporting entertainment events that positively

impact the Los Angeles economy.

There are only a limited number of tickets available for this exclusive inside look at the Dodgers and

Chavez Ravine. Confirmed speakers and on-field participants include Vin Scully, Andre Ethier, Howie

Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Bill Russell, Reggie Smith, Ron Cey, Mickey Hatcher, Steve Yeager, Andrew

Friedman and Peter Guber. Orel Hershiser and John Hartung will emcee’s the event.

Click here for more information, and to learn more about auction items up for bid, read on.

Items up for bid

Autographed Dodger jerseys

Clayton Kershaw

Andre Ethier

Adrian Gonzalez (framed)

Duke Snider (50th Anniversary)

Mariano Rivera (game-used New York Yankees jersey worn at Dodger Stadium)

Autographed baseballs

Vin Scully

Don Newcombe

Orel Hershiser

Fernando Valenzuela

Yasiel Puig

Zack Greinke

Dodger game-day experiences

Watch Dodger batting practice from the field, plus four Field Level MVP game tickets

Kids Take The Field experience

Hotel packages

Hotel Nikko in San Francisco, two-night stay for two in the Essex Suite

Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, two-night stay in a Signature Suite

Grand Hyatt Kauai, two-night stay in run-of-house accommodations

Other autographed items

25 autographed photos of Dodger players and coaches in a binder including Kershaw, Greinke, Puig,

Pederson, Don Mattingly and more

Dodger Stadium original painting on canvas (48” x 72”) in oil by artist, Roderick Smith

Don Mattingly autographed canvas

Sandy Koufax perfect game: a page from Los Angeles Herald-Examiner reporter Bob Hunter’s scorebook

from the only perfect game in the history of the Dodger franchise, on September 9, 1965.

FORBES

Dodger Games (Finally) Coming To LA Area Charter Subscribers Beginning Tuesday

By Maury Brown

In the first major breakthrough to get Los Angeles Dodgers games carried on a major distributor outside

Time Warner Cable, starting Tuesday, June 9th. SportsNet LA will be available on Charter Spectrum TV

Select, Charter’s most widely subscribed to tier of service. The games will be shown on the Charter

listing as channel 44 SD/ 789 HD in the LA designated market area. It will be on channel 68 SD / 773 HD

in San Luis Obispo, and channel 95 SD in Porterville. For SportsNet LA’s Spanish-language game telecasts

as well as its Korean-language Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) will also be made available to

Charter customers.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The deal breaks a long-standing stalemate between the Time Warner Cable-owned SportsNet LA and

carriage by major distributors. Fans have been largely unable to catch the game on the network as has

been seeking as much as $4.90 per subscriber due to the 20-year, $8.35 billion deal that SportsNet LA

reached with the Dodgers in January of 2013. That high cost has been the prohibiting factor for

distributors such as DirecTV,Verizon FiOS, Cox Communications, and up until now, Charter

Communications.

There are approximately 300,000 Charter subscribers in the Los Angeles area.

“The Dodgers are an iconic franchise and part of the fabric of the community,” said Tom Rutledge,

President and CEO of Charter Communications. “We are very excited to be bringing the Dodgers back to

Charter customers in the LA area.”

“We’re thrilled that Dodger fans will now be able to watch SportsNet LA’s 24/7 Dodger programming on

Charter’s systems,” said Stan Kasten, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “SportsNet LA

continues to deliver unparalleled coverage of the Dodgers and we hope other providers come on board

soon so all fans can enjoy the network’s first-rate programming.”

The move sits against the backdrop of the $55 billion cash-and-stock merger acquisition by Charter of

Time Warner Cable. Including debt, Charter would be taking on $78.7 billion. In that sense, the slow

warming of picking up Dodgers broadcasts by Charter had been expected.

NBC LA

Charter to Begin Carrying Dodgers' TV Channel Tuesday

By Jonathan Lloyd

A yearlong stalemate that prevented hundreds of thousands of Dodgers fans from watching their

favorite team on TV at home will end Tuesday when Charter Communications begins carrying the team's

cable channel.

About two weeks after Charter announced a nearly $57-billion deal to buy Time Warner Cable, it will

begin carrying SportsNet LA on Tuesday in Southern California on the tier of service with the widest

subscription base. Chief Executive Tom Rutledge said when the deal was announced in May that the

company was "committed" to bringing the Dodgers games to fans.

Los Angeles hosts Arizona Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. in the second of three games. Viewers in Los Angeles can

find SportsNet LA on channel 44 SD/789 HD.

Time Warner Cable has been the only major distributor to carry the network since it began broadcasting

at the start of the 2014 baseball season. Other pay-TV providers refused to carry the channel due to

what they described as high fees.

The deal announced last month would give Charter, backed by cable pioneer John Malone's Liberty

Media Corp., a sizable footprint in Southern California, with more than 2 million customers in Los

Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, according

to The Times. Charter also is planning to purchase Bright House Networks, a smaller cable provider,

producing a new company with 23.9 million subscribers in 41 states.

The deal will need federal and state government approval but is considered more likely to pass muster

with regulators than Comcast Corp.'s recent abortive effort to acquire Time Warner Cable. Comcast

owns NBC Universal, which is the parent company of CNBC, NBC News and this site.

MYNEWSLA.COM

Dodgers host ‘Hollywood Stars Game’ before Saturday’s game

By City News Service

The Los Angeles Dodgers will conduct their first Hollywood Stars Game since 2009 before Saturday’s

game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers had held an annual Hollywood Stars Game from 1958, their first season in Los Angeles,

through 2009, except in 1994 when it was canceled because of a strike by the Major League Baseball

Players Association.

Participants included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Steve Martin, Bob

Newhart and Robin Williams.

The Dodgers had planned to conduct a Hollywood Stars Game in 2010, but the game was postponed

“due to operational issues,” then canceled, according to an executive who has since left the

organization.

“We just wanted to take a couple of years off from doing it and we feel now is the right time to bring it

back,” Joe Jareck, the team’s director of public relations, told City News Service in November when the

team announced it would be reviving the game.

Scheduled participants include “black-ish” star Anthony Anderson, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” star

Clark Gregg, recently retired soccer star Landon Donovan and Basketball Hall of Fame member Lisa

Leslie.

Other scheduled participants for the softball game include actors Alan Thicke, Jaleel White, James Van

Der Beek, Vivica A. Fox and Rob Riggle and Blink 182 bassist Mark Hoppus.

Talk show host Larry King and writer-producer-director Garry Marshall will manage the teams.

Oscar nominee Minnie Driver will sing the national anthem. An MVP of the Hollywood Stars Game will

be chosen and he or she will throw the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodger-Cardinals game.

Auto gates and stadium gates will open at 3:30 p.m. Batting practice for the Hollywood Stars Game will

be conducted starting at 4:30 p.m. Introductions for the Hollywood Stars Game will begin at 5 p.m.

Pregame ceremonies for the Dodger game will begin at 6:55 p.m., with the first pitch set for 7:10 p.m.

FOX SPORTS

Dodgers claim umpires favor Cards at home; Matheny isn't buying it

By Luke Thompson

ST. LOUIS -- The Los Angeles Dodgers made it clear they didn't think highly of the umpiring during a

weekend series in which the Cardinals took two of three at Busch Stadium.

A.J. Ellis and manager Don Mattingly both got thrown out of a 3-0 St. Louis win Friday, when Ellis told

reporters he got the first ejection of his career because of an inconsistent strike zone and perceived

criticism of his pitch framing from the home-plate umpire. After Justin Turner disagreed with a strike

three call that ended Sunday's 3-1 Cardinals win, one Dodgers player went so far as to suggest Busch

Stadium offers a home-field advantage because umpires are influenced by the large crowds.

"Wow," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said when told about the comments Wednesday. "Wonder

why our guy got thrown out last night."

He was, of course, referring to the decision by home-plate umpire Joe West to throw out Matt Holliday,

and subsequently, Matheny, after a third strike call on a pitch replays showed to be clearly inside.

Matheny and Holliday both said afterward they were shocked by the decision, since they didn't swear at

the umpire and expected to get a longer leash.

"I knew that Matt was getting his say, but the fact that threw me off was the fact that he was walking off

the field," Matheny said. "A 12-year veteran in the middle of a pretty substantial streak. I think what

that did was just added to the surprise that he did get thrown."

Even though Matheny didn't agree with West's reasoning, though, he could understand it, particularly

since other players had been complaining prior to Holliday's at-bat. Matheny added he doesn't have a

problem with West's decision to not address the ejection after the game.

"They're human, too," Matheny said. "Sooner or later, you get tired of people barking at you and

throwing stuff."

He's not interested in seeing evaluations of umpires, and he's also sympathetic to the fact that

technology has made their jobs tougher.

"There's advantages and disadvantages, and this is a disadvantage for the umpires to have the kind of

technology that we have. But accountability is not bad for anybody and I think that's something that's

been long due before we started analyzing, for all of us."

Sweet revenge: Wacha stifles sixth-inning rally en route to win in LA

By Luke Thompson

The sixth inning could have been trouble for Michael Wacha against the Dodgers for the second time in

less than a week.

Instead, the young right-hander worked out of a jam on his way to becoming the fifth straight Cardinals

starter to pitch at least seven innings. He continued his road dominance and the offense did the rest in a

7-1 win at Los Angeles.

Wacha carried a no-hitter through five innings against the Dodgers last Saturday, only to give up four

runs in the sixth en route to a 5-1 loss. He told reporters during the Cardinals Live postgame show on

FOX Sports Midwest he really didn't do much to change his approach the second time around.

"Maybe a couple batters," Wacha said. "Maybe try out a couple different stuff, but just the same kind of

mentality going in there and attacking the hitters and throwing lots of quality strikes."

Wacha has a 6-0 record on the road to go along with a 1.59 ERA. He handed the Dodgers only their

eighth loss in 29 home games, tied for the best record of any National League team outside of St. Louis.

Wacha retired eight of the first nine batters he faced before rookie Joc Pederson just missed his 18th

home run with a two-out double off the wall in the third. A routine flyball out from Yasmany Grandal

kept St. Louis ahead 2-0.

Los Angeles stranded two more runners in the fifth when Pederson struck out looking before loading the

bases with one out in the following frame. Alex Guerrero could deliver only a sacrifice fly before Wacha

got an easy grounder to second baseman Kolten Wong to end the inning.

"You've got to be able to use multiple pitches in multiple locations," Matheny told reporters on the

postgame show. "It's really hard to pattern a guy when he's got that many weapons and he's got them

all working."

A 1-2-3 seventh sealed Wacha's eighth win of the season, lowering his overall ERA to a team-best 2.18.

3 UP

• Carpenter heating up again. The National League leader in voting for third basemen keeps getting big

hits.

Matt Carpenter walked twice and scored another two runs to bring his team high to 37, but his biggest

contribution came in the Cardinals' three-run fifth inning. He set the table for the rally with a hard

double to right-center, advancing Kolten Wong to third and sliding hard into second base after some

great hustle.

• Heyward's hit streak. Jason Heyward extended his hit streak to a team-best seven games in style

Friday night.

A two-run, two-out single gave St. Louis a 5-0 lead and raised Heyward's RBI total to 17 for the season.

He's hitting 8 for 24 (.333) with a homer during his hit streak.

• Peralta's big night. Jhonny Peralta keeps quietly producing for a Cardinals offense that appears to be

getting back on track.

The shortstop hit three singles in his first three at-bats against Carlos Fri­as, and he scored after drawing

an intentional walk in the fifth inning. Peralta's average improved to .405 over his last 11 games with

two home runs and 11 RBIs.

"I think he put a lot of pressure on himself last year to come in and make a big splash and he wanted to

fit in right away," Matheny said. "He had a lot of stuff going on around him when he came here, but I

think the guy that we see right now is the player that he is."

3 DOWN

• Baserunning woes. St. Louis keeps giving away outs on the basepaths.

Wong drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, only to get picked off first base, making him the third

Cardinal to suffer that fate in the last week. Then Heyward ended the fifth-inning rally when he got

caught between first and second following his big hit.

Cardinals rotation: Lance Lynn, John Lackey, Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez, Jaime Garcia

• Jay's slow comeback. The Cardinals are still waiting for Jon Jay to regain the stroke that made him a

.300 hitter a year ago.

Although his groundball found a hole on the right side for a single in the sixth, the center fielder also

struck out looking and grounded out twice in his fourth start since returning from a wrist injury. He's

hitting just 2 for 14 in those games and hasn't had an extra-base hit since April 19, a span of 76 at-bats.

• Turner trouble. One Dodger appears to have figured out how to hit Michael Wacha.

Justin Turner ruined Wacha's no-hitter with a sixth-inning single last Saturday, and he did it again in the

second inning Friday. The third baseman singled again to set up the Dodgers' lone run in the sixth, and

he hit a hard line drive to center right at Jay in the fourth.