Duren, Duren

Oh. Oh. Not a clean start 

Going for the series win and playing .500 plus should provide plenty of motivation. Especially as the finale of a homestand.

I can only watch the first hour live and need to be somewhere around 2 O'clock so hopefully they build a nice lead. 

Good chance for Adell to get into action in the field as well as at bat. 

Each series win is a positive step. Tomorrow could be a nice way to round off this part of the schedule. Keeping their .500:level play while still adjusting and tweaking along the way. 

I love day baseball. Natural  sunlight, glare off sun glasses and shadows creeping over the field. A great fan experience if the temperature is decent. Brings back lots of memories of players being blinded by the sun reflecting off the metal seats at Jarry Park. 

Late drama at least for a jolt of excitement. But what a letdown, taking a called third strike. 

Rengifo earning his playing time. 

Schanuel needs time at triple A to get some confidence and work on his game. Bring him back later in the season if he looks ready. Nothing wrong with going step by step on a developmental path. Lots of other options for first base. 

Frustrating game to watch. So many soft hit easy outs at bat. Ward with one exception.   Can't stop the run bleeding the other way.  

Classic small ball by the Rays. 

To add insult to it injury, there's that Spectrum/Dodgers boys in blue ad. 

Any Angel promotions on the Dodgers broadcast? 

Day game tomorrow is a good time to revise the lineup. I expect a few changes at least. Catcher, outfield, maybe an infielder too. 

There's always a risk when you promote a young guy too quickly. Sometimes the early excitement and adrenaline kick in and they overachieve.

And often over time the league scouts them and it becomes harder. And the drudgery of the long season and pressure of games every day are factors. Then it's a matter of adjustments and confidence. Some make it, some me don't.

Call the MLB board of review, or whatever they call themselves. 

Hicks might be most useful as a pinch hitter if he's on the roster. That is, if they want to salvage anything from him. With all that experience and power potential one at bat every couple of games might be addition by subtraction. 

Jeez, at least four or five blatantly terrible ball/strike calls in half a game. The new normal for umpires.

Three earned runs in five innings. 100 pitches. Not bad on the surface, but it was a struggle. 

Nice catch by Ward. That would have been trouble. 

Two equally ugly unearned runs. 

Is the Hicks experiment going to go on indefinitely? 

Now the offense needs at least three runs and shutout pitching to take the lead. A tough task based on how this game is going. 

Embarrassing for a major leaguer. Another cheap run allowed by the defense. 

75 pitches through 3 innings so far. Control still a problem. 

Do umps ever get shown those 3D graphics of pitches they miss? It would be funny seeing their reactions. Or hearing excuses for blatant bad calls. Obviously close pitches have margins for mistakes but multiple times a game we seem to see any number of clearly wrong calls. Maybe challenges would clear up the worst calls. 

Getting a lead should have helped Sandoval's confidence. Instead he immediately stops the momentum and we're back to a tie game. 

5 starters with averages .167 or worse. This isn't good. Rendon, Drury, Hicks, Moniak, Schanuel. Obviously still early, but some of these guys need to consistently upgrade their game. A hot series or two will help normalize the numbers. 

But the team is above .500 so at least the bottom line is solid so far. 

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before getting a severe reality check. With all the negativity and scorn he's been bombarded with maybe he's finally become determined to get his career back on track. 

Hopefully Rendon has put the past behind and can focus on the present. Just the day to day baseball routine. 

I think expectations at this point are just for a decent, competent season. And no big injuries. No one expects him to recapture his all star form. But if he can be productive at a solid pace in his role it should be a positive for the team. Double digit homers maybe though his power seems reduced  so far. More walks than Ks. A return of"Tony Two Bags" in a more modest form. And at least average play in the field.