Good Week to Be a Dodgers Fan: Puig Hits First Grand Slam

In his first week in the Majors, Los Angeles Dodgers (26-33) rookie right fielder Yasiel Puig is making it an exciting one.

On Thursday, he hit his first career grand slam and led the Dodgers past the Atlanta Braves (37-23), 5-0. This ended the NL-leading Braves five-game win streak and for the Dodgers, they’ve gone 3-1 since Puig has joined the lineup.

Yasiel Puig

Prior to Thursday’s game, in his first two games, Puig went 5-for-8 with two home runs and five RBIs but slumped on Wednesday, going  0-for-4. From this week’s of play, Puig has become the third player in modern baseball history (since 1900) to hit a minimum of three home runs–with one as a grand slam–in his first 4 career games, according to Elias Sports.

He joins Will Middlebrooks (2012) and Dave Kingman (1971).

Puig’s grand slam came in the eighth inning overshadowing all the good work previously done by his pitcher, righty Zach Greinke (3-1). He pitched seven scoreless innings with only four hits and seven strikeouts. Thursday’s outing represented his first win since May 15 against the Washington Nationals.

For the Braves, veteran righty Tim Hudson (4-5) was on the mound Thursday. He also pitched seven innings, giving up one run with four hits. He had five strikeouts and zero walks. This represented his first start vs. the Dodgers in two years (2011).

So what’s next for the Dodgers?

The series against the Braves will continue on Friday and it will be a battle of the lefties with the return of the Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2) vs Paul Maholm (7-4) taking the mound for the Braves.

For Ryu, he’ll have to shake off a little rust as he’s been recovering from a foot injury incurred on May 28 in the LA Angeles games. He had been cleared to start last Sunday but was scratched by the team due to soreness in his left foot.

He dodged the disabled list but threw in Monday and Wednesday bullpen sessions. After Wednesday’s workout, Dodgers manager Dom Mattingly said his was pitcher had returned to “100 percent” reported HardballTalk.com.

The Dodgers will welcome him back as he’s been one of the National League’s top pitchers in his first year. In his 11 starts, he has a 2.89 ERA with a ratio of 67/22 K/BB ratio over 71 1/3 innings. Ryu has also gone six innings or more during 10 starts and in nine of them, he has given up three runs or less.

From the spark by Puig and the return of the Hyu maybe this is just what the Dodgers need to jump start their season. They are also waiting for the return of veteran outfielder Matt Kemp and catcher A.J. Ellis. This is scheduled for two weeks from now as they’re currently on the disabled list.

This prospect makes Mattingly happy and he said via MLB.com, “We’ve got a good club and we’ve got a chance to make some real noise, if we can just get our guys back and get some rhythm going. Then you add [Puig] into the mix. It’s just dynamic.”

But in the short term, look for the Braves to come back on Friday for the win (-103, 7 o/u). They sit at +800 to win this year’s World Series.

Matt Cain

In other NL West action, the San Diego Padres (28-32) have a two-game win streak going. They defeated the Colorado Rockies (32-29) on Thursday, 6-5. On Friday, they’ll continue their series against the Rockies (-160, 10 o/u) but their streak will come to an end.

The division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks (34-26), who lost to the St. Louis Cardinals (39-21) on Thursday 12-8, will play the San Francisco Giants (31-28) on Friday night. Giants pitcher Matt Cain (9-0) has pitching duty and will look to go 10-o with a win–a first in 16 years for a starter prior to the All-Star break.

This may not happen as Arizona gets the nod (-130, 8.5 o/u).