Daily Clips

August 26, 2016

LOS ANGELES DODGERS CLIPS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016 OC REGISTER: Giants' Matt Moore misses no-hitter when Dodgers' Corey Seager singles with two outs in ninth-JP Hoornstra Dodgers trade A.J. Ellis to Phillies for Carlos Ruiz in exchange of catchers that stirs emotions in clubhouse-JP Hoornstra Dodgers Notes: Andre Ethier begins rehab assignment-JP Hoornstra New Dodger Carlos Ruiz at a glance-JP Hoornstra On deck: Cubs at Dodgers, Friday, 7 p.m. -JP Hoornstra DODGERS.COM: Dodgers stifled by Moore's near no-hitter-Ken Gurnick and Chris Haft On his bobblehead night, Corey Seager broke up Matt Moore's no-hit bid with two outs in the 9th-Matt Monagan Dodgers land Ruiz from Phils for 'shocked' Ellis-Ken Gurnick Dodgers aim to move past quiet night at plate-Ken Gurnick The Dodgers' Shawn Zarraga was all smiles when he entered an MLB dugout for the first time-Michael Clair LA TIMES: A.J. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw get emotional after catcher is dealt to Phillies-Dylan Hernandez Giants' Matt Moore nearly no-hits the Dodgers in 4-0 victory-Andy McCullough Why did the Dodgers pursue Carlos Ruiz?-Andy McCullough Ellis 'devastated' by trade to Phillies; shares a cry with 'shocked' Kershaw-Bill Shaikin DODGER INSIDER: Arrive early for Beatles Night tonight-Jon Weisman Perhaps for the last time, Vin Scully takes us into the ninth inning of a no-hit attempt-Jon Weisman #VinTop20: No. 16, Don Drysdale’s streak stays alive-Jon Weisman Why the Dodgers pursued Carlos Ruiz-Jon Weisman Shawn Zarraga to back up at catcher tonight, while Scott Van Slyke is moved to 60-day DL-Jon Weisman A.J. Ellis talks about his farewell from Dodgers (Video)-Jon Weisman A.J. Ellis heads to Phillies in Carlos Ruiz trade-Jon Weisman Farm Fresh: August 24 minors highlights-Miranda Perez Dodger Stadium to host 2017 World Baseball Classic semifinals and final-Cary Osborne TRUEBLUELA.COM: Dodgers improved, but A.J. Ellis will be missed-Eric Stephen Johan Mieses hits his 28th home run as Quakes defeat Storm-Craig Minami Dodgers left wanting Moore in finale with Giants-Eric Stephen Dodgers call up Shawn Zarraga-Eric Stephen Dodgers activate Rob Segedin from paternity list-Eric Stephen ESPN LA: Are Corey and Kyle Seager having the best brother season ever?-David Schoenfield Trading A.J. Ellis for Carlos Ruiz actually makes perfect sense-David Schoenfield Dazed and confused: Dodgers carved up by Giants' Matt Moore-Doug Padilla Matt Moore falls one out short of no-hitter, gets 1st win for Giants-AP A.J. Ellis trade sets off a series of Dodgers moves-Doug Padilla A.J. Ellis 'devastated' by trade to Phillies, shares teary farewell with ex-battery mate Clayton Kershaw-Doug Padilla MLB Rumor Central: Dodgers not desperate to move Yasiel Puig?-John Silver NBC LA: Emotional Dodgers Nearly No-Hit by Matt Moore, Lose to Giants 4-0-Michael Duarte Dodger Players and Coaches React to the A.J. Ellis Trade-Michael Duarte Dodgers Trade Catcher A.J. Ellis to Phillies in swap for Carlos Ruiz-Michael Duarte USA TODAY SPORTS: The Dodgers made Clayton Kershaw cry-Ted Berg FOX SPORTS: Why the Los Angeles Dodgers made the stunning A.J. Ellis trade-Ken Rosenthal Why Clayton Kershaw wept over the trade of a backup catcher-Chris Bahr YAHOO! SPORTS: Just what the doctor ordered: Matt Moore delivers near no-hitter for Giants-Tim Brown Why trading a backup hitting .194 saddened the Dodgers clubhouse-Tim Brown FANGRAPHS: Why Did the Dodgers Trade A.J. Ellis?-Dave Cameron Another Year with Joe Blanton, Great Reliever-Neil Weinberg TODAY’S KNUCKLEBALL: Giants’ Moore loses no-hitter with two outs in ninth-Eric Chesterton Heyman: Dodgers on amazing Kershaw-less run-Jon Heyman LA TIMES: Dodgers Dugout: Was the A.J. Ellis trade a good deal?-Houston Mitchell

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016

OC REGISTER Giants' Matt Moore misses no-hitter when Dodgers' Corey Seager singles with two outs in ninth By JP Hoornstra LOS ANGELES – Baseball superstition holds that you don’t mention a no-hitter in progress, at least if you want it to continue. The home dugout at Dodger Stadium might well have been a very loud place Thursday night. The Dodgers could not produce a hit against the Giants’ Matt Moore until Corey Seager singled with two outs in the ninth inning in a game the Giants won, 4-0. Only then did the sellout crowd at Dodger Stadium join the rancor, its decibel level rising to the occasion of history being avoided. Santiago Casilla relieved Moore and got Justin Turner to pop out on the next pitch, ending the game. All of it served to contrast with an eerie quiet in the Dodgers’ clubhouse Thursday afternoon. Catcher A.J. Ellis, the longest-tenured player in franchise history and a well-regarded leader in the clubhouse, was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies early in the day. For some players, the first thing they saw upon walking in was a teary-eyed 35-year-old teammate saying his goodbyes. As well as Moore pitched – he walked three, struck out seven and threw a career-high 133 pitches – it’s hard to believe the emotional fallout from the trade didn’t factor into the Dodgers’ sullen offense. “They’re human. They have relationships. It affects you,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “There’s a point where you have to be a professional and go out there and win a game. “There’s no excuse to affect your performance.” For their part, the Dodger players were slow to offer excuses. They tipped their caps to Moore and moved on, as the old saying goes. “He got me out twice on cutters that he didn’t throw before,” Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. “He actually hadn’t thrown a cutter to a lefty all year, and we knew that he was working on it. For us, it’s the way we like it. We won the series. We just lost today. Whether we got a hit in the first or the ninth it doesn’t matter; we got a hit.” At least Seager acknowledged the residual emotions could have been a factor.

“That’s one of the things you don’t really know,” he said. “It’s one of those things that you have to move on and keep playing.” The last time the Dodgers were no-hit was Aug. 30 of last season, when Cubs ace Jake Arrieta threw the first no-hitter of his career en route to a National League Cy Young Award. The Astros’ Mike Fiers had no-hit the Dodgers in Houston a mere nine days before. At the time, the Dodgers were in a deep offensive funk. This time was different. The Dodgers were averaging an MLB-best 5.57 runs per game since the All-Star break. Moore was hardly pitching his best of late, with a 4.18 ERA in 25 starts – 4.70 in four starts since he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 1. The main difference Thursday, it seemed, was that A.J. Ellis wasn’t a Dodger for the first time this decade. Dodgers starter Ross Stripling (3-5) pitched around a leadoff double in the second inning before the Giants broke through in the fourth. Brandon Crawford led off with a single and scored on a single by Brandon Belt. The next batter, Joe Panik, crushed a hanging breaking ball over the right field fence for a two-run home run. San Francisco still led, 3-0, when Grant Dayton relieved Stripling in the sixth inning. After a walk and an error – Turner unwisely tried to barehand a ground ball at third base – Denard Span drove in the Giants’ fourth run with an RBI single. That was more than enough for San Francisco to avoid a three-game sweep. Giants manager Bruce Bochy, having seen his team lose its grip on the National League West, then lose the first two games of the series, said “we had to win today.” Maybe a no-hitter would have been a mere bonus. Likewise, for the Dodgers, the stain of being no-hit could only be the second-most demoralizing thing to emerge from Chavez Ravine on Thursday. The Dodgers lead the National League West by two games after taking two of three from the second-place Giants. The NL Central-leading Cubs visit for three games beginning Friday. Dodgers trade A.J. Ellis to Phillies for Carlos Ruiz in exchange of catchers that stirs emotions in clubhouse By JP Hoornstra LOS ANGELES – There was no team meeting to announce the trade Thursday, just a group of forlorn men learning one by one that the longest tenured player in the Dodgers clubhouse had been traded. After A.J. Ellis learned he was going to the Philadelphia Phillies in a swap of backup catchers for Carlos Ruiz, he called his wife, then his agent, then texted his best friend, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

“I had him come out and meet me here in the dugout,” Ellis said. “Not much was said. We just kind of sat here together. Baseball’s funny. Anything can happen in the future, but to know that in almost all likelihood I’ll never get to catch (Kershaw) again is without a doubt the most devastating thing that I’m feeling right now.” By the time he sat in the dugout to meet with reporters, Ellis said he was “almost out of tears.” While Ellis and Kershaw spent a little more time in Los Angeles together away from the ballpark, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman laid bare the cold facts behind the trade. Ellis is 35 years old and had a .194 batting average in limited playing time. While he was a serviceable hitter against left-handed pitchers a year ago, batting .260, Ellis was hitting .241 against lefties this year with a .616 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Ruiz is 37, but his .830 OPS against lefties ought to help a Dodgers squad that had struggled to hit southpaws all season. Their .663 OPS against left-handers ranks 13th in the National League. “A great field general behind the plate,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Ruiz. “Works extremely well with pitchers. Very gifted defensively. What he brings on the offensive side of the game is something we felt fit our group really well in terms of his ability to hit left-handed pitching. The quality of the at-bat. Just the grinder type approach in the batter’s box that we felt like really helped lengthen our lineup.” Ruiz, the second-longest tenured player on the Phillies’ roster, was placed on waivers a few days ago and eventually cleared. Friedman said the move had been discussed internally before Thursday, but only within the front office. He didn’t want to mention anything to Kershaw, or anyone in the clubhouse, because he wanted “for (Ellis) to hear it from us and not a teammate.” The Dodgers also sent the Phillies minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and either cash or a player to be named later along with Ellis. Ruiz’s contract includes a club option for $4.5 million next season. The Dodgers can also buy out his contract for $500,000. He’s expected to join the team Friday. Ellis became a Dodger in the 18th round of the 2003 amateur draft, a summer crop that yielded Matt Kemp and Chad Billingsley as well. He had never been traded before Thursday. He is due to become a free agent for the first time after the season. “This is really, really hard,” Ellis said, his eyes taking one last scan of Dodger Stadium in the afternoon. “It’s the greatest office in America. To not be able to call it home anymore, it’s really tough. It’s amazing how fast things can change. I was just at the park shooting basketball with my kid. Text message an hour later can move your life. Gotta pick things up. It’s hard for me; I can’t even imagine it’s even doubly hard for my wife and kids.” The deafening silence of a first-place clubhouse spoke more than any teammate could. That Ellis had only played 53 of the Dodgers’ first 127 games this season seemed to matter little.

“I almost cried in front of him, I just didn’t want to show my emotion,” Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen said. “This is my 12th year, this is his 14th year in the organization. We grew up together. We experienced a lot of fun stuff together. Plus he helped me a lot too.” Ellis was among the first players Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called when he took the job last winter. Ever since, he said, Ellis helped him grow as a first-year manager. “There were different parts of the game that he challenged me on and asked me, as far as running a clubhouse, running a team, game management. There’s a lot of conversations we had that helped me. We had a lot of great conversations. “I know that being around him, I was better for it.” Dodgers Notes: Andre Ethier begins rehab assignment By JP Hoornstra LOS ANGELES – Dodgers veteran Andre Ethier served as the designated hitter for Class A Rancho Cucamonga in his first rehab game of the season. In the first inning, Ethier collected an infield single against rehabbing San Diego Padres starter Tyson Ross. He eventually scored from third base on a wild pitch. Facing left-hander Jose Castillo in the second inning, Ethier doubled off the wall in center field. He struck out swinging twice against right-hander Luis Diaz in his next two at-bats. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the length of Ethier’s rehab stint wasn’t predetermined. “The purpose for a guy who’s missed so much time is to really get his legs under him, get his timing at the plate,” Friedman said. “We’ll kind of assess on a day-by-day basis and take this time to build him up.” Ethier hasn’t played this season while recovering from a broken right tibia. ROSTER SHUFFLE The Dodgers selected Shawn Zarraga’s contract from Triple-A, giving them a backup catcher for the series finale against the Giants. They also reinstated Rob Segedin from the paternity list and optioned pitcher Luis Avilan to Triple-A Oklahoma City. In a corresponding move, Scott Van Slyke was transferred to the 60-day DL. Van Slyke had been on the 15-day disabled list, hoping to avoid season-ending surgery on his right wrist. Regardless of whether or not he has surgery, Van Slyke’s season is over. He is not eligible to be activated until Oct. 7, five days after the Dodgers’ final regular-season game.

This is the first major league call-up for Zarraga, a 27-year-old career minor leaguer who split the season between Double-A and Triple-A. The native of Aruba was slashing .194/.268/.222 at Oklahoma City. WBC RETURNS Dodger Stadium will host the semifinals and the final of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, March 20-22. The last WBC games played here were in 2009. “The Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles are excited to be selected as the host of the World Baseball Classic semi-finals and final,” said Dodgers President Stan Kasten, who also serves as chairman of the MLB International Committee. “Dodger Stadium and our great fans look forward to the finest players in the world competing for the WBC championship.” ALSO Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the starting pitcher for Saturday’s and Sunday’s games against the Chicago Cubs were still to be determined. Kenta Maeda would be able to start on normal rest Saturday, and Julio Urias on extra rest Sunday. … Louis Coleman (shoulder) pitched a scoreless inning at Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing a double and striking out three batters. … Clayton Kershaw is expected to throw a bullpen session Friday. New Dodger Carlos Ruiz at a glance By JP Hoornstra CARLOS RUIZ Age: 37 Born: Jan. 22, 1979 in David, Panama Height/weight: 5-10, 215 pounds Career statistics: .266 batting average, .352 on-base percentage, .393 slugging percentage, 68 home runs, 401 RBIs in 11 seasons (2006-2016) 2016 statistics: .261/.368/.352, three home runs, 12 RBIs in 48 games Notable trivia: Was the second-longest tenured player on the Phillies roster, behind only first baseman Ryan Howard. … Backstopped the Phillies to World Series appearances in 2008 and 2009, winning the first. … Caught the 20th perfect game in MLB history, thrown by Roy Halladay on May 29, 2010. … He and Jason Varitek are the only catchers in MLB history to catch four no-hitters. … Batted .385 with one home run in a 5-game 2009 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers. ... Batted .313 in a 5-game 2008 NLCS against the Dodgers. … Owns a .304 career batting average, .461 on-base

percentage and .506 slugging percentage at Dodger Stadium. … Owns the fifth-best strikeout rate (8.52 PA/SO) among all active major league players since his debut in 2006. On deck: Cubs at Dodgers, Friday, 7 p.m. By JP Hoornstra Where: Dodger Stadium TV: SNLA (where available) Did you know? Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks is one of three Dartmouth products to appear in a game this decade, along with Ed Lucas and Brad Ausmus. THE PITCHERS DODGERS RHP BUD NORRIS (6-10, 4.69 ERA) Vs. Cubs: 5-5, 3.39 ERA At Dodger Stadium: 2-2, 2.51 ERA Hates to face: Dexter Fowler, 5 for 9 (.556), six walks Loves to face: Ben Zobrist, 3 for 19 (.158), five strikeouts CUBS LHP MIKE MONTGOMERY (1-1, 2.77 ERA) Vs. Dodgers: He has never faced them before. UPCOMING MATCHUPS Saturday: Cubs RHP Jason Hammel (13-6, 3.07) at Dodgers (TBA), 1 p.m., SNLA/Fox Sports 1 Sunday: Cubs LHP Jon Lester (14-4, 2.81) at Dodgers (TBA), 1 p.m., SNLA, TBS (not blacked out in Southern California)

DODGERS.COM

Dodgers stifled by Moore's near no-hitter By Ken Gurnick and Chris Haft

LOS ANGELES -- In the biggest game of the year for the Giants, Matt Moore delivered the best game of his life. He fell one out shy of a no-hitter Thursday, broken up by Corey Seager's soft single to right with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but beat the Dodgers, 4-0, to snap his club's four-game losing streak. The decision prevented the Giants from being swept in this showdown series and trimmed their deficit behind the first-place Dodgers to two games in the National League West. Nearly pitching the Giants' first no-hitter over the Dodgers in 101 years (by Rube Marquard), Moore (8-10) walked three and struck out seven in 8 2/3 innings. He was removed immediately after Seager's hit, having thrown a career-high 133 pitches. Right-hander Santiago Casilla threw just one pitch to retire Justin Turner on a foul popup. The last Giant to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning was Yusmeiro Petit, who stymied the Arizona Diamondbacks until pinch-hitter Eric Chavez singled on Sept. 6, 2013. The last Major Leaguer to endure the same fate was Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco, whose path to baseball immortality was blocked by Tampa Bay's Joey Butler on July 1, 2015. The defensive highlights were turned in by center fielder Denard Span, who robbed Adrian Gonzalez with a long run and shoestring catch in the second inning, then preserved the gem with a diving catch of Kiké Hernandez's sinking liner leading off the bottom of the ninth. Moore threw a no-hitter in Double-A in 2011. "There were balls that I conceded as hits," Moore said. "The defense has to make those plays that don't always get made." Joe Panik slugged a two-run homer off Ross Stripling (3-5) in a three-run fourth inning and nothing more was needed by Moore, a non-waiver Trade Deadline acquisition by the Giants four days after he beat the Dodgers while pitching for Tampa Bay. The Giants added an unearned run in the sixth inning on a Span RBI single after third baseman Turner's fielding error. Stripling was facing the Giants for the first time since no-hitting them for 7 1/3 innings in his Major League debut April 8. Manager Dave Roberts, insisting the Dodgers achieved their goal of winning the series by taking the first two games, added the hit by Seager on his bobblehead night took the sting out of the loss. "In some weird way, it does," said Roberts. "They really wanted to salvage the series. For us to potentially get no-hit, and for Corey to break it up, it salvages it for us in a strange way." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED High-powered battery: Moore and catcher Buster Posey worked in concert all night. Given the fact that Posey had caught three no-hitters (Matt Cain's perfect game, 2012; Tim Lincecum, 2013; and Chris Heston, 2015), Moore, making his fifth start as a Giant, knew he could trust his receiver. "Today I relied heavily on Buster and put that part of the game, of the thinking, in his hands," Moore said. Even when Moore shook off Posey's signs, the latter knew the right pitch call was being made.

Told of Moore's stated reliance on him, Posey said, "I think that's him being nice. From the get-go he was shaking to pitches and giving me a feel for how he wanted to attack the guys. I think we were able to get into a nice rhythm from the midpoint or so." Not turning two: Stripling had a chance to minimize damage in the fourth after Brandon Crawford's leadoff single when he leaped to glove Eduardo Nunez's high hopper, but he dropped the ball and instead of a double play settled for the out at first. Brandon Belt then defeated the Dodgers' defensive shift with an RBI single to score Crawford, and Panik followed with his homer. The backstory: Moore underwent Tommy John elbow surgery on April 22, 2014, and has been striving to regain his arm strength since then. The Dodgers found out that his recovery has been steady, as he consistently reached the mid-90s with his fastball. "I'm to the point now with the injury where I really focus on the things I learned from it, as opposed to the dark side of being out a year and a half," said Moore, who was limited to 12 starts last year. "Just understanding my body -- I have to listen to it a little better." Tough out: Hernandez thought for sure he had broken up the no-hitter leading off the ninth, only to be robbed by Span. "It's a tough league. Big leagues," he said. "He's a good center fielder and off the bat I was pretty happy, thought sure double, and he caught it. Broke my heart for a little bit." QUOTABLE "It stinks, there's no other way around it. Obviously, it's a great win, but at that point you're pulling for the guy to get it done." --Posey, on Moore's no-hit bid. SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Exemplifying the symmetry of baseball luck, it turned out that Panik's home run was his first since June 18 at Tampa Bay -- a game Moore started for the Rays more than a month before he was traded to San Francisco. In fact, Moore hit Panik with a pitch in that game. REALLY BIG LEAGUING IT The trade of A.J. Ellis before the game left the Dodgers scrambling for a backup catcher. They sent one of ownership's private jets to pick up Shawn Zarraga at Triple-A Oklahoma City, fly him to Burbank, then whisked him to the ballpark. He arrived in the top of the fourth inning for his first two-thirds of a game as a Major Leaguer. "It was a 12-seater and it was just me and the pilot, but I got to sit next to him and that was cool," said Zarraga. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: Right-hander Jeff Samardzija will christen Friday night's 7:15 PT opener of a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. San Francisco owns a 12-13 record when he starts.

Dodgers: Bud Norris opens the Cubs series Friday night, in a 7:10 p.m. PT game, looking to improve on his past two starts. He faced two batters July 31, went on the disabled list with a back injury, lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his first start back Aug. 19 and three days later in a relief appearance retired two of five batters he faced. He beat the Cubs on June 10 while with Atlanta, allowing one run in seven innings. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. On his bobblehead night, Corey Seager broke up Matt Moore's no-hit bid with two outs in the 9th By Matt Monagan Matt Moore was absolutely brilliant during the Giants' 4-0 win over the Dodgers on Thursday night. With the help of seven strikeouts and Denard Span's defense (twice!), he had a no-hitter going through 8 2/3 innings. Here's what some of Moore's nastiness looked like in GIF form. And Span's great catch for the first out in the ninth: But for his last out and baseball immortality, Moore would need to retire Corey Seager ... on Corey Seager Bobblehead Night: And on a 1-1 count, the power of the bobblehead would prove too much for the Giants. Santiago Casilla would come in to the game and get the final out on one pitch, but still, somewhere in the dark stadium confines, Seager's bobblehead was still grinning and maddeningly nodding its head (because that's just what bobbleheads do). Dodgers land Ruiz from Phils for 'shocked' Ellis By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- Just shipped from the first-place Dodgers to the fourth-place Phillies, A.J. Ellis broke that crushing news to close friend and batterymate Clayton Kershaw. "Shocked. Quiet," Ellis said, describing Kershaw's reaction. "The shock kind of hit us both simultaneously and we both cried." Kershaw wasn't available to speak about the trade of Ellis, 35, with Minor League pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash considerations for catcher Carlos Ruiz and $1 million. Management views Ruiz as an offensive upgrade from the popular Ellis when facing left-handed pitching, with no dropoff in the chemistry department. "It was a tough decision on a personal level," said Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. "From a baseball standpoint, we felt Carlos fit our team extremely well. I can go on and on about A.J. and his attributes and what he brings to a team, and if Carlos didn't possess similar things, we wouldn't

have made the move. In terms of leadership ability, ability to call a game and run a pitching staff, Carlos rates extremely well in those things and has experience in what he brings to the lineup against left-handed pitching, which [we] focused on as an area we wanted to improve." Ruiz has an .830 OPS in 24 games against lefties this year, while Ellis has a .616 OPS in 29 games against left-handers. The Dodgers made the trade even though Austin Barnes, the Dodgers' 10th-ranked prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, is day to day at Triple-A with a bruised hand. Ruiz, who has a 2017 option for $4.5 million or a $500,000 buyout, is expected to join the Dodgers on Friday. Ruiz waived a no-trade clause Wednesday after two days of contemplation. "It's sad to leave, but another part of me is happy because I've got an opportunity to go to the postseason and the playoffs and have a chance to go back to the World Series," said Ruiz. "I'll be playing with Chase [Utley] and [Joe] Blanton, Juan Castro. These guys used to play with me here in Philly. That's exciting. It was tough, but at the same time I'm happy. I cannot wait to go there and do my best to help the Dodgers go to the playoffs. But I'm definitely going to miss Philly." After learning his fate, Ellis said goodbye to teammates and staff, then shared his emotions with the media before joining his new team. "Baseball's funny -- anything can happen in the future, but to know that almost in all likelihood I'll never get to catch [Kershaw] again is, without a doubt, the most devastating thing I'm feeling right now," he said. "We hung out for a few moments and tried to process what's happening. It's very difficult. I'm almost out of tears now." Long a clubhouse leader, Ellis said Justin Turner is "the new heart and soul" of the team. Turner called Ellis his "sounding board. Definitely from that aspect and that leadership role, it's going to be an adjustment." Ellis said he wasn't angry, understands that trades are part of the business and considered himself lucky for not experiencing this sooner. None of that, though, made it easier to accept. "This team is playing great baseball right now, going in such a great direction. It's fun going to the park every day, even not playing; it's been so much fun being a Dodger the last few weeks and few months," he said. "To not be part of the Dodger-Giant rivalry anymore, it's tough to comprehend. I say words like sad, disappointed, devastated. There are also words like grateful, thankful, blessed, honored, privileged. There's nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey, nothing like it in sports. Nothing like coming into this stadium and playing baseball." Ruiz, 37, is hitting .261 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 48 games this year, his 11th in the big leagues. Ruiz was a 2012 All-Star. He is hitting .340 (16-for-47) since the All-Star break. Ellis said he took "extreme pride" in being the longest-tenured player on the roster, "but that's gone in a blink of the eye, without a chance to feel finality to it, and it rips your heart out," he said.

That said, Ellis actually lost his starting job in one of current management's first moves, the acquisition of Yasmani Grandal from San Diego in the Matt Kemp deal after the 2014 season. Since Grandal's bat has heated up in recent months, even Ellis' limited playing time has dried up. "His world is still upside down; I've been there," said manager Dave Roberts, traded by the Dodgers to Boston in 2004. "I just told him how much he helped me grow as a first-year manager. I hope I helped him grow as a player. I know that being around him, I was better for it." Dodgers aim to move past quiet night at plate By Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- A.J. Ellis was traded, the clubhouse was somber and the Dodgers were nearly no-hit by Matt Moore in a 4-0 loss to the Giants on Thursday night. Exactly how those dots connect is open for debate, but there is no doubt that the Dodgers can't wait to turn the page after their lead in the National League West was trimmed back to two games. It was the third time they were one-hit this year. Manager Dave Roberts insisted the loss was mitigated by wins in the two previous games of the series, not to mention the soft single by bobblehead night honoree Corey Seager with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. He said Moore deserves a tip of the cap, not a tarnishing of his achievement. "No, no. That's discrediting Matt Moore's effort," Roberts said when asked if the emotions of Ellis' trade took a toll on his club's game performance. "Obviously, it was a tough day for all of us. The trade of A.J., once the game started, the guys were ready and competing. We had a chance to win three games." Kiké Hernandez, who thought he had broken up the no-hitter leading off the ninth inning until robbed by center fielder Denard Span, still seem rattled after the game when asked about the Ellis trade. "It's hard. It's A.J., you know?" Hernandez said. "We kind of felt it the whole day. Like a cemetery in the clubhouse. We really miss him, but it is what it is. "We were flat at the start of the game, [Moore] was on, we didn't make adjustments and before we knew it, it was the ninth inning and we didn't have a hit." Seager, whose lob shot landed behind second baseman Joe Panik and in front of right fielder Gorkys Hernandez, complimented the opposing pitcher. "He was good, really good," said Seager. "Tip your hat, but we won the series, and that's all we wanted to do. Our whole goal this series is to keep winning series." Roberts noted that Moore had come up with an effective cutter he didn't use while beating the Dodgers pitching for Tampa Bay July 27. Four days later, the Giants traded for the lefty, in part to pitch games like this against the Dodgers. Roberts said he expects to face Moore in the clubs' final two series next month.

"And if he throws like that we'll have work cut out for us," Roberts said. "They acquired him for a reason. We have to make adjustments." As a non-waiver Trade Deadline get, Moore is to the Giants what the Dodgers hope Rich Hill will be, as he showed in Wednesday night's debut win, finally healed from finger blisters. The Dodgers need Hill to remain healthy as they continue to try to win the division with a patchwork starting staff. On Thursday, that meant rookie Ross Stripling, who allowed three runs in five innings. The Dodgers' Shawn Zarraga was all smiles when he entered an MLB dugout for the first time By Michael Clair Shawn Zarraga is a 27-year-old catcher with nine Minor League seasons under his belt. His career has spanned over 1,800 plate appearances with eight different cities for two different affiliates. On Thursday night, he arrived to Dodger Stadium in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Giants' 4-0 victory over the Dodgers as a Major League player for the very first time. Rather than acting cool, calm and collected, as if wearing a Major League uniform and standing in a big league dugout was no big deal, the Aruba-born catcher reacted like any of us would have if faced with our baseball dreams coming true. While there's no guarantee how long Zarraga will get to live his big league dreams - he was called up to give the Dodgers a backup catcher before Carlos Ruiz is able to make it to L.A. after being traded for A.J. Ellis. Either way, Thursday is surely a night he'll never forget. Even his trip to to the stadium was memorable. A private jet was sent to pick Zarraga up in Oklahoma City and fly him to Burbank, where he was then whisked to Dodger Stadium. As the newest big leaguer told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, "It was a 12-seater and it was just me and the pilot, but I got to sit next to him and that was cool."

LA TIMES

A.J. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw get emotional after catcher is dealt to Phillies By Dylan Hernandez Shortly after A.J. Ellis received clarification about his future, he asked Clayton Kershaw to meet him outside by the Dodgers bench. There, the backup catcher shared the news to his closest friend on the team. The Dodgers had traded Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies for another veteran backstop, Carlos Ruiz. “We both cried,” Ellis said.

They weren’t alone. The shock waves of the trade were felt in every corner of the clubhouse Thursday. The effects were immediately visible, as only a two-out single in the ninth inning by Corey Seager spared the Dodgers the indignity of being no-hit by Matt Moore in a 4-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. The reaction of the Dodgers players before and during the game raised obvious questions: Why did the Dodgers make this trade? Why now? Was it really worth upsetting the best pitcher on the planet over a couple of extra hits against left-handed pitchers in the 35 remaining regular-season games? In his two seasons as the Dodgers president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman has taken a number of significant risks. This trade marked his greatest gamble. The Dodgers had recently overtaken the Giants atop the National League West. Morale was high. Chemistry was often cited for the team’s sudden surge. All of that came crashing down with the departure of a role player who was not only the best friend of the best player, but one of the most popular players on the roster. “All I can say is it’s a sad day today in the clubhouse,” closer Kenley Jansen said. Jansen sighed as he recalled his farewell with Ellis. “I almost cried in front of him,” Jansen said. “This one is tough, man.” Several others were in disbelief. “What the …?” one player asked. Part of the shock resulted from the front office’s blatant disregard for Kershaw’s wishes, which were to be caught by Ellis as much as possible. Kershaw’s preference of Ellis was the subject of a longstanding tug-of-war between Kershaw and the front office, which wanted Yasmani Grandal behind the plate as much as possible. Ellis caught 11 of Kershaw’s 17 starts this year and 21 of 33 last year. That was a right Kershaw had earned and something other players said he deserved. It didn’t make sense to change that now, especially because Kershaw is taking on what could be the greatest challenge of his career, attempting to return from a herniated disk in his back that has sidelined him for the last two months. There are whispers he could be forced to undergo surgery this winter. This doesn’t feel like the right time to remove his greatest source of comfort, does it?

Ellis was crushed by the breakup. “Anything can happen in the future,” he said, “but to know that in all likelihood I’ll never get to catch him again is without a doubt the most devastating thing I’m feeling right now.” Some players interpreted the trade as a message from the front office. This isn’t Kershaw’s team. It’s not Corey Seager’s team or Adrian Gonzalez’s, either. It’s Friedman’s. “We get it,” one player said. Friedman maintained this was about offering the Dodgers the best chance to win the World Series. While Grandal offered the Dodgers power against right-handed pitching, Ellis wasn’t doing the same when the team faced left-handers. Ellis was batting .194. Friedman reasoned that Ruiz and his .261 average would improve the odds. “The grinder-type approach in the batter’s box, we think can help really lengthen our lineup,” he said. It was important that Ruiz shared many of Ellis’ positive attributes: in particular, his ability to call games and manage a pitching staff, Friedman said. He also was confident that the players’ shock would subside as they became acquainted with Ruiz. Friedman said that as the trade was coming together, he considered consulting the players. He refrained from doing so out of respect to Ellis, not wanting the catcher to hear about the deal first from his teammates. Friedman made it a point to speak to some of the players after the deal was completed. “At the end of the day ... it’s human nature, we’re not going to always all agree,” he said. “At least, if they disagreed ... they understood that the whole goal in everything we’re trying to do is to win.” Ellis understood. Still … “I’m looking out at Dodger Stadium right now,” Ellis said. “This is really, really hard. This is the greatest office in America. I’m not going to be able to call it home any more.” Ellis was noticeably despondent but said he would recover. The Dodgers should be concerned if their players can do the same.

Giants' Matt Moore nearly no-hits the Dodgers in 4-0 victory By Andy McCullough The baseball splashed at the feet of San Francisco Giants outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, and Dodger Stadium erupted. The Dodgers would not win this baseball game, a 4-0 defeat to the Giants, but at least they would not occupy a place in history. A two-out single in the ninth inning by Corey Seager scotched a no-hit bid by Matt Moore and allowed a moribund club a moment to rejoice. Before Seager flicked a single into right, a prophecy appeared ready to fulfill itself. Deflated by the pregame departure of catcher A.J. Ellis, overwhelmed by Moore, the Dodgers came close to replicating the woes of last August, when they were no-hit twice en route to a division title. “For Corey to spoil that no-hitter was good for us,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “For us to win that series, it was something for us to build on.” The outcome was not predetermined. It only felt that way, after the Dodgers spent the afternoon mourning the departure of one of their favorite teammates. The Dodgers could not treat Thursday like a normal day. A few hours before the game, the team sent Ellis to Philadelphia for catcher Carlos Ruiz. The move sideswiped Ellis, a member of the Dodgers organization since 2003. “It was hard, really, really hard,” he said before he left Dodger Stadium. “I’m almost out of tears now.” Earlier in the day, Ellis received a text asking him to come to the ballpark, he said. He bumped into Roberts in the parking lot. Roberts indicated he did not know the reason for the meeting. Ellis learned about the transaction minutes later. He said he did not ask for an explanation. After speaking with team officials, Ellis texted his wife, his agent and Clayton Kershaw, his closest friend on the team. He asked Kershaw to meet him in the dugout they once both called home. Kershaw was “shocked,” Ellis said. The two men wept together. “Baseball’s funny,” Ellis said. “Anything can happen in the future. But to know that in almost all likelihood, I’ll never get to catch him again is without a doubt the most devastating thing I’m feeling right now.” Ellis offered his goodbyes to his teammates. Kenley Jansen nearly broke down when he spoke with his former catcher. When pitcher Ross Stripling walked into the clubhouse, he saw a teary-eyed Ellis. As the team prepared for the game, Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations, spoke with members of the team, trying to explain his rationale. He felt it was important to communicate with the group, even those who disagreed with the decision. “You have to trust what the organization is doing,” Jansen said. “But it’s tough.”

The Dodgers view Ruiz as a significant upgrade over Ellis at the plate. Ruiz will start often against left-handed pitchers. But he could not make it to Los Angeles in time for Thursday’s game, when Moore toyed with his hosts. On July 27, while still a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, Moore stymied the Dodgers across 62/3 innings and held them to one run. San Francisco acquired Moore on Aug. 1, in part, because his left-handedness projected well against the Dodgers lineup. In the interim between then and now, Moore began experimenting with a cut fastball. The pitch handcuffed the Dodgers on Thursday, as the batters struggled to adjust. “He was definitely pitching away from what he’s been doing in the past,” Adrian Gonzalez said. “We were not ready for that.” San Francisco claimed the lead with a three-run flurry in the fourth. After an RBI single by first baseman Brandon Belt, Stripling paid for a lifeless changeup to second baseman Joe Panik. The pitch floated around Panik’s waist, and he responded with a two-run homer. A fourth run came an inning later, after an RBI single by Denard Span. Moore kept churning through the Dodgers lineup. He showed signs of fatigue in the eighth. He issued a leadoff walk to Yasmani Grandal. Called in to pinch hit, Chase Utley saw 10 pitches before striking out on a changeup. Moore ended the inning at 119 pitches. Inside his dugout, San Francisco Manager Bruce Bochy paced and grumbled. Moore had never thrown more than 120 pitches in a game. He had already undergone elbow reconstruction. But Bochy allowed him to bat in the top of the ninth. The first man up in the bottom of the inning was Enrique Hernandez. He scaled a line drive into center field. Sliding across the grass was Span, who nabbed the baseball and earned some applause from Moore. With two out, Seager came to the plate. The crowd rose to its feet, chanting for Seager, cheering for Moore, indulging in the drama. Moore threw his 133rd pitch, a fastball on the hands. Seager shipped it into right field. The ballpark roared with glee. Bochy removed Moore for reliever Santiago Casilla. The game would last only one more pitch — Turner flied out — but for the Dodgers, it could have been worse. “You don’t ever want that to happen,” Roberts said. “But we still won the series. So we’re happy about that.” Why did the Dodgers pursue Carlos Ruiz? By Andy McCullough

This week, Dodgers catching prospect Austin Barnes was hit in the hand. The severity of the injury turned out to be minimal, but the uncertainty around Barnes heightened the front office’s concern about its catching depth. That worry, along with the team’s continued interest in improving against left-handed pitching, led to Thursday’s acquisition of Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz and the exodus of longtime backup catcher A.J. Ellis. “I could go on and on about A.J. and his attributes, and what he brings to a team,” Andrew Friedman, Dodgers president of baseball operations, said. “And if Carlos didn’t possess similar things, we wouldn’t have made the move.” The Dodgers sent Ellis and minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans, along with a player to be named to the Phillies. Ruiz is expected to join the Dodgers on Friday. Ellis is a beloved figure in the Dodgers clubhouse, a crucial liaison with Manager Dave Roberts and a close friend of pitcher Clayton Kershaw. But at 35, his value on offense is limited. He is batting .194 this season, with five hits since the All-Star break. The Dodgers view Ruiz, 37, as a significant upgrade at the plate, and a competent replacement behind the plate and inside the clubhouse. Ruiz has an .830 on-base-plus-slugging percentage this season against left-handed pitchers. The team thinks he can help provide Yasmani Grandal with extra days off against left-handers. “We felt like he fit our group really well, in terms of the ability to handle left-handed pitching, the quality of at-bat,” Friedman said. “The grinder-type approach in the batter’s box. We think he will help really lengthen our lineup.” The Dodgers hold a $4.5-million option on Ruiz for next season. The team hopes his relationship with fellow former Phillie, Chase Utley, can help integrate him into the mix as he gets to know the pitching staff. “As you acquire someone with the baseball IQ and the feel that Carlos has, who hasn’t been around, sometimes they might have helpful suggestions that we’re not seeing from being so mired in it,” Friedman said. “So it works both ways.” Ethier heads to rehab assignment Andre Ethier began a rehabilitation assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night as he attempts a comeback from the broken leg he suffered in March. The Dodgers hope to activate him in September, when he will be a “very welcome addition here,” Friedman said. Ellis 'devastated' by trade to Phillies; shares a cry with 'shocked' Kershaw By Bill Shaikin

The Dodgers exchanged one backup catcher for another on Thursday, the kind of deal that normally attracts little attention. This one gets headlines because of the big names involved. The Dodgers sent A.J. Ellis, one of their most popular players and Clayton Kershaw’s preferred catcher, to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz, 37, has an .830 OPS against left-handers this season. Ellis, 35, has a .616 OPS against left-handers this season. The Dodgers could face left-handers in trying to win the National League West (Madison Bumgarner and Matt Moore of the San Francisco Giants) and in trying to advance through the NL playoffs (Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals and Jon Lester of the Chicago Cubs, although Ruiz is hitless in 14 career at-bats off Lester). Still, Ellis was well-liked in the clubhouse — not just by Kershaw — and disrupting an element of clubhouse chemistry so close to the playoffs can be risky. The trade “makes zero sense,” former Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren tweeted. Ruiz, like Chase Utley, starred for a Phillies team that won five consecutive NL East titles from 2007-11, including the 2008 World Series. The Dodgers’ current roster now includes more players from the ‘08 Phillies (Ruiz, Utley, Joe Blanton) than from the ‘08 Dodgers (Kershaw, Andre Ethier). Ruiz and Ellis are free agents at the end of the season. Ellis would have been unlikely to stay with the Dodgers, as they had groomed Austin Barnes to replace Ellis as their catcher against left-handers next season. The Dodgers also sent Class A pitcher Tommy Bergjans (3-13 with a 4.98 ERA at Class A Rancho Cucamonga) to the Phillies. In turn, the Phillies sent cash to help cover the difference between the salaries of Ruiz ($8.5 million) and Ellis ($4.25 million).

DODGER INSIDER

Arrive early for Beatles Night tonight By Jon Weisman A quick reminder that Beatles Night at Dodger Stadium is tonight, preceding the Dodgers’ 7:10 p.m. game against the National League-leading Chicago Cubs. Fans are encouraged to arrive early … You will be able to take their own picture in front of the above Dodger-ized Abbey Road photo in the Right Field Plaza. Select fans who arrive early will be invited onto the field to play Beatles Trivia — the winner gets to throw the ceremonial first pitch.

Beatles tribute band “The Fab Four” will perform prior to the game, beginning at approximately 6 p.m. The Dodgers are offering a ticket package that includes a ticket to the game and a co-branded Beatles/Dodger 50th Anniversary Beach Towel. Ticket packages can be purchased exclusively at dodgers.com/beatles. Perhaps for the last time, Vin Scully takes us into the ninth inning of a no-hit attempt By Jon Weisman Vin Scully is the king of calling no-hitters, after all. So, nearing the climax of his farewell season, maybe the baseball gods felt it was time for one more for the road. At the end of a head-spinning day at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers were nealry no-hit for the third time in the past two seasons and the second time at Dodger Stadium in the past 362 days, with Matt Moore coming one out shy of completing the feat in a 4-0 San Francisco Giants victory. Below, you’ll find some of the words Scully shared with us, in the twilight of his magical career. Moore, who had allowed only an unearned run in 6 2/3 innings against the Dodgers this year in his last game before Tampa Bay traded him to the Bay Area, walked three and struck out seven. After a 24-pitch eighth inning, he was at 119 pitches but batted for himself in the top of the ninth and came out to the mound minutes later to try to get the final three outs. Kiké Hernandez began the bottom of the ninth, and he smacked a 1-2 pitch to left center that absolutely looked like a hit off the bat. “Curveball whacked to the gap, and here comes Span to make a circus catch!” Scully exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, that is the second tremendous catch by Denard Span to keep the no-hitter alive. And the Giants respond with applause. That looked like a sure extra-base hit — wow! And what a time to do it. And ‘wow’ says Matt Moore.’ … Two outs to go.” Beginning the next at-bat with his 124th pitch, Moore went to a full count on Howie Kendrick. “There’s a lot of drama going on in the Giant dugout, too,” Scully said. “Everybody on the railing rooting for Matt. (Bruce) Bochy counting pitches; they’re not quite sure what to do about it.” Kendrick swung at the seventh pitch of the at-bat. “Ground ball to third. Nice pick by (Eduardo) Nunez. All right, one out to go, and the Greek chorus that is the Giant clubhouse (sees) Corey Seager, on Seager Bobblehead Night.” Seager stepped in to the batters’ box. Many fans at Dodger Stadium were on their feet. Scully: “I’m sure there are a lot of Dodger fans now, who are saying, ‘He’s been so good for so long, I hope he gets it — maybe.”

Seager took a ball, swung and a strike. And then … “Fastball, a little flare into right field — it’s gonna drop! A bloop single to right field, after two great catches by Denard Span, and that will do it for Matt Moore. One hundred and thirty-three pitches, and a blooper to right. And so it goes in this great game.” “It seemed almost unfair– and he’s going to get a standing ovation as he walks back to the dugout — so many pitches, so many close shaves, and finally, a blooper breaks it.” And so went the childlike wonder of the 67-year veteran broadcaster. This would have been the 10th time the Dodgers have been no-hit since moving to Los Angeles in 1958 and 15th time in franchise history. Mike Fiers (at Houston) and Jake Arrieta (for the Cubs) each no-hit the Dodgers in August last year. Moore ended up throwing 133 pitches, the most in baseball since Fiers threw 134. Justin Turner popped out against Santiago Casilla to end the game. Bizarrely, Moore was pitching against Ross Stripling, who in his only previous game against the Giants, threw 7 1/3 no-hit innings. Stripling pitched three more shutout innings before San Francisco struck for three runs in the fourth inning, the last two on a Joe Panik home run. An unearned run off Grant Dayton in the sixth accounted for the Giants’ fourth run. Adrián González, who entered tonight with a 17-game hitting streak, had come the closest to a hit for the Dodgers in the second inning, lining one to left-center that a running Span caught near his shins. San Francisco moved back within two games of the Dodgers in the National League West. #VinTop20: No. 16, Don Drysdale’s streak stays alive By Jon Weisman Between now and Vin Scully Appreciation Day on September 23, the Dodgers are revealing the results of the fan vote ranking Scully’s top 20 Dodger calls of all time, one at each home game. Here’s No. 16: Don Drysdale’s consecutive scoreless inning streak seemed in jeopardy when a confusing and controversial call took place … Why the Dodgers pursued Carlos Ruiz By Jon Weisman

Andrew Friedman, on the decision to trade A.J. Ellis to Philadelphia in a deal for Carlos Ruiz (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com): “It was a tough decision on a personal level,” Friedman said. “From a baseball standpoint, we felt Carlos fit our team extremely well. I can go on and on about A.J. and his attributes and what he brings to a team, and if Carlos didn’t possess similar things, we wouldn’t have made the move. In terms of leadership ability, ability to call a game and run a pitching staff, Carlos rates extremely well in those things and has experience in what he brings to the lineup against left-handed pitching, which (we) focused on as an area we wanted to improve.” Read the entire story here. Shawn Zarraga to back up at catcher tonight, while Scott Van Slyke is moved to 60-day DL By Jon Weisman With Carlos Ruiz not arriving from the Phillies until Friday, Shawn Zarraga will come from Triple-A Oklahoma City tonight to serve as the Dodgers’ backup catcher. Scott Van Slyke, who went on the 15-day disabled list August 9, has been moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Zarraga on the 40-man roster, which means Van Slyke will be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season. Relief pitcher Luis Avilan has been optioned to Oklahoma City to make room on the 25-man roster for Zarraga. In addition, Rob Segedin has been reinstated from the paternity list after missing Wednesday’s game, and will start tonight in right field. The 27-year-old Zarraga would be making his Major League debut if he gets in the game tonight. He has a .348 on-base percentage this year in a season split between Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa. Los Angeles acquired him in December 2014. Oklahoma City’s Austin Barnes, normally next in line for the Dodgers at catcher, has been sidelined since Tuesday after getting hit by a pitch in the hand. Also: With an eye toward a September return, Andre Ethier begins his rehab assignment tonight with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. A.J. Ellis heads to Phillies in Carlos Ruiz trade By Jon Weisman

In an exchange of catchers that will mark the end of an era in Los Angeles, A.J. Ellis has been sent to the Phillies in a trade for Carlos Ruiz. Ellis, minor-league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later or cash considerations will go to Philadelphia in exchange for Ruiz and cash considerations. The 37-year-old Ruiz has a .368 on-base percentage and .352 slugging percentage (.323 weighted on-base average) in 193 plate appearances for the Phillies this year. He has been a tormentor of the Dodgers, with an .860 OPS in his regular-season career, while going 10 for 29 with two doubles, a homer, six walks and a hit-by-pitch in the playoffs against them. Against lefties, Ruiz has consistently had an OPS above .800, including in 2016. Both players have spent their entire careers with one organization — Ruiz signed with Philadelphia as an amateur free agent in 1998, while Ellis was drafted in 2003. Ellis had a .340 on-base percentage and .348 slugging percentage in his 544-game Dodger career, dating back to 2008, plus a 1.065 career postseason OPS. This season, he had a .285 OBP while slugging .252. Obviously, as I hope this piece showed, his presence was one to cherish. Bergjans, a 2015 eighth-round draft choice, had a 4.98 ERA in 130 innings for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. Farm Fresh: August 24 minors highlights By Miranda Perez Highlights from the Dodger farm system from Wednesday, not including Cody Bellinger absolutely getting robbed of a home run (in the video above) … Single-A Great Lakes lefty Caleb Ferguson had a masterful performance despite the Loons’ disappointing 2-1 loss to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, providing five no-hit innings on just 59 pitches. Ferguson has performed much better at home this season (2.14 ERA) than on the road (4.14 ERA). Luis De Paula came on in relief and took the combined no-hit bid into the seventh before Fort Wayne knocked in the tying run. Single-A Rancho Cucamonga made a late comeback to beat Lake Elsinore, 4-2, thanks to clutch hitting by Will Smith, Mike Ahmed and Brandon Trinkwon. Smith tied the game in the sixth with an RBI single, and Ahmed hit a pair of doubles to go 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored. Trinkwon knocked in three runs, going 3 for 4 with a stolen base. Adam Bray, who has yet to lose a game in the minors this season, started the game and tossed six quality innings, allowing two unearned runs while striking out seven, but Rob Rogers came away with the win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief. A solo homer by Jack Murphy (2 for 4) provided the only run for Triple-A Oklahoma City, which struck out 15 times in its 5-1 loss to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

Rookie League Ogden walked off in the 10th on Errol Robinson’s RBI single for an 11-10 victory over Grand Junction. DJ Peters and Brandon Montgomery each homered and went 2 for 5. Dodger Stadium to host 2017 World Baseball Classic semifinals and final By Cary Osborne For the second time in the tournament’s history, Dodger Stadium will host the World Baseball Classic semifinals and finals. The games will take place from March 20-22, 2017. “The Los Angeles Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles are excited to be selected as the host of the World Baseball Classic semifinals and final,” said Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten. “Dodger Stadium and our great fans look forward to the finest players in the world competing for the WBC championship.” Dodger Stadium previously hosted the WBC championship in 2009, when Japan defeated Korea 5-3 in a 10-inning raucous final where an enthusiastic sellout crowd saw Ichiro Suzuki’s game-winning hit and Los Angeles’ introduction to Hyun-Jin Ryu, who pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief. Three other North American venues were announced as hosts for WBC games. First-round games of the 2017 WBC will be played at Marlins Park in Miami and Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. Petco Park in San Diego will host second-round games. Pool C in Miami will feature the defending WBC champion Dominican Republic, Canada, Colombia and the United States, while Pool D in Guadalajara will play host to Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Pool A games will be played in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, and Pool B games will be played in Seoul, South Korea at the Gocheok Sky Dome. The first and second round format will be round-robin pool play, with each team playing the others in their pool once. The top two teams in each of the four first-round pools will advance to the second round. Dodgers improved, but A.J. Ellis will be missed By Eric Stephen The Dodgers probably got better on Thursday, with the addition of Carlos Ruiz as their backup catcher. But that doesn’t make it any less painful that A.J. Ellis is gone. The writing was on the wall with Ellis a free agent at season’s end, hitting just .194/.285/.252 in limited duty in 2016. But I always assumed that breakup would happen in the offseason.

Ruiz is better against left-handed pitching, something that has plagued the Dodgers all season long, and Yasmani Grandal as productive as he is needs to rest now and then. He started 15 of the last 17 games, and Friday night marked the first time Grandal has started five consecutive days all season. With Austin Barnes getting hit by a pitch on the hand earlier in the week, the Dodgers’ catching depth suddenly looked awfully thin, so adding Ruiz made perfect sense. But with rosters expanding in September, just a week away, Ellis at least in theory could have been kept around, even if he was lower on the depth chart. But in actuality that seems like a pipe dream, with Phillies general manager Matt Klentak telling reporters he was “adamant” Ellis be included in the deal, per CSN Philly, to be around Jorge Alfaro and the other Phillies catchers over the final month. Ellis, drafted in 2003, loved being a Dodger. He was the longest-tenured player in the organization, was immersed in the club’s history, and was always available, for teammates, reporters, fans, anyone. “One of the great things about being a Dodger is all the legends you get to see,” Ellis said on Wednesday during an MLB.com chat. “I have two legends I got to spend a lot of time with and build a relationship with. You still see their competitiveness, you still see their greatness years after they retired, in Don Newcombe and Sandy Koufax.” On Thursday, Ellis visited children at Cedars Sinai, while also visiting teammate Rob Segedin and his newborn son. Speaking of Segedin... This is the sentiment from someone who was a teammate of Ellis for all of three weeks, plus spring training. That was Ellis. That said, to say the Dodgers ignored clubhouse chemistry in making this trade doesn’t fly. A team not interested in clubhouse chemistry doesn’t send Yasiel Puig to the minors for reasons that went beyond his performance on the field. The loss of Ellis will be felt, certainly, but to think the Dodgers clubhouse would be ripped apart because of it does a disservice to the players as professionals. Ruiz has a great reputation within baseball as well, and will help fill some of the void. Ellis and Clayton Kershaw were obviously close, and Kershaw loved throwing to Ellis, and Ellis loved catching Kershaw. Even in a worst-case scenario that Kershaw would be so angry at this move that he wants out as soon as possible, the Dodgers have two years to mend that fence before Kershaw can actually opt out. But again, the reality is that Kershaw is a professional and will handle it accordingly, and still be Clayton Kershaw when he pitches, no matter who is catching. Despite being drafted in 2003, Ellis didn’t reach the majors until 2008, and played only sparingly in his first four years in the majors. But he got his first full-time gig at age 31 and ran with it, hitting .270/.373/.414 as one of the most durable catchers in the league.

Ellis hit the division-clinching home run in 2013 in Arizona, setting off a wonderful pool party. A master of timing, Ellis even knew to make sure to get his picture taken with Vin Scully last homestand rather than at season’s end, the 67th and final season of Scully’s career. Through countless hours of work on his swing, he made himself a major league hitter, and has a lifetime .340 on-base percentage. Ellis notched a spot for himself in Dodgers franchise lore, 10th in the last 104 years with 485 starts behind the plate. His 12.4-percent walk rate is second-highest among all Dodgers catchers with at least 1,000 plate appearances, trailing only Joe Ferguson. Ellis just wasn’t producing this season, and that’s why the Dodgers traded for Ruiz. That doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. One of favorite Ellis stories came in 2012, when he described how his wife Cindy had confidence in him during his toil through the minors: "I asked my wife right after we got engaged, 'Do you want me to keep going?' I hadn't even played a game in Double A yet, and had just finally became a part time player. Edwin Bellorin was the other catcher," Ellis said. "I asked her what she thought, and she said, 'We're going to do this. You're going to play in the big leagues. We're going to keep going until they tell you you can't play any more' I never myself felt like that. Here’s hoping that Ellis keeps going as long as he wants, wherever that may be. Johan Mieses hits his 28th home run as Quakes defeat Storm By Craig Minami Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes both won on Thursday, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Ogden and AZL Dodgers were on the losing side. Player of the day Outfielder Johan Mieses hit his tenth home run in August and his 28th home run of the season in the Quake's win over the Storm. Mieses leads the California League in home runs. Triple-A Oklahoma City The Dodgers were shutout by the Sky Sox (Brewers) 5-0 as they lose their second straight game of their final homestand in the regular season. Logan Bawcom gave up all five runs in his five innings of work. Louis Coleman continued his rehab pitching one inning and striking out three.

The Dodgers only had two hits, Micah Johnson and Yasiel Puig each singled. Double-A Tulsa The Drillers lost 7-2 to the Travelers (Angels). Isaac Anderson gave up three runs in five innings and then the game got out of reach when Michael Johnson allowed four runs in two innings of work. Cody Bellinger hit his 19th home run to provide all the offense the Drillers would have on Thursday. Class-A Rancho Cucamonga The Quakes scored nine runs in the first two innings and they went on to down the Storm (Padres) 12-5 at LoanMart Field. Dodger outfielder Andre Ethier began his rehab assignment as a designated hitter and he went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. The Quakes hit three home runs, Mike Ahmed hit a grand slam, Johan Mieses and Matt Beaty each hit solo shots. Tim Shibuya gave up three runs in five innings as he won his third game of the season. Kevin Brown pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game. Class-A Great Lakes The Loons shutout the TinCaps (Padres) 2-0 as they maintained their ½ game lead for the final playoff spot. Victor Gonzalez, Dean Kremer and Shea Spitzbarth combined for 18 strikeouts and gave up only two hits and three walks. Victor Gonzalez returned from the disabled list and he struck out nine in 4⅔ innings. Dean Kremer struck out three in 2⅓ innings. Shea Spitzbarth was even more impressive as he struck out all six hitters he faced. Spitzbarth has had interesting season, while his short stay at Oklahoma City was a bit rocky, he has pitched well at Ogden and Great Lakes. In those two stops, Spitzbarth has struck out 53 in 33⅓ innings. Pioneer - Ogden The Raptors lost 12-3 to the Rockies as the Rockies scored at least a run in the first five innings of play. The Rockies jumped over the Raptors into the division lead. Brandon Montgomery did hit his fifth home run and he went 3-for-4 with a double and that home run. Arizona League - AZL Dodgers AZL Dodgers were shutout 3-0 by the AZL Brewers. The loss eliminated the AZL Dodgers from playoff contention. Dominican Summer League - Dodgers One & Dodgers Two

Both the Dodgers One vs. Twins and the Dodgers Two vs. Athletics games were postponed due to the rain. Transactions Triple-A: Los Angeles purchased the contract of catcher Shawn Zarraga from Oklahoma City. Class-A: Left-handed pitcher Luis De Paula assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Great Lakes; Los Angeles sent outfielder Andre Ethier on a rehab assignment to Rancho Cucamonga; right-handed pitcherJose Santos assigned to Great Lakes from Ogden; Great Lakes placed right-handed pitcher Imani Abdullah on the 7-day disabled list; Great Lakes activated left-handed pitcher Victor Gonzalez from the 7-day disabled list. Thursday Scores Colorado Springs 5, Oklahoma City 0 Arkansas 7, Tulsa 2 Rancho Cucamonga 12, Lake Elsinore 5 Great Lakes 2, Fort Wayne 0 Grand Junction 12. Ogden 3 AZL Brewers 3, AZL Dodgers 0 Friday Schedule 4:35 p.m. PT - Great Lakes (Yadier Alvarez) at South Bend (Cubs) (Jose Paulino) 5:05 p.m. - Colorado Springs (Josh Hader) at Oklahoma City (Brock Stewart) 5:05 p.m. - Arkansas (Alex Klonowski) at Tulsa (Seth Frankoff) 5:30 p.m. - Grand Junction (Riley Pint) at Ogden (Rob McDonnell) 7:00 p.m. - AZL Brewers at AZL Dodgers 7:05 p.m. - Rancho Cucamonga (Felipe Gonzalez) at Inland Empire (Angels) (Garrett Nuss) Dodgers left wanting Moore in finale with Giants By Eric Stephen

Matt Moore put to bed any ideas of a Dodgers sweep on Thursday night, coming within one out of a no-hitter to lead the Giants to a 4-0 win in the series finale at Dodger Stadium, pulling to within two games in the National League West. After making one run hold up in their win on Wednesday night, the Dodgers had a heat check on Thursday, trying their best to win with zero runs. But the pesky Giants wouldn’t oblige. Yasmani Grandal walked in the second inning, the 18th walk by Moore in his first 25 innings with the Giants. But that was pretty much it for the Dodgers, as Moore retired the next 14 straight before a walk to Corey Seager in the seventh. Moore walked Grandal again in the eighth, but then retired the next five batters to come within one out of history. But Seager blooped a single into right field, ending Moore’s night at 133 pitches, an MLB season high, and one hit allowed. Santiago Casilla relieved Moore, retiring Justin Turner on just one pitch to finish off the win for the Giants. Ross Stripling stranded doubles in the second and fifth innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth. A single by Brandon Crawford opened the inning, then a potential double play ball back to the box was dropped by Stripling, who recovered to only get one out at first base. Brandon Belt, hitting .209/.348/.357 since the All-Star break entering Thursday and dropped to seventh in the batting order, his lowest spot against a right-handed pitcher all year, followed with an RBI single to give the Giants their first lead of the series, 1-0. Joe Panik then hammered a changeup into the right field pavilion to widen San Francisco’s advantage to 3-0. The Giants added a gift run against Grant Dayton in the sixth, taking advantage of a rare miscue by Justin Turner at third, a bobble of a soft liner by Moore to extend the inning. Up next After making it through one gauntlet, the Dodgers conclude their homestand with a weekend series against the surging Cubs, winners of 22 of their last 27 games. Bud Norris starts the opener on Friday night for the Dodgers, a 7:10 p.m. PT start. Left-hander Mike Montgomery gets the call for Chicago. Thursday particulars Home run: Joe Panik (8) WP - Matt Moore (8-10): 8⅔ IP, 1 hit, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts LP - Ross Stripling (4-4): 5 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Dodgers call up Shawn Zarraga By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES — With A.J. Ellis traded and gone, and while waiting for Carlos Ruiz to arrive in Los Angeles, the Dodgers were in need of at least a temporary backup catcher for Thursday night against the Giants. Shawn Zarraga was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to fill that purpose. Reliever Luis Avilan was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City to make room on the active roster. To make room on the 40-man roster for Zarraga, Scott Van Slyke was transferred to the 60-day DL. He last played on Aug. 7, so this effectively ends his regular season. Austin Barnes is the other catcher on the 40-man roster, but was hit by a pitch on his hand and had to leave Tuesday’s game with Oklahoma City. He hasn’t played since. The switch-hitting Zarraga, 27, hit .265/.348/.327 with seven doubles in 41 games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2016. Zarraga will wear No. 73. Dodgers activate Rob Segedin from paternity list By Eric Stephen LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Thursday activated Rob Segedin from the paternity list, after he missed Wednesday’s game to be with his wife and newborn son. Segedin’s wife Robin gave birth to their first child, Robinson, born at 11:36 p.m. PT on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Starting Lineups Giants Dodgers CF Span (L) CF Hernandez LF Pagan (S) LF Kendrick C Posey SS Seager (L) RF Pence 3B Turner SS Crawford (L) 1B Gonzalez (L) 3B Nunez C Grandal (S) 1B Belt (L) RF Segedin 2B Panik (L) 2B Culberson P Moore (L) P Stripling Location: Dodger Stadium

Time: 7:10 p.m. PT TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network Radio: AM 570 That came after Segedin’s second home run in as many days. He hit his first major league home run on Monday in Cincinnati. In 15 games in the majors this season, his first stint in the big leagues, Segedin is hitting .286/.325/.486 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 40 plate appearances. He starts in right field on Thursday night against left-handed pitcher Matt Moore. Other right-handed bats in the lineup include Charlie Culberson at second base and Kiké Hernandez in center field, with left-handed batters Chase Utley and Joc Pederson sitting, as they did Tuesday night against southpaw Madison Bumgarner. The Dodgers have not announced the corresponding roster move for Segedin returning, but with A.J. Ellis traded Segedin just takes his active roster spot. But with Ellis gone and Carlos Ruiz not yet in Los Angeles, the Dodgers at the moment don’t have a backup catcher for Thursday night, though that will change before game time.

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Are Corey and Kyle Seager having the best brother season ever? By David Schoenfield Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is having an awesome rookie season, hitting .322 with 22 home runs and on pace to score more than 100 runs. Older brother Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners is having a terrific season as well, on pace to hit 30 home runs and top 100 RBIs -- not that anybody is talking much about him. In fact, Kyle ranks seventh among all position players in WAR (5.7), and Corey (5.3) ranks 10th. So, inquiring minds want to know: Where does this rank among the best brother seasons ever? Let's do some digging. Note that some of the best brother combos never managed to align their best seasons -- such as Pedro and Ramon Martinez -- and I didn't consider cases where one brother was a star and the other wasn't, such as Cal and Billy Ripken. Paul and Lloyd Waner (1927) The only brothers in the Hall of Fame, Paul was a legitimate star, but Lloyd is one of the worst Hall of Famers, a singles-hitting outfielder who hit .300 in an era when everyone hit .300. They were longtime teammates with the Pirates, Lloyd in center field, Paul in right. For their best season, I'd go with 1927, when the Pirates reached the World Series. Paul was in his second season and won NL MVP after leading the league in batting average and RBIs, and Lloyd was a rookie who led the league with 133 runs.

Paul: .380/.437/.549, 9 HR, 131 RBIs, 6.9 WAR Lloyd: .355/.396/.410, 2 HR, 27 RBIs, 2.7 WAR Dizzy and Paul Dean (1934) They famously led the Cardinals to the 1934 World Series title as Dizzy teamed up with rookie Paul (who was sometimes called Daffy): Dizzy: 30-7, 2.66 ERA, 311.2 IP, 8.5 WAR Paul: 19-11, 3.43 ERA, 233.1 IP, 4.9 WAR There wasn't a Cy Young Award then, but Dizzy won MVP, and Paul finished ninth. In the World Series, each won two games as the Cardinals beat the Tigers in seven games. Dizzy would make the Hall of Fame, and Paul would win 19 games again in 1935 before getting injured. Joe and Dom DiMaggio (1941) Joe, of course, is a legendary Hall of Famer, but younger brother Dom was an excellent player as well, a seven-time All-Star despite missing three years because of World War II. They were also rivals, with Joe patrolling center field for the Yankees and Dom for the Red Sox. They both crossed 5.0 WAR in 1942, although their highest combined WAR came in 1941 ... which also happened to be the best season for a third brother, Vince: Joe: .357/.440/.643, 30 HR, 125 RBIs, 9.1 WAR Dom: .283/.385/.408, 8 HR, 58 RBIs, 3.0 WAR Vince: .267/.354/.456, 21 HR, 100 RBIs, 3.7 WAR Joe and Dom made the All-Star team, and Joe won MVP honors over Ted Williams thanks to his 56-game hitting streak. Ken and Clete Boyer (1962) Both outstanding defensive third basemen (although because of Brooks Robinson, Clete didn't win a Gold Glove until he went to the NL late in his career), Ken also won an MVP Award in 1964 with the Cardinals. Clete had a decent year at the plate with the Yankees in 1962: Ken: .291/.369/.470, 24 HR, 98 RBIs, 5.6 WAR Clete: .272/.331/.413, 18 HR, 68 RBIs, 4.6 WAR Felipe and Matty Alou (1968)

They once teamed with brother Jesus in the same Giants outfield, but Felipe and Matty were both great in 1968 (the year of the pitcher), Felipe with the Braves and Matty with the Pirates: Felipe: .317/.365/.438, 11 HR, 57 RBIs, 6.5 WAR Matty: .332/.362/.396, 0 HR, 52 RBIs, 5.3 WAR They finished second and third in the batting race behind Pete Rose. Gaylord and Jim Perry (1970) The only brothers to win Cy Young Awards, they finished just behind the Niekros with 529 wins. Gaylord won his first of two Cy Youngs in 1972 with the Indians, with an absolute monster 11.0 WAR season, but Jim didn't have one of his best seasons. They were teammates with the Indians in 1974 and combined for 38 wins and 12.9 WAR. In 1969, Gaylord had a 6.5-WAR season and Jim a career-best 6.2. But both nearly won the Cy Young Award in 1970: Gaylord: 23-13, 3.20 ERA, 328.1 IP, 7.6 WAR Jim: 24-12, 3.04 ERA, 278.2 IP, 3.8 WAR Both led their respective league in wins, Jim won the AL Cy Young, and Gaylord finished second in the NL voting. George and Ken Brett (1976) This is fun, because one was a hitter and one was a pitcher (although Ken was a good hitting pitcher). George had his breakout season in 1976 when he won his first batting title, and Ken had his best season: George: .333/.377/.462, 7 HR, 67 RBIs, 7.5 WAR Ken: 10-12, 3.32 ERA, 203 IP, 4.1 WAR Phil and Joe Niekro (1979) Joe Niekro finished second in the 1979 Cy Young voting for the Astros. Brother Phil finished sixth pitching for the Braves that season. Rich Pilling/MLB Photos via Getty Images The knuckleballing brothers combined for 539 wins, with Hall of Famer Phil winning 318. Joe reached the majors as a conventional pitcher, began throwing the knuckleball in 1971 and had perfected it by the late '70s. How about 1979: Phil: 21-20, 3.39 ERA, 342 IP, 7.6 WAR Joe: 21-11, 3.00 ERA, 263.2 IP, 3.5 WAR

They tied for the league lead in wins with Joe finishing second in the Cy Young voting for the Astros and Phil, pitching on a terrible Braves team, finishing sixth. Joe's best season was 1982 (6.8 WAR), and Phil went 17-4 that year with a 3.65 ERA. Sandy Alomar and Roberto Alomar (1997) Sandy made six All-Star teams and Hall of Famer Roberto made 12, so they must have had some great seasons, right? Well, the whole Sandy Alomar All-Star thing never made sense at the time, as he was often injured and finished his career with just 13.7 WAR. His best season was 1997, but Roberto was injured that year and played just 112 games, cutting into his overall value: Sandy: .324/.354/.545, 21 HR, 83 RBI, 3.9 WAR Roberto: .333/.390/.500, 14 HR, 60 RBI, 3.4 WAR Brian and Marcus Giles (2003) A surprise entrant, but Marcus did have one big season in 2003 (although Brian had better years): Brian: .299/.427/.514, 20 HR, 88 RBIs, 4.5 WAR Marcus: .316/.390/.526, 21 HR, 69 RBIs, 7.8 WAR Corey and Kyle Seager (2016 -- through Aug. 25) Corey: .322/.377/.538, 22 HR, 61 RBIs, 5.3 WAR Kyle: .286/.364/.516, 24 HR, 83 RBIs, 5.7 WAR What makes the Seager brothers so impressive is that both are going to pass 6.0 WAR -- the only other example I found was the Perry brothers in 1969 -- with a chance to reach 7.0 WAR. It's hard to beat what the Dean brothers did in 1934, teaming up to win a World Series, but Corey and Kyle might be having the best brother season ever. Trading A.J. Ellis for Carlos Ruiz actually makes perfect sense By David Schoenfield There was a lot of head-scratching on Twitter over the exchange of veteran backup catchers, with the Los Angeles Dodgers trading A.J. Ellis and minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Ruiz. Ellis is a highly regarded "glue guy," so why bother messing with clubhouse chemistry when the team is playing so well? Ellis is also Clayton Kershaw's personal catcher, so why risk upsetting Kershaw, especially considering he has an opt-out clause after 2018 in his contract?

The answer is simple: Ruiz is the better player. Ellis is hitting .194/.285/.252. Among 351 players with at least 150 plate appearances, he ranks 347th. Ruiz is hitting a more acceptable .268/.368/.352. Both are relatively small samples, and Ellis was better than Ruiz at the plate last season, but the current evidence suggests that Ruiz is the better hitter. As for his being Kershaw's personal catcher, it's pretty clear that Ellis has a good relationship with Kershaw, but it should be noted that Ellis has never rated well as a pitch-framer (unlike Dodgers starter Yasmani Grandal). Kershaw has a 1.97 ERA when Ellis catches him and a 1.98 ERA in 18 outings with Grandal. At this point, there is no strong evidence that Kershaw is better with Ellis catching. Of course, all that is assuming that Kershaw returns to the rotation in the first place. Plus, if the Dodgers make the playoffs, do you want to bench Grandal -- who, by the way, is hitting .269/.387/.577 in the second half -- to play a sub-.200-hitting Ellis? I don't see Dave Roberts making that move. Most importantly, this trade is about having better insurance in case Grandal gets injured. Ellis has postseason experience, but Ruiz has plenty as well, including winning the 2008 World Series with the Phillies. As for Kershaw leaving after 2018 because of Ellis? Ellis is unlikely to be in the majors at that point anyway. Kershaw isn't going to leave the team because it traded his buddy. Sure, it stings. Ellis has been in the organization since the Dodgers drafted him in the 18th round in 2003. As president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, "I can go on and on about A.J. and his attributes and what he brings to a team, and if Carlos didn't possess similar things, we wouldn't have made the move." Ellis was crushed. "To know that, in almost all likelihood, I will never get to catch [Kershaw] again is definitely the most devastating thing I'm feeling right now," he said. But players know that the ultimate bottom line on any team is that you have to produce. Ellis hasn't produced, and the Dodgers saw an opportunity to make an upgrade. It's the right move. It's baseball. Dazed and confused: Dodgers carved up by Giants' Matt Moore By Doug Padilla LOS ANGELES -- It might be best to start here: The San Francisco Giants' Matt Moore owned the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. No ifs, ands or history-crushing bloop hits about it. Moore dazzled, losing his no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning, and the Giants grabbed a 4-0 victory to pull to within two games of the Dodgers' lead in the National League West.

Yet there was another dynamic at play in the finale of a three-game series between longtime rivals. The Dodgers were a vulnerable squad at the outset, entering their chance at a series sweep with a far-too-large dose of reality earlier in the day. Hours before the Dodgers took the field, everybody's friend A.J. Ellis was traded. Here today, gone to Philadelphia. A team leader, kind soul and meticulous game planner uprooted by the club for the chance at a little more offense. Unity, loyalty and a sense of team be damned. Adrian Gonzalez denied that there was an emotional spillover when the Dodgers took the field Thursday, but others were willing to bare their soul, starting with rookie Corey Seager, the guy who broke up Moore's no-hitter with two out in the ninth. Seager, on his very first bobblehead night no less, was asked if there was an emotional spillover into Thursday's game. "Yeah, there might be," Seager said. "It's one of those things you don't really know. It's human nature to really miss a guy like that and be disappointed. But it's one of those things that you have to move along and keep playing." Enrique Hernandez, somewhat of a left-handed pitching sniper, agreed after going for 0-for-4. "Maybe, but we can't really put out any excuses," Hernandez said. "When we started the game we were flat, and he was on tonight and we didn't make an adjustment. Before we knew it, it was the ninth inning and we didn't have a hit." It's tricky business lamenting your own emotional day when the opposing pitcher authored the kind of classic Moore did Thursday. Showing a cut fastball he wasn't using when he started at Dodger Stadium a month ago in his Tampa Bay Rays swan song, Moore sliced through the Dodgers only to have his prize stolen on his 133rd pitch of the night. Seager's hit was a bloop to right field that fell in front of the Giants' Gorkys Hernandez. Dodgers fans cheered. Moore was removed from the game immediately and Justin Turner popped out on the next pitch to end it. In an odd way, maybe this was just the kind of game the Dodgers needed. They know they will not be allowed any more time to emote over the Ellis departure. And perhaps more important, the Dodgers know about Moore's cutter now and aren't discovering it on the final weekend of the regular season in the Bay Area, with the division title possibly on the line. "It's definitely nice to know he has it now, considering we are going to see him a few more times," Seager said. This was the Dodgers' biggest fear, of course, getting dominated by a left-hander this way. It's why the Ellis move was made in the first place, with the Dodgers acquiring Carlos Ruiz, who is expected to do a little more damage against lefties than the little-used Ellis might do down the stretch.

The Dodgers' issues with left-handers might or might not be the reason the Chicago Cubs rearranged the deck recently to have left-hander Mike Montgomery starting in Friday's series opener at Dodger Stadium in a clash of division leaders. Lefty Jon Lester will start in the series finale Sunday. Asked about the Dodgers' lefty blind spot, manager Dave Roberts remained eternally optimistic, not having to go too far back to show why his club will be just fine in that department. "You know what, it's one of those things where two days ago we faced one of the best left-handers in the game [Madison Bumgarner] and fared pretty well," Roberts said. "Today, Matt threw the ball well." Maybe the Dodgers were dazed by the business side of baseball Thursday. But there is no more time to stagger around. They have to give Moore the credit he is due and move on quickly. The Cubs enter Friday with the best record in baseball. "He was good, he was really good tonight," Seager said of Moore. "Tip your hat to him. But we won the series and that's all we were looking to do. Just keep winning series." Matt Moore falls one out short of no-hitter, gets 1st win for Giants By AP LOS ANGELES -- After losing his no-hit bid with one out to go, Matt Moore just smiled. The San Francisco lefty gave up a soft, clean single to Corey Seager with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 Thursday night. "Giving up a base hit right there is a part of the game," Moore said. "It was a fun ride all the way up until that point ... there's not a lot to be angry about. I think the smile just kind of came out." Moore's try ended on his 133rd pitch. It was Seager Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium, and a sellout crowd cheered Moore after the ball plopped onto the grass in shallow right field. Matt Moore came one out short of being the first Giants pitcher to no-hit the Dodgers in more than 100 years, but he did get a critical win. Moore was pulled immediately. Giants manager Bruce Bochy had been pacing in the dugout for a couple of innings as Moore's pitch count climbed; he had missed most of the past two seasons after Tommy John surgery. "He was excited to have a chance at it. He was very grateful and said, 'Thanks, I appreciate you giving me a chance,'" Bochy said. "He didn't show any signs of frustration or disappointing end to give up a hit there. He pitched his heart out." Asked about his emotions in getting the hit to break up the no-hitter, Seager said: "Not much. It's one of those things where you don't ever want that to happen. Like I said, we won the series, and you're still happy about that."

Giants center fielder Denard Span sprinted for two outstanding catches, including a leadoff grab in the ninth, to give Moore a chance. Bochy said he was concerned about Moore's pitch count, but Moore had told him he felt great. "He had everything working tonight," Bochy said. "He saved us from getting swept. It was the biggest game all year." Moore earned his first win for the Giants since they got him in a trade with Tampa Bay on Aug. 1. The victory moved the Giants to within two games of the NL West-leading Dodgers. The 27-year-old Moore nearly gave San Francisco a major-league-record five straight years with a no-hitter. And he almost became the first Giants pitcher to no-hit the archrival Dodgers since 1915, when New York's Rube Marquard stopped Brooklyn. Moore struck out seven and walked three. Reliever Santiago Casilla needed just one pitch to get the final out. Moore retired 14 straight batters inone stretch and is now 1-3 in five starts for the Giants. He was 7-7 with the Rays when they dealt him at the trading deadline for infielder Matt Duffy and two minor leaguers. This was Moore's 99th start in the majors, and his only previous complete game was a shutout. He came close to doubling that total, and a lot more. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta of the Cubs remains the only pitcher with a no-hitter this year, doing it at Cincinnati in April. Ross Stripling (3-5) took the loss. In his major league debut earlier this year, he held the Giants hitless for 7 1/3 innings in San Francisco, but then manager Dave Roberts relieved him because of a pitch count. The Dodgers won two of three games and didn't allow the no-hitter, something positive they can take from the game. "I think in some weird way, it does," Roberts said. "They really wanted this game to salvage the series. I think there's a little something that salvages it for us in a strange way. "Obviously, they still got the victory, and we'll be ready tomorrow." Joe Panik hit a two-run homer for a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Span ran a long way into the left-center field gap in the second inning, reaching below his knee to catch a slicing drive by Adrian Gonzalez near the warning track. In the ninth, Span rushed over to grab a sinking liner by Enrique Hernandez. Moore tipped his cap to the center fielder for the effort.

The Giants remain tied with the Dodgers for the most consecutive years with a no-hitter. Chris Heston threw one last year for San Francisco, Tim Lincecum did it in 2014 and also in 2013 -- with 148 pitches -- and Matt Cain had a perfect game in 2012. The Dodgers threw them from 1962 to '65, all by Sandy Koufax. TRAINER'S ROOM Dodgers: Andre Ethier (broken right tibia) began a rehab assignment at Class A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday. UP NEXT Giants: Jeff Samardzija (10-9, 4.17) starts the series opener at home against the Braves. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Mets on Sunday, the longest such bid of his career. Samardzija is 2-2 with a 2.92 ERA in five career starts against Atlanta. Braves starter Joel De La Cruz (0-6, 4.47) will face the Giants for the first time. Dodgers: RHP Bud Norris (6-10, 4.69) will start the series opener against the Cubs. He is 5-5 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 career games vs. Chicago. He had a win against the Cubs when he was with the Braves earlier this year. The Cubs will start LHP Mike Montgomery (1-1, 2.77). A.J. Ellis trade sets off a series of Dodgers moves By Doug Padilla LOS ANGELES -- Call it the A.J. Ellis ripple effect. The trade of the Los Angeles Dodgers' team- and fan-favorite catcher set off a number of moves Thursday. With Ellis headed to Philadelphia and new catcher Carlos Ruiz not expected to arrive until Friday, the Dodgers had to find a backup plan. With Austin Barnes dealing with a sore hand, Shawn Zarraga was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. A 44th-round draft pick in 2007, the 27-year-old Zarraga has played nine seasons in the minor leagues and will get to put on a major league uniform for the first time despite batting just .194 in 16 games at Oklahoma City with a .222 slugging percentage. Overall at both Triple-A and Double-A this season, Zarraga is batting .265 with a .327 slugging percentage. The waves moved further outward: To get Zarraga on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers ended up putting Scott Van Slyke on the 60-day disabled list. Van Slyke, who has been out with a right wrist injury, will now be out for the remainder of the regular season since he went on the DL on Aug. 9. And to get Zarraga on the active roster, left-handed reliever Luis Avilan was sent back to Oklahoma City.

In a move that had nothing to do with the Ellis trade, infielder/outfielder Rob Segedin was reinstated from the paternity list. He missed one game after the birth of his son late Tuesday night. A.J. Ellis 'devastated' by trade to Phillies, shares teary farewell with ex-battery mate Clayton Kershaw By Doug Padilla LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers added a chemistry test to the equation Thursday, trading beloved backup catcher A.J. Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies in order to improve the team's fortunes against left-handed pitching. The Dodgers landed right-handed hitting catcher Carlos Ruiz in the transaction, as well as cash considerations, while minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later also went to the Phillies along with Ellis. Ellis was not only the longest tenured Dodgers player, having spent 13 years in the organization and the last seven in the major leagues, he was also extremely close with staff ace Clayton Kershaw. Ellis said a number of emotional goodbyes with players and staff Thursday, but the most emotional was with Kershaw. "Baseball is funny, anything can happen in the future, but to know that in almost all likelihood I will never get to catch him again is without a doubt the most devastating thing I am feeling right now," Ellis said. "To feel that and for both of us to hang out here and try to process what was happening, it was very difficult." Ellis has said that catching Kershaw is like having an up-close-and-personal look at somebody on the road to the Hall of Fame. The duo sat on the dugout bench together Thursday afternoon without much to say. "I think the shock kind of it hit us both simultaneously and we both cried," Ellis said. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said that team leadership and chemistry were all taken into account, suggesting that the front office chewed on the deal for multiple days. In the end, though, the Dodgers were intent on improving a lineup that was 13th in the National League in OPS against lefties at .663. Ruiz has just 44 at-bats against lefties this year, but he has two of his three home runs in those at-bats. He has 121 at-bats against right-handers. Over his 11-year career, Ruiz has a .275 batting average and an .814 OPS against lefties, compared to .265 and .722 against righties. "I think that is a big part of it is him against left-handed pitching, just the quality of at-bat," Friedman said of the 37-year-old Ruiz. "It was something, as a whole that [we] were focused on in July and then into August was just ways to lengthen our lineup against left-handed pitching. ... With Carlos, we felt that we could get more offensive production out of that position."

Ellis said he was at a neighborhood park with his son Thursday morning when he received a text to come for a meeting in manager Dave Roberts' office. Although he guessed what the meeting was likely about, the confirmation of the trade hit him hard. "It's a really, really sad day for me; it's a really sad day for my family," Ellis said. "The one thing I am most proud of is being a Dodger for my entire career. I was drafted by these guys in '03 and to have been the longest tenured Dodger was something I was extremely proud of. To have that gone now in a blink of an eye, without much time to feel finality to it, it rips your heart out." Ellis was getting only sporadic playing time of late as catcher Yasmani Grandal had been flourishing both behind the plate and with the bat. Ellis was batting just .194 with a .252 OPS in just 139 at-bats. But his departure is sure to be felt. Friedman was asked how much of the chemistry equation was considered to make the potential offensive return from Ruiz worth making the deal. "All of our interests are perfectly aligned in terms of doing everything we can to bring a world championship back to Los Angeles," Friedman said. "The various players we talked to on a personal level, it's hard for everybody, but understood the thought process, and at least if they disagreed with the assessment of the players, just understand that the whole goal in everything we are trying to do is win." MLB Rumor Central: Dodgers not desperate to move Yasiel Puig? By John Silver Yasiel Puig's time in Los Angeles appeared at an end when the Dodgers demoted the talented, yet mercurial, outfielder to Triple-A Oklahoma City at the trade deadline. Rumor CentralThe Dodgers do have Puig on the trade market, but teams hoping to get a discount are out of luck. According to Jon Heyman at Today's Knuckleball, teams are finding that the Dodgers are not desperate to move Puig. Heyman, citing anonymous sources, said that some teams have had offers turned down for Puig and that there is a feeling the Dodgers aren't ready to move on. Part of that has to do with the immense talent that Puig possesses and the fact he's played well in Oklahoma City, hitting .419 with a .479 on-base percentage since the demotion. More importantly, Puig appears to have behaved, according to Heyman, which makes the Dodgers more reluctant to move him without getting anything significant in return.

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Emotional Dodgers Nearly No-Hit by Matt Moore, Lose to Giants 4-0

By Michael Duarte Maybe the Dodgers do miss A.J. Ellis. Just hours after the team announced they had traded away their most popular and longest tenured teammate, the emotional Dodgers were nearly no-hit by Matt Moore as the San Francisco Giants salvaged their series with Los Angeles, 4-0, on Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. "It's hard to lose a guy like that before the game," said Corey Seager who had the game's only hit. "There might have been some emotions spilling over into the game. It's one of those things that you'd like to put behind you, but it's human nature to miss a guy like that." San Francisco acquired the lefty Moore at the MLB trade deadline in order to thwart the rival Los Angeles Dodgers who are last in the league at hitting left-handed pitching. "They acquired him for a reason and we've had our struggles against left-handed pitching but everyday is a different game," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "I'm sure we're going to see him two more times. If he throws like that, we're going to have our work cut out. We need to make adjustments." On Thursday, the Giants plan of attack was realized, and boy was it a beauty. Moore (8-10) was one out away from history when rookie Corey Seager sliced a single to right field to end the no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning. "You're still going up there and competing, you're still trying to get on base, still trying to win a game," Seager said of his approach in that final at-bat. "He was really good tonight. Tip your hat to him." After a pitching change, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy brought in closer Santiago Casilla who made one-pitch for the final out of the game. "He was excited to have a chance at it, but he knew he was coming out," Bochy said after the game. "He showed some signs of frustration giving up the hit there, but he pitched his heart out tonight. Otherwise Moore was absolutely dominant against the Dodgers. Allowing just one hit with three walks and seven strikeouts in 8 and 2/3 innings of fantastic pitching. Moore threw a career-high 133 pitches on the night, the most in the Major Leagues this season. "He had everything working tonight and saved us from getting swept," Bochy said of Moore's performance. "We had to win today, this game was bigger than any game we've had all year." Moore's bid for history would have also been a historic moment for the San Francisco Giants organization as they could have set an MLB record for five consecutive seasons with a no hitter (Matt Cain – 2012, Tim Lincecum -2013, Lincecum -2014, Chris Heston -2015). "Probably the fifth inning or something I realized I hadn't given up a hit," Moore said of when he knew he was chasing history. "I threw one before in the minor leagues in Double-A, but nothing like this. Overall it was a fun day."

The victory salvaged the three-game series as San Francisco chases the Dodgers for first place in the NL West and also was the first win of the season for Moore as a member of the Giants. The 27-year-old is now 1-3 in five starts with the Giants since the trade deadline. "I'm happy. You never want to get sweeped under any circumstances," Moore added. "No-hitters are a personal milestone and achievement. Just in general to have an opportunity for a complete game, that's what pitchers want. It's going to be a happy flight home." Ross Stripling (3-5) took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings. It was the first time the rookie right-hander faced San Francisco since he threw 7.1 no-hit innings on April 8 at AT&T Park in his MLB debut. Joe Panik hit a two-run home run off Stripling in the top of the fourth as San Francisco never relinquished the lead after that. "That swing he took right there was so smooth. You could tell by the trajectory it was going out," Moore said of Panik's homer. "I've only been here three weeks, but the way he's been playing past couple weeks has been very big for our club." San Francisco now trails the Dodgers by two games in the NL West heading into a three-game series at AT&T Park with the worst team in baseball, the Atlanta Braves. Adrian Gonzalez's 17-game hitting streak was snapped just one-game shy of tying his career-high. "He was pitching away from what he was doing in the past and we were not ready for that," Gonzalez said of Moore. "Whether we got a hit in the first or the ninth, we got a hit. We won the series and lost a game that's how we look at it." The Dodgers have now lost six of their 13 games to the Giants in their head-to-head matchups this season. Moore's no-hitter would have been just the second no-hitter in the Major Leagues this year following Jake Arrieta who threw a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds on April 22nd. Players of the Game: Matt Moore: One-hitter. Joe Panik: Two-run home run. Corey Seager: Broke up no-hitter with two outs in 9th. Three Takeaways: 1. Moore is Money: San Francisco Giants starter Matt Moore was just one out away from history before a bloop single by Corey Seager ended his run at baseball immortality. Not only was Moore one-out away from throwing the first no-hitter of his MLB career, but it would have been the first no-hitter by the Giants over the Dodgers in 101 years (Rube Marquard). It would have also given the Giants five no-hitters in five consecutive seasons, breaking an all-time baseball record. 2. Thank You, A.J. Ellis: It was a bittersweet day for the boys in blue as the organization and the fans said goodbye to catcher A.J. Ellis. Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully announced to the sellout crowd at

Dodger Stadium that Ellis had been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Ruiz and fans erupted in boos as they said goodbye to one of the team's most popular players. 3. Sellout: 53,300 fans came out to witness the Dodgers-Giants rivalry firsthand as Dodger Stadium hosted it's fifth sellout crowd of the season on Thursday. Up Next: Giants (69-57): San Francisco returns to the comfy confines of AT&T Park where they will open a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves. Dodgers (70-56): Los Angeles welcomes the best team in baseball in the Chicago Cubs for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday. Bud Norris will start the opener at 7:10 PM ST. Dodger Players and Coaches React to the A.J. Ellis Trad By Michael Duarte Baseball is a business, but that doesn't mean it's not emotional or personal at times. Such is the case with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the team announced on Thursday that they had traded popular catcher A.J. Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Ruiz. Ellis was a fan favorite and spent the better part of nine seasons with the Dodgers. He is a voice of leadership in the locker room and a mentor to many. He was the personal catcher and best friend of three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 MVP Clayton Kershaw, and beloved by the front office. "It was a tough decision on a personal level," Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said before the game. "I wrestled with this trade for days." That's why the trade sent ripple effects through the Ravine on Thursday as players and coaches shed tears along with heartfelt goodbyes to their friend and teammate. "It's a tough day for everyone. I'm a little shocked," Justin Turner told reporters from his locker. "On a personal level AJ is a great friend of mine both on the field and off the field. I've spent a lot of time with him and built a friendship with makes this a lot harder." Ellis agreed and went as far as anointing Turner the new leader of the Dodgers. "Justin Turner is the new heart and soul of this team," said Ellis. "He's the new leader and has become the voice of this club, not just in the clubhouse but on the field." Ellis was the longest tenured Dodger on the roster entering Thursday as he spent the better part of 13 seasons with the organization and nine with the Major League club. He said his tenure in particular was something he was very proud of.

"To almost be a 10-year Dodger was something I was really proud of," a tearful Ellis said from the Dodgers dugout as he sat in front of reporters. "It's tough. This is really hard. Dodger Stadium is the greatest office in America and not to be able to call it home anymore is really tough." Ellis was emotional in his exit interview with the media as he recanted the moment that he received a vague text message from the front office telling him to meet at the stadium hours before the game. "It's amazing how fast things can change. I was at the park shooting basketball with my kids and an hour later you have to pick things up and move your life," Ellis said. "It's hard for me, and even double as hard for my wife and kids. It's our family members who are left to pick up the pieces." After calling his wife and agent, the next person he contacted was Kershaw. Luckily, his best friend was still at the stadium and the battery mates met in the dugout where emotions spilled over. "I texted Clayton and had him meet me here in the dugout," Ellis recalled. "Not much was said. He was shocked. It hit us both simultaneously and we both cried. To know that I might not ever get to catch him again is the most devastating thing. It's very difficult. I'm almost out of tears now." Dodgers manager Dave Roberts seemed just as shocked as anyone and credited Ellis with making him a better manager and person in his inaugural season with Los Angeles. "When a guy like A.J. Ellis gets traded it's impactful. AJ has a away about him that's infectious," Roberts said. "He's contributed a lot to the culture that's here and the winning environment. He helped me grow as a first year manager and I hope I helped him grow as a player. Being around him made me better. When he's gone, it's a big blow." "I lost a good friend in the clubhouse," Adrian Gonzalez added. The blow will be most felt by Ellis and his family as he heads to Philadelphia on Friday to meet his new teammates. Leaving behind a team that is built for a deep postseason run without him. Nonetheless, Ellis will still be cheering on his teammates from afar in their quest for their first World Series title in 28 years. "There's nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. Nothing like it in sports," Ellis added. "I love the Dodgers. I love Los Angeles. Baseball is funny. I have nothing but respect." Dodgers Trade Catcher A.J. Ellis to Phillies in swap for Carlos Ruiz By Michael Duarte They say you can’t really miss someone if they don’t go away. Dodger fans will certainly miss catcher A.J. Ellis after the Los Angeles Dodgers traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in a swap of backup catchers.

In exchange for Ellis, the Dodgers acquire veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz as they make the push for their fourth consecutive National League West Division title and perhaps their first World Series birth since 1988. Ruiz is a native of Venezuela and has played his entire career with Philadelphia after he made his debut with the team in 2006. He won five NL East Division championships with the Phillies, two NL Pennants, and one World Series Championship in 2008. Ruiz, 36, joins fellow Dodger teammates Chase Utley and Joe Blanton as three of the active eight players on in the league to play on the Philadelphia World Series Title team. Ruiz is batting .261 with three home runs and 12 RBI in 48 games this season, but he’s been hot since the All-Star Break smacking .340 in 47 plate appearances. Unfortunately for Ruiz, he was relegated to a backup role behind Cameron Rupp this season, and will keep the same position behind Yasmani Grandal despite the fact that Ruiz owns the second best WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of any catcher in Phillies history with 21.7. Acquiring Ruiz is a modest improvement at the backup catcher position for the Dodgers, especially against left-handed hitters. However, the loss of Ellis will be felt greater than just the occasional day behind the plate. Ellis,35, was one of the most popular players on the team, and was beloved by ace Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw and Ellis have their lockers located next to each other in the Dodger clubhouse and are likely each other’s best friends on the team. According to Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, Ellis said that Kershaw was “shocked” when he told him and that the two men shared a good cry together. Not being able to catch Kershaw again was what Ellis called “the most devastating thing.” “It’s a really sad day for me,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Rips your heart out. I’m almost out of tears now.” The eight-year veteran of the Dodgers was batting .194 and is a free agent at the end of the season and it was unlikely the team was going to re-sign him as they were grooming minor league catcher Austin Barnes for the backup role. It’s possible the Dodgers pick up the final option on Ruiz’s contract if he performs well down the stretch, but he can also be a free agent at the end of the season. In addition to Ellis, the Dodgers sent Class-A Rancho Cucamonga pitcher, Tommy Bergjans, to the Phillies in addition to a player to be named later. Philadelphia send cash to the Dodgers to cover the difference in the two catchers’ contracts.

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The Dodgers made Clayton Kershaw cry

By Ted Berg Well, this is somewhat heartbreaking: The Dodgers sent light-hitting catcher A.J. Ellis to Philadelphia on Thursday as part of a trade for decent-hitting catcher Carlos Ruiz. Though Ellis leaves Los Angeles with a .538 OPS, the trade surprised many in the Dodgers’ media, fanbase and, apparently clubhouse. Ellis maintains a reputation as a great teammate and great guy — not that Ruiz doesn’t — and, on top of that, has served as Kershaw’s primary catcher since 2012. Though it represents one of the tradeoffs pro baseball players make as part of getting paid lots of money to play baseball, getting traded must nonetheless be a pretty strange and, at times, fairly sad experience. Until you’ve got enough stature to negotiate a no-trade deal, you really have no say in the matter if some front-office suit decides he’d rather have some other guy and uproots you from the home and the routines and the friends you’ve developed while in the organization. And it’s sad for your friends too, no doubt. Kershaw will presumably get over it, and if and when he rejoins the Dodgers’ rotation this season it seems unlikely he’ll suffer much from Ellis’ absence. He’s Clayton Kershaw, after all — the best pitcher in the world — and while he has pitched well when working with Ellis, he has also pitched well while working with everyone else, including primary Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal. Grandal, for what it’s worth, consistently ranks near the top of the Majors in runs saved by pitch framing. Ellis and Ruiz both typically land in the lower half of big-league backstops in the stat. It’s impossible to measure whatever comfort Kershaw gets from pitching to Ellis, but it seems likely that Grandal’s clear superiority as both a receiver and a hitter will make the Dodgers even more likely to win all Kershaw’s incredible starts moving forward. Grandal is a switch-hitter without much of a platoon split, but he has been slightly better against righties than lefties across his career. The righty-hitting Ruiz, presumably, will spell Grandal against certain southpaws. The popular Phillie has maintained excellent lines against lefties even as his offensive output has dwindled in his late 30s. There’s almost no doubt the Dodgers are a better team for replacing Ellis’ at-bats with the ones to come from Ruiz. But then, there’s still enough here for a full-blown conspiracy-theorist field day. With rosters set to expand in a few days, it seems surprising the Dodgers couldn’t have found a way to land Ruiz without sending away Ellis. In the winter, ex-MLB player and coach Andy Van Slyke — father of Dodgers outfielder Scott Van Slyke — implied to a radio station that Kershaw had lobbied the Dodgers’ front office to trade Yasiel Puig. Puig was the subject of trade rumors, then demoted to Class AAA earlier this month. So perhaps some politics are in play. Still, the simplest explanation is often the correct one, and it hardly seems unreasonable for the Phillies to want Ellis as part of a deal for Ruiz. Ellis is set for free agency after the season, but the Phillies have a collection of promising young pitchers they might not want to entirely entrust to less experienced catchers. Also, to paraphrase Casey Stengel: If you don’t have a backup catcher, you will have a lot of passed balls.

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Why the Los Angeles Dodgers made the stunning A.J. Ellis trade By Ken Rosenthal I can see it now: Carlos Ruiz getting a big hit off a left-hander in the postseason, prompting everyone to say, “Ah, that is why the Dodgers made the trade.” The trade -- longtime catcher A.J. Ellis, right-hander Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named to the Phillies on Thursday for Ruiz and cash -- was hardly without logic. Still, it was a cold move by a hot team at an unexpected moment, an absolute stunner. The “Curse of A.J.” appeared to strike immediately, with the Dodgers coming within one out of getting no-hit by Giants left-hander Matt Moore on Thursday night. But the Dodgers will move on from the loss of Ellis, a beloved teammate. Really, they have no choice. The players will tell you that the game stops for no one, particularly a backup catcher batting .194 with a .537 OPS. Ellis, though, was different -- immensely respected in the clubhouse, not to mention a good friend of ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw. He also helped pitchers prepare, so his value transcended his numbers. It’s the age-old question -- how much should teams value intangibles? The Dodgers do value them, to a degree; otherwise, right fielder Yasiel Puig would be in Los Angeles right now and not Oklahoma City. But in the end, their principal concern is performance. The trade of Ellis for the incremental upgrade of Ruiz makes intellectual sense and is consistent with how Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman operates. That doesn’t make it any less jarring; the likely impact is minimal and maybe not worth even the temporary disruption. The Dodgers wanted to upgrade against left-handed pitching, and Ruiz’s .830 OPS off lefties is far superior to Ellis’ .616. Ruiz also possesses similar leadership qualities to Ellis, though except for second baseman Chase Utley, the Dodgers players have no previous relationship with the longtime Phillies veteran. Ellis, on the other hand, was an 18th-round pick of the Dodgers in 2003 who had joined the club in ’08. Still, this isn’t like when the Athletics sent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for left-hander Jon Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes in 2014. Cespedes was an integral part of the offense whose mere presence took pressure off other Oakland hitters, and the team never quite recovered. Ellis, by contrast, had only 161 plate appearances this season, most of them unproductive. He’s also 35 with an expiring contract and was unlikely to return next season. Yasmani Grandal is the team’s everyday catcher, and Austin Barnes is the future backup.

Barnes recently got hit on the hand, and while club officials expect him to be fine, they were more comfortable with Ruiz than Ellis if Grandal got injured. Never mind that Ruiz is 37 and also at the end of his contract. The Dodgers are trying to put together the best possible roster for September and October. Ellis did not figure to play much in September once the Dodgers promoted Barnes, who also bats right-handed. Perhaps the Phillies will use Ellis more -- general manager Matt Klentak told reporters that he was “adamant” that the Dodgers include him, and Ellis might improve his free-agent value if he indeed gets increased playing time. But I’m willing to bet that Ellis would have preferred to ride the bench with his original team rather than move cross-country to play for a non-contender. Friedman did not consult with any players; Kershaw’s reaction will be telling, and so will the reactions of others. But let’s not overstate the potential impact of Ellis’ departure. If the Dodgers lose their mojo, shame on them. And if Kershaw opts out after the 2018 season – more than two full years from now – it won’t be because the Dodgers traded his friend. Ellis surely dreamed of a cleaner ending to his Dodgers career. Instead, he was the victim of a baseball car crash, one he never saw coming. It’s business, a cold and sometimes cruel business. The game stops for no one. The game moves on. Why Clayton Kershaw wept over the trade of a backup catcher By Chris Bahr No one took the Dodgers’ surprising trade of backup catcher A.J. Ellis harder than ace Clayton Kershaw. The two were extremely close on and off the field, with Ellis serving as Kershaw’s preferred catcher for much of his career. The two came up through the minors together and both made their major-league debuts during the 2008 season. But they had to say goodbye on Thursday, and it was emotional. And then there’s this powerful quote from Ellis in the Los Angeles Times: “Anything can happen in the future, but to know that in all likelihood I’ll never get to catch him again is without a doubt the most devastating thing I’m feeling right now.” Still working his way back from a back injury, Kershaw hasn’t pitched since June 26. And Ellis hadn’t been behind the plate for a Kershaw outing since June 15. Kershaw wasn’t the only Dodger who was disappointed. Ellis, who is hitting just .194, was a tremendously popular and respected player in the clubhouse and among other members of the rotation. A sampling of the feedback from other Dodgers on the trade: (Tweets)

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Just what the doctor ordered: Matt Moore delivers near no-hitter for Giants

By Tim Brown LOS ANGELES – The 133rd and last pitch Matt Moore threw Thursday night wound up eventually in the outfield grass, 26 outs followed by that lone hit, and when his manager hurried from the dugout to come rescue both the pitcher and his own conscience, Moore smiled and thanked him for the chance at it. New to the San Francisco Giants and 38 starts removed from Tommy John surgery, Moore had tried to finish Corey Seager with an inside fastball, and Seager had floated that pitch into short right field, and even when the game was over and the Giants had avoided a sweep and shook each other’s hands in the middle of the infield, Dodgers fans in the bleachers chanted Seager’s name. The Giants know as well as anyone there’s no such thing as inevitable in baseball, not on the good side or bad, and so a bad-luck hit kills a no-hitter on the 133rd damned pitch, and a three-game deficit in the NL West becomes two, and a month of games still await, six of them against these Dodgers. They’ve won a World Series from behind before, just two years ago, so they’ll just go ahead and play this thing out and count it up at the end. They’ve been a messy team for going on two months, the result so far being that they’ve given up 10 games to the Dodgers when they had only eight to give. The hits haven’t fallen when the pitching is stout, and the pitching leaks when the line drives come, and sometimes at the end of the day there’s no answering to the last play. As many times as not since 2010, the Giants are not the prettiest team, but they do look great in the parade, and it appears they’ll head into September on a similar path. They left Dodger Stadium late Thursday night headed for home, where they’ll play three against the dreadful Atlanta Braves and two against the equally dreadful Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers stayed behind for four against the Chicago Cubs, which is no way to spend a long weekend. Moore arrived three-and-a-half weeks ago from Tampa Bay at a cost of Matt Duffy and two minor leaguers. His first four starts resulted in a 4.70 ERA and three Giants losses. He was different Thursday night in a 4-0 win, sure of his fastball and curveball, easy into the strike zone, a couple times saved by center fielder Denard Span, and otherwise consistently away from the bat barrels of a team that had scored 32 runs over four games. This was the start that introduced him to a clubhouse that very much needed to get out of here with a win, as there’s no telling if the Dodgers believe in inevitable. “I haven’t seen a lot of worried faces,” Moore said of his time with the Giants. “There’s no panicked talk of, ‘What’s going on?’ They are who they were way before I got here and way before this rough patch. … It’s a sense of confidence.” Manager Bruce Bochy admitted he felt uneasy watching Moore’s pitch count rise to career-high levels, and he kept checking with Moore, who kept assuring him all was well, and you know he just looked so comfortable out there. “It’s hard to deny [him that],” Bochy said. Beyond that, Bochy said, “This game was probably as big a game as we’ve had all year. We had to win this game.”

Moore’s mechanics never changed, his velocity did not suffer, Span kept rolling around making catches, you know, sometimes it just seems, well, inevitable. Until it’s not. Again. Moore grinned. “In that moment, leading up to then, it was just fun,” he said. “At times it’s hard to actually enjoy yourself. Today it’s about as close as it comes to just having fun with it. “Giving up a base hit right there is part of the game. It was a fun ride all the way up to that point.” Why trading a backup hitting .194 saddened the Dodgers clubhouse By Tim Brown LOS ANGELES – The best of A.J. Ellis, and I’m guessing but reasonably certain, is at home, with his children, doing silly stuff and laughing at jokes that stopped being funny when the first one was 2 but everyone deserves an equally attentive audience forever. Then the baseball. This is a man who caught his first big-league game at 27 ½, who became a regular big-league catcher at 31, who out-ran every projection for him, about whom on Thursday afternoon his buddy Scott Van Slyke said, “When it really comes down to it, he can pull stuff out. You don’t think he has it, but it’s there,” and anyone who knows Ellis also knows that as a compliment. The best of compliments. Often, Ellis also was 62 or 63 feet from Clayton Kershaw when Kershaw was great, and Kershaw never forgot about that, about the guy who called and framed the pitches, who came to the mound with something more than, “Um, everything all right?”, who blocked overthrown sliders with his forehead, who bought him a beer when the crappy nights ended. The best of Ellis here, at his job, was that he did the right thing, or tried, and sometimes that was good enough and sometimes it was not, but the right thing never involved chasing a batting average or gettin’ mine or where the TV cameras were or if it looked cool or not. He was a good teammate in a bad clubhouse and then a good teammate in a better clubhouse, and so this is why you’ll look at the box score and see Ellis is a .194 hitter and wonder why Justin Turner would say, “Yeah, this is a tough day.” Typically, a guy hits .194 for long enough and teammates are volunteering to drive him to the airport, one of those, “Great trade, who’d we get?” kinds of things. So on Thursday afternoon he sat on the bench at Dodger Stadium in street clothes, seemingly all cried out, and the drive-time radio would moan about how much of Kershaw’s ERA he was responsible for, when the real emotion was feeling bad for a guy who felt bad and then understanding the Dodgers likely just got better. There’s still room for that, right? If the Dodgers collapse, it will not be because Carlos Ruiz and not Ellis was catching Clayton Kershaw. It probably won’t be because Ruiz, who the Dodgers traded to the Phillies for Ellis Thursday, didn’t move a runner or get a bunt down or work a count. Ruiz, at 37, is a better baseball player than Ellis, and OPSes 200-and-some points higher against left-handed

pitchers, and is loved in his own clubhouse, and will work just fine as the guy who spells Yasmani Grandal. Fact is, if Dodgers personalities were so fragile that one among them could swamp or save the boat, then, you know, that October thing probably wasn’t going to work out anyway. It is true the Dodgers clubhouse is a better place to work these days, and it is true Ellis had plenty of influence there, and that might have something to do with them being in first place. It’s also true Kershaw is the one man they’d be wise to keep happy, and he always seemed very happy to have Ellis those 62 or 63 feet away, and maybe that’ll be worth something next month. We’ll see. The image of Kershaw and Ellis side by side on that Dodger Stadium bench Thursday afternoon, both in tears, probably wasn’t what the rest of the guys had in mind when they came to work, but that’s how some days go at work. Appropriately, the San Francisco Giants were in town, as all team chemistry hypotheses – the final frontier of analytics – seem to lead back to them. The Giants always seem to do a little more with a little less, and usually that rolls back to the kind of clubhouse Bruce Bochy runs and the kinds of people lolling in that clubhouse. There is no real answer to whether chemistry pushes winning or vice versa, except Bochy almost certainly came close Thursday afternoon when he said, “It starts with talent, let’s be honest.” So that’s what the Dodgers did – they got a little more talented in a race that isn’t close to being settled. “Um, obviously it was a tough decision on a personal level,” president Andrew Friedman said. “We felt like from a baseball standpoint, Carlos fit our team really well.” As for being an upstanding guy in the locker room, Friedman added, “If Carlos didn’t possess similar things we wouldn’t have made the move.” What stinks about that is Ellis had to leave when he didn’t want to, and it’s nice – and wholly syrupy – to believe some guys would rather stay because that’s who they believe they are. He is not a great player in the realm of the big leagues. He is a player who made himself valuable to a good team, however, and sometimes that’s worth something and other times there are better alternatives. Then the baseball, you see. “There’s no anger,” he said. “There’s no anger at all. This is a business. This happens to people all the time. So, I’m not angry. I’m sad.”

FANGRAPHS

Why Did the Dodgers Trade A.J. Ellis? By Dave Cameron Last night, the Dodgers and Phillies made a deal that, on the surface, is your typical minor August move of minor role players. The Dodgers landed Carlos Ruiz, a 37 year old catcher, in exchange for A.J. Ellis, a 35 year old catcher, and a prospect of dubious quality. The impetus for the trade seems pretty clear; Ruiz can still hit lefties a bit, and so he’s a better fit as Yasmani Grandal‘s platoon partner in the

postseason. Ellis isn’t much at the plate these days, so by adding Ruiz, the team has slightly upgraded their offense against left-handed pitching. But the trade was a big deal because, as was immediately apparent given the reaction to the news of the deal, A.J. Ellis was beloved by his teammates, and especially, by the team’s ace. Ellis and Kershaw are obviously quite close, but other members of the team also showed their support for Ellis, and made it clear they will miss him. By trading away a beloved part of the clubhouse for a minor bench upgrade, the media has been handed a very simple narrative: nerd-run team doesn’t value chemistry, tears apart clubhouse in the process. The fact that the Dodgers were one out away from being no-hit on the night Ellis got traded didn’t do anything to slow that story down. But of course the Dodgers do care at least a little bit about chemistry, or Yasiel Puig wouldn’t be hanging out in Triple-A right now. So, six days away from roster expansion, when Ellis could have kept hanging around the team even after they acquired Ruiz, why did the Dodgers trade A.J. Ellis? After all, it’s not like the Phillies really had a significant need for a 35 year old catcher who will be a free agent in five weeks. While Phillies GM Matt Klentak said that they had to have Ellis in return, it’s difficult for me to buy that the two teams couldn’t have found another package for Ruiz that would have worked for Philadelphia if Andrew Friedman had just said that Ellis was off the table for clubhouse reasons. That seems like a position other teams would understand, and the Dodgers could have even engineered a three team deal to get some other veteran part-time catcher if the Phillies really didn’t want to be without a Ruiz replacement in the deal. Acquiring Ruiz without including Ellis in the deal would have been much less controversial, after all. No one seems particularly offended at the idea of a contender upgrading a role player spot, but it’s the removal of Ellis from the clubhouse that is raising questions about the deal. So couldn’t they have made the deal while still keeping Ellis around, even if he didn’t really play much? You make up an injury to get him on the 15 day DL until the rosters expand, but let him “rehab” with the team so he’s still around, then activate him in a couple of weeks with no harm done. Seems easy enough. If this were another franchise, I’d think that maybe Ellis was included as a salary offset, but the Dodgers are willing to throw real money at any possible area they think could make their team even slightly better, so it seems hard to believe that the team couldn’t stomach paying Ellis another $800,000 over the rest of the season. That’s chump change to LA, and doesn’t really seem to make sense as a reason to create this easy story for everyone to tell about your downfall if the team fails to make a deep postseason run again. The negative P.R. associated with the stories that will be written about the cold-hearted executives trading a lifelong Dodger almost certainly do more than $800,000 worth of public relations could make up for anyway. But keeping Ellis around would come with a non-monetary cost, and it’s the only one I can think of that would explain why the Dodgers put him in the Ruiz deal; it might end up costing them a player they want to keep beyond this year. By swapping Ellis and Ruiz, the team didn’t have to make any changes to their 40-man roster; if they had acquired Ruiz without sending Ellis back, they’d have been at 41 players on the 40-man, and would have been forced to make a move to clear a spot. Actually clearing that spot wouldn’t be all that hard, as they

could just DFA a guy like Casey Fien, who would likely clear waivers, but by picking the lowest hanging fruit on the 40-man DFA tree, the team could put themselves in a tough position in a few weeks. Over the next month, the team has four players who could potentially come off the 60-day disabled list, and require moves to get them back on the 40-man as well. Clayton Kershaw is getting closer to a potential return, and obviously, they’ll want to have a spot for him. Andre Ethier just started his rehab assignment, and could be back in a couple of weeks. Trayce Thompson‘s situation remains a little unclear, but it’s possible he could return in September if his back recovers. And finally, Alex Wood is throwing off flat ground, and it’s also possible he makes it back by the end of the season to strengthen the team’s relief corps. It’s unlikely that all four of those guys make it back, but two or three probably will, and the team will have to make room for them on the 40-man before they can be activated. And if you’re keeping Ellis around essentially just because everyone else likes him, that’s one fewer 40-man roster spot the team would have when it comes time to make room for some of the returning 60-day disabled list guys. So, had they made up an injury to Ellis to stash him until rosters expanded, they might have still been in a situation where he’d be a potential DFA candidate in a few weeks anyway. Would it have gone over better to simply demote Ellis to third-string catcher, then dump him in mid-September, than trading him to a place that will play him in advance of free agency? I’m not so sure. While Ellis certainly seemed like he would have preferred to stick around for the playoff run, if the Dodgers thought they were going to have to DFA him in a few weeks anyway, perhaps it was better for the clubhouse to get it over with now and give everyone in the locker room a month to get over it before the playoffs start, rather than having it be a fresh wound when October rolls around. Of all the possible explanations for including Ellis in the deal, that’s the only one I can see that rings true enough to explain the team’s motivation. The idea that the team didn’t want to have to deal with Kershaw throwing to Ellis doesn’t really work, given that we’d be talking about something like 10 at-bats in September if Kershaw does make it back, and if the team didn’t want Kershaw forcing them to carry Ellis as his personal catcher in October, they could have just let him off the postseason roster; there would be a lot less of an outcry about not carrying a guy hitting .190 on your playoff roster, after all. In theory, acquiring Ruiz and keeping Ellis would have been the best of both worlds, giving them a better right-handed hitting backup catcher but still allowing the team to keep Ellis around for clubhouse reasons. But with a 40-man roster crunch coming when the team’s army of injured players finish their rehab assignments, perhaps that just wasn’t going to be possible. Whether the cost of moving Ellis will outweigh the addition of Ruiz’s bat remains to be seen, and perhaps this is just too much hand wringing over when the team had to DFA Casey Fien or Charlie Culberson. But given the Dodgers love of depth, this is the best explanation I can come up with; Ellis wouldn’t have lasted on the 40-man through September anyway, so make a clean break now and give the guys in the locker room a month to recover before the postseason starts. Another Year with Joe Blanton, Great Reliever By Neil Weinberg

The price of relief pitching is on the rise. Baseball die hards are currently having a fierce debate about reliever valuation, but it’s relatively clear that teams are willing to pony up for quality back of the bullpen arms. The recent deals for Ken Giles, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Will Smith demonstrate as much. Clubs want good relievers (who can blame them!) and they are allocating more resources toward their acquisition. I’m not an economist, but I imagine teams would rather acquire a high-quality reliever who isn’t expensive than one who is. Unfortunately, market forces tend to get in the way and you wind up trading lots of prospects for a couple seasons of reliever help. Unless you’re the Dodgers. If you’re the Dodgers, you take a gamble on Joe Blanton‘s 2015 season and get a setup man at utility-infielder prices. I recognize that last sentence might be a lot to handle if you followed baseball closely through 2014 but somehow missed last year. “Joe Blanton is a reliever?” you might ask. “Joe Blanton is good?” might come next. Let’s get caught up quickly. After basically retiring, Blanton hitched his wagon to the Royals last season and wound up being traded to the Pirates before the deadline. I’ll let a past version of myself sum it up: Blanton was on his way out of baseball. Where this story gets interesting, however, is when you observe his 2015 season. It’s composed of 41 solid innings for Kansas City (96 ERA-, 90 FIP-) and then 34 amazing ones (42 ERA-, 56 FIP-) in Pittsburgh, mostly as a reliever. Blanton had never been a full-time reliever during his career, getting only the stray appearance out of the pen. Ninety-two percent of his MLB games had been as a starter entering 2015. This year, he started four games, but then he provided 32 relief appearances. And he was amazing. Now it’s not exactly shocking that the Royals and Pirates had a hand in this given the Royals’ reputation with starter-to-reliever moves and Pirates’ employment of Ray Searage. If this were some nondescript starting pitcher who added 2 mph to his fastball, it would barely register because it’s become so commonplace. What is surprising is that Blanton didn’t take the normal path to reliever excellence. He was an 89-91 guy for his entire career and that’s exactly how hard he threw out of the pen. Blanton wasn’t good from 2010 to 2013, barely pitched in the minors in 2014, added no velocity, and then somehow became an awesome reliever in 2015 at age 34. He achieved this by lowering his arm slot, throwing a ton more sliders, and becoming death on right-handed batters. It was a remarkable comeback for a pitcher who was on his way out of baseball, but it was only 76 innings. When the offseason came, Blanton was a free agent. His age worked against him, but he was coming off a season in which he’d a recorded an ERA, FIP, and xFIP all nearly 30% better than league average. Even if he wasn’t likely to nab a four-year deal, his platform season was surely good enough to attract a nice contract in a reliever-happy market, right? It would seem that way, but Blanton didn’t actually find a home until mid-January, receiving just $4 million for one year of work with the Dodgers. We don’t know if Blanton had bigger offers that he rejected because he wanted to hit the market again after 2016, but it is relatively surprising that no one beat the Dodgers’ $4 million commitment on a one-year deal. The obvious explanation is that teams weren’t comfortable betting that 2015 Blanton was the real Blanton. If they felt confident about that, he’d have taken home something like three years, $24 million. Instead, the league balked, remembering the five previous years over the most recent one.

To put it mildly, whoops. Blanton isn’t necessarily better in 2016 than he was in 2015, but he is 65.2 innings into the season and looks very much like the guy we saw in 2015. Let’s review. Whether you’re into ERA or FIP, he’s been great. And he’s still striking batters out at an impressive rate, even for 2016. He’s still relying on the slider, although now he’s throwing a lot more curves along with it. And his arm slot remains much lower than during his days as a starter: He’s still dominating right-handed hitters: Joe Blanton vs. RHH Season TBF wOBA HR/9 K% BB% 2005 395 0.324 1.46 15.2 % 8.6 % 2006 466 0.347 0.85 13.5 % 6.7 % 2007 498 0.282 1.01 16.7 % 3.2 % 2008 430 0.352 0.94 13.7 % 8.8 % 2009 449 0.341 1.54 19.6 % 5.8 % 2010 398 0.349 1.29 16.6 % 3.5 % 2011 107 0.381 1.13 15.9 % 5.6 % 2012 400 0.306 1.53 22.0 % 2.8 % 2013 276 0.418 2.43 15.9 % 4.7 % 2015 161 0.239 0.62 30.4 % 3.1% 2016 171 0.221 0.60 25.2 % 4.7% But he’s also had more success against lefties this year (in a much smaller sample), perhaps due to the increased curveball usage: Joe Blanton vs. LHH Season TBF wOBA HR/9 K% BB% 2005 440 0.283 0.66 12.7 % 7.5 % 2006 390 0.348 0.71 11.3 % 6.9 % 2007 452 0.313 0.17 12.6 % 5.3 % 2008 425 0.311 1.06 12.2 % 6.6 % 2009 388 0.318 1.20 19.3 % 8.5 % 2010 367 0.339 1.49 18.5 % 7.9 % 2011 73 0.341 1.04 24.7 % 4.1 % 2012 406 0.343 1.19 19.2 % 5.7 % 2013 335 0.362 1.60 19.1 % 6.3 % 2015 148 0.330 1.10 20.3 % 7.4 % 2016 82 0.226 0.89 25.6 % 15.9 % Overall, Blanton has a 65 ERA- and 77 FIP- in over 140 innings since the start of 2015. He’s recorded a strikeout rate of over 25% and a walk rate below 7%. Among relievers with 100-plus innings since the

start of 2015 (as a reliever), Blanton is 29th in strikeout rate and 27th in walk rate. He’s been a top-30 reliever for two years (11th in ERA-, 21st FIP-). Now granted, his BABIP is an impossibly low .205 this year and he’s giving up far fewer home runs than you might expect for someone with his fly-ball rate, but the fact that he remains this good for a second year in a row is enough to convince me that he’s absolutely a bona fide top reliever. It gets tricky because he’s 35 and a good Joe Blanton is going to face aging issues, even if he will face them more effectively than a bad Joe Blanton. It will be fascinating to see how teams view Blanton this winter after back-to-back years of great reliever performance at age 34-35. He’s been the Dodgers’ third best reliever by FIP-WAR and second by RA9-WAR, and while he didn’t make the conversion at a young age, Blanton’s success in relief has very little to do with velocity. He might break down with age, but he’s doing this without high-octane fastballs. I’m not that fond of the “a picture is worth 1,000″ words” cliche, but this post is about 1,000 words long and it can be summed up like this: Two years in, I’m ready to call the Joe Blanton Bullpen Experiment a success.

TODAY’S KNUCKLEBALL

Giants’ Moore loses no-hitter with two outs in ninth By Eric Chesterton After making it through 8.2 no-hit innings Thursday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Moore lost a no hitter after 133 pitches with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The fateful hit came on a blooper from Corey Seager that landed in front of right fielder Gorkys Hernandez. Moore had an easy go of things through six innings, needing just 73 pitches. But, he clearly began to labor beyond that, throwing 46 pitches to get beyond the seventh and eighth innings. The eighth in particular was a difficult one as Dodgers hitters hit foul ball after foul ball to drive his pitch count up into concerning territory. Despite speculation that Giants manager Bruce Bochy would pull Moore because he’s a former Tommy John guy, and also because 119 pitches is a lot for any pitcher regardless of medical history, after a brief discussion with Bochy in the dugout, Moore took a bat and led off the top of the ninth inning for the Giants. He got some help from Denard Span at two points in the game. The most notable came in the ninth inning when he made a sliding catch on a Enrique Hernandez line drive to bring Moore closer to the finish. But, it was not to be. After Howie Kendrick grounded out for the second out, Seager took a pitch and dropped it into right field. Moore’s 133 pitches represent a career-high as well as the most thrown by a pitcher in a single outing thus far in the 2016 season.

In relief of Moore, Santiago Casilla needed only one pitch to retire Justin Turner to complete a 4-0 Giants win as they try to keep pace with the Dodgers and stay within striking distance of the National League West division lead. Heyman: Dodgers on amazing Kershaw-less run By Jon Heyman Toughness and resilience isn’t something often associated with a $250-million team, even if it’s a team that pared down from $300 million, or so, a year ago. But the Los Angeles Dodgers truly have done an amazing job weathering storm after storm, and injury after injury. And yes, there’s said to be the attitude of an “underdog” inside a Dodgers clubhouse that’s kept together and kept playing well (in fact, played even better) since the biggest storm hit, which was the loss of baseball’s best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, to a disk herniation. The words “no one thought we could do it” have actually been heard inside that room, and really, that isn’t far off. “The cohesiveness of this unit has been great,” Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, said. The depleted team is somehow in first place, and the entire organization should take a bow. “It’s been a total organizational effort, which is what makes it really gratifying,” Friedman said. “It’s been really fun to watch.” There’s no joy on the disabled list, of course, but the way they’ve rallied anyway really has been amazing. After all, how many teams could have weathered disabling injuries to a record-tying 27 players and the loss of a rotation and a half (no less than eight starting pitchers have had to be placed on the D.L., including four who started the year on the D.L. and had to return to the D.L.)? The rundown is downright depressing. Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder, then elbow) is presumed to be out for the year while there’s uncertainty surrounding Brandon McCarthy (elbow, then hip), Brett Anderson (back, then wrist, then finger), Scott Kazmir (neck and back) and of course the great Kershaw, who is trying to pitch his way back from the world’s most reported on herniated disk. McCarthy looked great initially but ran into a problem throwing strikes in his last couple outings (while McCarthy’s arm feels great, he’s said to be having trouble feeling the ball 15 months out of Tommy John surgery). When Kazmir went down, unbelievably, that left Kenta Maeda as their only veteran (of Japan, anyway) starter who hasn’t gone on the D.L. this year. Ironically, it was Maeda’s free-agent contract that was written to make two-thirds of the money non guaranteed due to pictures that revealed elbow and shoulder abnormalities. He is “asymptomatic” says a Dodgers person, which differentiates him from the rest of the rotation, and almost sounded like a brag, in this case.

Talented, late-blooming import Rich Hill (blister) came off the D.L. and made his debut Wednesday night in the second game of their series against the reviled, reeling Giants, and higher-ups have their fingers crossed that he and/or Kershaw will be able to lead them into the playoffs. If they have both or even just one of Hill or Keshaw, they just might be a World Series co-favorite with the Cubs. But maybe, considering their luck so far, they don’t want to get too crazy. Kershaw has successfully thrown a couple heavily-monitored side sessions with his personal catcher A.J. Ellis. But one Dodgers person conceded of Kershaw, “Until he ramps it up, we won’t really know.” Almost miraculously, the Dodgers are 30-19 since Kershaw went down after seeming to depend so much on him early when he was having the best season of his all-time great career and his teammates clearly weren’t. Friedman gushed about the jobs done by manager Dave Roberts (“he’s been tremendous in terms of energy, consistency and ability to communicate,” Friedman said of perhaps the top Manager of the Year candidate), Roberts’ staff and just about everyone throughout the organization. Though at one Friedman was at a loss for words after becoming distracted by – you guessed it – the latest injury report to cross his desk. The team is almost sure at this point to break their disabled-list record tie with previous injury record-holder, the star-crossed 2012 Boston Red Sox of Bobby Valentine. Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reported. As far as what to do about the injuries, Friedman says they are constantly assessing things. In terms of the current aches and pains, word is they expect Kazmir, McCarthy and Anderson to resurface this year, they hope Kershaw does, Ryu’s a long shot, and Alex Wood, almost a forgotten man, has a chance to work his way back into pen duty. That’s for today, anyway. But while the rotation turns (like a soap opera), the bullpen Friedman formed is reminiscent of his high-achieving, no-name Rays pens, filled with unsung heroes, while the lineup has come together spectacularly. The pen comprised of star closer Kenley Jansen, unknowns (Casey Fien, Adam Liberatore) and reclamation projects (Joe Blanton comes to mind) has been the best in the N.L., and the lineup has produced the most runs in the second half, despite the loss of Andre Ethier and others. The team that last October looked overly dependent on Adrian Gonzalez and utility-man-turned-star Justin Turner now has the deepest, most relentless lineup in the league. Rookie shortstop Corey Seager is the biggest star, fulfilling every promise after a spring knee scare. “We can move on from Rookie of the Year to MVP discussion,” Friedman said. Meanwhile, ultra-veteran Chase Utley has continued to produce while setting a standard for preparedness. Uber-talented Joc Pederson (hitting .249, up from .210 last year) has amazingly cut his strikeouts, thanks to the patience of the front office. “Joc has done a tremendous job; improving his contact rate that much year after year is not an easy thing to do.” Veteran second baseman Howie Kendrick has adapted to left field and started to hit like he can. Yasmani Grandal has become a major force. Gonzalez has regained his power after an uncharacteristically limp start, and Turner is back to being a force after a slow start following major knee surgery. The only current blight is in right, where new pickup Josh Reddick is actually performing far worse than Yasiel Puig ever did. Through 19 games, Reddick is toting a .149/.208/.164 slash line and no RBI, and he injured his finger on his hotel door. Yet, he’s still apparently preferred over Puig, who has a .419/.479/.721 slash line at Triple-A Oklahoma City and is said to be — get ready for this – behaving

admirably. He’s actually said to have handled things “exceptionally well,” adjusting to pitches and minor-league life (yes, commercial travel!) without complaint or push back. Smart Dodgers people figured they had an advantage over others in that their deep pockets and farm system allows them to go 40-50 deep, not that they thought they’d have to dig into those depths. But while they look terrific now, it surely would be quite a boost if Kershaw could make it back. The hope remains that baseball’s best pitcher could get two or three regular-season starts before leading the team into October. The way this season is going, you can just see him riding to the rescue, a la Kirk Gibson, 1988. It’s hard to believe it’s been 28 years since the Dodgers have won it all. But don’t assume they won’t break that unwanted streak very soon. Arizona Diamondbacks The consideration to make big changes in the front offices, which was reported here first, is unusual in light of the short terms of the folks involved. GM Dave Stewart and top lieutenant De Jon Watson are in their second year and chief baseball officer Tony La Russa just a few months longer than that. Now that the Yankees are a model of stability, the D-backs lead the league in big changes. If they do change GMs, that would be seven GMs in 12 years … One other odd thing about a possible change is that it appears that a couple major decisions were over-ruled at the ownership level — or at the very least heavily influenced. While it’s fair to say the Shelby Miller trade looks like a disaster, word is that the front office had a deal in place (or was on its way to a deal) for Miller to go to the Marlins fore three starting pitchers, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported. Sources say the D-backs would have gotten back one starter who was at the big-league level and two that are not that far away, and in hindsight might have cut their losses in a trade gone awry … Nightengale also reported the front office was set on letting go manager Chip Hale before the very higher-ups over-ruled, and it does appear that, at the least, there were elements of the front office that were advocating for a managerial change at some point. This is important as it suggests the front office wasn’t given latitude to do as it wished (though from here, Hale’s only had two years, too) … This all also means that if all the key people return in their current roles next year, they’d have to hash it out, so they can all reasonably work together. It’s not impossible, but would seem at this point pretty difficult to all coexist. It’s also possible that by the time someone in the front office suggested it was time to fire Hale, ownership had lost faith in the front office. Normally, the highest ranking baseball people determine who the manager is. Anyway, change seems to be considered awfully quick here. La Russa, Stewart and Watson actually had a very good first year in Arizona, and so did Hale. If there is a front-office housecleaning, it may not be quite in record time. But it’s not that far away. Paul DePodesta and Wayne Krivsky barely had two years in charge, with the Dodgers and Reds, respectively. This isn’t a record anyone should want … Yoan Lopez is the other big mistake. He has been AWOL in each of his two seasons, and at one point he was said to have left the team to join his girlfriend in Miami. There’s been a suggestion the D-backs were unaware their $8-million bonus to Lopez would be taxed at 100 percent, but D-backs people have always denied that. They seemed to just put a high value on Lopez, no different than a lot of teams have with international signings. And like anything else, some hit and some miss … The D-backs had some brief talks about Puig but apparently it went nowhere … Yasmany Tomas had 13 home runs and 25 RBI in his last 24 games … Jean Segura has put together a brilliant season in Arizona, with a .321 batting average, 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases … Superstar A.J. Pollock has made it back, and just in time to remind folks around Arizona what they’ve missed. Atlanta Braves

Brian McCann should be more likely to accept a trade to the Braves with Gary Sanchez looking like a potential superstar in the Bronx. The possible McCann to the Braves deal was first mentioned here, and makes even more sense now … Nick Markakis has cleared waivers, as has Matt Kemp, reported Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Markakis hasn’t shown much power in Atlanta so that’s not exactly a surprise. And if anyone’s interested in Kemp at this point, it’d be Jenny Craig … Freddie Freeman continues his tear since Kemp came over, no matter what kind of shape Kemp is in … Matt Wisler was “terrible” in his recent games for the Braves, one scout said, and Aaron Blair also looks like he has work to do. Their best pitching prospects (and they have many good ones) appear to be a couple years away. Boston Red Sox John Farrell failed to make my list of 10 managers on the hot seat, but that was mostly because the Red Sox look from here like a likely postseason team and I wanted to keep it to 10. Should the Red Sox not make it to October, people around the game believe Farrell’s good friend Torey Lovullo could be tabbed … Sandy Leon’s sudden power surge is confounding everyone, not just former teams. One scout refers to his suddenly big bat as a “magic wand.” … Considering the interest they showed at the deadline, Carlos Beltran could be a candidate to replace the retiring David Ortiz … Credit Clay Buchholz for going into the bullpen with the right attitude, and working his way back into the rotation, where he’s had two great starts. It’s still hard to trust he can stay healthy for long, but so far, so good … Lefty Jason Groome, the No. 12 overall pick, is off to a fine start, throwing two shutout innings for the Gulf Coast Red Sox … As of today, Mookie Betts is the AL MVP. Baltimore Orioles Matt Wieters cleared waivers, Cafardo also reported. This time, Wieters won’t receive the qualifying offer. The Orioles have decent catching depth, with Chance Sisco, who homered to the opposite field in the Futures Game, a potential star … Zach Britton has been brilliant, but it’s preferable to have a starter win the Cy Young … Chris Tillman is a big loss, even if it’s for a short time. They are calling his issue shoulder bursitis and remain hopeful he’ll be back soon. “More cautious than anything,” says someone close to the team. Chicago Cubs Jonathan Papelbon’s people got word out more than a week ago there was “strong” interest in him (from presumably the Red Sox, Cubs and others) and he’d probably have a deal within 24 hours. Nice try. But apparently it didn’t work. The soft-tossing perennially malcontent remains unemployed … Pound for pound, Addison Russell’s 465-foot home run might have been the most impressive one of the year. He seems to be improving by the day … As of today, Kris Bryant is the NL MVP. Chicago White Sox Their regular season hasn’t been all that interesting, but the White Sox may have the most interesting offseason, with Chris Sale and others potentially on the market … No one claimed James Shields, to no one’s surprise, Cafardo reported. He will become that rare player not to take advantage of the opt out, and keep the $44 million over two years. Cincinnati Reds

Joey Votto’s second half can’t be seen as a fluke. Last year in the second half he hit .362/.535/.617/1.152. This year he’s even better, at .455, .545,. .707/.1.252 … In Devin Mesoraco’s absence, catcher Tucker Barnhart has “quietly done a nice job,” one NL scout says … Jumbo Diaz is one of the best nicknames in sports … Homer Bailey is probably just working his way back from Tommy John surgery, but that $100-million contract still stands out as a winner from the player perspective. “It’s bad when other agents want the “Homer Bailey deal” as soon as the ink is dry,” one rival exec said. Cleveland Indians Mike Napoli “has been huge,” one AL scout said. What a career he’s had since being traded from the Angels … Jose Ramirez has been a Godsend. Colorado Rockies Jeff Hoffman was roughed up in his debut vs. the Cubs. But could anyone have hard a tougher first assignment: the Cubs at Coors. Detroit Tigers K-Rod has been doing fine closing games and Shane Greene has stepped nicely into one of the set-up roles, but a scout says he worries about this pen, especially K-Rod, with his “changeup after changeup” … The three days off for Justin Upton seem to have paid off. He followed the brief respite with his best series of the season. 24 June 2016: Houston Astros center fielder Carlos Gomez (30) after striking out in the third inning of an American League game between the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO. The Astros won 13-4. (Photo by Scott Winters/ICON Sportswire) (Photo by Scott Winters/ICON Sportswire) Houston Astros One Astros person believes one of the team’s problems is players turning down proposed deals to Houston, such as Cole Hamels … After watching Gomez look nothing like the guy who starred in Milwaukee for years, one Astros person explained the release by saying Gomez “stunk.” At the least, he appeared to have lost his focus. Unfortunately for them, like Lucroy, he wound up on the rival Rangers, where he’ll look to regain that focus. Kansas City Royals Nine straight wins validate the Royals’ correct decision not to sell. One rival GM says of the two-time World Series participant, “K.C. is a bit of a dark horse.” … Free agent Greg Holland, a free agent following Tommy John surgery, will probably wait until the offseason to sign. Los Angeles Angels While Jered Weaver won’t say anything during the year, some around the team believe there’s a decent chance he will retire at season’s end. If so, he had a very nice career … Top Angels exec Hal Morris

resigned his post, a loss for baseball. Morris is a brilliant guy who wanted to cut back his travel and is expected to leave the industry. With scouting director Ric Wilson let go, GM Billy Eppler has been busy with interviews. Keith Law of ESPN first reported that Cardinals cross checker Matt Swanson would be the new scouting director … One baseball scout says the Angels should seriously consider trading Mike Trout. “They could get seven players back,” that person reasoned. Me: they should look into it. Of course that’s easy for us to say. Even a good Trout deal is potential marketing nightmare; a bad Trout deal is a career wrecker. Los Angeles Dodgers The Dodgers aren’t desperate to trade Yasiel Puig, even if they aren’t ready to call him up … The Dodgers will try to keep Justin Turner, who’s one of the better free agents this winter. Turner has done everything anyone could have hoped for, and much more, so it’s no surprise they want him back. But with his status as a late-blooming star, it’ll be interesting to see how his free agency goes, and especially interesting to see how the Dodgers approach this. They have been careful on players over 30, and Turner will play at 32 next year. That said, he isn’t easily replaceable … Corey Seager’s 22nd home run tied the franchise record for shortstops. Glenn Wright also had 22 in 1930 … Rob Segedin’s is a nice story of an underdog on this mostly overdog team. He seriously considered retiring a year ago … Carl Crawford may wait until next year to attempt a comeback. Miami Marlins Jeff Francoeur is a good fit to platoon with Ichiro in right field. The Marlins nearly signed him in the winter but chose to go with Chris Johnson at the time since Johnson has more infield experience … While they hope to get Giancarlo Stanton back, it isn’t necessarily expected … The Marlins sought A.J. Pollock and Patrick Corbin in a package for Jose Fernandez this winter, but the D-backs didn’t want to trade either player, leading them to the ill-fated Miller deal. Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun (.941 OPS, 5th in NL) quietly has had an excellent season, and the Brewers will look into a deal for him in the winter … Chris Carter didn’t attract much trade talk, but he’s up to 30 home runs and doing what the Brewers hoped he would do. Minnesota Twins No names have been attached to the Twins’ GM job yet beyond interim GM Rob Antony, but an early guess is that they might go the route of their north Midwest neighbor and hire someone proficient with numbers. If that’s the case, Dan Kantrovitz, an A’s executive who was a runner-up to David Stearns in Milwaukee, could be a candidate. So might Dodgers exec Josh Byrnes and ex-Red Sox GM Ben Cherington. One name that surfaced publicly earlier, Braves assistant GM Billy Ryan, isn’t believed on the initial list, meaning the chances they can keep the same name plate in the parking lot are probably slim … While deposed GM Terry Ryan is at home, for now, people who know him could see him getting back into the game … Talented pitching prospect Jose Berrios is working on mechanical issues … The Twins “rushed” Byron Buxton, one scout opined. “He’s a thoroughbred. They need to take him along more slowly.” … The Twins are using this time to see if Jorge Polanco could be their shortstop next year. New York Mets

The Mets did the appropriate thing by placing Steven Matz on the disabled list after discovering no structural damage but a mild should strain and rotator cuff inflammation. They backdated his stay until Aug. 15, and Mets people say they expect Matz to miss only one more start and be ready to pitch when he’s due to come off the D.L. That is the case if his therapy cures the new shoulder issue and he feels fine when he throws in a few days. But there are no guarantees, and if he doesn’t feel perfect, he should consider shutting it down. If he still feels something amiss in his shoulder, you’d have to wonder whether the “significant” spur in his elbow is affecting his shoulder. Matz for three months has been dealing with the elbow issue, which has caused him to shelve his signature slider. And while word has been that he can’t further hurt his elbow by trying to pitch effectively through it, they shouldn’t take a chance he’s hurting his shoulder, or will hurt anything else, by having him pitch with multiple issues … Translations: GM Sandy Alderson says they aren’t considering a managerial change at this time. Me: No one thought Terry Collins was on the chopping block in season, and that means very little to nothing when it comes to the offseason. Yoenis Cespedes told the Bergen Record he wants to honor the final two years of his contract for $47.5 million. Me: Cespedes loves the Mets, but when it comes to the offseason, a decision will be made then that works for him, and assuming he’s healthy and playing anything like this, that will almost surely be that he opts out (or at the very least uses the opt out to negotiate up) … Curtis Granderson has 20 home runs and only 34 RBI, which isn’t easy to do. New York Yankees Especially now that Andrew Miller has been traded, Aroldis Chapman could be a candidate to return. Chapman is expected to seek to beat Jonathan Papelbon’s record $50-million, four-year contract for a closer … Gary Sanchez looks like a star in the making. While hitting all those home runs – he quickly tied A-Rod for the year, with nine — he’s doing things like gunning down Mike Trout trying to steal second base. The Yankees signed him for $3 million. Credit there goes to Donny Rowland, head of the Yankees’ international dept. The Aaron Judge pick (bonus $1.8 million) looks plenty good, too. The Yankees’ rebuild appears to be in fine shape. Oakland Athletics All those comments out of A’s camp following the clubhouse altercation first reported by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that teams have fights are true. Except for one thing, not all fights result in one of the combatants being concussed. And when the loser is concussed, is it really good form to put the victor of the fight in the lineup? That’s what happened here. The very day the fight’s loser Billy Butler went on the disabled list for concussion symptoms, there was Danny Valencia, who punched him in the temple, according to the confirmed report by Slusser, in the lineup. He probably belonged on the restricted list, at least. Valencia didn’t even offer so much as a public apology, and one wonders whether he’s concerned about a lawsuit because concussing a teammate in a fight would seem to warrant that. Meanwhile, Butler, who like Valencia hasn’t exactly been beloved in clubhouses, heard complaints in Slusser’s followup report from an unnamed teammate that he “egged on” Valencia, who one might think would have been in jeopardy of being released. One wonders whether Valencia wasn’t released because both guys were at fault, and both simply enhanced their previous reputations for not playing well with others. But the result of the fight matters, and Butler wound up with a concussion that knocked him out of action. Valencia isn’t all bad, according to an executive who knows him, and maybe his ability to get along with bosses helped him. That exec said, “Crazy part is, one on one he’s great. He manages up well. He just treats others that he views beneath him like (crud).” … The A’s were the biggest winner in the AL in terms of international signings this year, one scout said.

Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard, who looks like he’s finishing out his career in decent fashion after a slow start to the year, is determined to come back and play next year, though it won’t be in Philadelphia. Howard still believes he has something to offer, even if that .198 batting average doesn’t show it. Also, the possibility MLB will outlaw shifts (from here it’s still probably a long shot), could raise his value. As a very slow pull hitter (on grounders) he’s lost perhaps 50 plus points a year thanks to the extreme shifts. Beyond that, Howard has hit much better lately, especially against right-handers (.741 OPS vs righties). Though he’s played his whole career without the DH beyond the rare interleague games, presumably he’d be limited to the 15 AL teams. The Rays would be ideal since Howard has a home (palatial estate) in Clearwater, Fla., though they have made it a goal to become more “athletic” at first base, meaning quicker … Dylan Cozens, a former football player, is showing outstanding athletic ability, with 37 home runs and 20 steals in 21 attempts at Double-A Reading … Shane Victorino hasn’t given up the idea of playing, and will “regroup” next year to try to find a job … Wouldn’t it be a nice idea for Philly to sign Jimmy Rollins for a September contract to retire a Philly? No word it’s happening, though … J.P. Crawford, the Phillies’ top prospect, continues to show a keen ability to get on base. He still seems unlikely to get called up, though. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates took a lot of heat for trades that sent veteran pitchers Mark Melancon and Francisco Liriano away in what looked like a cost-saving measure at a time the Pirates were on the cusp of the race. But Ivan Nova was under-rated, and the Pirates seem to be getting the most out of him, whether it be the league switch, the magic of pitching coach Ray Searage or some other adjustment. He’s also aided his free agency, but more importantly he’s outpitched Liriano. Losing Melancon is a step back, but Felipe Rivero, who came in that deal, has looked dominant at times. So even that may turn out better than folks figured … David Freese took awhile to find a team last winter, but he found one that seems to fit. Thus, the in-season $11-million extension for two years and an option. Holliday has reached base safely in 43 straight game to start the season and is nearing an MLB record. St. Louis Cardinals Look out now, but the Cardinals have worked themselves into playoff position … Alex Reyes, he of the 101 mph fastball, looked pretty good closing … Matt Holliday has been worth almost every penny for the Cardinals, but they are not seen as especially likely to pick up his $17-million option (or extend the qualifying offer, which is also expected to be about $17 million). Holliday has moved year-round to the Cardinals’ home spring area of Jupiter and loves being a Cardinal, so perhaps something can be worked out. San Diego Padres Patrick Kivlehan, former football player at Rutgers, reached base six times in his first two games … Luis Sardinas, who arrived from Seattle for only cash, just got the call up and will get his chance at shortstop. He was with the Rangers organization when GM A.J. Preller was there … The Padres were MLB’s biggest winner on the international market, one scout opined.

San Francisco Giants Bruce Bochy is the highest-paid manager per year, it’s been learned … One scout’s assessment: “I am shocked their slump has gone on this long.” Seattle Mariners The Mariners are starting to get more out of some recent high draft choices. Mike Zunino, a former No. 3 pick overall who everyone concedes now was badly rushed, is showing the promise that was seen as a University of Florida Gator. He has nine home runs and a .679 slugging percentage in 28 games. Which is about the opposite of how he did last year, when he was rushed … Kyle Seager isn’t that far behind his brother, NL MVP candidate Corey Seager. Kyle’s slash line is .288/.366/.518/.884, Corey’s .321/.375/.540/.915. Tampa Bay Rays Brad Miller’s torrid season has continued even since his move to first base. While he wasn’t happy about it, the way he’s hitting, he may actually profile pretty well there. Plus, he should give them good defense. (The way he was playing short lately, he might have been OK there, too.) … More assessments are coming in, and scouts just don’t believe the Rays got enough for Matt Moore under the circumstances (though Moore isn’t exactly lighting it up in SF so far). Texas Rangers Carlos Gomez is a nice fit for them after the unfortunate loss of Shin-Soo Choo, who had regained his on-base penchant. Gomez won’t be able to match that aspect of Choo’s game, but perhaps given a second chance, he will regain some semblance of his nice all-around game that seemed to get lost in Houston … The Rangers received international spending money in the three-way Francoeur deal, and no one has spent better internationally in recent years than them … Congrats to Rangers leader Adrian Beltre on his 2,900th hit. Sure-fire Hall of Famer … Hamels should be the leader in a ridiculously wide open AL Cy Young race. Toronto Blue Jays The Jays made a big play last summer to try to acquire Reds superstar Joey Votto, as Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star reported. And had that not had a regime change, they would have very likely continued that pursuit. The Jays, in fact, were willing to add Votto on top of Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, which would have made their haul that much more exciting. Votto would have been doubly big in Toronto, as he’s a native of that city. To do that deal, though, there was plenty of work to be done, according to people familiar with the talks. The main issue is that the Jays would have to have Votto’s $225-million, 10-year deal significantly paid down, and it isn’t certain the Reds wanted to pay down much, if any, of the deal … The Blue Jays’ housecleaning (four top employees were let go this week–Brian Parker, Blake Davis, Doug Davis and Sal Fasano) was not unexpected with the new regime headed by Mark Shapiro taking over. That’s the usual course for new regimes. But as one Jays person said, “You’d think we were in last place, not first place.” On the plus side, the departed were let go with a couple months to go on their contracts, possibly giving them time to find jobs … It’s been a rough walk year for Jose Bautista, whose $150-million requested was leaked to TSN, who was punched by Rougned Odor (and still suspended a game) and who has been on the D.L. for half the year. As far as his free agency, he might

have to set his sights a bit lower. However, it appears the Jays will still extend Joey bats the qualifying offer, which is expected to be about $17 million. There would seem to be little chance he’d take it considering it’s $133 million less than he sought … On the flip side, Edwin Encarnacion has set himself up for a huge free agency, with 35 home runs (three behind Mark Trumbo) and 101 RBI. Despite being on the wrong side of 30 and mostly a DH, he has a chance to attain his goal of a four-to-five-year deal. Washington Nationals While it’s not good news Stephen Strasburg went on the disabled list with an elbow issue, people close to the situation say it was precautionary and should be short-term. That’s quite believable, as the Nats have done what’s best for Strasburg since making him the No. 1 overall pick in 2009 … Bryce Harper could have a big finish as he’s feeling better after neck and shoulder troubles slowed him for weeks. MLB We’re anxious to see Tim Tebow work out. Twenty or so teams are expected to attend his Aug. 30 workout in L.A. But in the meantime, no one should ever take Gary Sheffield’s word for anything … At the owners meeting, commissioner Rob Manfred showed a tape highlighting Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, a thrilling, high-scoring, crucial game that was played in two and a half hours. The concern now is that the game takes longer, and contains less action. Manfred has set up committees to come up with ideas to bring more excitement to the game, which is long on home runs and strikeouts and much shorter on stolen bases and other action plays. They will look at a number of possible changes, including the shift, a 20-second clock and much more. One thing no one seems to be in favor of is limiting the number of pitching changes … The idea of a 154-game season sounds like a major long shot, too.

LA TIMES

Dodgers Dugout: Was the A.J. Ellis trade a good deal? By Houston Mitchell Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I wish A.J. Ellis a fond farewell. Looking at Game 3 of the Giants series --The Dodgers lost after nearly being no-hit by Matt Moore. They still have a two-game division lead with the Chicago Cubs coming into town. Now, let’s get on to the more important news from Thursday. Goodbye, A.J. The Dodgers traded catcher A.J. Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday for catcher Carlos Ruiz. It's a move that surprised many because Ellis is well-liked by his teammates and Clayton Kershaw loved pitching to him. So why did the Dodgers do it? They wanted someone who hit left-handers better than Ellis.

Ruiz has an .830 OPS against left-handers this season, versus Ellis’ .616. Lifetime, Ellis is hitting .235 with a .740 OPS against lefties, while Ruiz is hitting .275 with an .814 OPS. So is this a good trade? Before I answer, let’s take a look at another number: What did Kershaw do with each man behind the plate? In his career, Kershaw has a 1.97 ERA when pitching to Ellis. That’s impressive. What about Yasmani Grandal? When pitching to him, Kershaw had a 1.98 ERA. Sure, he has pitched far more to Ellis than Grandal, but there has been no discernible difference when pitching to either. Ellis was going to be a free agent after the season and probably would not have been re-signed. Ruiz has a $4.5-million team option for next season, or a $500,000 buyout. So, looking at the numbers, the trade seems good. Ruiz is a much better player than Ellis. However, if you are a believer in team chemistry, the timing of the deal is horrible. Ellis is loved by his teammates. The Dodgers are playing their best ball of the season the last six weeks (during which, it should be noted, Ellis has not played much). Kershaw loves the guy. Why trade him the day of a key game against the Giants and before a big weekend series with the Cubs? I’m not a big believer in team chemistry. Lots of teams hated each other and won titles. Lots of teams loved each other and finished last. The Dodgers have put 27 players on the DL, so the clubhouse is basically a revolving door of new players. Trading a seldom-used backup catcher shouldn’t break a team, and if it does, then that team probably wasn’t going to win a World Series anyway. However, when you have a team that is on a roll, why trade a guy to whom your best player, Kershaw, loves pitching? With Kershaw returning from the disabled list soon (hopefully), why make his recovery a little tougher by trading away his friend, the guy who is on his same wavelength? Why trade a guy his teammates love, just for Ruiz, who might give them a couple of extra hits down the stretch? Was it worth making players in the clubhouse unhappy or causing them to lose focus as the shock of the trade hit them? Every Dodgers fan could detect a noticeable change in team morale and energy this season. Why take a chance on disrupting that by trading one of the best clubhouse guys? Grandal is going to get the bulk of playing time down the stretch, so I don’t see how Ruiz’s bat is going to make a huge difference. So, in looking at it from that perspective, this trade is puzzling. But looking at it from just a stats perspective, it makes sense. And that’s how Andrew Freidman views baseball: totally from a stats perspective. It’s like he’s running the world’s most expensive Fantasy Baseball team, where you don’t need to worry about what the players think because they are just interchangeable numbers with no personality or emotion. I don’t know if that is good or bad, it’s just the way it is. So, from a pure stats perspective: great trade. From a clubhouse perspective: Too soon to tell. But again, if the team can’t handle the trading of a backup catcher, then it’s not much of a team.

But one thing I do know: The first time Ellis plays against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, he deserves a huge standing ovation. As a fan, I will miss him. But I’ll miss him a lot less if Ruiz hits well down the stretch. The rest of the schedule HOME (16 games): Aug. 26-28 vs. Chicago Cubs, Sept. 2-4 vs. San Diego, Sept. 5-7 vs. Arizona, Sept. 19-21 vs. San Francisco, Sept. 22-25 vs. Colorado ROAD (19 games): Aug. 29-31 at Colorado, Sept. 9-11 at Miami, Sept. 12-14 at New York Yankees, Sept. 15-18 at Arizona, Sept. 27-29 at San Diego, Sept 30-Oct. 2 at San Francisco. Trade update How the players acquired at the trade deadline are doing: Josh Reddick: .143 (10 for 70) Rich Hill: 1-0, 0.00 ERA Jesse Chavez: 1-0, 4.20 ERA in 11 games Josh Fields: 1-0, 4.66 ERA in 11 games, currently in the minors Ask Ross Porter Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on. His latest response: Dave Pratt asks: Ross, how has the method and criteria for counting home-game attendance for the Dodgers changed over the years? Ross: Tomorrow afternoon, when they host the Cubs, the Dodgers will surpass the 3-million mark in home attendance for arecord 28th time, including 15 of the past 16 seasons. The Dodgers once more are leading baseball with an averagehome crowd of just over 45,000 this year. Last season, they were No. 1, averaging 46,479, and were the only team to perform before turnouts over 50,000 — reaching that figure on 12 home dates. The smallest Chavez Ravine audience in 2015 was a shade under 38,000. The franchise reached a high of 3.86 million fans in 2007 and never has drawn below 1.58 million at Dodger Stadium.Dave, National League clubs announced an actual turnstile count through 1992, but now, both leagues define attendance as tickets SOLD, not tickets USED. That is because of revenue sharing. Teams contribute 31% of the revenue they generate into a pool to be redistributed among those franchises that produce the fewest dollars in a season. In baseball, the average no-show rate is 18% to 20%. The greater the number of season tickets sold, the greater the number of no-shows. Much of this is done for accounting purposes. Sellouts drive sponsorships. Announced sellouts are usually below seating capacity. Some fans get tickets without paying full price, maybe obtaining season tickets deeply discounted. Employees receive complimentary

ducats, as do sponsors, visiting teams and umpires.The Dodgers have a permit with the city of Los Angeles that limits capacity at the stadium to 56,000, still the largest in baseball. Denver is next at just over 50,000. Major league baseball drew nearly 74 million fans last year. No other sports league in the world reached 23 million. The average number of tickets sold per date in baseball’s major leagues was 30,517. Remember, all these attendance numbers are based on tickets sold, not tickets actually used. What Vin Scully means to me I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memory, and I got a lot of responses. I will publish selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me. Bob Pinzler: My experience with him goes back to Brooklyn, where I was born in 1949. I was raised in a Dodger household and went to Ebbets Field numerous times. Vin has been part of my life from the womb. When they left Brooklyn, I used to follow the Dodger broadcasts from my parents’ summer house in the Catskill Mountains due to the miracle of the AM radio “skip,” where those signals bounce off the ionosphere, to be picked up by radios far away. The Dodger games at that time were on a Denver radio station, and I used to keep score and then “recreate” the game for the other kids in our neighborhood. (The New York newspapers we received there did not have the “late games” included, so I was the local sports source.) Fast forward to 1976, when I got a job in L.A. and picked up my rental car at the airport. I turned on the radio and, by chance or design, it was tuned to the Dodger station. The first voice I heard having arrived here was Vin Scully. I knew I was home. The TV situation If you would like to complain about the Dodgers’ TV situation, you have three options: The Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and whatever local cable or satellite provider you have that doesn’t carry the Dodgers. Here’s who to contact: For the Dodgers, click here or call (866) DODGERS, or (866) 363-4377. (I hope you like form letters). For Time Warner, click here. For DirecTV, call (800) 531-5000 or click here. For your local cable or satellite provider, consult your bill for the customer service number and for the website. And finally… Vin Scully talks about the history of Friday the 13th. Watch and listen here.