The Pecan Park Eagle

Kiki Hernandez (14) celebrates 3rd HR against Cubs with Yasiel Puig in game that clinches 2017 NL pennant for Dodgers.

Who are these Dodger guys, anyway?

Once you get past the big names of Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig, their roster doesn’t exactly bounce off our minds like words written on plaques destined for the Hall of Fame, but that doesn’t mean we Astros Nation people take anything for granted here. After all, these are the guys , not the Houston Astros, who won more games in MLB this year than anyone else. LA had 104 wins in 2017, and that was two more than the Cleveland Indians garnered and three more than our Astros captured.

Our deficiency on finger tip information is directly connected to the Astros deeper absorption into the world of the American League. With the Astros rolling to this moment – and never inter-league playing the Dodgers this year a single series time – it seemed enough just to know that the boys from La La Land did have Kershaw and Puig – and that they were doing pretty well themselves.

Now it’s come down to “prove who’s best” time in that little dance we all know as the World Series and – lo and behold – we find that the Astros and Dodgers have both fought their ways onto the dance card as the only contestants.

The following table is a glimpse view of the probable starting lineup for the Dodgers in Game One tonight.  It reflects how each of the nine projected Dodger starters have fared over the season and in the playoffs.

A Former Astro Pick Shines in LA

One interesting name on the list is Dodger shortstop Enrique “Kiki” Hernandez. Kiki originated as an Astros 6th round amateur draft pick in 2009, but he moved on to the Miami Marlins in that August 2014 trade that sent several Astros players to Florida in exchange for Jake Marisnick and others. The Marlins then grouped Kiki in another multi-player deal and shipped him off to the Dodgers in December 2014.

All Enrique Hernandez did in the 2017 final elimination of the Cubs playoff game was to crunch three home runs into the hopper of an LA winning cause.

Here’s a link to the Fernandez mad bomber game:

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2017/10/20/16507098/kike-hernandez-home-run-prediction-mother-text-message-dodgers-nlcs-mlb-record

A Tabular Look at the Probable Starting LA Dodger Nine By Season and Playoff Stats

Additional Observations ….

Dodger Line Up Has Pop at the Top

The Dodgers’ first 4 hitters have 21, 21, 39, and 28 homers on the season, and, to back up the contact threat, their 2017 BA’s check in at .288, .322, .267. and .263.

Kershaw’s Playoff Mark

Kershaw won twice against the Cubs, but his 3.63 PO ERA was a tad higher than his 2.31 2017 season mark.

Let’s Get It on!

First Pitch is now only Six and One Half Hours Hours Away at this late “additional observations” posting to the column.!

Go Astros!

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