Daily Clips

April 19, 2017

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017

DODGERS.COM Roberts sees positives in Ryu despite 3rd loss—Ken Gurnick Dodgers’ rally falls short in 3rd straight loss—Steve Dilbeck and Ken Gurnick Forsythe, Turner both dealt painful HBPs—Ken Gurnick Dodgers call up Fields to reinforce bullpen—Ken Gurnick Kershaw seeks redemption vs. Rockies—Steve Dilbeck

LA TIMES Dodgers suffer painful loss to the Rockies, 4-3, and a Scare—Andy McCullough Survey: Dodgers pass Lakers as L.A.'s favorite team—Bill Shaikin As Rich Hill continues to throw, Dodgers unsure about what's causing his blister—Andy McCullough

OC REGISTER Nolan Arenado’s two home runs send Dodgers to third straight loss—J.P. Hoornstra Franklin Gutierrez bides his time while Dodgers’ southpaw struggles continue—J.P. Hoornstra Rockies at Dodgers, Wednesday, 7 p.m.—J.P. Hoornstra

ESPN Arenado hits 2 home runs, Rockies hold off Dodgers 4-3—The Associated Press 59 años de la llegada de los Dodgers a Los Angeles—Rigo Cervantez A $420 million star? Predicting how much it would take to lock up MLB's best young players—Jim Bowden

TRUE BLUE LA suffers big toe contusion after HBP—Eric Stephen Dodgers offense, Rockies home runs sink LA below .500—Eric Stephen Grant Dayton placed on DL, Dodgers recall Josh Fields from Triple-A—Eric Stephen has 4-for-4 night as Quakes lose 11-9—Craig Minami

DODGERS INSIDER Even with a loss, Ryu takes a step forward—Cary Osborne Dayton placed on 10-day DL—Rowan Kavner

NBC LA Dodgers Can't Complete Comeback in 4-3 Loss to Colorado—Michael Duarte

FOXSPORTS.COM Adrian Gonzalez recorded a putout with his neck and couldn’t help but laugh about it—Pete Blackburn

YAHOO SPORTS The Dodgers and Rich Hill want your suggestions on preventing blisters—Tim Brown

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten speaks at Fowler School of Law symposium—Robyn Norwood

LOS ANGELES DODGERS DAILY CLIPS WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017

DODGERS.COM

Roberts sees positives in Ryu despite 3rd loss

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- With three starting pitchers injured and Julio Urias held back by management, the Dodgers have no choice but to let Hyun-Jin Ryu take his lumps.

Ryu's comeback from two years on the shelf continued on its bumpy path Tuesday night when his improved stuff couldn't compensate for punishing mistakes in a 4-3 loss to the Rockies, who barreled three homers off Ryu as the Dodgers fell below .500 for time this year.

"We feel comfortable with him making a start every fifth day, and as he gets into the rhythm of a season, we know he'll get better," said manager Dave Roberts. "For us, the barometer for Ryu is the delivery repeating, holding velocity, which he's doing, and executing pitches. He's made some mistakes that were hit out of the ballpark. If he minimizes damage, he'll be fine."

Ryu (0-3) was a little more self-critical.

"It's still quite difficult the fact that I gave up three home runs, but the pitch and are definitely positive signs," said Ryu.

Nolan Arenado homered in the first and fifth innings, Trevor Story went deep in the fourth, accounting for all four of Colorado's runs. Ryu has allowed six homers in only 15 1/3 innings.

And even though he struck out seven and lasted six innings for the first time, he might be on shaky ground for his next start, except that Rich Hill, Scott Kazmir and Brock Stewart are unavailable and the Urias lab experiment is still in the trial phase.

"With Ryu, he's still coming back," said Roberts. "To expect him to be locked in right now might be a little unfair. We just feel comfortable with his fastball command. The velocity was up tonight. It will get there. Look at the full body of work, it's three pitches that hurt him.

"He's given up six homers, all on fastballs, just missed location. Today, Nolan is their best player, he tried to come in with the fastball, it leaked over the plate and down and that's his nitro zone and he put a swing on it.

Story is a good fastball hitter, he tried to elevate, missed down and the same thing. If we eliminate the slug, he pitched a heck of a ballgame and gave us the much-needed length we were looking for. Ryu will be fine, it's just eliminating the long ball."

Colorado manager Bud Black said this about Ryu: "I think he's going to throw well this year. He looks like he's healthy. He's got weapons. He's a strike thrower."

Dodgers' rally falls short in 3rd straight loss

By Steve Dilbeck and Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- Nolan Arenado homered twice, Trevor Story went deep once and the Colorado bullpen pitched five innings Tuesday night to hold off the Dodgers, 4-3, at .

Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-3) pitched six innings for the first time this year with seven , but he has allowed six home runs in 15 1/3 innings with two losses to the Rockies. Kyle Freeland started for Colorado, but he was removed with two on and no outs in the fifth and did not qualify for the victory. He walked four, hit two batters and made 87 pitches in four-plus innings.

The Dodgers scored in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI infield single by Joc Pederson and in the ninth inning on RBI singles by Justin Turner and Yasmani Grandal. The Dodgers had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended.

"We were good in the ninth inning," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "Our guys aren't going to lay down. They're going to keep competing. It was good to see us stress them."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Homer happy: The homers by Arenado, who has six this year, were projected by Statcast™ at 406 and 395 feet, with exit velocities of 105.3 and 105 mph, while Story's second homer of the year was projected at 427 feet with an exit velocity of 106.7 mph. Story was 0-for- 12 and 1-for-26 prior to the home . More >

"He's one of the best players in the game," Rockies manager Bud Black said of Arenado. "There's no doubt about it. I'll go on record saying that. He's arguably in the top five. He does it both at the plate and on the field. He makes all the plays."

Penmenship: Five Colorado relievers followed Freeland. Chris Rusin, who retired all four batters he faced, was credited with the victory and Greg Holland allowed two runs in the ninth but held on for his eighth save. The Rockies' bullpen is 5-0.

DEFENSE THE HARD WAY

Ryu and Adrian Gonzalez combined for a backward defensive play on Charlie Blackmon's slow roller in the third inning and it probably saved a run. Ryu made the throw with his glove, Gonzalez made the catch without one (barehanded) for the out. Two batters later, Arenado doubled inside the right-field line.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Reigning NL Rookie of the Year struck out his first two at-bats, giving him six consecutive whiffs and eight of his previous 10 at-bats. He walked, lined out to center and singled on an overturned call in his remaining at-bats.

"There was a little bit of an exhale with Corey," said Roberts. "I think he punched six in a row. Don't think he's ever done that in his life. He's struggling a little bit right now, but any day he can turn it around."

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

The Dodgers challenged an out call in the ninth inning by third-base umpire Stu Scheurwater on a soft fly ball by Seager to diving left fielder Gerardo Parra. The call was overturned and Seager was safe at first base.

WHAT'S NEXT

Rockies: The Dodgers gave left-hander Tyler Anderson a rough time in their meeting in Denver on April 9, getting to him for five runs on five hits and four walks his five innings of the Rockies' 10-6 loss. Anderson will look to bounce back Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. MT.

Dodgers: The Rockies roughed up for three homers at Coors Field, but he rebounded with 8 1/3 innings to beat the D- backs in his last outing. Kershaw starts this 7:10 p.m. PT game to finish the two-game set with Colorado. He's 18-6 against Colorado in his career.

Forsythe, Turner both dealt painful HBPs

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers not only lost a game Tuesday night, 4-3, to Colorado, they might have lost infielders Logan Forsythe and Justin Turner.

Both were hit by Kyle Freeland pitches, Forsythe getting nailed on his big right toe in the first inning and leaving in the fourth, and Turner getting drilled on the left hand in the fifth inning. Turner played on but he was unable to swing a bat with authority. Freeland was wild enough to also walk four in four-plus innings.

The greater concern is Forsythe because X-rays were ominously "inconclusive," with further medical work expected on Wednesday. X- rays on Turner were negative.

"Some tests I've had with the swelling they can't really tell until the next day," Forsythe said. "I'm always optimistic. We'll wake up tomorrow and see how it goes."

There is additional concern with Forsythe because of the pain and swelling he reported, as well as his history of foot problems. He's had surgery to repair fractures in both feet, plus plantar fasciitis in the right foot.

"There's a lot of small bones in the feet and I've dealt with foot problems in the past," said Forsythe. "They're going to get a couple more eyes on it and re-evaluate tomorrow. It's definitely bruised, right on the joint that allows weight bearing. I've had surgeries on both feet, sesamoid removals. Those are out and it's nothing to do with those."

Although the club just promoted infielder Rob Segedin, manager Dave Roberts said it might need to bring up another infielder for Wednesday night's game with the Rockies.

Dodgers call up Fields to reinforce bullpen

By Ken Gurnick

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers recalled right-handed reliever Josh Fields from Triple-A to restock their weary bullpen and made room by placing left-handed reliever Grant Dayton on the disabled list with a left intercostal strain.

Fields pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to Colorado.

Fields had been optioned to Oklahoma City on Friday, when the team activated reliever Pedro Baez from the 10-day disabled list. Dayton pitched in the past two games, including a hitless inning Monday night, and he likely would have been unavailable to pitch Tuesday night.

He has allowed only two hits in 21 at-bats this year. The Dodgers' bullpen has pitched 15 innings in the past three games. Luis Avilan is now the lone lefty in the bullpen.

Kershaw seeks redemption vs. Rockies

By Steve Dilbeck

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw (2-1) gets his second chance at beating Colorado when the Dodgers host the Rockies Wednesday night in the finale of their two-game series at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw allowed four runs -- including three homers -- on eight hits on April 8 at Coors Field. The Dodgers' ace came back with a vengeance, though, racking up six called strikeouts and a staggering 29 called strikes against Arizona on Friday.

Those six backwards K's are tied for the second-most in Kershaw's career, while the 29 called strikes are tied with a start from July, 8, 2015, against Philadelphia for the most in his Major League tenure.

The Rockies will start left-hander Tyler Anderson (1-2), who allowed five runs over five innings on April 9 against the Dodgers at Coors Field. The Rockies took two of the three games in that series. Things to know about this game

• For his career against the Rockies, Kershaw is 18-6 with a 3.17 ERA in 33 starts, with 229 strikeouts to 67 walks. • Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado likes a fast start. Hitting in the first inning this season, Arenado is 6-for-7 with two doubles, two home runs and three walks. • Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is off to his own hot start this season, and he's hit well against Colorado in his career (.375 with a 1.010 OPS over 57 games).

LA TIMES

Dodgers suffer painful loss to the Rockies, 4-3, and a Justin Turner scare

By Andy McCullough

The fastball registered at 92 mph when it connected with Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner. It ricocheted off his left hand and dribbled across the grass beyond home plate. Turner tumbled into the dirt. Quiet descended upon Dodger Stadium.

The possibility of injury loomed larger than insult in the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the on Tuesday. The Dodgers have grown accustomed to losing to left-handed pitchers the last two seasons. Already in 2017, the team has dropped six games when facing a left- handed starter. On Tuesday, they opposed a left-handed pitcher incapable of commanding his fastball, but capable of wounding cornerstones of the Dodgers infield.

Turner picked himself up and trotted to first base. An X-ray on his hand was negative. Logan Forsythe had been less lucky. He left because of a bruised right big toe. An X-ray on the toe was deemed “inconclusive,” Forsythe said. He will undergo a follow-up examination by team doctors Wednesday.

“It just hurts,” Forsythe said. “I hope it’s not [broken]. But I guess we’ll get that news tomorrow.” It would be too generous to describe Rockies starter Kyle Freeland as “effectively wild” on Tuesday.

He was wild, for sure, drilling Turner and Forsythe, and walking four batters. He was effective if only because he faced the Dodgers, one of the sport’s least-proficient offenses against left-handed pitchers. He collected 12 outs, which created enough runway for the Rockies bullpen to hold the lead.

Losing for the third game in a row, the Dodgers succumbed to a familiar, bitter formula. The lineup stranded 12 runners. Turner delivered a run-scoring single in the ninth inning, but the hit only added to the tease: Yasiel Puig flied out to the warning track in the next at-bat. Yasmani Grandal cut the deficit to one run with a single.

The game ended when Adrian Gonzalez bounced into a groundout. Hyun-Jin Ryu surrendered three home runs in six innings. Nolan Arenado, Colorado’s third baseman, tormented Ryu by hitting two.

Ryu (0-3, 5.87 ERA) has given up six homers in three starts. He gave up eight in 26 starts in 2014, his last season before shoulder surgery. He appears capable of imitating the pitcher he once was. An imitation rarely surpasses the original. “He’s still coming back,” manager Dave Roberts said. “To expect him to be locked in right now might be a little unfair.”

The previous three games had drained the Dodgers bullpen. The three starting pitchers combined for 12 innings. The team fell Monday in part because Roberts felt forced to use reliever Chris Hatcher in a multi-inning stint. Hatcher served up a game-deciding homer in his second inning.

To break the cycle, Roberts turned to Ryu. In his first two starts, Ryu had failed to finish the fifth inning, a reality that gnawed at him. The first inning Tuesday would, too. Ryu gave up a leadoff double to outfielder Charlie Blackmon. Two batters later, Ryu threw a 90-mph fastball over the middle. Arenado hit a two-run homer.

“That’s his nitro zone,” Roberts said.

Thus the Dodgers landed in an early deficit while facing a left-handed pitcher. Freeland had beaten the team once this season, stringing together six innings of one-run baseball April 7. And the lineup lost one of its better right-handed hitters after only one at-bat.

In the first inning, Freeland hit Forsythe in the right foot with a 90-mph fastball. Forsythe hobbled to first base and waved off the training staff. He wore a grimace as he played two more innings in the field. Scott Van Slyke replaced him in the batting order in the bottom of the third.

Van Slyke took part in a would-be rally. He walked, which put two runners aboard with one out for Corey Seager. Seager continued a recent spell of ineptitude by striking out for the sixth at-bat in a row. Turner grounded out to end the threat. The hole expanded in the fourth inning. Shortstop Trevor Story punished Ryu for a belt-high fastball. The solo shot landed in the left-field bleachers.

The offense managed to scrape together a run in the fourth inning. Enrique Hernadez led off with a walk. Gonzalez bounced a single over the head of first baseman Mark Reynolds. Joc Pederson hit a cue-shot run-scoring infield single that Arenado could not convert into an out.

Arenado blunted the Dodgers’ momentum in the fifth inning. Ryu paid for a mistake made in the previous inning. By hitting No. 8 hitter Dustin Garneau with two outs, Ryu turned over the Rockies lineup and allowed Arenado a third at-bat against him. Arenado did not miss. He made an 89-mph fastball disappear beyond the left-field fence.

The Dodgers rallied in the ninth inning. But the threat of a serious injury still hung over the club as the night end. “It is significant,” Roberts said. “As far as if there is some sort of fracture, and if he wakes up tomorrow, and doesn’t feel any relief.”

Survey: Dodgers pass Lakers as L.A.'s favorite team

By Bill Shaikin

Magic Johnson arrived in Los Angeles as a wide-eyed teenager in 1979, when Dusty Baker, Ron Cey and Steve Garvey starred for the team that had captured the affection of the city.

“I've seen how the Dodgers can be as big as the Lakers,” Johnson said when he announced his pursuit of an ownership stake in the Dodgers in 2011, “and I want that to happen again.” His vision has come to pass, at least by one measure. The Dodgers are more popular than the Lakers, for the first time in the four years a

Loyola Marymount survey has asked Los Angeles County residents to identify their favorite pro sports team. The Dodgers got 36% of the vote and the Lakers 35%, making each team more than four times as popular in Los Angeles as any other local team.

The Clippers got 7%, the Angels and Kings 6% each, the Galaxy and Rams 5% each and the Sparks 0.2%. The survey, conducted in January by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, asked 2,400 adult residents this question: “What is your favorite professional sports team with L.A. in its name?”

So, even though the and Anaheim Ducks play in Anaheim, the Ducks were not included in the survey. The poll did not extend to Orange County residents.

Although the Rams had just completed a dreadful first season back in Los Angeles at the time of the survey, the results are particularly ominous for the Chargers, a team loved in San Diego but with virtually no history or following in Los Angeles.

Their “Fight for L.A.” slogan might be all too uncomfortable. They might have been kings in San Diego, but they figure to rank below the Kings and seven other teams in local fervor during their debut season in Los Angeles next fall.

“But 3% of a population of 10 million, that’s still a lot of people,” said Fernando Guerra, the center’s director, citing the population of L. A. County.

In 2014, the first year of the survey, the Lakers got 42% of the vote and the Dodgers 35%. Although the survey did not ask respondents to explain why they favored a team, Guerra said there is no mystery to how the Dodgers leaped past the Lakers.

“L.A. loves a winner,” Guerra said. “You’ve seen the decline of the Lakers.”

In 2012, Johnson and his Guggenheim Baseball partners inherited a Dodgers team that had fallen into bankruptcy and out of the top 10 in the major leagues in attendance and payroll. In each of the first four full years under Guggenheim ownership, the Dodgers have led the majors in both categories and advanced to the playoffs.

“The first thing we said we wanted to do was to bring the fans back,” Johnson said last Saturday, after the Dodgers unveiled a statue of .

“The second thing we wanted to do was to put money into the stadium. We put over $250 million into the stadium, to upgrade it for our great fan base. We wanted to make the team better, so we invested in the players. The next thing we wanted to do was to honor Jackie Robinson, and we’ve done that.

“Check. Check. Check. Check. We’ve got one more box to check, and that is winning the .”

The Lakers bid farewell to Kobe Bryant last year and fired their general manager this year, at the same time the owner fired her brother as executive vice president of basketball operations. Their last four seasons are the worst four seasons in franchise history, as measured by losses.

None of their succession of lottery draft picks — Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram — has delivered anywhere near the impact that reigning rookie of the year Corey Seager has had on the Dodgers.

“The Lakers have had three top draft picks that have made no impact, really,” Guerra said. “You’ve got the retirement of Kobe, so the Lakers are starless, and the Dodgers have [Clayton] Kershaw, Seager, [Kenley] Jansen, etc.

“The one thing that mitigates this is that the Lakers are actually on TV a lot more, but that hasn’t held the Dodgers back. It’s about winning.”

Guerra said the Lakers could leapfrog the Dodgers, particularly since the Lakers remain more popular among millennials — the youngest adults — in the survey. But they’ll have to get back to winning, and to securing the better players who make for a better team.

The person accountable for acquiring those players — and thus for making the Lakers more popular than the Dodgers once again — is their new president of basketball operations.

His name is .

As Rich Hill continues to throw, Dodgers unsure about what's causing his blister

By Andy McCullough

On Tuesday afternoon, two days after irritating a blister on his left middle finger, Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill went outside to play catch. He distanced himself about 90 feet from his target. He wore a bandage over his damaged finger for the duration of the exercise.

After dealing with Hill’s blister for two months in 2016, the Dodgers are attempting to solve the problem once more. Despite lengthy study of the issue last season and this past winter, the team has been unable to determine why Hill is so susceptible to blisters, president of baseball operations explained.

“The most confounding part is that we’re not able to wrap our arms around it and have a clear sense of what’s causing it,” Friedman said. “Which would obviously help us in treating it and insuring that it didn’t re-occur.”

Friedman added, “Whenever we do figure out the primary culprit, I think it will then feel obvious. But in this moment, it doesn’t.”

Hill is not eligible to return until April 27, but manager Dave Roberts indicated Hill would be unlikely to come back after only 10 days. Hill will probably need to embark on a rehabilitation assignment, and could spend time in the bullpen upon his return.

Until then, Hill will continue to throw. The club does not want Hill’s arm to lose its stamina. He also needs to build a callus on his finger, which the throwing could help.

Hill signed a three-year, $48-million contract over the winter. Friedman was asked if the organization considered the possibility of the blister’s return as part of the risk inherent in signing Hill. “We felt confident that it was behind us, obviously didn’t know for sure,” Friedman said.

Friedman acknowledged that the team understood the possibility of Hill’s requiring time on the disabled list. At 37, Hill has thrown 618 1/3 innings in parts of 13 big league seasons. He has undergone an elbow reconstruction and a surgery on his labrum.

“What was baked into the contract was that we weren’t counting on 200 innings,” Friedman said. “You’re counting on more limited innings than you traditionally would [throw], but with really good quality, and hopefully trying to time it for October, if you qualify.”

Short hops

The roster continued to churn Tuesday as the team placed left-handed reliever Grant Dayton on the 10-day disabled list because of a left intercostal muscle strain. Dayton had thrown a scoreless inning in relief Monday and had not allowed a run in seven appearances. In his place, the team recalled right-handed reliever Josh Fields.

OC REGISTER

Nolan Arenado’s two home runs send Dodgers to third straight loss

By J.P. Hoornstra

LOS ANGELES — Baseball has a way of turning heroes into fools faster than most forces on Earth.

Take Nolan Arenado on Tuesday. The Colorado Rockies’ slugger nearly twisted himself into the ground swinging and missing at a Pedro Baez fastball in the seventh inning. His helmet fell off and his knee collapsed to the ground. Arenado struck out on the next pitch.

By then, Arenado (El Toro High) had already etched his contribution to the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss in stone. His two home runs against Hyun- Jin Ryu (0-3) gave the Rockies an early, insurmountable cushion before an announced crowd of 37,960 at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers’ third consecutive loss dropped their record to 7-8, the first time since May 22, 2016 they’ve been below .500. Last year, the Dodgers weathered the early storm to win the . For now there’s little use dwelling on the fact that the Rockies (10-5) and Arizona Diamondbacks (10-5) have both surpassed the Dodgers in the standings.

But Tuesday’s loss did expose some troublesome trends — beginning, again, with a left-handed pitcher, and ending with another injury. Colorado starter Kyle Freeland was the beneficiary of Arenado’s bat. He survived four hits, four walks and a hit batter before turning the ball over to his bullpen with a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning.

Freeland, a 23-year-old left-hander, has now started three major league games. He allowed one run in his debut against the Dodgers, a win; six runs against the , a loss; and one run in four innings Tuesday. In the span of three weeks he’s become an unlikely nemesis, a mouse to the Dodgers’ elephant.

The Dodgers fell to 2-6 in eight games against left-handed starters this season, continuing a theme that emerged last year.

Their problems Tuesday extended beyond Freeland’s left arm.

Logan Forsythe left the game with a contusion on his right big toe after he was hit with a Freeland fastball in the first inning. An x-ray on the toe was inconclusive, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Forsythe would be examined again Wednesday morning.

“It just hurts,” Forsythe said after the game. “I hope it’s not (broken) but I guess we’ll get that news (Wednesday).”

Forsythe has had surgeries to remove a sesamoid in both feet and suffered from plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

Although he stayed in the game long enough to play a half-inning in the field, he said “the push-off wasn’t going to be where it needed to be” for him to continue.

Justin Turner was hit by a Freeland pitch on a knuckle on his right hand in the fifth inning, but was able to finish the game. X-rays were negative, Roberts said.

Still, with both Turner and Forsythe banged up, Roberts couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Dodgers would recall an extra bat prior to Wednesday’s game against the Rockies.

Trevor Story also hit a against Ryu (0-3), who threw 86 pitches in six innings — his longest start of the year. The left-hander was charged with four runs, all earned. All three home runs he allowed were hit against fastballs, which regularly topped out around 91 mph.

“It’s still quite difficult to ignore the fact that I allowed three home runs,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “But looking at the pitch count and the innings, there are definitely positive signs and it is definitely something I can build on.”

No National League pitcher has allowed more home runs than Ryu (six).

“We feel comfortable with him making a start every fifth day,” Roberts said of Ryu. “As he gets into the rhythm of the season we know he’ll get better. For us the barometer for Ryu is repeating his delivery, which he’s doing; holding velocity, which he’s doing; and executing pitches.

“If you look at the three starts, he’s made some mistakes out over with the fastball and they’ve been hit out of the ballpark. If he can minimize the damage he’ll be fine.”

Down 3-0 in the fourth inning, the Dodgers had some chances to come back.

Right-hander Scott Oberg relieved Freeland with runners on first and second base and none out in the fifth inning. Oberg struck out Yasiel Puig and retired Kiké Hernandez on a flyout. Left-hander Chris Rusin (2-0) then got Adrian Gonzalez to ground out to end the inning.

The Dodgers left two runners on base in the seventh inning, two more in the ninth, and finished 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Down 4-1, RBI singles by Turner and Yasmani Grandal off Rockies closer Greg Holland brought the Dodgers within a run in the ninth inning. But with runners on first and second base, Holland got Gonzalez to ground out to end the game.

Gonzalez had two of the Dodgers’ six hits.

Franklin Gutierrez bides his time while Dodgers’ southpaw struggles continue

By J.P. Hoornstra

LOS ANGELES — The Colorado Rockies shuffled their rotation so two left-handed pitchers, Kyle Freeland and Tyler Anderson, would start this week against the Dodgers. The Cubs lined up their lefties when the Dodgers visited Chicago last week, too.

It’s a pattern the Dodgers expect will continue until their record against left-handed starters turns around. They were 2-5 against southpaws and 5-2 against righties through Monday. Last season, they were 22-24 against lefties, 69-47 against righties.

One man with plenty of potential to reverse the trend can’t do a thing about it.

“Yeah,” Franklin Gutierrez said Tuesday. “It’s hard.”

Gutierrez was the cleanup hitter in the Dodgers’ April 10 game against the . He drew a walk in his only that day against Jon Lester, was caught trying to steal second base, strained his hamstring and hasn’t played since.

When Gutierrez signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract Feb. 20, he understood his role. A huge part of it was helping the Dodgers become an above-average team against lefties. His career .844 OPS against lefties dwarfs his .651 OPS against righties, forged over parts of 12 seasons.

Gutierrez’s continued absence puts an asterisk on the Dodgers’ plight. They’re not playing with a full deck.

For Gutierrez, who hasn’t played more than 100 games in a season since 2010, the rehab process is simply “boring.”

“Being injured throughout pretty much my whole career, I know how it feels,” he said. “I’m doing the most I can to get back as soon as I can. I’m doing all the exercises they tell me to do. It’s important for me to feel good and support the team, even from the bench.”

Manager Dave Roberts said the plan calls for Gutierrez to travel to Arizona with the rest of the club Thursday, face live pitching Friday at while the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks, then “potentially” play a rehab game with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday.

Gutierrez still hasn’t been cleared to run the bases. He believes that might happen in the next two days.

That’s too late to help the Dodgers against the Rockies but Gutierrez is taking the long view.

“It’s a long season,” he said. “It’s just the first month. I know there’s going to be a lot of lefties coming up throughout the whole season. I’ll be ready for that.”

CAN’T BURY FIELDS FOREVER

Four days after Josh Fields was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, the right-handed reliever returned to the Dodgers. Left-hander Grant Dayton was placed on the 10-day DL with a left intercostal strain.

With Alex Wood moving back to the starting rotation, the Dodgers currently have one left-hander (Luis Avilan) in their bullpen.

Fields, 31, made four relief appearances for the Dodgers in his first stint with the big league club, tossing three scoreless innings and striking out six batters, while allowing only two baserunners to reach base via a walk and a hit.

Dayton, 29, pitched Monday night against Arizona, tossing a scoreless inning of relief and issuing one walk. In seven relief appearances this season, Dayton hasn’t allowed a run in 6-1/3 innings, limiting the opposition to a .095 batting average (2-for-21).

This will be Dayton’s first stint on the disabled list in the major leagues.

ALSO

Rich Hill played catch from flat ground for the second consecutive day. The left-hander went on the 10-day disabled list Monday after a recurrence of the blister on his left middle finger.

Rockies at Dodgers, Wednesday, 7 p.m.

By J.P. Hoornstra

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Dodger Stadium

TV: KTLA/5, SNLA (where available) THE PITCHERS

ROCKIES LHP TYLER ANDERSON (1-2, 8.59 ERA) vs. Dodgers: 2-0, 1.83 ERA (three starts) at Dodger Stadium: 0-0, 2.84 ERA (one start)

Hates to face: Justin Turner, 7 for 12 (.583), home run, four RBI Loves to face: Kiké Hernandez, 0 for 8, three strikeouts

DODGERS LHP CLAYTON KERSHAW (2-1, 2.53 ERA) vs. Rockies: 18-6, 3.17 ERA (33 starts) at Dodger Stadium: 73-29, 1.97 (139 starts)

Hates to face: Gerardo Parra, 12 for 33 (.364)

Loves to face: Carlos Gonzalez, 7 for 36 (.194), 17 strikeouts

ESPN

Arenado hits two home runs, Rockies hold off Dodgers 4-3

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Nolan Arenado went home to work on his swing, and it paid off in a big way. Arenado homered twice, Trevor Story also connected and the Colorado Rockies held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Tuesday night.

"Honestly, I have to give credit to my dad and my high school coach," Arenado said. "I went to hit with them yesterday back at my old field. I was working on some things, fixing some things. And today I was able to do it." Arenado attended El Toro High in Orange County. He worked with his former coach, Mike Gonzales, and his father, Fernando.

"It's April, I'm swinging the bat pretty good and today was a great day," Arenado said, "but there's five months left of baseball. I have a lot of work to do."

Greg Holland gave up two runs in the ninth inning but earned his eighth save in as many chances. With runners at first and second, Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to end it.

Arenado hit a two-run homer into the left-field bleachers off Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-3) in the first. The slugger added his sixth of the season in the fifth, sending another pitch from Ryu into the stands between the left-field foul pole and the Dodgers bullpen.

The only National League player with more homers than Arenado is Milwaukee's Eric Thames, who has seven. "He's one of the best players in the game," Colorado manager Bud Black said of Arenado. "There's no doubt about it. I'll go on record saying that.

He's arguably in the top five. He does it both at the plate and on the field. He makes all the plays. In the 15 games we've played, you could go back to probably each and every game and see where he's contributed."

Arenado added a third-inning double for his second three-hit game in his last three starts. Colorado (10-5) won its third straight and improved to 7-2 on the road.

Story hit his second home run of the season deep into the left-field bleachers in the fourth, snapping slumps of 0 for 12 and 1 for 26. Chris Rusin (2-0) tossed 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win. The first four Colorado relievers combined to hold the Dodgers scoreless on two hits over four innings.

Ryu gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings as he lost his third consecutive start. The left-hander made only one appearance over the past two years because of arm injuries.

"He's still coming back. To expect him to be locked in right now might be a little unfair," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Ryu has allowed 10 runs and 19 hits over 15 1/3 innings this season. "He had a good changeup, a decent slider, threw a couple curveballs, painted a couple of fastballs inside," Black said. "Those mistakes out over the plate to Nolan and Trevor, we didn't miss them. We didn't hit them for singles, we didn't hit them for doubles, we hit them for homers. And those are big home runs."

Rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland started for the Rockies, but came out after four-plus innings. He held Los Angeles to a run and four hits, but walked four to go with three strikeouts.

"It's his third start. He's learning," Black said. The Dodgers, who have lost three in a row, scored in the fourth when Joc Pederson's infield single drove in Kike Hernandez from third base. Hernandez walked with one out and went to third on a single by Gonzalez.

The Rockies have taken three of four from the Dodgers this season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers 2B Logan Forsythe sustained a bruise to his right big toe when he was hit on the foot by a pitch from Freeland leading off the first. Forsythe stayed in the game until the third but appeared to be in pain. X-rays were inconclusive, according to Roberts, and Forsythe was to be examined by team doctors Wednesday. "It just hurts," Forsythe said. ... Justin Turner was hit by a pitch on his right hand in the fifth but stayed in the game. X-rays were negative, Roberts said.

OVERTURNED

With one out in the ninth and Chase Utley on second, Corey Seager hit a shallow fly to left, where Gerardo Parra appeared to make a sliding catch. The Dodgers challenged and the call was overturned to a single. That set the stage for RBI singles by Turner and pinch- hitter Yasmani Grandal before the rally fell short.

ROSTER MOVES Before the game, the Rockies reinstated Parra from the paternity list and recalled INF Pat Valaika from Triple-A Albuquerque. RHP Shane Carle and OF were optioned to Albuquerque. ... Los Angeles placed LHP Grant Dayton on the 10-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain and recalled RHP Josh Fields from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

UP NEXT

Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (1-2, 8.59 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season. He faced the Dodgers at Coors Field on April 9 and took the loss after allowing five runs and five hits in five innings. Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (2-1, 2.53) comes off his best start of the season. He held the Diamondbacks to a run and four hits over 8 1/3 innings, striking out eight with only one walk.

59 años de la llegada de los Dodgers a Los Angeles By Rigo Cervantez El viernes 18 de abril de 1958, en un juego que dio inicio a las 10:45 de la mañana, y que se extendió por tres horas, los Dodgers de Los Angeles lograron un triunfo por marcador final de 6-5, frente a los Gigantes de San Francisco, escribiendo así la primera página de la historia de esa institución, como la más importante representación deportiva profesional de Los Angeles.

La franquicia nacida en 1849 en Brooklyn, Nueva York, que también llevara por un tiempo el nombre de 'Bridegroomers', adoptó el de 'Dodgers' en 1891, debido a que jugaban en el , que estaba rodeado por las vías del tren, y tanto los peloteros como los aficionados, se veía obligados a 'esquivar (dodge)' los trenes y trolebuses para llegar al parque de pelota, se convertía hace 59 años en los Dodgers.

Una mudanza que pudo haber sido provocada, en parte, por la paternidad que históricamente habían ejercido los Yankees de Nueva York, los vecinos del Bronx, sobre el equipo de Brooklyn.

DATOS HISTÓRICOS AL RENACER LOS DODGERS

Una recta, señalada como strike, fue el primer lanzamiento del diestro Carl Erskine, ante el primer bateador de los Gigantes, el antesalista Jimmy Davenport, en un juego celebrado en el Coliseo Memorial, la casa temporal del equipo, que no fue transmitido por televisión, pero que tuvo a reporteros representantes de 150 períodicos.

Ese mismo día, en Grandes Ligas, los Yankees superaban a los Orioles de Baltimore, por 3-1.

El republicano Dwight D. Eisenhower se encontraba en el quinto año de sus dos términos como presidente de Estados Unidos. El alcalde de Los Angeles era Norris Poulson, mientras que el republicano Goodwin Knight ocupaba el puesto de gobernador del Estado Dorado. A principios de ese año de 1958, la Unión Soviética había puesto en órbita a Sputnik 1, el primer satélite artificial alrededor de nuestro planeta, que un mes más tarde se venía a tierra, mientras que Estados Unidos lanzaba al espacio en forma exitosa a Explorer 1. El país entero bailaba al ritmo de 'Tequila', el éxito de The Champs, mientras que en el Reino Unido, se escuchaba 'Whole Lotta Woman', con Marvin Rainwater.

El filme 'Bob le Flambeur', dirigido por Melville, fue uno de los más populares estrenos en 1958, en tanto que el libro más leído de ese año, fue 'Anatomy Of A Murder' del autor Robert Traver. Los Beatles se metían por primera vez a un estudio de grabación, para poner en el acetato el éxito de Buddy Holly "That'll Be the Day", mientras que en el otro lado del disco, se escuchaba la melodía "In Spite of All the Danger", de la autoría de Paul McCartney y George Harrison.

LA NOTICIA DEL DIA

Ese 18 de abril, La primera plana del influyente diario Los Angeles Times, fue dedicada totalmente a la presentación del nuevo equipo, presentando en el tope de la página, las fotografías de los jugadores titulares de los Dodgers, mientras que el encabezado decía: 'Los Angeles Recibe a los Dodgers, Se Esperan 90,000 Aficionados'.

El Coliseo Memorial era la nueva casa de la franquicia que llegaba de Brooklyn, New York y 78,672 aficionados se dieron cita para saludar a su nuevo equipo, doblando la marca de un juego inaugural del equipo, que era de 34,530 aficionados, en el , impuesta el 19 de abril de 1949, en un juego frente a los Gigantes de Nueva York.

La capacidad del Coliseo Memorial, también apareció muy pronto como un problema para la institución, ya que menos de una semana después de su debut en Los Angeles, el 24 de abril de 1958, únicamente acudían 10,194 espectadores, para presenciar un juego frente a los Cachorros de Chicago.

Arthur Lewis, a cargo del Buró de Música de la ciudad, fue el encargado de cantar el himno nacional en el juego inaugural. Entre las celebridades que asistieron a ese evento, se cuentan al cineasta Alfred Hitchcock, al promotor de box George Parnassus, a los actores Gregory Peck, Danny Kaye, Chuck Connors, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Nat Cole, John Ford, Danny Thomas, Gene Autry y Groucho Marx, entre otros, además de gente como Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Stewart, Pat Brown, y el Governador Goodwin J. Knight.

La ciudad de Los Angeles había organizado un desfile previo al juego, en el que participaron los integrantes de ambos equipos, por lo que, tanto Dodgers como Gigantes optaron por no realizar la práctica de bateo que antecede a cada encuentro. El lanzador Carl Erskine se quedó con la victoria, después de una labor a lo largo de 8 episodios y un tercio, en los que permitió 10 imparables, incluyendo 2 batazos de cuatro esquinas, y 4 carreras, mientras recetaba 7 ponches y caminaba a 4 bateadores de los Gigantes.

Los Dodgers anotaron dos veces en la tercera entrada, agregaron otras tres en el quinto acto y la de la diferencia, la consumaron en el séptimo episodio, para imponerse a los Gigantes por marcador final de 6-5.

PRIMERA ALINEACIÓN

El orden de bateo de los Dodgers, ese día, fue con el jardinero izquierdo Jim Gilliam, como primero en el orden de bateo. En segundo turno, estuvo el campo corto , seguido del guardabosques derecho Duke Snyder. Como cuarto bate, aparecía el inicialista Gil Hodges, mientras que el segunda base Charlie Neal era el quinto en el orden.

Dick Gray fue el antesalista, bateó como sexto lugar y sacó un cuadrangular por el jardín izquierdo-central, en el séptimo episodio. El séptimo bateador fue el jardinero central Gino Cimoli, mientras que el penúltimo turno era para el receptor John Roseboro. Como noveno bate, estuvo el lanzador abridor Carl Erskine. Duke Snyder, Charlie Neal, Dick Gray y Gino Cimoli, se acreditaron sendas carreras impulsadas en la victoria azul.

SE QUEJÓ WILLIE MAYS

Después del juego, Willie Mays se quejó por las condiciones de un estadio que no ofrecía las mejores comodidades para la práctica del béisbol.

''Esas tribunas tan altas te impiden ver la pelota, al menos que se trate de un batazo muy elevado. Porque tratar de quedarte con una línea, resulta una tarea casi imposible, es algo criminal''.

La configuración del parque de juego, con el home plate colocado en la esquina sur este del campo, hacía que la barda del jardín izquierdo quedara demasiado corta y se convertía en un paraíso para los bateadores derechos.

JAIME JARRIN "Empecé a trabajar en KWKW 1330 AM, en 1955 y desde 1958 yo era el director de deportes. Transmitíamos el boxeo, todos los jueves, desde el Olympic Auditorium", evoca Jaime Jarrín, quien aprovechó que la familia O'Malley, los dueños de los Dodgers, verdaderos visionarios, entendían la importancia del aficionado de habla hispana y apenas llegaron a Los Angeles, aseguraron que los juegos del equipo azul llegaran a la comunidad y firmaron un convenio con la estación radial KWKW 1330 AM, para la transmisión de sus juegos en el idioma de Cervantes.

"Cuando los Dodgers se mudaron a Los Angeles en 1958, la KW adquirió los derechos para transmitir sus juegos y la gerencia me designó para integrar el equipo de narraciones", relata Jaime.

"Esperaba que mi paso por los Dodgers fuese tan solo de algunos años, pero me enamoré del beisbol, los Dodgers me han tratado muy bien y aqui estoy, 59 años más tarde, y me siento felíz, muy afortunado". El narrador ecuatoriano reconoce que tuvo a varios maestros, incluido al legendario , quien se retirara al final de la pasada campaña.

]"El había llegado a los Dodgers 10 años antes que yo. Y además de un gran amigo, ha sido para mí como un maestro, como un hermano mayor. Empecé con René Cárdenas y de él aprendí muchísimo. Pero, luego de tres años, se fue a Houston. Después vino otro nicaraguense, José "El Fat" García. El murió en 1972, pero trabajamos juntos durante 10 años y de él aprendí muchas expresiones propias del beisbol y en 1973 asumí el liderazgo en las transmisiones," recuerda Jaime Jarrín.

A $420 million star? Predicting how much it would take to lock up MLB's best young players

By Jim Bowden

It’s no secret that Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are free agents after the 2018 season. But there is a growing sense of urgency if the and want any chance of extending their young superstars contracts before they hit free agency.

It’s only a matter of time before Harper and Machado become the highest-paid players in baseball history. The best guess is that they’re on the same timetable and that less than 20 months from today they will agree on their next deals -- most likely with new teams. There’s also the possibility that Machado ends up getting more than Harper, but there is no embellishing what they’ll be paid. Here is a quick look at what I’m expecting Harper and Machado to receive if and when they get to free agency:

RF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals Age: 24 | Free Agent: After 2018 Harper was the best player in baseball in 2015, leading the league in OPS, home runs and WAR, while winning the National League MVP award. And after a down year last season, he’s back to looking like the dominant player he was two years ago. To become the first $400 million player in baseball, he will have to perform this year and next as he did in 2015; but if he does, as I said two years ago, he’ll set that record. The Boras Corp. has a long history of breaking records, and it will make sure he gets the highest average annual value (AAV) deal ever given, a record presently held by Zack Greinke of the Diamondbacks at $34.4 million. Baseball revenues are at an all-time high and continuing to trend upward. History has taught us player salaries always follow accordingly.

Harper will hit free agency at just 26 years old, which will allow him to get an 11- or 12-year deal to bring his last year of his contract through his age-37 or age-38 season. The reason I think he’ll get as many as 12 years is that when Robinson Cano and got their 10-year deals, it took them to age 40, while a 12-year deal for Harper gets him to only 38. It’s already too late for the Nationals to try to extend Harper. He’s getting to free agency with the only question left: Will the Nationals try to trade him this offseason, rather than letting him just walk the following year?

Early Prediction: 12 years for a $35 million AAV Total Value: $420 million

3B Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles Age: 24 | Free Agent: After 2018

Machado is possibly the best defensive third baseman in history, making plays that even 16-time Gold Glove recipient Brooks Robinson admits he couldn’t have made during his years at the hot corner for the Orioles. Machado also is a 40-homer power bat who would be an elite shortstop if whoever signs him decides to move him to that position. There are many in the business who would prefer Machado over Harper. Frankly, either could end up being the highest paid player in history. Machado is a much better player than Giancarlo Stanton, so he’ll dwarf Stanton’s $325 million pact; and he’ll get more per season than Miguel Cabrera did when he signed his $31 million annual salary, because that’s now considered an “old” contract.

Machado would like to remain an Oriole and finish his career at Camden Yards, and it’s hard to believe Baltimore wouldn't step up and try signing him after giving Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo a combined $36 million per year. It makes way more sense for them to give that money to Machado, especially with the inexpensive young power bat of Trey Mancini on your roster. You can’t sign Davis and Trumbo and then tell Orioles fans you can’t afford Machado. A 12-year deal takes him only to age 38, which is why I think he’ll get that length in his monster contract, as well. Early Prediction: 12 years, $33 million AAV Total Value: $396 million

The next superstar duo on deck Once you’ve got your breath back after the money involved in the projected deals for Harper and Machado, put on your seat belt, because there are more future record-breaking deals to come. Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies and of the are like Vin Diesel in “The Fate of the Furious,” quickly zooming past most and suddenly threatening both Harper and Machado on the record-breaking roadways, runways and iced rivers.

Arenado is a free agent the year after Harper and Machado get to the market, and Betts will follow a year after Arenado. If the Rockies or Red Sox want any chance of getting either one signed to reasonable deals, they need to get them signed as soon as possible, before Harper and Machado strike deals that will dramatically change the market for the next generation.

3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies Age: 26 | Free Agent: After 2019 Much like Machado in the AL, Arenado is possibly the best defensive third baseman in National League history. He has led the league in home runs, RBIs and total bases in both of the past two seasons, and he already has won four consecutive Gold Glove awards. An MVP trophy is likely in his near future. Coors Field will have to be factored into what he’s worth to other teams, but it will not be enough of a deterrent from his becoming one of the highest paid players in the game. It will be much cheaper if the Rockies can sign him now before he gets to free agency, where his value will balloon like it will soon for Harper and Machado. It’s reasonable that Arenado gets a 10-year contract in terms of length, like Joey Votto got from the Reds, especially since it would take Arenado to age 35 and not age 40, like it did Votto. Arenado's AAV will have to be just north of what

Yoenis Cespedes got ($27.5 million). Price tag for extending him now: 10 years, $28 million AAV Total Value: $280 million RF Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox Age: 24 | Free Agent: After 2020

In my opinion, Betts is the second best position player in baseball right now, behind only Mike Trout of the Angels. Betts is the ultimate five-tool player, and there is nothing he can’t do on the baseball field. He’s an elite defender in right field. He can run, hit, hit for power, throw, bowl and even drive golf carts into ponds. He’s humble, a leader, a competitor and, like Trout, a GM’s dream player. If he were a free agent, he would be the guy breaking all previous contract records, not Harper or Machado.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, he’s not a free agent until after the 2020 season, which means they get to enjoy having him for at least the next four seasons. However, they would be foolish not to try to sign him as soon as possible -- like the Angels did with Trout, the Marlins did with Stanton or the Braves did with -- to save millions. Remember, by signing him this far out, they’ll be able to get him for much less on the surface than both Harper and Machado, because the Red Sox will be paying for three “arbitration years” instead of just “free agent” years, like Harper and Machado are going to be signing for.

Betts won’t want to get tied up until the age of 31, because he’ll want to set himself up for another big contract, so he’ll probably prefer to go shorter in term of length but be willing to give up two free-agent years for the guaranteed deal. So the reason his AAV is only $22 million is because 2017 to 2020 will cover one non-arbitration year and three arbitration years. I have his AAV for his free-agent years of this extension set at $35 million, the same as Harper and Machado above. With this deal, Betts goes back on the market at age 28 primed for a 10-year deal that by then could project for him as the first $500 million position player. Price tag for extending him now: 7 years, $22 million AAV Total Value: $154 million

No urgency for the class of 2022, but prices go up early The 2022 free-agent class has a chance to be very special if this generation of stars makes it there. We’ll look at the top five projected players from the 2022 class; teams would be foolish not trying to extend almost all of them for eight- to 10-year deals now, before the 2018 class drastically changes the market.

On the flip side, it would be really difficult for their agents to agree to long-term deals for any of them, unless they’re significantly above their present market value. Kris Bryant will separate himself from the shortstops that follow him because of his 40-plus home-run power and because he already has won an MVP award, so he immediately goes to the top of the market.

All three of the shortstops have similar value. And if they signed seven- or eight-year deals now, one of those years would be non- arbitration eligible (where the teams pay them relatively little) and then three arbitration seasons -- the first of which would also be cheap -- and finally covering the first two or three years of free-agent eligibility. That’s why their overall dollars look so much lower in this exercise. None of this group belongs in the conversation with recent signings that included Christian Yelich of the Marlins and Andrelton Simmons of the Angels; they're all MVP-caliber talents.

3B Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs Age: 25 | Free Agent: After 2021

Bryant has a chance to be the best right-handed power hitter of his generation. To sign the 2016 NL MVP long term, any offer now would have to surpass the $325 million deal Stanton got from the Marlins for him to even consider it. Expect the Cubs to go year by year with him, at least for the next couple of seasons.

What would it take for Bryant to say yes to an extension now? It would depend on upon the Cubs' intent. If they want to just buy out his arbitration years, then as long as that deal breaks records, it can be done, based on the recent track record of the Boras Corp. But if the Cubs wanted to get two of his free-agent years, it would be extremely unlikely Bryant would be willing to give them up this early. The bottom line is that it would either have to be a record-breaking deal that goes well beyond Stanton's or a deal that breaks records for each of his arbitration years. Pushed to predict: 13 years, $350 million (beating Stanton's deal).

SS Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians Age: 23 | Free Agent: After 2021

Lindor might join the 30-homer/30-steals club this season, and most think he’s the best all-around shortstop in the game. He has above- average range to all sides and a strong arm, and he can hit with power. He has the leadership qualities you look for and plays with energy and enthusiasm. The Indians were spoiled over the years by getting many of their top players to sign long-term deals for below-market value.

Lindor will not be one of them. If the Indians want to extend him, they’ll have to pay his worth, because a “bad” player contract here would affect everyone else on the players’ side -- like Carlos Correa and Corey Seager -- and there is no way the union is going to let that happen.

Although the clubs will point to the Yelich, Simmons and Starling Marte contracts, each of these shortstops will far surpass them. What would it take for Lindor to sign an extension now? Ballpark: seven years, $116 million.

SS Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers Age: 22 | Free Agent: After 2021

The Dodgers have had the highest payroll in baseball over the past several years, and dipping into their deep pockets should continue. Along with Clayton Kershaw, Seager is expected to be the face of the franchise for years to come. Eventually, the Dodgers will sign Seager to a long-term mega deal, but there just isn’t any urgency as he develops into one of the game’s best players. It is likely that he’s the player who will set the market for this free-agent class, but he's also the most likely to sign a long- term deal sometime in the next couple of years. What would it take for Seager to sign an extension now?

Ballpark: eight years, $132 million.

SS Carlos Correa, Age: 22 | Free Agent: After 2021

Like Lindor and Seager, Correa will end up as the face of his team, as well as one for all of baseball. He loves the game, wants to give back and has all the intangibles you look for as a leader. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has a long history of signing young players to long-term contracts, usually below market value; but as with Lindor and the Indians, that’s not going to happen here.

Correa is represented by Greg Genske from Legacy, and he’s going to make sure Correa is paid where he belongs -- near the top of his class. Don’t look for any long-term deal anytime soon. What would it take for Correa to sign an extension now? Ballpark: seven years, $109 million.

RHP Noah Syndergaard, New York Mets Age: 24 | Free Agent: After 2022

I would never sign a starting pitcher when he’s five years out from free agency. There is simply too much risk for shoulder or elbow injuries with all of them, no matter how special their talent. Going year to year with Thor and preparing for record-breaking arbitration decisions is the Mets’ best option, not only with Syndergaard, but with all of New York's young starters. It will be a decision reinforced by the experience the Mets have had over the past few years, with so many of their pitchers spending time on the disabled list.

TRUE BLUE LA

Logan Forsythe suffers big toe contusion after HBP

By Eric Stephen

It has been a painful homestand for Dodgers second baseman Logan Forsythe, who left Tuesday night’s game against the Rockies after just two innings. He was hit by a pitch on his right foot leading off the first inning, and later exited with a contusion on his right big toe. Forsythe appeared to be in pain after getting hit by the pitch, but after a visit from team trainer Nate Lucero and manager Dave Roberts, he remained in the game.

Forsythe played defense at second base in the second and third innings as well. But in the bottom of the second, Scott Van Slyke pinch hit for Forsythe, then remained in the game in left field, with Kike Hernandez moving to second base.

“There are a lot of small bones in the feet, and I’ve dealt with foot problems in the past,” Forsythe said, as seen on SportsNet LA. “After it hit I think it was just the adrenaline that got me through, but after a while I couldn’t put pressure on it.” Forsythe said his toe was bruised, and was asked if he thought it was broken.

“It just hurts. I hope it’s not [broken], but I guess we’ll get that news tomorrow.” It was the second time in four games Forsythe left a game early. On Saturday, he left after just four innings with tightness in his right hamstring, then didn’t play on Sunday.

Forsythe is hitting .295/.407/.341 in 14 games this season, including 13 starts. On the homestand he is 5-for-9 (.556) with a double, a walk, a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly. Justin Turner also got hit by a pitch from Freeland, struck on his left hand in the fifth inning. It was the fourth time Turner has been hit by a pitch this season, and the third time in the last four games.

Turner remained in the game, and will be reevaluated on Wednesday, per Roberts.

Up next

Clayton Kershaw gets the start on Wednesday for the Dodgers, who hope to go into the off day Thursday on a high note. Yet another left- handed pitcher is lined up to face them in the series finale, with Tyler Anderson pitching for the Rockies.

Dodgers offense, Rockies home runs sink LA below .500

By Eric Stephen

Dueling narratives conspired to take down the Dodgers on Tuesday night, in a 4-3 loss to the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. A struggling offense — and one facing another left-hander — combined with Hyun-jin Ryu allowing three home runs to send the Dodgers to a third straight loss for the first time in 2017.

The Dodgers came close, rallying from three runs down in the ninth inning to score against closer Greg Holland. Then, Yasiel Puig hit a towering drive to left field that fans at Dodger Stadium saw more with their hearts than their eyes as it landed harmlessly into the glove of Gerardo Parra on the warning track.

A two-out single by Yasmani Grandal plated another run, pulling the Dodgers to within one, but Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to end the game.

One one hand, the Dodgers got exactly what they needed out of Ryu, who lasted six innings, striking out seven and walking one. After a night that saw the Dodgers essentially run out of relief options, the Dodgers had to get some length out of Ryu, who lasted just 4⅔ innings in each of his first two starts.

Ryu joins Clayton Kershaw (three times) and Brandon McCarthy (twice) as the only Dodgers starting pitchers to last six innings this season.

But in those six innings, Ryu saw three fastballs hammered well into the left field pavilion — two home runs by Nolan Arenado, and one by Trevor Story.

Ryu has allowed six home runs in his 15 innings this season, tied with Phillies pitcher Adam Morgan for the National League lead, fueling Ryu’s 5.87 ERA. In his last full season, Ryu allowed eight home runs in 152 innings over 26 starts.

At the very least, Ryu will always have this play to look back on fondly.

The Dodgers put 10 runners on base — four hits, four walks, and two hit by pitch —against Kyle Freeland, who only lasted four plus innings on Tuesday, pulled with two runners on base in the fifth. But the Dodgers were only able to plate one run against him.

They fell to 2-6 against left-handed starters, and 7-8 overall, under .500 for the first time this season.

Tuesday particulars Home runs: Nolan Arenado 2 (6), Trevor Story (2)

WP - Scott Oberg (1-0): ⅔ IP, 1

LP - Hyun-jin Ryu (0-3): 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

Sv - Greg Holland (8): 1 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk

Grant Dayton placed on DL, Dodgers recall Josh Fields from Triple-A

By Eric Stephen

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers found a way to get that extra arm they needed, recalling Josh Fields from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placing Grant Dayton on the 10-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain.

Dayton has yet to allow a run this season in seven appearances, throwing 6⅓ innings. He allowed two hits, three walks (one intentional), with four strikeouts.

Dayton pitched one inning of relief on Monday night.

Fields was optioned to Oklahoma City on Friday, and was allowed to return within 10 days because he is replacing an injured player.

Fields, like Dayton, has yet to allow a run this season, pitching three scoreless frames in four appearances, with just one hit and one walk allowed. Fields has struck out six of his 11 major league batters faced this season.

Dayton is the ninth different Dodger to be placed on the disabled list in 2017. Last year, the club set a major league record with 28 different players on the DL.

Luke Raley has 4-for-4 night as Quakes lose 11-9

By Craig Minami

Tough Tuesday as all four Dodger minor league teams lose close games, two losses by two runs and the other two by three runs.

It was also a night where for the second night in a row, a Dodger pitching prospect, , faced some adversity as he did not make it out of second inning in his start at Lancaster.

Player of the day Luke Raley hit his first home run of the season and went 4-for-4 on Tuesday night at Lancaster. The Quakes outfielder had started the season 5-for-35 until his perfect night.

Triple-A Oklahoma City Oklahoma City fell behind by five runs and that was too much as the Nashville Sounds (Athletics) beat the Dodgers 5-3. Justin Masterson started for the Dodgers and gave up five runs (three earned), five hits, three walks and struck out six in four innings pitched.

O’Koyea Dickson, Alex Verdugo and Charlie Culberson each had two hits. Catcher Bobby Wilson hit his first home run of the season.

Double-A Tulsa The Drillers were unable to put across any runs as they were shutout 3-0 by the Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers). Scott Barlow pitched well for Tulsa, he pitched five innings and he allowed a run, three hits and struck out five.

The Drillers only had four singles and were 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.

Class-A Rancho Cucamonga The Quakes were down 10-3 after four innings and yet made it close but the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies) held on for a 11-9 win. Mitch White made the start for the Quakes and after a scoreless first, he finally gave up some runs in a professional game.

White, who had not allowed a run in his first 32 innings pitched, saw that end when Mylz Jones doubled home two runs with one out in the second inning. A ground out scored the third run of the inning.

It might have ended there as White struck out Forrest Wall but the pitch got away and Wall made it safely to first. Things got strange after that, a hit batter, an error by shortstop Drew Jackson, an infield single and a bases-loaded walk. All of that scored three more runs and White was done.

Mitch White’s final line was 1⅔ innings pitched, six runs (three earned), four hits, one walk, and he struck out three.

The Quakes did try to mount a comeback and they had 15 hits, including four doubles and two home runs but it wasn’t enough. Besides Raley’s perfect night at the plate, Drew Jackson was 3-for-5 with a double and a home run and Erick Mejia was 3-for-4 with a double.

Class-A Great Lakes The Loons dropped the second game of their series to the South Bend Cubs 9-6. The Cubs had two four-run innings and that was too much to come back from.

Leo Crawford pitched 3⅔ innings and gave up five runs (three earned), seven hits, and struck out two.

Zach McKinstry had three hits and Cody Thomas hit his second home of the season.

Transactions Triple-A: Los Angeles recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Fields from Oklahoma City; Oklahoma City placed outfielder Tyler Holt on the 7-day disabled list; right-handed pitcher Joe Broussard assigned to Oklahoma City from Tulsa.

Double-A: Right-handed pitcher Miguel Urena assigned to Tulsa from Ogden; outfielder Logan Landon assigned to Tulsa from Rancho Cucamonga; Tulsa placed outfielder Johan Mieses on the 7-day disabled list.

Class-A: Right-handed pitcher assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Great Lakes; infielder Garrett Hope assigned to Rancho Cucamonga from Arizona League Dodgers; Rancho Cucamonga placed right-handed pitcher Gavin Pittore on the 7-day disabled list. Right-handed pitcher Jose Santos assigned to Dodgers Extended from Great Lakes; right-handed pitcher Patrick Duester assigned to Great Lakes from Ogden; left-handed pitcher Luis De Paula assigned to Great Lakes from Rancho Cucamonga.

Tuesday scores Nashville 5, Oklahoma City 3

Frisco 3, Tulsa 0

Lancaster 11, Rancho Cucamonga 9

South Bend 9, Great Lakes 6

Wednesday schedule 10:05 a.m.: Tulsa (Isaac Anderson) vs. Frisco RoughRiders (Ariel Jurado)

4:05 p.m.: Great Lakes () at South Bend (Dylan Cease)

5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Jair Jurrjens) vs. Nashville (Zach Neal)

6:35 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga () at Lancaster JetHawks (Peter Lambert)

DODGERS INSIDER

Even with a loss, Ryu takes a step forward

By Cary Osborne

Because three balls left the yard off Hyun-Jin Ryu in Tuesday’s 4–3 loss to the Rockies, there’s some tarnish on the left-hander’s third start of the season.

Allow us to apply a little tarnish remover.

Ryu’s toughest inning was a 24-pitch first. The first batter he faced, Charlie Blackmon, poked a Ryu slider down an empty third-base line and beat the Dodgers’ shift for a double. Two batters later, Nolan Arenado hit the first of his two home runs off Ryu in the game.

But Ryu’s innings two through six deserve notice.

In those five innings, he allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out seven batters. After two consecutive games in which he threw 4 2/3 innings and 77 pitches in each, he completed six innings for the first time since Sept. 6, 2014.

Looking at Tuesday’s start as a positive, it was a step in the right direction in Ryu’s comeback from left shoulder and elbow injuries that cost him nearly the entire last two seasons. He threw 97 pitches in the game.

“It’s still difficult to ignore the fact that I gave up three home runs, but looking at the pitch count and also the innings, there are definitely positive signs, and it’s definitely something I can build on,” Ryu said.

Forsythe and Turner hit hard

Dodger leadoff hitter Logan Forsythe was hit by a pitch in the right foot in the first inning and exited the game in the bottom of the third with a contusion on his big toe. It was the third time he’s been hit by a pitch this season.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said X-rays to his toe were inconclusive. “He’s still sore,” Roberts said. “We’re going to have our docs look at it in the morning, see how Logan feels tomorrow morning before we make any final decisions on him.

“It is significant as far as if there is some sort of fracture and if he wakes up tomorrow and doesn’t feel any relief … but I still think we want to give it overnight, get him here and see how it feels.”

In the fifth inning, Justin Turner was hit on the right hand by a pitch from reliever Scott Oberg. Turner, who has now been hit by a pitch four times this season, writhed in pain after being struck, but stayed in the game. X-rays were negative.

“He’s going to be sore, so we’ll see how he feels in the morning,” Roberts said. Ducks left on the pond The Dodgers rallied with two runs in the ninth off closer Greg Holland, but they left 12 runners on base in the game.

They reached base on Rockies left-handed starter Kyle Freeland eight times in his four innings, but could only break through in the fourth inning.

The Dodgers had runners on first and second base with one out in the third inning, with no out in the fifth, with two out in the seventh and one out in the ninth.

They had runners on first and third with one out in the fourth and scored on an infield single by Joc Pederson. Ryu followed with a single to load the bases with two outs, but Scott Van Slyke grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Dayton placed on 10-day DL

By Rowan Kavner

The Dodgers placed left-handed pitcher Grant Dayton on the 10-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Fields from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Dayton threw one scoreless inning Monday night and has thrown 6 1/3 scoreless innings in relief this season, limiting opponents to an .095 batting average. He started 2017 where he left in 2016, amassing a 0.79 WHIP this season after holding a 0.76 WHIP last year. This is Dayton’s first stint on the DL since he joined the Major Leagues. For Fields, it’s a return to the Dodger bullpen after making four relief appearances earlier this season in his first stint with the big-league club. Much like Dayton, no one’s had any luck against Fields this year, tossing three scoreless innings while striking out six batters this season.

NBC LA Dodgers Can't Complete Comeback in 4-3 Loss to Colorado

By Michael Duarte

Nolan Arenado homered twice, Trevor Story also connected and the Colorado Rockies held off the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Greg Holland gave up two runs in the ninth inning but earned his eighth save. With runners at first and second, Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to end it. Arenado hit a two-run homer into the left-field bleachers off Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-3) in the first.

The slugger added his sixth of the season in the fifth, sending another pitch from Ryu into the stands between the left-field foul pole and the Dodgers bullpen.

The only National League player with more homers than Arenado is Milwaukee's Eric Thames, who has seven. Arenado added a third-inning double for his second three-hit game in his last three starts. Colorado (10-5) won its third straight and improved to 7-2 on the road.

The Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth on RBI singles by Justin Turner and Yasmani Grandal, but Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to end the game with the tying run on second base.

In total, the Dodgers stranded 12 men on base, and are struggling with runners in scoring position to start the season. Logan Forsythe left the game after getting hit by a pitch on his right foot in the first inning. After the game, Dodgers' manager Dave

Roberts said that x-ray results were "inconclusive," and that Forsythe would be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

Up Next: Clayton Kershaw will look to stop the Dodgers three-game losing streak when he heads to the mound on Wednesday night opposite LHP Tyler Anderson for Colorado. First pitch is 7:10PM PST.

FOX SPORTS

Adrian Gonzalez recorded a putout with his neck and couldn’t help but laugh about it

By Pete Blackburn

Adrian Gonzalez will have plenty of putouts at first base for the Dodgers this season but likely none will be weirder than the one he recorded on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

During the third inning of the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the Rockies, Charlie Blackmon hit a roller up the first base line that was fielded by pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu. Just a few feet from the bag, Ryu flipped the ball to Gonzalez, who had to react quickly and ended up pinning the ball to his neck to make the catch and record the out.

It may not have been the prettiest play in the world, but it was a pretty impressive display of reflexes from Gonzalez, who didn’t bobble the ball at all.

YAHOO SPORTS

The Dodgers and Rich Hill want your suggestions on preventing blisters

By Tim Brown

So you’ve crafted, in your mid-thirties, a magnificent comeback, grounded in part on a couple starts for a team based in Central Islip, N.Y., which is neither in the American nor the National League.

You’ve believed in it, and your family has believed, everybody going along with the plan, which would have required a great deal of faith in things such as elbow ligaments and spin rates and orb tilts and batters’ gullibility and gravity and the friction created when a baseball is gripped and released and spun and hoisted into what can only be described as an unfriendly world that defends itself with long, heavy sticks.

This comeback achieves such grace as to be rewarded with admiration and riches, in a place where palm trees sway beneath blue skies, so all that is left is to continue to hoist into those skies, blissful and untroubled, if wearing a cup. Except your damned finger keeps getting puffy and filled with puss and blood and leaking all over your happy little comeback, not to mention your baseball pants.

So, wouldn’t you know, starter Rich Hill is back on the disabled list because of a blister, and the Dodgers would appear to have little idea of how to cure or prevent it, and neither would Rich Hill himself, and neither does anyone really, so here they are, testing the organizational strategy that is three-fold: depth, depth, depth. And two weeks in, Dodgers starters are averaging 16 outs and an ERA near four and that includes 20 percent of those starts by Clayton Kershaw.

So restart the cycle.

So rest comes and goes. Remedies come and go. Prevention plans come and go.

And then Rich Hill stands on a pitcher’s mound surrounded by people whose only reaction is to summon someone new to pitch for a while. It’s all their reaction can be, really, given that Hill throws a baseball for a living, and throwing a baseball results in him not being able to throw a baseball anymore, and allowing for all the stuff that could go wrong with a pitcher’s body this is a little like totaling your car because the side-view mirror is fogged up.

The ailment threatened to torpedo last summer’s trade for Hill, until the blistering was resolved temporarily. Now the Dodgers are a couple payments into a three-year, $48 million contract with Hill. Maybe they’ll figure it out and Hill will make 90 starts in that time, and follow Clayton Kershaw in a lot of October series, but in the meantime manager Dave Roberts would sit in the home dugout this week and say, basically, the organization has little idea how to fix this or to treat it going forward.

The easy answer is to allow the blister to heal through inactivity. And yet, Roberts pointed out, “He was shut down all winter and it came back.” Ergo, he said, “You could argue that resting it isn’t the solution.” Clearly, not resting it might also be a problem.

The easy answer is to throw fewer curveballs, which, apparently, create the stress that creates the blisters. Except the curveball is the pitch that gets all those batters out and made Hill worth all that money. Or, perhaps, to re-grip the curveball, except that’s how he throws it in order to get it to do the things it does. To which Roberts said, “We’re open to anything right now. We’re kind of baffled.”

One possibility is to have Hill throw out of the bullpen in the short term, so that the blister that forms on the 30th or 40th or 50th pitch never bubbles up, because there is no 30th or 40th or 50th pitch. Or, perhaps, as you might speculate, the frequency of work required of a reliever actually serves to further inflame the vulnerable area, as the rest periods are shorter.

The Dodgers are open to suggestions. The comeback that is so cool because Rich Hill seems a good, earnest man who worked his butt off to earn a big-league uniform, never mind $16 million a year, could use your suggestions too. The franchise’s hopes to win for the first time in about three decades is, also, all ears. Not saying that the whole thing rests on Rich Hill’s puffy, bloody, chapped middle finger, but, then, maybe it does.

The solution could be extreme. “I’d love to give him my middle finger,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of miles left on it.” So there you go.

WHAT ELSE: Platoon bias being what it is, and Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb being a 26-year-old left-handed hitter who batted .164 in 110 tries against lefties last season, and who otherwise was a stud, you wonder if this will work itself out or if Lamb will be so typecast. In spite of the lefty anchor, Lamb OPSed .821 in 2016, third among qualifying NL third basemen, behind Nolan Arenado and Justin Turner.

After a couple weeks in 2017, he’s again running just behind Arenado and Turner (and Eugenio Suarez), while small-sampling a .188 batting average against left-handers.

It sounds as though manager Torey Lovullo intends to play Lamb against all comers. Lamb has started 13 of 14 games, the 14th being against Clayton Kershaw. Sometimes, it seems, players hit themselves into platoons, while other times organizations are too willing to pigeonhole young players as something less than complete, in part because staying with a struggling hitter could cost a win or two, and a win or two could cost a GM or a manager his job. A platoon is born.

“Just trying to get better,” Lamb said this week. “Just trying to have quality at-bats against guys. The staff sees that.” This undoubtedly will jinx him, and this comes in a time when strikeouts are regarded as baseball’s version of people who don’t use their blinkers (a sad fact of life, but whatever), but Mookie Betts hasn’t struck out yet, and I say “yet” assuming he will, at some point, strike out, but that he hasn’t yet is pretty remarkable. He’s played in 11 of the Red Sox’s 14 games, plowed through 50 plate appearances, walked five times and put everything else in play.

He last struck out in a regular-season game on Sept. 12, 128 plate appearances ago, last struck out in a game anyone watched in Game 1 of Boston’s division series against and the Indians.

So, maybe he’s just hacking early? Not really. He has reached two strikes in 23 of those 50 plate appearances, and he has seen four pitches per plate appearance, which is about average.

Jimmy Rollins, who didn’t make it out of Giants camp, remains hopeful for a big-league opportunity. He batted .224 (with a .287 on-base percentage) across the past two seasons with the Dodgers and White Sox, was five for 40 in spring training and is 38 years old, but feels he has more left in him.

Early bullpen ugliness has struck the Cardinals (6.69 ERA), Royals (6.05), Tigers (6.75), Nationals (6.16), Mariners (5.83), Rangers (5.44) and Blue Jays (5.11). Already there are new closers in Philadelphia and Texas. Zach Britton has a strained forearm in Baltimore,

Sam Dyson a bruised hand, three blown saves and a 27.00 ERA in Texas, and Seung-hwan Oh, in St. Louis, has given up one or more runs in four of his five appearances. Two weeks isn’t a trend, but it might not be far from one, and when they start telling you about all the runs being scored, maybe it’s not about the hitters.

INCOMING: Assuming the Braves haven’t run away with it by then, the NL East has itself a weekend in Queens, where the Mets host the Nationals. The probables:

Friday: vs. Jacob deGrom Saturday: Gio Gonzalez vs. Matt Harvey Sunday: Zack Wheeler vs. Max Scherzer Something to consider: Scherzer has made seven starts against the Mets as a National. In them, he has a 1.44 ERA. In 50 1/3 innings, he’s struck out 70 and walked nine.

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Dodgers CEO Stan Kasten speaks at Fowler School of Law symposium

By Robyn Norwood

The average player salary when Stan Kasten began his career as a sports executive fresh out of Columbia Law School in 1976 was $51,501.

Today it is $4.47 million.

That long view and a long line of success mean that hardly anyone was as qualified as Kasten, the Los Angeles Dodgers president and CEO, to be the keynote speaker April 14 at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law’s 2017 Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium on the Evolution of Sports Business.

With sharp business insights and wisecracking barbs at sports agents, Kasten laid out philosophies that he says have not changed despite a rapidly evolving sports universe.

“Whether you’re building a team or whether you’re building a company, it’s really the same principles,” he said. “In the corporate world, I talk about building your product, building your relationship with your customer, building your brand.

“If you’re in sports, for me, the translation is your team, your stadium experience, and your community relations network. It’s all the same.”

The conference was the Fowler School of Law’s fourth Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium, an event created by law students and organized this year by Lauren Fitzpatrick (JD ’18) and Lisa Hurns (JD ’18).

The daylong event offered opportunities for California bar members to earn continuing legal education credits. It included panels on Broadening the Scope of Sports Law, Thriving as a Sports Agent in a Highly Competitive Market, and the Business of eSports — the rapidly emerging $1 billion industry that has arisen around competitive video gaming.

Kasten got his big break in pro sports during a cross-country tour of baseball stadiums the summer after law school when he had a chance encounter with , then the little-known owner of the Braves. Kasten introduced himself, the two hit it off, and Kasten soon became a legal counsel for Turner’s growing sports empire.

By 1979, at age 27, Kasten was general manager of Turner’s NBA team, the . He later simultaneously served as president of three teams — Braves, Hawks and the NHL’s — and went on to become president of the Washington Nationals from 2006-2010.

In 2012, Kasten became part of the ownership group that bought the storied Dodgers out of bankruptcy court for a record $2 billion. The Dodgers have since won four National League West titles after a series of trades and big-dollar player contracts that brought them first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and helped them hold onto homegrown pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

But a franchise built on free-agent signings and big contracts alone is unsustainable, Kasten said, calling it “a fool’s errand.” In addition, it was important to rebuild the Dodgers’ farm system.

“The year before we got here, we were No. 27 in the ranking of quality players in our minor league system. And there are only 30 teams,” he said. “Last year, we were No. 1.”

A stable of stars also helped the Dodgers sign a record $8.35 billion TV deal – one that became extraordinarily controversial because Time Warner Cable and its successor, Charter Communications, have remained at loggerheads with DirecTV and other pay-TV providers, preventing a huge swath of fans from being able to watch the Dodgers on TV.

“We work on it every day,” Kasten said, lamenting the TV shortcomings as “the only thing we haven’t gotten done.” “I think it’ll happen some day,” he said.

Kasten’s career in pro sports has been extraordinarily wide-ranging – the only one of the four major pro sports leagues he hasn’t been an executive in is the NFL. But he might have gone a different way, he said.

“I was going to be an antitrust lawyer in Manhattan,” Kasten said, though he always had his eye on sports.

“Worst case, I might have gravitated toward being an agent, God forbid,” Kasten said — getting in one last jab at the negotiators who sit on the other side of the table.