Dodgers’ Brett Anderson may be happiest to see A.J. Ellis back in lineup
Dodgers starting pitcher Brett Anderson delivers a pitch against the Phillies.
No teammate may have been happier to see A.J. Ellis come off the disabled list this week than left-hander Brett Anderson.
Six of Ellis’ 29 starts behind the plate have come with Anderson on the mound. The Dodgers have won all six of those games — the latest a 4-3 win over the Phillies on Wednesday — and Anderson has gone 3-0 with a 1.80 earned-run average, winning his last three decisions, with Ellis as his battery-mate.
With anyone else catching, the Dodgers are 5-10 and Anderson has a 3.67 ERA.
Ellis “has a game plan. He does a ton of scouting,” said Anderson, who is 6-6 with a 3.06 ERA on the season. “I feel like I just ride the wave and throw what he calls. And more times than not this year, it’s working.”
Against the Phillies on Wednesday, Anderson gave up a run and four hits in six innings, striking out five.
“We have great chemistry,” Ellis explained of his success with Anderson. “We both have a similar idea of what he can do on the mound. It’s fun to catch him.”
Little relief in sight
Right-hander Jim Johnson is not proving to be the set-up man the Dodgers had hoped for when they acquired him in a trade-deadline deal with Atlanta.
Brought on to protect a three-run lead in the eighth inning Wednesday, Johnson gave up a single and a two-run home run to Jeff Francoeur in the span of three batters. In his first appearance with the Dodgers, he gave up a game-tying eighth-inning homer to the Angels’ Kole Calhoun to earn his fifth blown save of the season.
The night before, reliever Joel Peralta entered a tie game with the bases loaded in the seventh and gave up a game-winning grand slam to rookie Maikel Franco. That was the 31st home run allowed by the Dodgers bullpen, third-most in the National League.
Kenley Jansen finally restored order in the ninth Wednesday, striking out the side to pick up his 20th save of the season.
Frias’ rehab start cut short
Right-hander Carlos Frias, reinstated from the disabled list over the weekend, lasted just one inning in his first rehab start at triple-A Oklahoma City. Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said Frias felt some discomfort in his back and was removed after 10 pitches as a precaution.
Frias spent nearly a month on the DL with tightness in his lower back. He appeared in 14 games for the Dodgers this season, making 12 starts and going 5-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 692/3 innings.
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