Dodgers at Tigers, 10:10 AM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-D
The visiting Dodgers try to finish a sweep of the Tigers in a day game from Comerica Park. They’ll send RHP Kenta Maeda (11-4, 3.76 ERA) to the mound to face 2011 Cy Young Award winner RHP Justin Verlander (8-8, 4.11 ERA).
Maeda is on a hot streak. He’s gone 5-0 with a 1.95 ERA in his last six starts. He’s never faced the Tigers. Verlander gave up three HRs in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. He’s certainly not having a year even close to his standards.
Potential milestones: Verlander is looking for his 30th interleague win. He’s gone a gaudy 29-5 with a 2.94 ERA in 41 career regular-season starts against National League teams, but he hasn’t victimized the Dodgers much. His only start against the Dodgers was a home victory on July 8, 2014. Adrian González needs two hits to reach 2,000 for his career, but Verlander’s not the guy he’d like to face to get there. He’s 3-17 lifetime against the Tigers’ pitcher.
Today in Dodgers’ history:
- 1945 Dodger shortstop Tommy Brown becomes the youngest player (17 years, 8 months, and 14 days) in major league history to hit a home run. The round-tripper by ‘Buckshot’, who started his career as a 16 year-old high school student, will be the only run Brooklyn scores off 30 year-old Pirates southpaw Preacher Roe, who goes the distance in the 11-1 rout of the home team at Ebbets Field.
- 1974 In an 18-8 rout of the Cubs, the Dodgers collect 24 hits and set a club record with 48 total bases, including Davey Lopes’ three home runs, double, and single. The Dodger second baseman’s 15 total bases are the most ever for a leadoff hitter.
- 1978 In the visitors’ clubhouse at Shea Stadium, Dodger Blue becomes black and blue when Steve Garvey confronts teammate Don Sutton about a Washington Post story in which the pitcher is critical of him. After the right-hander confirms he had made the comments, the argument becomes physical when an inappropriate remark is made about the first baseman’s wife.
I remember lying on a couch in my relative’s home while on vacation in Santa Maria listening to Scully and Doggett tell me about this one: in 1961 in the second game of a doubleheader the Phillies snap a 23-game losing streak by beating the Braves, 7-4. The victory establishes a new record for the most consecutive losses by a major league team.
Lineup when available.
Today's Dodger lineup at Tigers:
Granderson LF
Seager SS
Turner 3B
González 1B
Puig RF
Utley DH
Forsythe 2B
Barnes C
Hernández CF
(Maeda P) pic.twitter.com/wUdoiTnj1R— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2017
NPUT
NL Notes: Otani, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies
By Connor Byrne | August 20, 2017 at 4:37pm CDT
Eight members of the Dodgers organization, including president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, were in Japan on Sunday to watch Nippon Ham Fighters star Shohei Otani, according to a report from Sponichi (translation courtesy of Kazuto Yamazaki of Beyond the Box Score, on Twitter). The two-way standout threw a 58-pitch bullpen session before the game and then reached base in all four plate appearances during the contest, going 3 for 3 with a walk. Otani, 23, figures to be the most sought-after free agent available if he decides to immigrate to the majors in the offseason. The Dodgers seem likely to pursue him, but the international spending limits in the new collective bargaining agreement will prevent the big-spending franchise from steamrolling the competition with a massive offer. In fact, the Dodgers aren’t allowed to give out a bonus exceeding $300K to an international prospect in the 2017-18 signing period.
Presumably Dee Gordon didn’t really mean to keep his batting gloves in his mouth while stealing second base on Sunday.
Here’s where to watch the eclipse and baseball tomorrow.
Sure hope RBI has a cloudless view tomorrow.
Now HERE’S a catch!
Today’s bright side: Rox and Snakes both lose, so Dodgers maintain their lead at 20 and 21 games, respectively; Gnats lose to Fillies, and are formally eliminated from the division championship.
Going above 19 is sure impressive.
I think the important leads to track now are for HFA.
Joc played LF in OK today.
Just okay?
Yes, probably because he hasn’t played “there” for a few years.
Assume he is there to work on his hitting. Wouldn’t make too much of this as it makes little sense for him to play there in the Bigs for the Dodgers.
Kershaw throws another simulated game tomorrow, then probably rehab at AA or AAA. Dayton is shut down and headed back to LA for a second opinion on his left elbow, which experienced soreness during warmups for a rehab appearance in Tulsa.
Dayton appeared in seven games last year in the playoffs, more often than Avilan. Hope Luis and Watson are up to the task. Or perhaps Ryu?
Here’s MLB’s story about the Pirates – Cards game in Williamsport, complete with tweets and photos of big leaguers bonding with Little Leaguers.
Great idea.
They seemed to enjoy it. MLB played a game at Fort Bragg last year, if you remember.
If anyone’s interested the Sunday Night Baseball game is being played for the first time at Williamsport, the site of the Little League World Series. Presumably on a field with fences a little deeper than those the youngsters use.
Guessing at the field of the minor league Cutters. Have taken in games there as well as a number of LLWS games over the years.
I’d like to see them play on the youngsters’ field, just to see the effect on ERAs and pitch counts.
Uh, the mound is 46 feet from home plate.
A challenge worth taking up. Imagine Randy Johnson…
He could almost hand the ball to the catcher!
Not that anybody would make contact but if someone volunteered to be catcher to get things going, I would want a batting practice screen to hide behind.
That miss in centerfield is the kind of thing that annoys me. It shouldn’t happen, even in a regular season game where the outcome is not critical. Imagine if that happened in a playoff game and it cost two runs.
Quique didn’t look good out their last year in the playoffs either.
Hit the ball Joc, we need you.
It was bad, and it was Puig’s fault. The centerfielder has priority.
Guessing that Puig was over-compensating for Quique being there.
The ball was well hit but, without interference, a very makable play.
That it was.
Milwaukee-Colorado 1-1 in the 3rd. Minnesota put up nine in the first vs. Arizona. It’s 9-0 in the 3rd. Colon pitching for the twins.
Good forfeit score.
Still on a pace to win 115.5 games.
Jerry Lewis has passed away.
https://www.reddit.com/r/gifs/comments/4tnwkr/the_shimmy_a_boxer_dancing_around_in_the_ring/
I don’t think he lasted more than two more seconds had the clip continued.
https://youtu.be/JTeeffDI6EQ
Punches landed: Lewis -12, opponent – 0
Not counting the punch to the ref.
I have been wrong before but I really was wrong on that one.
Always made me laugh and my wife cry.
I thought he died long ago.
That was Dean Martin
Hey, Laaaaady!
Bah.
I’m already tired of this losing streak.
We certainly are spoiled, aren’t we?
Hopefully we only have to have short-termed frustration thru October.
Lousy game.
In the scheme of things, it shouldn’t matter, so get it out of the system and assess the talent.
Silver Lining Dept.: Grand two beginning games for Curtis.
Would have loved to see Belli up against Verlander.
Yes.
Just so long as we get a healthy Belli back. (Hopefully soon.)
Turner needs to hit a 2 run homer so the Dodgers can get to 3 runs. Keep the streak alive.
Puig has improved his game just about everywhere except for giving peace of mind to the center fielder.
Cingrani may be more of a reclamation project than anticipated.
Of three appearances that I know of, only one was a good outing.
Maeda: five perfect innings, one rather imperfect one, and his ERA rises.
Davis says this was the longest dueling no-no in three years.
Barnes on base. 2 outs but it would be great to still score 1 this inning.
Or not.
Verlander starts the 8th with 101 pitches. We need to stretch him out this inning.
Hoping for at least one pen inning.
Yes, but Verlander threw only 11 pitches in the 8th, now at 112.
Pretty sure he is done for the day.
Hope so.
From SNLA – if they Dodgers come back and win, and if the Giants lose, SF would be eliminated today, from winning the division.
Thought that all it takes is a giants loss.
Perhaps SF could still tie for the division if both teams lose today.
Fun fact: the last time the Dodgers lost and didn’t score exactly 3 runs was in late June. In their last 6 losses they scored 3 runs in each game.
Strange but true.
6 outs to get at least 3 runs. Time for Taylor, Grandal and Bellinger (least likely) to get some AB’s.
Dang, Upton.
I don’t think we have them where we want them anymore, but we did before Upton homered.
Would still feel OK, except for Verlander being on the mound with low pitch count.
I don’t want to have to suffer through another one-game losing streak.
Ack. It’s awfully late to get this many runs back.
Got them right where we want them!?
Dodger bats are going to have to find away force Verlander out and get to the Tiger bullpen.
That was not Manny Machado, Kenta…
Groundout with infield playing at normal depth.
Playing in was costly.
Rats. This is a revolting development.
So this jet lag thing is a real drag. I’m tired as all get out.
And Maeda gives up his first hit.
Usually take me a week after arriving from Far East. Until then, a lot of waking up at 3am and hitting the wall at 3pm.
I usually experience it flying to the East but not to the West.
Stateside? Same for me for European travel.
When you are coming from the other side of the world, doesn’t seem to matter which direction you are flying.
I recall being jet lagged coming home from Ethiopia as well.
Woot, Curtis! Welcome aboard!
Nice catch Puig!
What is the injury delay for?
Must not have been much. Game quickly resumed.
Victor Martinez fouled ball off his shin.
Thanks.
Way to go Puigy.
The 4th inning: nine pitches by Verlander, five by Maeda.
Maeda matching Verlander.
Shades of that game between Koufax and your namesake.
Ha!
I’ve been trying to find the earliest elimination date for any team in the NL West, but have been unable to do so. I think it’s fair to say, though, that the 2017 Gnats are serious contenders – a Dodger win or Gnatloss today will mathematically eliminate SF even though, theoretically, they are still “wild card” possibilities.
Craig Minami of TBLA appears to have located the AL record, but the Gnats could still set an NL standard. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a55c4dbe72828a6c9d42cdeee2295c25bf52caeb566f8376067d8d38653fd4f7.png
A combination of 21 Snake wins and giant losses would eliminate them from the wild card, so more or less 11 days of baseball from now, no?
Their elimination before September would be cause for Schadenfreude.
Looks like August 31 is the first possible date.
The Gnats are capable of their part, but I doubt the Snakes are quite that bad (though they and the Rox are no sure thing for the “wild card”).