Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBCS BA
RHP Chris Stratton (3-3, 3.94 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants. He’ll face LHP Clayton Kershaw (17-4, 2.26 ERA) of the Dodgers.
This will be Stratton’s first appearance at Dodger Stadium. He was a victim of the long rain delay in San Francisco last week; he started, faced one hitter and did not reappear after play was halted for 2:52. Kershaw is 21-9 with a 1.62 ERA in 40 games (39 starts) against the Giants, including 3-1, 1.73 in four starts this year.
Once again the site I usually find this at is down, so here’s a game from the WS-winning year of 1981 on this date: Dodgers 7, Giants 5 at Candlestick. The Dodgers got a three-run homer from Scioscia and two more runs in the third inning to put themselves ahead. The game was — marred? supplemented? — when a fan threw a helmet and — well, here:
Reggie Smith went into the stands after a fan who had been heckling him during the game; the fan had just thrown a batting helmet into the dugout before Smith climbed into the stands; Smith punched the fan and tried to pull him over the rail onto the field; Dodger teammates grabbed Smith; eight fans were arrested and Smith was ejected by HP umpire Harry Wendelstedt; as two policemen walked with Smith down the RF line to the clubhouse, someone threw a beer bottle and missed.
Lineup:
Today's Dodger lineup vs. Giants:
Taylor CF
Seager SS
Bellinger 1B
Granderson RF
Forsythe 3B
Utley 2B
Grandal C
Pederson LF
Kershaw P pic.twitter.com/Gu1GYDGkFx— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 24, 2017
NPUT
“Competition” where it really matters: after CBO report and Sen. Collins’s statement, is this nightmare within the nightmare finally over?
Never underestimate GOP venality.
Until next year’s budget reconciliation.
Any predictions as to whom the Dodgers will face in game one of the playoffs? I know, I know, It’s Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future.
Niels Bohr? Samuel Goldwyn? K. K. Steincke? Robert Storm Petersen? Yogi Berra? Mark Twain? Nostradamus? Anonymous?
Tempted as I am to Google it, I’m leaning to Goldwyn or Yogi. Gotta stick with baseball and choose Yogi.
I think Steiner was commenting about players names last night and asked the question “isn’t anybody named Joe anymore”. I think Friedman heard him and acquired Connor Joe.
And Steiner says this during a game in which the opposing 2B’s name is Joe.
Just “joes” to show that Steiner’s always asleep at the wheel.
Joe paniked at the thought of facing Klayton, so didn’t play yesterday.
Joe will be back Monday. Just say joe to Steiner.
“Oh, Joe, say it aint so!”
Greasylocks’s faceplant as metaphor… https://twitter.com/mccoveychron/status/912391029415915522
There’s apparently been underlying tension between Roberts and Puig all season.
I have a couple of thoughts.
Mattingley often said that just because Puig limps or winces it doesn’t mean he is hurt.
Maybe it wasn’t so much that he attempted a steal and didn’t slide so much as Doc wanted to see what the hitter would do with two out in the bottom of the ninth. He is still looking for a post season team.
That may be, but I agree with Link’s take, that this is about more than one night.one play.
When i finished, I felt the author of the piece indicates the lack of trust may be bad enough to not play Puig in postseason, or limit his play.
This must be really bad for at least two reasons: Doc is always protective of his players . . . and with the bats struggling like they have this past month, who would replace Puig at the plate, much less in the field?
Meh, author speculating on worst scenario. Doesn’t link it to anything that Doc said.
Puig will again be a trade topic in the off-season. Verdugo needs a place to land and has the arm for RF. Toles will be looking for a spot as well. Next year Joc might swing from the right side, its the only stance he hasn’t tried.
Had to laugh with the comment about the stance. Since I rarely have eyes (and Joc rarely plays, these days anyways), I’ve only heard about his experimenting. But I know how messed up I would get by overthinking when I was batting or trying a golf swing.
I like both Toles and Verdugo, but the former’s coming off a serious injury and the latter has yet to prove himself. The Dodger lineup is also lefty-heavy, so Puig’s absence would create a major vacuum.
Yikes! That pre-game interview was painful and awkward.
I just saw a GIF of Greasylocks’s bunt attempt yesterday. Unfortunately, it was from the centerfield camera, so Clayton was blocking his faceplant.
The Dodgers will have almost a week off before starting the playoffs.
Has anyone heard what they are planning to do to try to avoid getting rusty?
Barbeque!
And a pickup softball game? 🙂
4 days is a long time off when you have been basically playing six days a week since the ASG. They have enough guys on the active roster now that they could probably play pick up games.
That was my thought about the time off (it’s less than I thought — I was thinking they had to wait until Saturday). Intrateam scrimmage would make sense. Can you imagine them doing a schoolyard picking of teams?
Justin, reflecting on the 4 day layoff, was basically saying that it was a reset whether one is hitting well or hitting poorly at the end of the season.
Dave seemed a touch more chipper today in the post-game press conference.
Winning can do that.
Living in Canada as well.
Hahaha! Nice one Bob.
You have been proof of that through the years!
Right back at ya!
“Chip” was my nickname as a kid, but not because of a chippy attitude — it’s because I always mimicked the beginning of “My Three Sons” when it came on, which featured a son named Chip.
Then there were the Chip Hilton books.
Yes — I read those! (And every series I could find: Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, etc.)
Also John R. Tunis had several sports books, including the “Kid from Tompkinsville” series we’ve talked about here before. I love “The Kid Comes Back” — what can be better than beating the Nazis, then playing for the Dodgers?
(I Just looked him up and he wrote even more Dodger books than I knew . . .guess it’s time to go Internet hunting!)
And the Rick Brant Science-Adventure books. I had about half but I now have e-book versions of all of them so I can revert to age 15 when desired.
Win 190 for Dave Roberts. He is about half way up the Brooklyn/LA managerial win chart. But still not even at 10% of Alston’s 2040 total.
— who had, I believe, only one-year contracts at a time.
Yup.
Woo-HOO!
Kenley like
A Klone would be great!
We win!
No sorrow from Morrow, go for 100 tomorrow.
Dave, did you see where your country is now known as the land of opportunity? http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fearful-of-trumps-america-asylum-seekers-from-across-the-globe-stream-into-canada/ar-AAs6URt?li=BBnb7Kz
I guess we are an OK place to come. 🙂
Much more than OK since 11/8/17!
16
I sit corrected! Seems like a time warp since then.
An unpleasant one at that.
You are correct, sir.
Unfortunately.
Other than the winter weather and the summer mosquitoes!
Morrow has such a great rhyming name. Borrow, sorrow, tomorrow.
Anything but the middle, please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxDVc80Z3FI
Roberts was vague about Puig’s absence from today’s lineup.
I’m disappointed that a fuss was made. Utley sparks the team when he steals a base in that circumstance.
I was wondering the same thing. The Blue aren’t a running team. Chase may have more leeway because he’s more savvy (tho in Puig’s favor, he IS learning). Some players are known to have “permission” to run whenever they want. Dodgers may be under a “run only when told” order.
Here’s my theory: I think it was the lack of sliding coupled with Doc suspecting Puig invented the ankle injury to excuse the bad decision and lack of slide.
Sounds about right. He was dismissing any talk of injury in the reports I read.
Hopefully the bats of mid-summer return (what is it, about 20 games in a row now where they haven’t collected double-digit hits?). Barring that, they will have to be aggressive and hope the pitchers are on.
7 seasons with 200 Ks, most ever for a Dodger pitcher.
Congrats, Kersh — especially with a shortened season.
Passed Hershiser on that list?
Drysdale and Koufax.
Yes that makes sense. I thought Orel had mentioned something about Kershaw passing Hom today and wondered if that’s what he was talking about.
I think that was for wins against the giants.
Thank you!
Yep, they both now have 22 wins versus the giants.
Hope Kershaw reaches 50 some day!
Drysdale with 34, Sutton 30 (a few of those maybe in another uniform), Newcombe 22, and Koufax 17
And Sutton, I think. Nope. He had five.
Mo said only Drysdale and Sandy had 6
I was about to comment on what a great rebound this is for Kersh when he’s bit by the HR bug. Again.
For whatever reason, Williamson had his number this game.
He’s now allowed six more HRs than in any other season of his career and in markedly fewer innings. OTOH, there have been more HRs hit in this season than ever before, so why would Clayton be exempt?
True. Guess he IS mortal.
I was reading in the NYTimes today that it has a lot to do with juiced balls…
Sounds like the punchline to an off-color joke.
That’s one theory. There are several. MLB denies the balls are juiced, for what that’s worth.
I’ll wait until I see it on Twitter before I believe it.
Williamson was sitting on that pitch for sure. 3 for 3 as well, and that was a no-doubter.
Rats.
Scheiße!
That too.
Kersh with the single. Doing it all.
Jumps over flying bats as well and serves as bat boy on the same bat.
Nice to check in and see we actually have scored some runs. Does Kershaw go nine?
Guessing around 110 pitches might be the limit.
Who will decide between Kersh and Doc?
Nice to have Kershaw crusing as well.
Crawford just made the blooper reel.
Haha. That was great.
When MLBTV posts the video, I’ll have to wind through and see it.
You will love it!
Pence 3 for 3?
I’ve got no video, but they all sounded like Gnatbites to me.
Tripped over himself trying to bunt. Oops that was for Crawford.
Four inches too low.
That was pretty funny.
They were dunks and bleeders.
Need a replay on that one.
Agreed.
Phooey.
At least Joc got a hit!
This year with a .233 BABIP and lifetime .266
Against a lefty as well.
Bad call from the review tapes here. Foul ball fell behind Pence!
Though ball was to land a couple feet into the stands, the guy leaned over into the field and it went through his hands, so he was obstructing Pence (and tried to steal his glove!).
Hard to tell from here.
In either case, the fan is a lousy fielder.
If Joc makes the post season roster he apparently will make it as a walk on.
After learning that Steiner’s doing TV, I’ve switched to the Dodgers’ English-language radio feed.
Grande, ¡Grandal! A good time of year for a streaky player to start streaking (so to speak).
Granderson and Forsythe looking better as well.
They’ve both shown encouraging signs, but I wanna hear a laugher today (blackout prevents my seeing one).
I’ll let them know.
I want both of them to hit like Grendel and let no Beowulf find them until Game One of spring training.
Hwaet!
Grandal!!!!
Grande! De nuevo.
Phlablo phlashing the leather…
Crawford throws away his helmet on that out.
Greasylocks is among the gnastiest of the Gnats.
Grande gets one home. Didn’t seem very deep.
Today I’m suffering the last Gnatblackout of the season.
And the play at home was not that close.
It was a weak throw, and offline (Gameday finally posted the video).
Rally by the deplorables.
Linguistic peculiarity, observed while listening to Jaime JarrÃn: In Argentina, “inning” is in common usage in baseball and softball, and I have heard “entrada” elsewhere. Jaime, however, uses “episodio,” which I’ve only heard from him.
Alineación sin Puig… https://twitter.com/LosDodgers/status/912023934559817729
Joc with a start!
I hope he gets a few more starts and does well. Joc has had some success in the post season.
I really loved the idea of having three young lefty bats playing together for a long time with Corey, Cody, and Joc. I like Taylor, Barnes, and Puig as young righty bats. Always nice to have a couple of older players in the lineup as well and the Dodgers have that in Turner, LoFo, and Utley this year.
I was going to say veterans but went with older as Turner isn’t quite a veteran yet.
Turner in his thirties, and this is his ninth major league season. By any standard, he’s a vet.
To be included with Utley, Ethier, and Agon all I am asking for Turner is three full seasons as a starter 2500 plate appearances. After this year he will have the former and already has the latter.
Hope he does well, but late in the season to be fiddling with your stance and it didn’t seem to be working on the farm.