Game 43, 2019

Nationals at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN 2, SPNLA

RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-2, 3.71 ERA) goes for the Nats while LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-1, 2.03 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. How is it possible that Strasburg is 30 years old with a career W-L record of 97-54 and a 3.16 ERA? In his last start he went 6 2/3 innings; he held the Brewers to three hits until the seventh inning when they got to him for four runs. Ryu’s last start was that rarity, a complete game shutout, in which he gave up four hits on 93 pitches against the Braves. He’s struck out 45 on the season and walked two. The two pitchers have met twice before and their teams have split.

Mike Petriello, now of MLB.com but formerly the blogger at the now-defunct Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness Dodger blog, has written an analysis of Hyun-Jin Ryu which posits that he’s MLB’s most underrated ace. If you remember Petriello, his pieces are stat-heavy, and this one’s no exception. He uses them to make the point that Ryu’s career performance is up with the elite pitchers in all of baseball.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1956 At Ebbets Field, Carl Erskine tosses his second career no-hitter when he holds the crosstown rival Giants hitless in the Dodgers’ 3-0 victory. The right-handed ‘Oisk’ also threw a no-no against the Cubs in 1952.
  • 1958 In a 12-3 rout of their West Coast rival, Willie Mays homers twice against the Dodgers in the LA Memorial Coliseum contest. The ‘Say Hey Kid’s’ second round-tripper, a fifth-inning shot off Ed Roebuck, is the first grand slam ever hit by a San Francisco Giant.
  • 1979 Bill Murray, anchorman on Saturday Night Live Weekend Update reports 42 year-old Chico Escuela (a fictional baseball player portrayed by Garrett Morris) has informed the Mets that he is quitting baseball. Although baseball has been “berra berra good…” to him, a crushing blow off the bat of Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey into the Dominican’s infielder’s crotch ends an inspiring comeback.
  • 1990 Blanking the Dodgers at Shea Stadium, 7-0, Frank Viola gets his seventh consecutive win from the start of the season. The Mets southpaw sets a franchise record of nine straight victories, dating back to his past two decisions last season.
  • 2004 In one of the most remarkable at-bats in big league history, Alex Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches and then hits the 18th thrown to him by the Cubs’ Matt Clement over the right-field fence for a two-run home run which doubles LA’s lead to 4-0. The Dodger Stadium crowd cheered each foul ball, watching the increasing total displayed on the scoreboard.

  • 2015 Giancarlo Stanton becomes the fourth player to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium, joining Mark McGwire (1999), Mike Piazza (1997), and Willie Stargell, who accomplished the feat twice (1969, 1973). The jaw-dropping first-inning blast off Mike Bolsinger, estimated to have traveled 475 feet, proves to be the only bright spot in the Marlins’ 11-1 loss to LA at Chavez Ravine.

Lineup when available.


116 thoughts on “Game 43, 2019

  1. May see Kenley anyway? Hasn’t pitched in quite a while (May 5) and no game tomorrow.

  2. Division lead grows to four games over Snakes and Pads, still at 6.5 over Rox and 8.5 over Gnats

  3. High praise for Ryu from Russell Martin:

    He was asked if he had ever encountered the type of precision being executed by Ryu, the Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander who consistently gets overlooked.

    Martin nodded.

    “Greg Maddux,” he said, name-dropping the Hall of Fame right-hander he teamed with briefly on Dodgers teams in 2006 and 2008.

    So, that good?

    “Yeah,” Martin said. “I mean, Maddux might have him by like a smidgen.”

  4. Bellinger’s walk to strikeout ratio this season is now 24:25.
    Last year it was 69:151.
    In 2017, his rookie season, it was 64:164.

    • “As it stands, you’ve got to keep running him out there. But we’ve got to get the delivery, the execution right.”

      Really? If he’s injured, shouldn’t it be treated so that he can actually get the execution right?

  5. Barves dodge a bullet in Phoenix and still lead 4-3 after seven. Rojopen has blown a lead to the Gnats, now 6-5 in eighth.

  6. At one point during this game I was dreaming of a 1-0 win with Ryu throwing a perfect game and Strasburg throwing a no hitter. And then I imagined that instead of a walk leading to the only baserunner of the game – it was a missed catch strike out.

  7. Rox hung on v. Pads, but Barves lead down to 4-3 and Gnats have tied Rojos (who, however, have a promising start to their eighth).

  8. 2-0 into the 8th. Hope this redemption – and not repeat – from last night.

  9. Rox have blown it open 10-3 v. Pads, but it’s only the seventh at Coors. Barves up 4-0 on Snakes in fourth, Rojos 3-2 over Gnats after five.

  10. Barves now lead 3-0 over the Snakes. Pads have crept closer to Rox at 5-3 after 6-1/2, while Rojos lead BadGums and the Gnats 3-2 in the fourth.

  11. I think we are going to need an offensive upgrade at the catching position.

  12. Always in the back of my mind when Ryu pitches is that he is not under contract for next year.

    • He will be an interesting test of the free-agent system – no qualifying offer, but history of fragility.

  13. Wilmer Difo, shortstop for the Nationals, makes me think of the actor Willem Dafoe.

  14. Rojos lead Gnats 2-0 in the first, after three hits plus two errors by the home town.

  15. Reflecting on Strasburg and how he seemingly jumped from being young to old (30!), is that he was drafted out of college. By comparison, Klayton was more in the spotlight as he climbed his way through the minors in anticipation of his arrival in the Bigs. He is actually only 4 months younger than Klayton!