Monthly Archives: July 2019

Jul 07

Game 92, 2019

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Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, MLBN, SPNLA

The Cosa Nostra Padres send LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-4, 3.91) to the hill to face Tyson’s the Dodgers’ RHP Ross Stripling (3-2, 3.45 ERA) in a day game at Dodger Stadium. Lucchesi has averaged about 5 2/3 innings per outing in this, his second year in the big leagues. He’s gotten into the sixth inning in each of his last two starts, giving up six runs and getting no decision in either of them. Stripling is making his third start replacing the injured Rich Hill. In his last outing he got into the fifth inning, giving up 4 runs on seven hits while striking out seven.

Here’s Maeda’s 6K performance in yesterday’s 7 2/3-inning effort:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1953 The Dodgers set a major league mark for the most consecutive games with a home run by a team with at least one round-tripper in their 24 contests. Brooklyn starter Preacher Roe hits the record-breaking homer with a third-inning blast in the team’s 9-5 victory over Pittsburgh at Forbes Field. (Note: this record has been broken by seven teams since then, most recently in 2019 by the NY Yankees, who did it in 31 straight games ending July 1)
  • 1998 Jeff Shaw becomes the first player to participate in an All-Star Game wearing a uniform for a team he hasn’t yet played for when he works an inning, allowing three hits and a run pitching for the National League squad before appearing in a regular season game for the Dodgers. The 32 year-old closer, who posted a 1.81 ERA along with 23 saves in the first half of the season for the Reds, was traded three days ago by Cincinnati to Los Angeles for Paul Konerko and Dennys Reyes.
  • 2004 Kazuhisa Ishii tosses a one-hitter in the Dodgers’ 11-0 defeat of Arizona. The 30 year-old Japanese southpaw retires the first 12 batters he faces before issuing a leadoff walk to Luis Gonzalez, which is followed with a single by Shea Hillenbrand, but then the left-hander proceeds to mow down 15 consecutive D-Backs to finish his masterpiece.

Lineup:


Jul 06

Game 91, 2019

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, SPNLA

The visiting Padres send RHP Chris Paddack (5-4, 3.05 ERA) to the (hopefully stable) mound at Dodger Stadium tonight. He’ll face the Dodgers’ RHP Kenta Maeda (7-4, 3.78 ERA). Paddack’s a rookie whose May-June was rocky but whose last start was good: he threw six innings of two-hit ball against the Cardinals and got the win. Maeda threw four scoreless innings at Coors Field his last time out but gave up two runs in the fifth and didn’t figure in the Dodgers’ eventual 12-6 win.

Thoughts during an earthquake:

In the Dodgers’ dugout, manager Dave Roberts hoped for a Hernández home run “to add to the commotion.”

Across the way, Padres manager Andy Green thought, too, of a long drive. He leaned over to bench coach Rod Barajas with a thought.“I’d love Kiké Hernández to hit a ball down the line where the foul pole sways in,” Green said, “and the ball swings just foul based on that.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 At Crosley Field, Yankees’ hurler Lefty Gomez is defeated for the first time in four All-Star starts as the NL wins the All-Star game 4-1. National League shortstop Leo Durocher becomes the first Dodger to start in an All-Star Game and gets a ‘bunt’ home run.
  • 1953 In his first major league start, 24 year-old right-hander Al Worthington throws a two-hitter, blanking the Pirates, 6-0. The Giants’ rookie, known as ‘Red’, will become the first National League freshman to throw consecutive shutouts at the start of a career, when he repeats the feat in his next outing, also blanking the Dodgers, 6-0.
  • 2000 Vin Scully, 72, is voted the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century by members of the American Sportscasters Association. The Dodger veteran broadcaster’s 51-year career has included play-by-play of 25 Fall Classics and a dozen All-Star Games.

Lineup when available.


Jul 05

Game 90, 2019

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

The Padres’ LHP Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.22 ERA) will face LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 3.23 ERA) of the Dodgers. Lauer has a 1.46 ERA in four starts against the Dodgers in his career. Kershaw is 19-6 with a 2.02 ERA lifetime against the Padres, but this year he’s made two starts and given up six runs in 13 innings against them, getting one win and one no-decision.


Here’s Bellinger’s 30th HR of the season. extending his franchise record for most home runs before the All Star break:

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1935 The Cuccinellos become the third pair of brothers, following the Waners (2) and Ferrells, and the first on opposing teams to homer in the same game when Al goes deep in the bottom of the ninth in the Giants’ 14-4 loss to Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds. The New York’s third baseman’s sibling, Tony, playing second base for the Dodgers, had homered in the previous inning.
  • 1952 In their final season in Boston, the Braves play in front of the largest home crowd of the season when 13,405 fans watch Brooklyn beat their team for the 12th consecutive time, a 5-3 complete-game victory by Carl Erskine. The most memorable moment of the contest occurs in the second inning when the game is delayed because a small dog has to be escorted off the field by Dodger outfielders Carl Furillo and Duke Snider.
  • 1961 Cardinals first baseman Bill White collects 14 total bases when he hits three home runs and a double. The 27 year-old infielder’s offensive output helps the Redbirds rout the Dodgers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 9-1.
  • 2004 At Dodger Stadium, Diamondback third baseman Chad Tracy’s ninth inning run-scoring single on an 0-2 changeup ends Eric Gagne’s record streak of 84 consecutive saves. The new mark established by the Los Angeles closer is 30 more than the prior mark set by Tom Gordon for the Red Sox in 1999.
  • 2007 At Dodger Stadium, Chipper Jones’ two solo home runs are the difference in the Braves’ 8-6 victory over Los Angeles. With his pair of round-trippers, the team’s third baseman surpasses Dale Murphy for the Atlanta team record of 372 homers.

Today is also the anniversary of the first game Larry Doby played for the Indians, integrating the American League. He ended up with 1,515 hits, only three behind Jackie Robinson. Also on this date in 1953, Robin Roberts pitched his 28th consecutive complete game, shutting out Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, 2-0. Twenty-eight straight complete games! We’ll never see that again!

Lineup when available.


Jul 04

Game 89, 2019

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Padres at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

The Padres’ Dinelson Lamet (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery 15 months ago. In his rookie year (2017) he was 7-8 with a 4.57 ERA, but that was a 71-91 Padres team without Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado, among others. He’ll face the Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-2, 1.83 ERA), who had his first bad outing of the year his last time out against the Rockies at Coors Field. He took the loss in that game; it’s the first game decision he’s had since June 4, a win against the D-Backs.

Bellinger set a record last night. Here’s the tying and winning run sequence:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1884 In American Association action, Louisville right-hander Guy Hecker pitches complete games to win both ends of a doubleheader. The Youngsville, Pennsylvania native does not walk a single batter when he beats the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers at Eclipse Park, 5-4 and 8-2.
  • 1998 The National Baseball Facility of Ireland, considered the main home of the Irish National baseball team, officially opens in Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin when U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Dodger owner Peter O’Malley played an instrumental role in the construction of the diamonds now known as the Fields of Dreams, which includes a regulation sized adult field and an international standard Little League field.
  • 2006 Nomar Garciaparra ties the major league record for being hit by a pitch in a game as he is plunked three times by three different Diamondback pitchers in a 10-4 Dodger victory. The LA first baseman is the first National Leaguer to equal the mark, both literally and figuratively, since the 2000 season, when Astros outfielder Richard Hidalgo got thwacked thrice in a game in April.

Lineup when available.


Jul 03

Game 88, 2019

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Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-A, SPNLA

RHP Merrill Kelly (7-8, 4.00 ERA) makes his 18th big league start after spending four years in the Korean Baseball League, where he compiled a 48-32 record with a 3.86 ERA. Pretty good for a league known more for hitting than pitching. As his W-L record shows, he’s had an up-and-down season thus far. He didn’t face the Dodgers in the D-Backs’ previous three series against them. He’ll face the Dodgers’ RHP Walker Buehler (8-1, 3.43 ERA), who’s headed for the All Star Game. His last start was awful; he gave up seven runs on 13 hits to the Rockies in 5 2/3 innings. He avoided the loss in that game as the Dodgers came back with four runs in the ninth inning to win.


Here are the Dodgers’ five consecutive walks in the ninth last night to win the game.

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1925 Milt Stock sets a National League mark by having his fourth consecutive four-hit game, going 16-for-23 during the span to compile a .696 batting average. The 31 year-old second baseman’s offensive output, which includes three singles and a triple, helps the Robins beat the Giants at Ebbets Field, 6-3.
  • 1949 En route to a 16-0 shutout of the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds, starting pitcher Monte Kennedy hits a grand slam. Another 51 seasons will pass by before another Giants hurler hits a four-run homer when Shawn Estes accomplishes the feat in 2000.
  • 1958 In their 35th home date in L.A., the transplanted Dodgers reach the one million mark in attendance. Last season, the team drew only 1,028,258 fans, playing in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.
  • 2013 Yasiel Puig becomes the first player to be named Player of the Month for the first month he plays in the major leagues in the 55-year history of the award. The Dodger outfielder played in 26 games in June, compiling a .436 batting average, with his 44 base hits being the second-most ever by a first-month player, only behind Joe DiMaggio’s total of 48 in 1936.

Lineup when available.


Jul 02

Game 87, 2019

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Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-A, SPNLA

RHP Taylor Clarke (2-3, 6.10 ERA) goes for the D-Backs and RHP Ross Stripling (3-2, 3.08 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Clarke has started twice against the Dodgers this season and each has been nearly identical: three runs on four hits in five innings on June 4 and two runs on three hits on June 26. This will be Stripling’s eighth start of the year, but only his second in two months. The most recent was June 25 against these same Diamondbacks; he gave up two runs on four hits in three innings.

Take yourself back to 1959, when the Giants and Dodgers were recently arrived in California and the LA games were played at the Coliseum. In May there was an important series between the two, and a disputed foul/fair ball caused a 15-minute rhubarb, here called beautifully by, who else, Vin Scully.

Here’s the backstory.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1962 Johnny Podres ties a major league mark record, striking out eight consecutive batters in LA’s 5-1 victory over Philadelphia. The 29 year-old southpaw’s streak begins with the third out in the top of the fourth frame and ends after the first out in the seventh inning of the Dodger Stadium contest.
  • 1995 Dodger right-hander Hideo Nomo, who is leading the National League in strikeouts, becomes the first player from Japan to be selected for the major league All-Star game. As the starter for the Senior Circuit, the 26 year-old rookie tosses two scoreless innings in the National League’s 3-2 victory over their American League rivals at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Lineup when available.