Game 15, 2020

Giants at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN, NBCS-BA, SPNLA

RHP Johnny Cueto (0-0, 4.97 ERA) goes for the Giants; LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Cueto started Opening Day against the Dodgers and went four innings while giving up one run. In his subsequent two starts he was much less effective, going 3 2/3 innings against the Padres and 5 innings against the Rockies. Kershaw’s first start of the year was delayed by back trouble but was worth waiting for: he went 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the D-Backs. In his career he’s 23-12 against the Giants.

Roberts says “Seager is day to day. He’s getting tests on his back and will likely not play tomorrow.”

Here are the Dodgers’ four home runs in last night’s game.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1903 In the third inning of the 4-3 nightcap loss to New York at the Polo Grounds, Dodger starter Henry Schmidt is thrown out of the game after he throws the baseball out of the park. The Brooklyn hurler became very angry when opposing pitcher Joe McGinnity dashed home from third base while his infielders were arguing the close call at the bag.
  • 1954 Gil Hodges comes to bat three times in the eighth inning when the Dodgers score 13 runs en route to a 20-7 rout of the Reds at Ebbets Field. The first baseman will go 1-for-3 in the frame with a leadoff triple, but will be responsible for all three outs when he hits into a double play and flies out to centerfield to end the Brooklyn barrage.
  • 1957 Club President Walter O’Malley makes it official, announcing the Dodgers will play in Los Angeles next season. The club’s departure from Brooklyn corresponds with the massive social shift taking place in the borough that finds many of its former residents leaving for the suburbs of Long Island.
  • 2000 Cubs hurler Phil Norton becomes the 18th pitcher in major league history to give up four homers in one inning in the Dodgers’ 7-5 victory at Chavez Ravine. Kevin Elster, Darren Dreifort, Gary Sheffield, and Shawn Green all take the 24 year-old southpaw deep in the bottom of the fourth inning.
  • 2000 Darren Dreifort hits two home runs and gets the win in the Dodgers’ 7-5 victory over the Cubs. The starting pitcher, who hurls 6.2 innings, goes deep in the bottom of the fourth and fifth frames.
  • 2000 After kissing one another in the seventh inning, a female couple is abruptly asked to leave Dodger Stadium immediately and are told never to “set foot back on the premises” for “lewd behavior”. The pair had planned to sue the organization, but ended up not doing so after the team apologized, promising to contribute 5,000 tickets to LGBT organizations and continue sensitivity training for all its employees.

Lineup:

108 thoughts on “Game 15, 2020

  1. It’s a little disconcerting to see the Giants’ CF and realize he’s the grandson of a guy I remember watching make the last out of a famous playoff game in 1978.

  2. Dodgers are now 3-3 against SF. With a plus 16 run differential. 33-17 total runs in the 6 games.

  3. Well – if nothing else, the Dodgers helped themselves by not damaging their all-important run differential too much.

  4. Pence looked sad and perturbed but unless he was looking away when the pitch was made what could he have done if he couldn’t follow the ball off the bat.

    • It’s that time of the night, when it’s to lose things in the sky. That’s happened to me in softball.

  5. What are the chances this one of those games were the Dodgers score 7 runs in one inning?

  6. It’s weird watching a Hall of Famer struggle. It’s like when Roger Federer started having many more unforced errors.

  7. The ball appears to be sailing, at least for the Gnats. Kershaw does not have an out-pitch, either.

  8. Never really noticed before but it looks like Kershaw has a little grey in his beard.

    • That catch by Belli for the first out turned out to be helpful later in the inning (obviously – but you know what I mean).

  9. Are there good explanations as to why Kershaw struggles in the first inning compared to other innings? He seems like he should be as prepared as anyone to start well.

  10. On Dodger starts against the giants, Van Lingle Mungo checks in at 54. Read that the most by anyone against them is Warren Spahn with 108.