Game 57, 2020

Athletics at Dodgers, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NBCSCA, SPNLA

RHP Mike Fiers (6-2, 4.67 ERA) goes for the As and RHP Walker Buehler (1-0, 3.86 ERA) probably goes for the Dodgers. Probably, because they’ve opened with relievers in four of their last ten games. Fiers has some history with the Dodgers: he no-hit them while pitching for the Astros in 2015 and he was the guy who blew the whistle on that team’s cheating behavior last offseason. Buehler’s blister problem has apparently cleared up: he threw 90 pitches in a simulated game last Saturday with no recurrence.

Here’s Rios’s game-tying HR in the 8th inning of yesterday’s game:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1957 Grounding out, Pirates left-handed first baseman Dee Fondy becomes the last player ever to bat in Ebbets Field when the Dodgers blank the Bucs, 2-0, in the final major league game ever played in Brooklyn.
  • 1971 Al Downing becomes a 20-game winner when he blanks the Braves at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, 2-0. The Dodger left-hander, best remembered for giving up Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run, will compile a 123-107 record during his 17-year major league career.
  • 1981 Dodgers 7, Giants 5 at Candlestick. The Dodgers got a three-run homer from Mike 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.

  • 2001 Batting for reliever Joe Beimel in the bottom of the sixth inning, Craig Wilson drives the first pitch he sees into the seats in left center for his seventh pinch-hit home run, tying the major league mark established last season by Dodger infielder Dave Hansen. The Pirate rookie’s two-run round-tripper sparks a five-run frame, enabling the Bucs to overcome a 5-0 deficit in their eventual 7-6 victory over the Chicago at PNC Park.
  • 2003 Eric Gagne ties John Smoltz’s National League mark for saves with 55 when he helps the Dodgers defeat the Padres, 5-3. The Los Angeles closer equals the NL mark in consecutive opportunities, which is also a record.

Lineup when available.

64 thoughts on “Game 57, 2020

  1. Records this weird season:

    .733
    The Dodgers’ road winning percentage (22-8). With their road slate complete, this mark stands third all time, behind only the .797 road winning percentage of the 1906 Cubs and the .740 mark of the ’09 Cubs.

    As for their overall body of work, the Dodgers entered Thursday with a .696 winning percentage (39-17) that would rank 11th in the modern era (going back to 1901), and, in a normal year, would be a 113-win pace.

    107
    Speaking of the Dodgers, this was their MLB-leading home run tally, entering Thursday. Their rate of a home run every 17.9 at-bats would surpass last year’s Yankees (18.3) for best ever. But to really put the Dodgers’ output in perspective, consider this: The 1988 World Series championship team hit just 99 home runs in 162 games!

    • about halfway through the season one of the analyst calculated home/road number and the home advantage was almost nil. He chalked it up to less impact from travel for visiting teams and lack of fans for home teams.

    • Dodgers now stand 40-17 (.702) with three games to go v. Angles (who still have a slim mathematical chance of catching the Asterisks for second place and the post-season). If Dodgers win out, they will be 43-17 (.717), a full-season pace of 116 wins.

      Dodgers have already clinched No. 1 seed all the way through the World Series.

  2. Gnats blow one in extras to the Rox. With tying run on third in the eleventh, a game-ending GIDP. Their mild card hopes take a hit.

    • Not sure who would replace him, Santana? Doc might use him in less leveraged situations, though.

      • He escaped that inning. The only hit, according to Gameday, wasn’t much, however. But last night’s effort did not help his causes.

  3. It’s always so jarring watching these games – between the heat of the pennant race and the supernova of the playoffs. These ones feel so chill.

  4. I don’t need a lot more from this regular season, but I would like the Dodgers to win three of the last four for a winning percentage of .700.

    • More specifically I would want the win tonight and 2 out of 3 vs LAA. Then they would have .700, a winning record vs every team they have played this year and just the one series lost.

      But mostly – win October.

  5. Smith couldn’t find that popup and it didn’t look like Buehler knew where it was either. Thanks Max.