Jul 31

Game 101, 2022

Dodgers at Rockies, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

RHP Tony Gonsolin (11-1, 2.28 ERA) is coming off three consecutive poor outings: his last start before the All Star Game, one inning during that game and his first start after it. He gave up four runs on six hits to the Nats last Monday while pitching six innings. He and the Dodgers hope he rights the ship. He’ll face RHP Germãn Mãrquez (6-8, 5.45 ERA), who’s split his last two starts, losing the second one despite giving up just one run on seven hits in six innings.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1954 At Ebbets Field, using a borrowed bat, Joe Adcock hits four home runs in one game as well as a double which just misses by inches being his fifth round-tripper, in the Braves’ 15-7 victory over the Dodgers. The Milwaukee first baseman’s 18 total bases, collected on just seven pitches, set a major league record, surpassing the mark established in 1950 by Brooklyn’s Gil Hodges.
  • 1955 The Indians obtained Sal Maglie off waivers from the Giants, who release the 38 year-old right-hander because of his ailing back. The ‘Barber’, who will be used sparingly in Cleveland, will become a major cog next season in the Dodgers’ National League championship after being acquired by the team in May for $100.
  • 1983 Orioles Gold Glover Brooks Robinson, Giants ace Juan Marichal, ten-time American League All-Star infielder George Kell, and long-time Dodger skipper Walter Alston are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Marichal, the Dominican Dandy, becomes the first Latin player to be enshrined at Cooperstown.
  • 2004 Ten minutes prior to the trading deadline, Steve Finley gives the Diamondbacks permission to deal him to the Dodgers. The trade sends the four-time Gold Glove center fielder and backstop Brent Mayne to LA for minor league catching prospect Koyie Hill, flycatcher Reggie Abercrombie, and southpaw Bill Murphy, who was acquired in yesterday’s trade with the Marlins.
  • 2006 The Dodgers trade infielder Cesar Izturis to the Cubs for 300-game winner Greg Maddux. The last minute deadline deal, in which the future Hall of Famer waived his no-trade clause, gives the 40 year-old hurler an opportunity to go to a contender.
  • 2008 In a three-team swap, the much-anticipated departure of Manny Ramirez from Beantown is finally accomplished with the unhappy outfielder being traded to the Dodgers. Former Pirates player Jason Bay will now roam left field for the Red Sox, with Pittsburgh receiving outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen from Boston as well as getting third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-hander Bryan Morris from Los Angeles to complete the last-minute deal.

Lineups when available.

Jul 30

Game 100, 2022

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

Third in a string of lefthanders the Dodgers have trotted out to face the Rockies, Clayton Kershaw brings his 7-2 record and his 2.49 ERA to the Coors Field mound this evening. He’ll face the Rockies’ lefthanded Kyle Freeland (5-7, 4.64 ERA). Kershaw’s only made one start against the Rockies this year, and it was less than stellar. He went four innings, gave up six runs on nine hits and took the loss. Freeland is 1-2 this year against the Dodgers; in his most recent start against them he went 5 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2004 In a blockbuster trade, the Marlins deal Brad Penny, the winner of two World Series games last season, first baseman Hee Seop Choi, and southpaw prospect Bill Murphy (who will be traded to the Diamondbacks tomorrow) to the Dodgers for backstop Paul Lo Duca, relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, and much-traveled outfielder Juan Encarnacion.
  • 2017 Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre collects his 3000th hit when he doubles in the fourth inning in the Rangers’ 10-6 loss to the Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The twenty-year veteran, who has also spent time with the Dodgers, Mariners, and the Red Sox, is the first-ever Dominican-born player to reach the coveted milestone.

Lineups when available.

Jul 29

Game 99, 2022

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

LHP Julio Urías (9-6, 2.72 ERA) takes the hill for the Dodgers and RHP Chad Kuhl (6-5, 4.48 ERA) does the same for the Rockies. Urías is 3-0 for July with a 3.00 ERA. Did you know that his lifetime W-L record of 41-16 puts him ahead of Clayton Kershaw’s pace at the same moment in his career? Kershaw’s ERA was lower than Julio’s 3.02, but not by much. Kuhl has had a bad July; he’s 1-0 for the month but he’s got a 9.00 ERA. He’s given up 17 runs on 25 hits in 17 innings.

From the LA Times, news of rehabbing pitchers:

Unlike last week, when May struggled with his command during a two-inning appearance, the 24-year-old struck out six batters over three scoreless innings. He gave up only two hits. He touched 99.9 mph with his sinker. And he found the zone with 32 of his 46 pitches.

[snip]

Roberts announced Thursday afternoon that Treinen, who stayed in Los Angeles, is scheduled to face live hitters Friday for the first time since injuring his shoulder in April — a key step in the reliever’s carefully managed recovery process.

The news came just two days after Roberts had initially said the right-hander was still a couple of weeks away from facing live hitting.

Since then, however, Treinen said he felt ready to take the next progression in his rehab, after several weeks of routine bullpen sessions.

“[He’s] getting closer,” Roberts said of when Treinen could return to the active roster. “I still don’t see Blake being back within the next three weeks. So end of August makes sense.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1915 Pirates third baseman Honus Wagner reaches Robins hurler Jeff Pfeffer for a grand slam in the eighth inning, helping Pittsburgh beat Brooklyn at Forbes Field, 8-2. The inside-the-park round-tripper makes the 41 year-old infielder the oldest player ever to hit a home run with the bases full, a record which will last until 1985.
  • 1996 After a mild heart attack last month, Tommy Lasorda, 68 year-old Dodger manager of twenty years, announces his retirement due to his health. The future Hall of Fame skipper, who was named the National League Manager of the Year in 1983 and ’88, led Los Angeles to four pennants and two World Series championships during his 21 seasons at the helm.

    Lineups when available.

Jul 28

Game 98, 2022

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:30 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

LHP Tyler Anderson (10-1, 2.79 ERA) pitches for the visiting Dodgers and José Ureña (1-2, 3.13 ERA) does so for the Rockies. Anderson was an All Star but didn’t make an appearance in the game; in his one start since he went six innings, gave up four hits and one run and got no decision. Ureña was DFAed by the Brewers in May when roster sizes were reduced. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies almost immediately and was called up in July; he’s made four starts since. In those starts he gave up 9 runs on 23 hits in 24 innings.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1991 Expos right-hander Dennis Martinez pitches a perfect game, defeating Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. Ron Hassey becomes the first backstop to ever catch two perfect games, as he also was behind the plate on May 15, 1981 when Indian hurler Len Barker faced 27 batters, beating the Blue Jays, 3-0.
  • 2017 Alex Wood won his twelfth game against just one loss, going seven innings while giving up eight hits and four runs to the Giants. The Dodgers came from behind with four runs in the seventh and won 6-4.

Lineups when available.

Jul 27

Game 97, 2022

Nationals at Dodgers, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN 2, SPNLA

LHP Patrick Corbin (4-13, 6.02 ERA) tries to finish a sweep of the Dodgers while LHP Andrew Heaney (1-0, 0.59 ERA) tries to prevent it. Corbin’s performance has fallen off a cliff and no one seems to know why. Since the start of the 2020 season, Corbin has a 5.61 ERA in 337 innings. There are lots of theories but no answers. His contract has now become a source of speculation: should he and it be added to any trade of Juan Soto, as the Red Sox added David Price to the Mookie Betts deal?

Heaney, meanwhile, is coming off a long stretch on the IL with shoulder discomfort. Before it occurred, he had shown the Dodgers that offering him a one-year contract last fall might pan out. He’d made two starts in April, going 10 1/3 innings and giving up just 4 hits and one run.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1918 In his major league debut, Robins (Dodgers) starter Harry Heitman, after giving up hits to four consecutive batters in a 22-7 loss to the Cardinals, is pulled from the Ebbets Field contest. The 21 year-old Brooklyn rookie right-hander will never hurl again in the big leagues, ending his career with an ERA of infinity.
  • 1959 The Continental League is formally announced, with franchises located in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto. The concept of the new major league is the brainchild of William Shea, an attorney who proposed the idea a year after the Giants and Dodgers left New York City to move to the West Coast.
  • 1966 Sandy Koufax strikes out 16 Phillies and Jim Bunning whiffs 12 Dodgers in the first 11 innings of a pitching duel between future Hall of Famers at Chavez Ravine. With both starters out of the game, Los Angeles beats Philadelphia, 2-1, thanks to an unearned run scored in the bottom of the twelfth inning.
  • 1998 Tony Womack of the Pirates establishes a new major league mark by not grounding out into a double play in 888 consecutive at-bats, breaking the record previously established by Dodger outfielder Pete Reiser in 1946.
  • 2005 Ryan Freel becomes the first player in the Reds’ 136-year history to steal five bases in a game, including two in the ninth that moves him to third base, where he scores the eventual winning run on Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly. The Cincinnati second baseman’s thievery contributes to the team’s 7-6 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. [Note: the Dodgers’ catcher was Jason Phillips, in his only season with the team.]

Lineups when available.

Jul 26

Game 96, 2022

Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, MASN 2, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Josiah Gray (7-6, 4.40 ERA) pitches for the Nationals and RHP Mitch White (1-2, 3.78 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. One-time Dodger (2 games, 1 start, 6.75 ERA in 8 innings before being traded to the Nats in the 2021 Scherzer & Turner deal) Gray has had a lousy July, going 1-2 with a 7.02 ERA in three starts. White has been pretty good for the Dodgers in 9 starts since May 21; although he’s 0-2 he’s got a 3.45 ERA in 40 2/3 innings.

The Jackie Robinson Museum held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at its location in Lower Manhattan. It officially opens on September 5.

Featuring 4,500 artifacts and 40,000 historical images, the museum strives to achieve Rachel Robinson’s goal to inspire future generations to be the next group of leaders in the fight for social justice. These artifacts include letters, clothing, accolades, a timeline of his life and insightful videos throughout the museum that bring Robinson’s journey to life, detailing his accomplishments as a baseball player and civil rights pioneer.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1900 In Brooklyn, a sheriff seizes the St. Louis share of gate receipts to reimburse Gus Weyhing, recently released by the Cardinals after posting a 3-4 record in eight starts with the team, who claims to have been cheated out of ten days of pay. Next week, the right-hander, known as Cannonball by his teammates, will sign with the Superbas as a free agent.
  • 1948 Former Dodger skipper Leo Durocher, who left the team ten days ago, makes his first appearance at Ebbets Field since taking over the Giants. The return of ‘the Lip’ is less-than-triumphant when his new team drops a 13-4 decision to Brooklyn.
  • 1951 In a 9-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jim Russell becomes the first player in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a game in two different games. The Dodger outfielder’s accomplishment will be surpassed in 1956 when Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle goes deep both right and left-handed in the same game for a third time.
  • 1960 The Phillies end their scoreless streak of thirty-eight consecutive innings when Johnny Callison plates Tony Gonzalez with a sixth-inning single in the team’s 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Philadelphia’s drought began when the team failed to score in the last six frames of a 3-0 win against the Giants, and continued when they were shut out in three straight games ( 2-0, 2-0, and 9-0) by the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
  • 1991 Mark Gardner no-hits the Dodgers for nine innings, but Los Angeles wins the game in the bottom of the tenth on two singles off the Expos’ starter and Darryl Strawberry’s RBI single off reliever Jeff Fassero. It’s the first time the Dodgers had been held hitless at home for nine innings since Johnny Vander Meer’s second straight no-hitter in 1938.

Lineups when available.

Jul 25

Game 95, 2022

Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN2, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Paolo Espino (0-3, 3.57 ERA) takes the ball for the Nationals and Tony Gonsolin (11-0, 2.02 ERA) gets it for the Dodgers. In three career appearances (one start) against the Dodgers, Espino does not have a decision with a 3.68 ERA. He’s appeared in 27 games this season, seven of them starts. Gonsolin had a rough All Star Game showing; he and his team hope that was an aberration.

The worst All-Star game ever? So thinks Ken Levine, ex-broadcaster and comedy writer.

Ken Rosenthal notes at The Athletic:

…while the Giants-Dodgers rivalry remains among the most intense in the game, it does not preclude former teammates — and their wives — from remaining close. On Friday, two Dodgers wives, Ellen Kershaw and Nicole Barnes, helped host a baby shower in Los Angeles for two Giants wives whose husbands used to play for the Dodgers, Suzanna Wood and Kelsey Pederson.

Suzanna and Alex Wood are expecting their first child in September. Kelsey and Joc Pederson are expecting their third in October.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1962 At Sportsman’s Park, Stan Musial surpasses Giants’ legend Mel Ott as the National League’s all-time RBI leader. ‘Stan the Man’s’ two-run home run off Don Drysdale in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers gives the Cardinals’ right fielder 1,862 career runs batted in with the Redbirds.
  • 2017 The Dodgers defeat the Minnesota Twins to run their record to 70-31. Kenta Maeda gets his ninth win of the season and Josh Ravin posts his first save.

Lineups when available.

Jul 24

Game 94, 2022

Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: NBCS BA, SPNLA

RHP Alex Cobb (3-4, 4.09 ERA) goes for the Giants while LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.13 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Cobb has had a modest July, going 0-1 with a 2.22 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. Kershaw is fresh off a start in the All Star Game and has otherwise gone 2-0 with an ERA of 0.40 in July. He needs eight wins to get to 200 for his career.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1909 At Washington Park, the Superbas sweep a twin bill from the visiting Cardinals with identical 1-0 scores. Brooklyn’s southpaw Nap Rucker, who will finish second in the NL with 200 strikeouts, whiffs 16 Redbirds in one of the contests.
  • 1931 For the second time in ten days, Babe Herman hits for the cycle. The Dodger outfielder joins “Long John” Reilly and Bob Meusel as one of only three ‘tricyclists’ to have accomplished the feat of collecting a single, double, triple, and home run in one game three times.
  • 1965 Unbeknownst to him at the time, 75 year-old Mets skipper Casey Stengel, who compiled a managerial record of 1,905-1,842 with the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, and Mets, manages his final baseball game, a 5-1 loss to Philadelphia at Shea Stadium. After leaving a party after midnight at Toots Shor’s, the ‘Old Perfesser’ loses his balance and fractures his left hip, resulting in the unexpected retirement with the team.
  • 1968 ChiSox reliever Hoyt Wilhelm breaks Cy Young’s record when he makes his 907th career appearance, pitching a third of an inning in which he gives up a run on two hits to be on the short side of the team’s 3-2 loss to Oakland. The 45 year-old knuckleballer, who will retire in 1972 after pitching in 1,070 games, will finish his 21-year major league career with a 143-122 (.540) won-loss record and 228 saves, hurling for the Giants, Cardinals, Indians, Orioles, White Sox, Angels, Braves, Cubs, and Dodgers.
  • 1970 Tommy Agee steals home with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning, giving the Mets a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Dodgers at Shea Stadium. After reaching on a fielder’s choice, the New York center fielder stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, before scoring the winning run with his thievery of home plate.
  • 1977 After his two-out foul pop-up is dropped by Mets’ right fielder Bruce Boisclair, Davey Lopes responds with a game-ending three-run home run off Bob Apodaca. The L.A. second baseman’s ninth-inning dramatics provide the Dodgers with a 5-3 win and spoil the opportunity for a win for Nino Espinosa, who left the game needing just one more out for a complete-game victory.
  • 1993 Following the game at Dodger Stadium, Vince Coleman tosses an M-80 from a car, resulting in reported injuries to three fans in the Chavez Ravine parking lot, including an 11 year-old boy and a two year-old girl. The Mets’ player was a passenger in the 1991 Jeep Cherokee driven by LA outfielder Eric Davis, who acknowledges Coleman flipped the firecracker out of his vehicle as a ‘joke,’ but not into a crowd of people.
  • 1993 In a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, Mets right-hander Anthony Young extends his record losing streak to 27 games. The latest defeat is the result of the hard-luck hurler walking Dave Hansen in with the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning.
  • 2015 Michael Conforto becomes the 1,000th player in Mets history when he makes his major league debut, going 0-3 in the team’s 7-2 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field. Tomorrow, the 24 year-old rookie left fielder will enjoy a 4-for-4 day at the plate when he will collect three singles and a double en route scoring four runs.
  • 2020 For only the second time in baseball history, all four starting infielders are the sons of former major leaguers, when shortstop Bo Bichette (Dante), second baseman Cavan Biggio (Craig), first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Vladimir), and third baseman Travis Shaw (Jeff) top the order for the Blue Jays on Opening Day. In 2012, the Dodgers’ lineup featured an infield consisting of third baseman Ivan DeJesus Jr. (Ivan), second baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. (Jerry), shortstop Dee Gordon (Tom), and first baseman Scott Van Slyke (Andy), with outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. (Tony) patrolling center field.

Lineups when available.

Jul 23

Game 93, 2022

Giants at Dodgers, 4:15 PM PDT, TV: fox

The visiting Giants send one-time Dodger LHP Alex Wood (6-7, 4.20 ERA) to the mound to face the Dodgers’ LHP Julio Urías (8-6, 2.89 ERA). Wood faced the Dodgers once earlier this season; he gave up three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings and took the 9-1 loss when the Dodgers’ bullpen did what the Giants’ pen could not: hold the other team scoreless the rest of the game. Urías is 1-1 against the Giants this season, winning the day after Wood lost in May and losing a month later despite giving up just two runs on three hits in six innings. Those were the only runs the Giants got in the game, but that was enough to hand the Dodgers the 2-0 loss.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1939 Using yellow dyed balls, the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 5-2 at Sportsman’s Park. The experimenting with the use of the colored sphere, which is designed to make the ball easier to see for the players and the fans, started in Brooklyn last week and will be tested once more, in a September game played at Wrigley Field.
  • 1962 Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player inducted into the Hall of Fame. Joining the Dodger infielder in the Cooperstown ceremony are fireballer Bob Feller, veteran manager Bill McKechnie, and outfielder Edd Roush.

  • 1965 Dick Stuart homers in the first inning in the Phillies’ 5-1 win over New York at Shea Stadium. ‘Dr. Strangeglove’, who played in Boston for the previous two seasons, becomes the first player to have gone deep in each of the 19 major league ballparks now in use. (Ed. note – Nineteen ballparks because both Los Angeles teams, the Angels and Dodgers, share the ballpark in Chavez Ravine. – LP)
  • 1974 At Three Rivers Stadium, Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey, a write-in All-Star starter, singles and doubles to help the National League beat the Junior circuit, 7-2. Mike Schmidt, also a write-in, plays in his first Midsummer Classic thanks to radio intern Howard Eskin’s on-air campaign which urged Phillies fans to stuff the ballot box for their young third baseman.

Lineups when available.

Jul 22

Game 92, 2022

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NBCS BA, SPNLA

RHP Logan Webb (9-3, 2.83 ERA) is on the bump for the Giants and LHP Tyler Anderson (10-1, 2.96 ERA) takes the hill for the Dodgers. In his last three starts Webb has given up three runs on fifteen hits in 20 innings and gotten two wins. In his last three starts Anderson has given up four runs on fourteen hits in 19 1/3 innings and gotten two wins.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1913 In a game against the Superbas (Dodgers), Slim Sallee becomes the first pitcher in Cardinal history to steal home. In the third inning, the Redbird southpaw scores the first run in St. Louis’s 3-1 victory over Brooklyn at Ebbets Field.
  • 1966 The Mets left fielder learns he is a new dad when the Dodger Stadium scoreboard relays the message, “Congratulations, Ron Swoboda. Your new son is born tomorrow morning”. Cecilia Swoboda gave birth to Chipper, the couple’s first child, at 1:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time, making it the next day on the West Coast.

  • 2005 Yhency Brazoban records his 18th save when he works a perfect ninth inning as the Dodgers beat the Mets, 6-5. The Los Angeles freshman, who is filling in for injured closer Eric Gagne, breaks Steve Howe’s club rookie record for saves established in 1980.

Lineups when available.