Author Archives: Linkmeister

Apr 08

Game 13, 2024

Posted on by

Dodgers at Twins, 3:40 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports North, SPNLA

LHP James Paxton (1-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for the Dodgers and RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 54.00 ERA) does so for the Twins.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1966 At the Astrodome, the Astros and Dodgers play baseball’s first game on synthetic grass. Thanks to the Monsanto chemical company, which proposed using an experimental playing surface of nylon grass, the plan to play on an all-dirt field, necessitated by the need to paint the dome’s glass panes to reduce the glare which prevented natural grass from growing, was alleviated by the use of ‘AstroTurf’.
  • 1974 Braves outfielder Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the all-time home run leader with his 715th, going deep in the fourth inning off Dodger hurler Al Downing in Atlanta’s home opener. ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ equaled the Bambino’s mark on Opening Day in Cincinnati.

  • 1994 Kent Mercker no-hits Los Angeles, 6-0 at Dodger Stadium. The Braves left-hander was one of the three Atlanta pitchers, along with Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena, in 1991 to also no-hit the Padres, but this victory is his first complete game in the major leagues.
  • 1994 Chan Ho Park becomes the first Korean to play in the major leagues when he makes his pitching debut at Chavez Ravine. In one inning of work, the 21 year-old Kongju City native gives up two runs on one hit, walking two and striking out two batters in the Dodgers’ 6-0 loss to Atlanta.
  • 2015 Adrian Gonzalez becomes the first major league player to hit five home runs in the first three games of the season when he goes deep three times in the Dodgers’ 7-4 victory over San Diego at Chavez Ravine. The Los Angeles first baseman joins Carl Furillo (1955) and Jimmy Wynn (1974) as the only players in franchise history to have homered in the first three games of a campaign.

Lineups when available.

Apr 07

Game 12, 2024

Posted on by

Dodgers at Cubs, 11:20 AM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

RHP Gavin Stone (0-0, 5.40 ERA) takes the hill for the Dodgers; he’ll face LHP Shota Imanaga (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Here’s what MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan had to say about Imanaga’s first start in the big leagues:

Although it came on a chilly day at Wrigley Field against a Rockies lineup that isn’t exactly a juggernaut, Shota Imanaga’s debut was still mighty impressive. The left-hander, who signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason after a stellar career in his native Japan, carried a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings and finished with nine K’s and no walks over six scoreless frames. Including Spring Training, Imanaga has struck out 34 of the 81 batters he has faced (42%) in a Cubs uniform, which is a great indication that he has the stuff to excel at the Major League level.

Imanaga leaned heavily on his four-seamer during his dominant debut, throwing it 60.9% of the time and holding Colorado hitters hitless with four strikeouts in 13 at-bats ending on the pitch. The southpaw’s splitter, though, was the true star of the show.

Imanaga consistently threw his splitter down and out of the strike zone, but Rox batters had trouble laying off of it. Of the 15 swings they took against Imanaga’s splitter on the day, 12 came up empty, good for an 80% whiff rate. That included the final pitch in a 13-pitch battle with Ryan McMahon. Given how similar Imanaga’s four-seamer and splitter look coming out of his hand, the two pitches could prove to be a devastating combo all year long.

The Dodgers’ Japanese pitcher got some high praise from his own team and the opponents after his outing today too.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1969 After throwing just two pitches to start the season, Don Drysdale finds himself and his team trailing by two runs when Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan hit back-to-back homers. The 32 year-old right-hander settles down, and the Dodgers come back to win the Crosley Field contest, 3-2.
  • 1969 Bill Singer becomes the first major league reliever to officially record a save, a new stat which will be kept starting this season, in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over Cincinnati in the season-opener at Crosley Field. The ‘Singer Throwing Machine’ does not allow a hit, hurling three scoreless innings en route to saving Don Drysdale’s victory.
  • 1977 Gary Thomasson starts the game by walloping the first pitch in the Dodgers’ opener for a home run off Don Sutton, who had apparently thrown a gopher ball. Unbeknownst to the Giants’ leadoff hitter, the ball was to be taken for a pitch and handed to the home plate umpire to be sent to Cooperstown.
  • 1977 Frank Sinatra keeps his promise to Tommy Lasorda by singing the Star-Spangled Banner on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. ‘Old Blue Eyes’ had told the team’s new skipper he would perform the National Anthem if his friend ever became the L.A. manager.

  • 2012 Octavio Dotel, playing for his 13th team, breaks a major league record he previously shared with Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs, and Ron Villone. The 39 year-old Tiger reliever, who throws 1.1 scoreless innings against Boston, has also appeared with the Mets, Astros, A’s, Yankees, Royals, Braves, White Sox, Pirates, Dodgers, Rockies, Blue Jays, and Cardinals.

Lineups when available.

Apr 06

Game 11, 2024

Posted on by

Dodgers at Cubs, 1:05 PM PDT, TV: FS1, Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

RHP Yoshinobo Yamamoto (0-1, 7.50 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and LHP Jordan Wicks (0-0, 4.50 ERA) goes for the Baby Bruins.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2001 In the home opener at Veterans Stadium, Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning’s number 14 jersey is retired. Kentucky’s Republican U.S. senator, who compiled a 224-184 record in his 17-year career pitching for the Tigers, Phillies, Pirates, and Dodgers, joins Richie Ashburn (1), Robin Roberts (36), Steve Carlton (32), and Mike Schmidt (20) as the fifth player to have his number retired by the Phillies.
  • 2004 Adrian Beltre becomes the 36th player in baseball history to hit 100 home runs before the age of 25. The Dodger third baseman joins Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig to have exactly 100 homers on their 25th birthday.
  • 2016 The Padres, with their 7-0 loss at Petco Park, become the first team to be shut out in the first three games of the regular season, surpassing the dubious mark set by the Browns, who opened the 1943 campaign with 26 straight scoreless innings. San Diego also dropped their first two decisions of the three-game series against the Dodgers, 15-0 and 3-0.

Lineups when available.

Apr 04

Game 10, 2024

Posted on by

Dodgers at Cubs, 11:20 AM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

RHP Bobby Miller (1-0, 0.00 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 12.27 ERA) goes for the Cubs.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1968 Due to today’s assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, most major league teams postponed their Opening Day games for five days, resuming after the reverend’s funeral in five days. Surprisingly, at first, the Dodgers are the notable exception, even though the Phillies, their opponents on April 9, say they will forfeit rather than play on the national day of mourning.
  • 2016 The Dodgers hand the Padres the worst Opening Day shutout loss since at least 1913, and most likely in the game’s history, blanking the Friars at Petco Park, 15-0. The contest marked both skippers’ managerial debut, with LA’s Dave Roberts and San Diego’s Padres Andy Green piloting their first major league game.

Lineups when available.

Apr 03

Game 9, 2024

Posted on by

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

LHP Kyle Harrison (1-0, 3.00 ERA) pitches for the Giants this evening; RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 2.45 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. This is the 22-year-old Harrison’s ninth start in the big leagues; he was 2-1 last year after making his debut in August. It’s the 30-year-old Glasnow’s 130th game and 91st start; he’s got a lifetime record of 31-27 and a 3.86 ERA. By the way, according to MLB.com Glasnow’s nickname is “Baby Giraffe.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1966 In his first at-bat against Juan Marichal since the pitcher’s bat-yielding incident last season, Johnny Roseboro hits a three-run inside-the-park home run in the Dodgers’ 8-4 victory over the Giants. Before starting the spring training contest, San Francisco GM Chub Feeney attempted to arrange a handshake between the combatants, with the Los Angeles catcher, who has a $110,000 lawsuit pending against the right-hander and the hurler’s team, declining the offer.
  • 1968 The Tigers trade left-hander Hank Aguirre to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, minor leaguer Fred Moulder. The All-Star southpaw, better known for being the worst hitter in major league history, will compile a .085 batting average during his 16-year major league career, striking out in an astounding 61% of his 388 at-bats. In his sole season with the Dodgers he appeared in 25 games, threw 39 innings, earned three saves and put up a .069 ERA, living up to his reputation by going 0-3 at the plate.
  • 1974 The Indians trade Pedro Guerrero to Dodgers for pitcher Bruce Ellingsen. The 17 year-old infielder/outfielder will compile a .309 batting average and will be named to the All-Star team five times during his 11 seasons with the team.
  • 2008 Twenty minutes before their game, the Dodgers announce reliever Hong-Chih Kuo will start in place of Chad Billingsley, who in turn will be in the bullpen. The unusual move, made due to the threat of rain at the start of the contest, is also employed by the Giants with Merkin Valdez beginning the game on the mound and the announced starter, and eventual winner Tim Lincecum entering the game in the fourth inning.

Lineups when available.

Apr 02

Game 8, 2024

Posted on by

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

RHP Logan Webb makes his first start of the year for the Giants; he was 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA last year. He’ll face that TBD dude, as the Dodgers want to give their starters an extra day of rest.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2003 Todd Zeile homers in his first at-bat as a Yankee, becoming the only major leaguer to hit a home run for ten different teams, surpassing Tommy Davis, who went deep for nine different clubs. In addition to homering with the Bronx Bombers, the infielder has also gone deep for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, and Rockies.
  • 2007 For only the fourth time in major league history, a hurler under the age of 21 wins an Opening Day assignment when 20 year-old Venezuelan right-hander Felix Hernandez pitches eight strong innings in the Mariners’ 4-0 victory over the A’s at Safeco Field. Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers was the last pitcher ‘not of age’ to accomplish the feat, beating the Astros, 2-0, in 1981.
  • 2008 Third base ump Ed Montague tosses Larry Bowa for not staying within the boundaries of the coaching box although he warned the Dodger coach several times to follow the new edict put in place by MLB following the tragic death of Tulsa Drillers’ first base coach Mike Coolbaugh. The former infielder and manager’s behavior will lead to a three-game suspension for “inappropriate and aggressive conduct,” in which he had to be restrained by manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer in the sixth inning of the 3-2 victory over the Giants in Los Angeles.

In non-Dodger history, on this day in 1972 after playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach with his coaches on Easter Sunday, Mets manager and former Dodger Gil Hodges, two days shy of his 48th birthday, suffers a fatal heart attack. The club will name current first base coach and former Yankee skipper Yogi Berra to run the team when the strike-delayed season begins.

Lineups when available.

Apr 01

Game 7, 2024

Posted on by

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

RHP Keeton Winn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his first start of the year for the Giants; LHP James Paxton (0-0, 0.00 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. Winn is a 26-year-old who made his debut last year and has a career record of 1-3 and a 4.68 ERA in nine games. Paxton is a 35-year-old crafty lefty with a lifetime record of 64-38 and a 3.69 ERA in 156 games, all starts.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1937 The Reds sell Babe Herman to the Tigers. The 34 year-old outfielder, batting .300 for his new team, will appear in only 17 contests with Detroit before effectively retiring from the game, although he will return to play briefly for the war-time Dodgers in 1945.
  • 1963 Former Brooklyn Dodger Duke Snider returns to New York when the Mets purchase him from LA for $40,000. The 36 year-old outfielder, who will represent New York in the All-Star Game, will be told at the end of the season by Buzzie Bavasi, his former GM, that the Yankees had asked for him to back up Mickey Mantle before he was dealt to the team the across the river.
  • 2008 On Opening Day in Los Angeles, Juan Pierre’s 434 consecutive game streak, the longest current one in the major leagues, comes to an end when the Dodger outfielder does not play in the 3-2 victory over the Giants. New skipper Joe Torre plays Andre Ethier in left field in place of the highly paid but light-hitting fly chaser.
  • 2013 Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ Opening Day pitcher, hits a leadoff home run off San Francisco’s George Kontos in the bottom of the eighth inning to break up a scoreless tie in the team’s eventual 4-0 victory. LA’s 25-year-old southpaw retires the side in the next frame, completing a 4-0 complete-game shutout against the Giants at Chavez Ravine.

Lineups when available.

Mar 31

Game 6, 2024

Posted on by

Cardinals at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

LHP Steven Matz (0-0, 0.00 ERA) takes the hill for the Cardinals and RHP Gavin Stone (0-0, 0.00 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1948 At Ebbets Field No. 2, the Dodgers play their first exhibition game at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, which will remain the team’s home for 61 years. Amidst much fanfare, including Governor Millard Caldwell throwing the ceremonial first pitch, Jackie Robinson homers in the first inning as Brooklyn beats its top farm club, the Montreal Royals, 5-4.
  • 2018 Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who goes 3-for-4 in the team’s 3-2 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field, becomes the first American Leaguer to have multiple extra-base hits in the first three games of the season. In 2015, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also accomplished the feat, collecting at least two hits in each of LA’s first three contests when he compiled ten hits his first 14 at-bats of the season.

Lineups when available.

Mar 30

Game 5, 2024

Posted on by

Cardinals at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Midwest, SPNLA

RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) pitches for the Redbirds and RHP Yoshinobo Yamamoto (0-1, 45.00 ERA) makes his home debut for the Dodgers. Yamamoto lasted just one inning against the Padres in Seoul last week, giving up five runs on four hits.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1966 Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale’s refusal to report to spring training ends when the hurlers agree to the Dodgers’ offer of $235,000, signing for $130,000 and $105,000, respectively. The LA starters’ joint holdout lasts for 32 days, paving the way for other players to be more aggressive when negotiating with owners.
  • 2012 Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest starting pitcher to make an Opening Day roster when the Rockies announce that the 49 year-old southpaw will face Houston in the second game of the season. Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm was the same age as the Colorado left-hander when he opened the season with L.A. in 1972, but ‘Old Sarge’ appeared strictly in relief for the Dodgers.

Lineups when available.

Mar 29

Game 4, 2024

Posted on by

Cardinals at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: Apple+

LHP Zack Thompson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) takes the mound for the Cardinals and RHP Bobby Miller (0-0, 0.00 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1935 The reigning National League champion Cardinals release 44 year-old right-hander Dazzy Vance, who appeared in his first and only World Series during his one season with the team. The future Hall of Fame hurler will return to the Dodgers, where he spent the most productive years of his career, finishing his major league 16-year tenure in the major leagues with a 197-140 (.585) record along with an ERA of 3.24.
  • 2008 In an exhibition game celebrating the club’s 50th anniversary of their move west from Brooklyn, the Dodgers lose to the Red Sox in front of 115,300 fans at the LA Coliseum. The crowd is the largest ever to watch a baseball game, surpassing the previous record when approximately 114,000 patrons attended an exhibition contest between the Australian national team and an American services team during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
  • 2017 The Dodgers commemorate Kirk Gibson’s historic pinch-hit, walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series by offering a special ticket package to sit in the right-field pavilion seat, recently painted blue and autographed by him, where the ball landed. The team is donating two-thirds of the $300 price of the ducats, which includes a companion seat, two commemorative T-shirts and food and drink, to the Kirk Gibson Foundation to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s research, the neurological disease which affects the Fall Classic hero.

Lineups when available.