Mar 22

Baseball viewing while self-quarantining

If you’re following your Governors’ requests and staying indoors but you’re tired of reading (or writing, in RBI’s case), MLB has a vast assortment (its words) of classic games available at its vault for free watching. Included:

  • Gibson’s homer (Oct. 15, 1988, World Series Game 1): Though he could barely make it around the bases, Kirk Gibson takes Dennis Eckersley deep for one of baseball’s most iconic big flies.
  • Kershaw twirls a no-no (June 18, 2014): Only an error prevents a perfecto, as Clayton Kershaw strikes out 15 Rockies.
  • Dodgers give Vin a walk-off send-off (Sept. 25, 2016): With legendary announcer Vin Scully behind the mic at Chavez Ravine for the final time, the boys in blue clinch a division title.
  • Kershaw saves the day (Oct. 13, 2016, NLDS Game 5): In a winner-take-all contest on the road, Kershaw comes out of the bullpen on one day of rest to finish off the win for a tiring Kenley Jansen.
  • A blowout for the pennant (Oct. 19, 2017, NLCS Game 5): The Dodgers explode early against the Cubs, with Enrique Hernández’s three homers powering them to their first World Series since 1988.

Those are just the Dodgers’ games, of course. There are plenty of other famous games to see there as well. Check out the page for links to all of them.

Sep 25

Game 158, 2019

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

RHP Ross Stripling (4-4, 3.32 ERA) goes for the visiting Dodgers while RHP Dinelson Lamet (3-5, 3.84 ERA) goes for the Padres at Petco Park. According to Dave Roberts, Stripling will either start this game or go multiple innings in relief. Lamet returned from Tommy John surgery in mid-season and has done well in his last three starts, posting a 2.65 ERA with 25 Ks despite a 1-2 record.

Yes, yes, Muncy hit a grand slam in yesterday’s game, but Rich Hill’s double was even more entertaining:

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1941 Combined with a Cardinal defeat, the Dodgers win their first pennant in 21 years when they beat Boston at Braves Field, 6-0. Whitlow Wyatt throws a five-hitter and Pete Reiser hits a homer in the winning cause.
  • 1956 Dodger right-hander Sal Maglie no-hits the Phillies at Ebbets Field, 5-0. The ‘Barber’s’ gem helps second-place Brooklyn to keep pace in the pennant race with Milwaukee and Cincinnati.

  • 1962 After appearing in 60 games over a two-year span, Dodger reliever Ed Roebuck suffers his first loss. The LA right-hander gives up a 10th inning home run to Houston’s Al Spangler, breaking the 2-2 deadlock at Chavez Ravine.
  • 1974 In the first-of-its-kind operation, Dr. Frank Jobe transplants a tendon from Tommy John’s right wrist to the Dodger pitcher’s left elbow. The revolutionary ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, which will become a standard surgical procedure better known as Tommy John surgery, enables the southpaw to win an additional 164 games, more than half of his career total of 288 victories.
  • 1996 Giants slugger Barry Bonds draws an intentional walk which gives him the National League record with 149 bases-on-balls in a season. The free pass is issued in the seventh inning by LA’s Mark Guthrie with two outs and a runner on third base in the team’s 7-5 loss at Dodger Stadium. (Note: Bonds wasn’t done. He now holds down the top three spots in Most Walks, Hitter, Season).
  • 2008 The Diamondbacks, defending division champions, lose to St. Louis, 12-3, allowing the Dodgers to clinch the NL West. Los Angeles first-year skipper Joe Torre’s 13-year postseason streak continues, unlike the Yankees, his former team.

Lineup:

Sep 06

Game 143, 2019

Wait. This is the 143rd game of the season? There are only 20 games left as of tonight? Leapin’ lizards!

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: NBC Bay Area, SPNLA

RHP Jeff Samardzija (9-11, 3.61 ERA) takes the hill for the Giants; he’ll face LHP Clayton Kershaw (13-4, 2.96 ERA) on his home turf. Samardzija has had four winless starts in a row, games in which he has averaged less than six innings per start. Kershaw had a rough outing in Arizona last week, but the Giants are some of his favorite victims: he’s 23-11 lifetime against them and 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA this season.

Here’s Joc’s second HR of the game Wednesday:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1924 In a game that features a total of only six hits, the Brooklyn Robins beat Boston, 1-0, behind the strong two-hit performance of right-hander Bill Doak. The Braves Field victory is the team’s 15th consecutive win, establishing the longest winning streak in franchise history.
  • 1953 With Giants manager Leo Durocher yelling “stick it in his ear”, Ruben Gomez hits Carl Furillo, the National League’s leading hitter, on the wrist with a pitch. After taking first base, the Dodgers right fielder bolts into the opposing dugout to choke ‘Leo the Lip’, but in the melee, the knuckle on his little finger is fractured, putting an end to his season.
  • 1981 Fernando Valenzuela ties the National League’s rookie record for shutouts, blanking St. Louis, 5-0, for his seventh whitewash of the season. The Dodger lefty shares the mark with Irv Young (1905 Beaneaters), Grover Alexander (1911 Phillies), and Jerry Koosman (1968 Mets).
  • 1985 In a matchup of aces that lives up to its advanced billing, Dwight Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela hook up in one of the best pitchers’ duels in recent memory. New York beats Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine, 2-0, thanks to Darryl Strawberry’s two-run double on a day that the 20 year-old Mets right-hander strikes out 10 batters, throwing nine shutout innings, while the Dodgers southpaw pitches 11 innings without allowing a run.
  • 1996 Brett Butler returns to the Dodger lineup four months after having surgery for throat cancer. The 39 year-old center fielder scores the decisive run in the team’s 3-2 victory over the Bucs.

Also on this date in big league history, in 1995 Cal Ripken breaks Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game record, playing in his 2,131st straight game. When the game becomes official in the middle of the fifth inning, the new ‘Iron Man’ takes a victory lap around Camden Yards during the 22-minute standing ovation from the sellout crowd, including President Bill Clinton.

Lineup:

Aug 28

Game 135, 2019

Dodgers at Padres, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, SPNLA

RHP Kenta Maeda (8-8, 4.13 ERA) goes for the Dodgers while San Diego uses its bullpen, starting with RHP Trey Wingenter (1-3, 4.60 ERA). Maeda has been prone to the gopher ball this season, but if he attacks the strike zone rather than nibbling around the edges he’s successful. This is Wingenter’s first big league start.

Given the score at the time (8-0), this was not a game-changer, but I imagine Bellinger was annoyed by Margot’s robbery:

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1945 A moment in American history takes place in Brooklyn as Branch Rickey meets with Jackie Robinson to share his plans to integrate the major leagues. During the three hour meeting, the Dodgers’ president will shout racial epithets to ‘test’ the 26 year-old ballplayer’s mettle to withstand the abuse which will come with being the first player to cross the color line this century.
  • 1951 The Giants’ 16-game winning streak comes to end when Howie Pollet six-hits the team in the Pirates’ 2-0 victory at the Polo Grounds. The consecutive victories enable Leo Durocher and his club to narrow the Dodgers’ lead from 13.5 to six games.
  • 1967 Giants hurler Gaylord Perry begins the longest consecutive inning scoreless streak in franchise history when he shuts out the Dodgers at Candlestick Park, 7-0. The right-hander will not give up another run over a span of 40 innings, a feat the son of a tenant farmer from North Carolina will repeat three seasons later.
  • 1977 Steve Garvey collects five extra-base hits in one game when he bashes three doubles and two homers, including a grand slam, in the Dodgers’ 11-0 rout over St. Louis at Chavez Ravine. The LA first baseman becomes just the fourth major leaguer to accomplish the feat, joining Lou Boudreau (1946 Indians – HR, four 2B), Joe Adcock (1954 Braves – four HR, 2B), and Willie Stargell (1970 Pirates – two HR, three 2B).
  • 2003 Eric Gagne earns his 44th straight save in the Dodgers’ 6-3 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. The Los Angeles reliever’s effort establishes a new major league record, surpassing Tom Gordon, who had saved 43 in a row to begin a season with the Red Sox in 1998.
  • 2008 In the 11-2 victory over the Dodgers, Cristian Guzman becomes the second player in Nationals history to hit for the cycle, joining Brad Wilkerson, who accomplished the feat in 2005, the team’s first year in Washington, D.C. The 30 year-old shortstop completes his cycle with an eighth inning triple.
  • 2015 “Vin will be back for one more year (at least). God bless us, everyone” – JIMMY KIMMEL’s cue card message to the crowd.

    Team executive Magic Johnson, appearing on the Dodger Stadium video board, introduces Jimmy Kimmel to report “big, breaking news.” The ABC late-night television host, who waves to the fans without saying a word, displays a succession of cue cards, informing the Chavez Ravine crowd the 87 year-old Vin Scully will be returning to broadcast Dodgers games in 2016 for his 67th season.

Lineup when available.

Aug 22

Game 129, 2019

Blue Jays at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SNET, SPNLA

RHP Jacob Waguespack (4-1, 4.20 ERA) takes the mound for the Jays while RHP Kenta Maeda (8-8, 4.18 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Waguespack has had a good run recently: only six earned runs allowed over four outings (21 innings). Maeda’s last start was strange: he gave up three runs in 1 2/3 innings, then seemed to right the ship (including a stretch of seven consecutive strikeouts) and then couldn’t get out of the fifth inning.

Here’s Muncy’s walkoff HR last night:

By the way, that was the fifth consecutive game in which he’s hit a home run.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1917 In a 22-inning contest against the Dodgers, Pirates’ outfielder Carson Bigbee sets a major-league record with 11 at-bats. The game was also the fourth straight extra-inning game played by Pittsburgh (total of 59 innings), which sets a National League record.
  • 1965 Juan Marichal thinks Johnny Roseboro throws too close to his head returning the ball to Sandy Koufax and attacks the Dodger catcher with his bat. The Los Angeles backstop suffers cuts on the head during the 14-minute brawl.
  • 2000 Hitting a solo blast and a three-run round-tripper during a nine-run sixth inning of a 14-6 victory over the Expos, Dodger first baseman Eric Karros becomes the first player in the 111-year franchise history to hit two homers in an inning.

In 1886 Louisville’s Chicken Wolf hits a game-winning inside-the-park home run, thanks to a stray dog impeding Abner Powell from fielding the ball. The canine, who had been sleeping by the fence, refuses to let go of the pant leg of the Reds center fielder, who watches in dismay as the Colonel batter races around the bases in the team’s 5-4 loss at Eclipse Park.

Lineup when available.

Aug 20

Game 127, 2019

Blue Jays at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SNET, SPNLA

RHP Sean Reid-Foley (2-3, 3.00 ERA) pitches for the Canadian team while LHP Clayton Kershaw (12-2, 2.63 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. Reid-Foley may actually start the game or he may follow an “opener.” His last time out he gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings, throwing 88 pitches while doing so. Kershaw got his 165th career win in his last start, shutting out the Marlins for seven innings and striking out ten with no walks.

Cody Bellinger being a mensch:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1945 Dodger shortstop Tommy Brown becomes the youngest player (17 years, eight months, and 14 days) in major league history to hit a home run. The round-tripper by ‘Buckshot,’ who started his career as a 16 year-old high school student, will be the only run Brooklyn scores off 30 year-old Pirates southpaw Preacher Roe, who goes the distance in the 11-1 rout of the home team at Ebbets Field.
  • 1974 In an 18-8 rout of the Cubs, the Dodgers collect 24 hits and set a club record with 48 total bases, including Davey Lopes’ three home runs, double, and single. The Dodger second baseman’s 15 total bases are the most ever for a leadoff hitter.
  • 1978 In the visitors’ clubhouse at Shea Stadium, Dodger Blue becomes black and blue when Steve Garvey confronts teammate Don Sutton about a Washington Post story in which the pitcher is critical of him. After the right-hander confirms he had made the comments, the argument becomes physical when he makes an inappropriate remark about the first baseman’s wife.

Lineup when available.

Aug 15

Game 123, 2019

Dodgers at Marlins, 12:05 PM PDT, TV: FS-F, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Walker Buehler (10-2, 3.08 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers against the Marlins’ LHP Caleb Smith (7-6, 3.71 ERA). Buehler was annoyed with himself after his last start; he went six scoreless innings and struck out eight but “didn’t throw enough first-pitch strikes.” Smith has struggled since the All Star break. He had a 3.50 ERA before that and has had a 4.15 ERA since. He averaged 2.63 BB/9 and 11 K/9 before the break and 3.89 BB/9 and 10.13 K/9 after it.

Senor Rios had a big night: his first two home runs.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1914 Brooklyn’s Jake Daubert sets a National League record with four sacrifices in one game. The first baseman’s efforts aren’t enough when the Dodgers drop an 8-7 decision to Philadelphia at Ebbets Field.
  • 1926 When Babe Herman doubles with the bases loaded, three Dodgers wind up on third base. The runner on second rounds third but decides to go back as the runner from first reaches the same base, and a few seconds later Herman slides in to join his two teammates.
  • 1951 With one out in the top of the eighth inning and a runner on third base in a 1-1 tied game, Willie Mays, running at full speed, makes an incredible catch of Carl Furillo’s drive to deep centerfield. After grabbing the ball, the rookie outfielder turns counterclockwise and throws a perfect strike to home to nail a surprised Billy Cox at home to complete the double play. Some believe the catch, in the Giants’ eventual 3-1 Polo Grounds victory over the Dodgers, is the impetus for the beginning of the team’s incredible comeback from an 11.5 game deficit to win the National League pennant.
  • 2006 The Dodgers, with their 4-0 blanking of the Marlins, win their sixth consecutive game and 17th in the last 18 contests. The stretch is the team’s best run since the Brooklyn Superbas went 20-1 in 1899.

Lineup when available.

Aug 10

Game 119, 2019

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-A, MLBN, SPNLA

The visiting D-Backs send LHP Alex Young (4-1, 2.60 ERA) to the mound to face the Dodgers’ RHP Kenta Maeda (7-8, 4.37 ERA). Young gave up two runs on three hits in six innings against the Nats and took the loss in his last start. Maeda had his worst start of the year in his last game, going just 2 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on five hits but escaping the loss when Max Muncy hit a walk-off double in the ninth inning in the Dodgers’ 11-10 win.

Don’t run on the Dodgers’ first-baseman/rightfielder:

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1979 Dodger hurler Don Sutton sets a franchise record with his 50th shutout, blanking San Francisco at Candlestick Park, 9-0. The 34 year-old right-hander had previously shared the mark with Don Drysdale. (Ed. note: 50! In his twelfth year Clayton Kershaw has a career total of 15!)
  • 1995 The first forfeit in the majors in sixteen years occurs when the fans for the third time during the night throw promotional souvenir baseballs onto the Dodger Stadium field. At the time of the decision to halt the game, Los Angeles is trailing the Cardinals, 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

August 10 is a good day for pitchers: in 1971 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Juan Marichal records his 50th career shutout as the Giants blank the Expos, 1-0. The Dominican hurler’s ninth inning double helps to build the winning run.

Lineup:

Aug 09

Game 118, 2019

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

LHP Robbie Ray (10-7, 4.03 ERA) pitches for the D-Backs opposing RHP Walker Buehler (10-2, 3.22 ERA) of the Dodgers. Ray had a horrible June (1-4) and an excellent July (4-1) and won his first start in August, although he went just five innings and gave up four runs on six hits to the Nats. Buehler had a spectacular game his last time out, striking out 15 while allowing the Padres one run on five hits in a complete game victory. If he goes past six innings today he’ll exceed last season’s number of innings pitched and set a new career record.

Here’s Kershaw’s 2,397th strikeout as a Dodger, surpassing Sandy Koufax and moving into third place on the Dodgers’ all-time list behind the two Dons, Sutton and Drysdale.

Player acquisition news: The Dodgers have acquired catcher Jose Lobaton from Seattle in exchange for cash considerations. Lobaton will report to Oklahoma City. This was likely prompted by the news that prospect C Kelbert Ruiz was hit by a pitch last Saturday and broke his finger; he’s out for the season.

Seager is optimistic he’ll hit as well as always.

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1975 At Shea Stadium, Davey Lopes steals his 32nd consecutive base without being caught, breaking Max Carey’s 1922 record in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over New York. The Dodger second baseman’s mark will be broken by Vince Coleman in 1989.
  • 1976 John Candelaria becomes the first Pirate since 1907 to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh. Nick Maddox threw the first and only Buc home no-hitter until the ‘Candyman’ beat the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium. (There was never a no-hitter pitched in the 61-year history of spacious Forbes Field.)
  • 2001 Mike Hampton ties the National League record for pitchers with his seventh homer when he goes deep off Felix Heredia in the Rockies’ 14-5 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Colorado southpaw equals the mark established by Dodger hurlers Don Drysdale (1958, 1965) and Don Newcombe (1955), and two shy of the major league standard set by Wes Ferrell, playing for the Indians in 1931.
  • 2013 The Dodgers rally for four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, overcoming a six-run, seventh-inning deficit, for their fifth walk-off victory of the season. The team’s 7-6 victory over Tampa Bay is their 11th consecutive win in a one-run games, a span in which they have defeated ten different clubs.

Also on this date, in 2013 Dan Haren becomes the thirteenth pitcher in history to record a victory over all 30 major league franchises when he hurls seven solid innings in the Nationals’ 9-2 win over Philadelphia. The 32 year-old right-hander joins Al Leiter, Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Kevin Brown, Terry Mulholland, Curt Schilling, Woody Williams, Jamie Moyer, Javier Vazquez, Vicente Padilla, and Derek Lowe in accomplishing the feat.

Lineup when available.

Aug 06

Game 116, 2019

Cardinals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-M, SPNLA

RHP Miles Mikolas (4-6, 4.54 ERA) goes for the Cardinals against the Dodgers’ LHP Clayton Kershaw (10-2, 2.85 ERA). Mikolas has pitched against the Dodgers once in his career; he beat them on April 8 of this year. Kershaw criticized his last start, in which he walked five men, gave up two runs and went just six innings, but he did get the win. He’s 7-0 with a 2.35 ERA at home this year.

Notable praise from San Diego’s Wil Myers, speaking of the Dodgers’ redheaded rookie Dustin May: “Usually,” Myers said, “guys like that, who throw 98 with sink, end up being pretty good.”

Here’s Muncy’s stellar defensive play on Monday:

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1981 The players approved a split-season format necessitated by the seven-week strike. The Yankees, A’s, Phillies, and Dodgers are declared the first-half champions and will be automatically qualified for the divisional series.

Great moments in labor-management relations: In 1908 Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb gets married, having departed the Tigers three days ago to participate in the ceremony without the team’s permission. The 21 year-old Georgia Peach’s six-day defection during a pennant race will be described by club co-owner Frank Navin as the most arrogant act he had ever heard of in baseball. (Note: The Tigers got to the World Series anyway. They lost to the Cubs, the last time the Chicago team would win a World Series until 2016.)

Lineup when available.