Category Archives: Dodgers History

May 10

Game 38, 2023

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Dodgers at Brewers, 10:40 PM PDT, TV: BS Wisconsin, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 2.53 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and LHP Wade Miley (3-1, 2.31 ERA) goes for the Brewers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1953 With a double and home run, Roy Campanella drives in all the runs in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory over the Phillies at Ebbets Field. Campy’s total of 40+ RBIs in the first 30 games will not be matched until Tino Martinez accomplishes the feat in 1997 with the Yankees.
  • 1955 Dodger right-hander Don Newcombe faces only 27 batters when he one-hits Chicago at Wrigley Field, 3-0. Gene Baker, who will be thrown out trying to steal second base, ruins Newk’s bid for perfection, with a fourth-inning single.

Other historical notes: on this day in 1909 Fred Toney completes the longest no-hitter in organized baseball history, a 1-0 victory over the Lexington Colts of the Blue Grass League. As word spread around town about the Class D Winchester Hustlers right-hander’s performance on the mound, fans continued to stream into the ballpark before the lone run of the contest scored on a squeeze play in the bottom of the 17th. And if you thought the Phillies’ Ben Chapman was bigoted only toward African-Americans, think again. On this date in 1934 Chapman, who will lead the protest against Jackie Robinson in 1947, harasses a Jewish fan during a Yankees’ 13-3 victory of the White Sox at the Bronx ballpark. The New York left fielder shouts disparaging epithets and taunts the team’s supporter with Nazi salutes.

Lineups when available.

May 09

Game 37, 2023

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Dodgers at Brewers, 4:40 PM PDT, TV: BS Wisconsin, SPNLA

RHP Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 6.32 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers and LHP Eric Lauer (3-3, 4.40 ERA) does the same for the Brew Crew.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman, who admits he had been ‘kinda loud’ in leading his team in verbally abusing Jackie Robinson with racial slurs during yesterday’s game, sends word to the Brooklyn clubhouse that he would like to make amends by posing with the Dodger first baseman for the newspaper photographers. The orchestrated gesture, which Robinson agrees to, admitting later that is one of the hardest things he ever had to make himself do, is prompted by the bad press created by the Phillies manager’s intolerance and the wrath of Commissioner Chandler.

Also on this day: In 2015 with runners on second and third, the Pirates turn the first recorded 4-5-4 triple play in baseball history, recording all three outs entirely on the left side of the infield. The oddity occurs when Yadier Molina lines out to second baseman Neil Walker (1), who throws to third baseman Jung Ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta (2), who had strayed too far off the third, and then fields the third baseman’s return throw to triple up Jason Heywood at second base (3).

Lineups when available.

May 08

Game 36, 2023

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Dodgers at Brewers, 4:40 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin, SPNLA

RHP Tony Gonsolin (0-0, 3.38 ERA) makes his third start of the season for the visiting Dodgers and RHP Freddy Peralta (3-2, 3.63 ERA) starts for the Brewers.

Today in Dodgers’ history

  • 1941 An Army-Navy Relief game between New York’s two National League teams raises over $60,000. Dolph Camilli’s homer is the difference in the Ebbets Field exhibition as the Dodgers edge the Giants, 7-6.
  • 2012 Josh Hamilton becomes the 16th major leaguer to hit four home runs in one game when he blasts an 0-2 pitch over the Camden Yards centerfield fence in the eighth inning of the Rangers’ 10-3 victory over Baltimore. The Texas outfielder, who connected each time with a man on base, also hits a double to set the American League’s single-game record for total bases with 18, one shy of Shawn Green’s major league mark of 19 established in 2002 with the Dodgers.

Lineups when available.

May 07

Game 35, 2023

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Dodgers at Padres, 4:00 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

LHP Julio Urías (4-3, 3.86 ERA) starts the rubber match for the Dodgers. He’ll face the Padres’ RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 10.80 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 At the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Yankees defeat the Dodgers, 6-2, in an exhibition game played to benefit Roy Campanella, who was paralyzed in an auto accident prior to the team moving to the West Coast in 1958. The game, which draws the largest crowd ever for a baseball game, 93,103 fans with another estimated 15,000 turned away from the sellout, begins with an emotional ceremony in which Pee Wee Reese pushes the wheelchair-bound catcher into the darkened stadium that is totally illuminated by fans holding candles or matches.
  • 1960 The Sherry boys become the tenth pair of siblings to appear as batterymates in a major league game when Norm replaces John Roseboro behind the plate in the top of the eighth to catch Larry, who is starting his first inning in relief. The backstop will hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, assuring his brother of a victory in the Dodgers’ 3-2 walk-off win over Philadelphia.
  • 1969 Willie Davis, furious with the Wrigley Field Bleacher Bums because of their continual verbal abuse of him, tells his Dodgers teammates that he wants to hit a home run in the middle of the group, which he does in the sixth inning to tie the score. The LA center fielder exacts a bit more revenge on the heckling horde when his 12th-inning two-run round-tripper proves to be the difference in the 4-2 defeat of the Cubs.
  • 1970 At Shea Stadium, Wes Parker hits a triple off Jim McAndrew to beat the Mets in the tenth inning, 7-4. The three-bagger completes the cycle for the Dodger first baseman.
  • 1991 Darryl Strawberry returns to New York as a Dodger with mixed results. A crowd of 49,118 mostly booing fans watches him hit a two-run home run, and they cheer when he makes the last out of the game with the potential tying and winning runs on base in the 6-5 Mets victory.
  • 2009 The Dodgers fail to improve upon their 13-game winning streak at home to open the season–the victorious span surpassed the 1911 Tigers to set a new major league mark. The 11-9 loss to Washington comes on the same day the team learns about Manny Ramirez, the club’s most productive hitter, being suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance.
  • 2009 Major League Baseball suspends Manny Ramirez for fifty games after he tests positive for the use of a banned substance. The 36 year-old Dodgers outfielder, who will not be eligible to return to the team until July 3, apologizes to the fans, explaining he did not take steroids, but was given a medication which a doctor thought was okay to be prescribed.
  • 2011 After a first-inning walk in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Mets, Andre Ethier goes 0-for-4, ending his 30-game hitting streak. The L.A. outfielder falls one game short of the franchise record set in 1969 by Willie Davis, who enjoyed a 31-game hitting streak that season.
  • 2014 Adrian Beltre becomes the fifth player in major league history to hit 100 home runs for three different teams when he goes deep in the Rangers’ 9-2 loss to Colorado at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The 35 year-old third baseman, who joins Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Darrell Evans, and Reggie Jackson in accomplishing the feat, hit 147 homers for the Dodgers (1998-2004) and 103 with the Mariners (2005-09).

Rest in Peace, Vida Blue. Roger Angell once reported that Charlie Finley had tried to get Blue to change his name from Vida to True. Given Angell’s sense of humor, I’m not sure he was telling the truth. On the other hand, it does sound like something Finley would suggest.

Lineups when available.

May 06

Game 34, 2023

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Dodgers at Padres, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: BSSD, SPNLA

RHP Dustin May (3-1,3.15 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and LHP Blake Snell (1-4, 5.28 ERA) goes for the Padres.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1937 Dodgers and Giants fans attending afternoon ball games at both the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field are thrilled to have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Hindenburg when the passenger airship appears over New York, nearing the end of its maiden voyage of the season from Germany. A few hours later, the majestic German zeppelin will explode on a landing strip in Lakehurst, N.J., killing 36 of its passengers.
  • 1947 In a small office high up behind home plate at Ebbets Field, National League president Ford Frick meets with seven Cardinal players individually, revealing he is aware of their secret plan to strike as a protest to Jackie Robinson playing for the Dodgers. The usually non-confrontational leader of the Senior Circuit makes his position clear about their planned boycott, telling the Redbird conspirators they will encounter quick retribution from his office that will include suspensions from baseball.
  • 1978 After going deep as a pinch hitter on May 2, Lee Lacy becomes the first major leaguer to pinch-hit home runs in consecutive at-bats. The Dodgers’ super sub will make it three in a row on May 17.
  • 2009 With a 10-3 victory over Washington, the Dodgers break the major league mark for consecutive victories at home to open a season with their 13th straight win in L.A. The previous record of 12 was established in 1911 by the Tigers.
  • 2015 Bob Uecker, along with fellow broadcasters Joe Block and Jeff Levering, longtime engineer Kent Sommerfeld, and his assistant, Mary Burns, become trapped for several innings as the result of a broken lock on the Miller Park’s radio broadcast booth door. A crew of workmen, using a ladder positioned on the loge level, climbed into the booth to remove the door from its hinges, while the announcers’ play-by-play continued to detail the action of Brewers and Dodgers game on the field.

    “People who are listening to the ballgame, I know what you’re thinking. He’s ready for the home. He’s cooked. It’s finally happened. He’s seeing ladders and doors without handles.” – BOB UECKER, explaining being trapped for several innings by a broken lock on the radio broadcast booth’s door.

  • 2021 The Angels designated Albert Pujols, hitting .198 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 86 at-bats, for assignment, releasing the aging superstar after he clears waivers. The reigning World Champion Dodgers will sign the 41-year-old future first-ballot Hall of Famer to a one-year deal for the prorated share of the $570,500 league minimum, with the $30-million remaining in his 10-year, $240-million contract the responsibility of the Halos. It worked out well for the Dodgers: Pujols had a slash line of .259/.299/.460 with 12 HRs and 38 RBIs in 85 games with the team.

Lineups when available.

May 05

Game 33, 2023

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Dodgers at Padres, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports San Diego, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-1, 1.89 ERA) pitches for the visiting Dodgers while RHP Yu Darvish (1-2, 3.60 ERA) takes the ball for the Friars.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1953 In the second game of a twin bill at Milwaukee’s County Stadium, Braves’ hurler Max Surkont strikes out the hitter for the third out of the second inning, and will continue to fan batters until there is one out in the fifth inning en route to a 10-3 victory over the Reds. The eight consecutive strikeouts establish a new major league record, surpassing the mark of seven straight strikeouts shared by Dazzy Vance (Robins aka Dodgers, 1924) and Van Lingle Mungo (Dodgers, 1936).
  • 1955 In his first major league start, Dodger rookie starter Tommy Lasorda ties a record, throwing three wild pitches in the first inning of the team’s 4-3 victory over St. Louis at Ebbets Field. The future Dodgers’ Hall of Fame skipper, during his one inning of work, will be spiked by Wally Moon while covering a play at home plate after uncorking on of his errant pitches.
  • 1962 In just his fourth big league start, Bo Belinsky throws the first hitless game in Angels history and the first one ever tossed at Dodger Stadium, beating the Orioles, 2-0. The 25 year-old southpaw is only the tenth rookie to throw a no-hitter.
  • 2000 Former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda is named manager of the United States’ Olympic baseball team. The Hall of Fame pilot won four National League pennants and two World Series titles with Los Angeles.
  • 2008 At Coors Field, Derek Lowe throws 43 pitches before he retires the first Rockies batter of the game. The Dodgers starting pitcher never recovers from the 50-pitch, three-run first inning, leaving after the fifth of a 7-2 eventual loss to Colorado.
  • 2008 In the 4,000th game played at Dodger Stadium, Joe Torre’s Dodgers beat the Mets, 5-1. The Los Angeles skipper also managed in the 1,000th game at the Astrodome (Mets – 1977) and Coors Field (Yankees – 2007), the 2,000th at Busch Stadium (Cardinals – 1991), the 3,000th at Angel Stadium (Yankees – 2003), and the 6,000th at Yankee Stadium (Yankees -2001).
  • 2009 The Dodgers tie the major league record of 12 consecutive wins at home to start the season with their 3-1 victory over Arizona. L.A.’s 12-0 start at home equals the mark set by the Tigers in 1911.

Lineups when available.

May 03

Game 32, 2023

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Phillies at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: NBCSP, SPNLA

The Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (2-2, 4.46 ERA) goes against the Dodgers’ rookie RHP Gavin Stone (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 In a controversial move, Branch Rickey trades five Dodgers, including southerner Kirby Higbe, to the Pirates for five-foot, six-inch left-hand-hitting outfielder Al Gionfriddo and $100,000. Some believe ‘the Mahatma’ made the deal to send a message to the team about his commitment to breaking the color barrier and his support of Jackie Robinson, the first black to play in the major leagues this century. It’s a darned good move, considering that Gionfriddo made a game-saving catch of a DiMaggio fly ball in Game 6 of that fall’s World Series.

  • 2004 Similarly to last season, the aging outfielder Rickey Henderson re-signs with the Atlantic League’s Bears, hoping for a shot of returning to the big leagues. The 45 year-old future Hall of Famer batted .339, hit eight home runs, drove in 33 runs, scored 52 runs, and stole nine bases for the Newark team last season before joining the Dodgers in July.
  • 2009 Defeating San Diego 2-1 in 10 innings, the Dodgers tie a franchise record, winning their ninth consecutive decision at home from the start of the season. The 1946 club also reeled off nine straight victories at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field at the beginning of the post-war campaign.

Lineups when available.

May 02

Game 31, 2023

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Phillies at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, NBCSP, SPNLA

LHP Matt Strahm (2-2, 2.31 ERA) goes to the hill for the Phillies and LHP Julio Urías (3-3, 4.41 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1912 At South End Grounds, the hometown Braves score ten runs in the first two innings and hold on to defeat the Superbas (Dodgers), 11-7. Brooklyn scores four runs in the bottom of the third to knock out Boston’s starter Buster Brown.
  • 1928 With the bases loaded and two out in the ninth inning, Giants’ manager John McGraw orders that Dodger rookie Del Bissonette be intentionally walked with the bases loaded by Larry Benton, forcing home a run. The strategy works when Harry Riconda strikes out, giving New York a 2-1 victory in the Polo Grounds contest.
  • 1958 George Weiss denies any reprisals, but the New York GM warns the National League there will be consequences, interpreted by some as a nationwide Yankees network, if teams continue to flood the market with games, trying to fill the void created when the Dodgers and Giants left the Big Apple. The Phillies have already committed to broadcast 78 of its games in NYC, with the Cardinals and Pirates making plans to show their home games in the Big Apple when they play against the West Coast teams.strong>1995 Hideo Nomo becomes the first Japanese native to play in the majors since Masanori Murakami appeared with the Giants in 1964. The 26-year-old right-hander from Osaka pitches five scoreless innings of one-hit ball but doesn’t win when the Dodgers blow a 3-0 lead, bowing to San Francisco at Candlestick Park, 4-3.
  • 2019 Noah Syndergaard homers en route to blanking the Reds at Citi Field, making it the seventh time in major league history that a pitcher’s round-tripper accounts for the game’s only run in a 1-0 shutout. ‘Thor’ becomes the first Met to accomplish the feat and the first since Dodger right-hander Bob Welch went deep for the only run in his complete-game victory in 1983.

One more notable event on this date: in 1917 southpaw Hippo Vaughn of Chicago and Reds righty Fred Toney throw no-hitters against one another through the first nine innings at Weeghman Park. The deadlock is broken in the top of the tenth with a one-out single by Larry Kopf, an error, and an infield hit by Jim Thorpe, and Toney then sets the Cubs down in order to preserve his extra-inning gem.

This Nike ad first appeared on this date in 1999:

Lineups when available.

May 01

Game 30, 2023

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Phillies at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: NBCSP, SPNLA

The Phillies hand RHP Taijuan Walker (2-1, 4.97 ERA) the ball to start the series, while the Dodgers give theirs to RHP Tony Gonsolin (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who’ll be making just his second start of the season. He went 3 1/3 innings in his first.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1906 At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, Philadelphia southpaw John Lush strikes out 11 batters en route to throwing a 6-0 no-hitter against the Superbas, a team that will become known as the Dodgers in 1911. There will not be another no-hitter by a Phillies pitcher until Jim Bunning’s perfect game against the Mets in 1964.
  • 1920 The longest game ever played ends after 26 innings in a 1-1 tie, with Brooklyn Robin right-hander Leon Cadore and the Braves hurler Joe Oeschger, also right-handed, both go the distance for their respective clubs. Boston third baseman Charlie Pick establishes the major league record for hitless at-bats in one game, going 0-for-11 in the marathon.
  • 1965 Tommy Davis, trying to break up a double play, dislocates and breaks his ankle sliding into second base in the fourth inning of the team’s 4-2 victory over the Giants at Dodger Stadium. The two-time National League batting champ will not play again this year until he appears as a pinch-hitter in the season finale.
  • 1972 Philadelphia starter Dick Selma goes the distance, three-hitting the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine, 2-1. The victory is the fifth consecutive complete-game thrown by a Phillies starter, with Steve Carlton, Woody Fryman, Barry Lersch, and Bill Champion each finishing their game without help from the bullpen in team’s previous four contests.
  • 1974 Tom Seaver strikes out 16 Dodgers, giving up only three hits in twelve innings of work, but gets a no-decision when the Mets lose the Chavez Ravine contest in 14 innings, 2-1. Steve Garvey strokes a walk-off single to center field off Harry Parker, scoring Billy Buckner with the winning run.
  • 2000 The Braves establish a franchise-record 14th straight victory, with a 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium. Quilvio Veras’ third-inning homer proves to be the difference.
  • 2009 With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Duaner Sanchez walks Russell Martin, who checks his swing on a full count with the bases loaded, bringing home the winning run in L.A.’s 1-0 triumph over the Padres. The win keeps the Dodgers undefeated at home, extending their record at Chavez Ravine to 8-0 with their ‘walk-off’ victory.
  • 2012 With the final payment received on the record $2.15-billion purchase price, Frank McCourt’s turbulent era of the Dodger ownership comes to an end. The team’s new ownership group, fronted by Magic Johnson and incoming club president Stan Kasten, includes Mark Walter, chief executive of the Chicago-based Guggenheim Financial, who arranged the financing and holds a controlling interest in the franchise.

Lineups when available.

Apr 30

Game 29, 2023

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Cardinals at Dodgers , 1:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Midwest, SPNLA

RHP Jake Woodford (1-2, 5.47 ERA) takes the hill for the Cardinals and RHP Noah Syndergaard (0-3, 6.58 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1940 The Dodgers tie the major league mark for consecutive wins from the beginning of the season with style as James ‘Tex’ Carleton no-hits the Reds, 3-0, for the team’s ninth straight victory since Opening Day.
  • 1944 In the first game of a doubleheader split, first baseman Phil Weintraub gets 11 RBIs, and player-manager Mel Ott scores six runs, drawing five walks in the Giants’ 26-8 rout of the Dodgers. Brooklyn wins the nightcap 5-4 in a game shortened due to darkness.
  • 1988 Dave Winfield ties the major league RBI record for April established by Dodger infielder Ron Cey in 1977 and matched by Dale Murphy of the Braves in 1985. The right fielder, who was on base at least once in every game, drives in his 28th and 29th runs of the month in the Yankees’ 15-3 rout of Texas in New York.

Sad news for the Cardinals’ radio listeners: Mike Shannon has died. He spent nine years playing for the team and 50 years broadcasting their games on radio.

Lineups when available.