Category Archives: Dodgers History

Aug 12

Game 119, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Rockies, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet-RM

The Dodgers have to shake off Saturday night’s ninth-inning walk-off calamity and win this game to gain a split in the series against a team that’s only 1 1/2 games behind them in the hunt for first place in the NL West. To do so they’ll give LHP Rich Hill (5-4, 3.62 ERA) the ball. He’s 4-1 in his last seven games with a 2.41 ERA over those 37 1/3 innings. He’ll face RHP Chad Bettis (5-2, 5.62 ERA) of the Rockies. He’s made one start since returning from the disabled list where he’d been with a right middle finger blister, and that didn’t go well. He gave up nine runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Pirates.

Kenta Maeda and Ross Stripling move to the bullpen for now. One wonders how the current relievers feel about that.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1984 Former Dodgers Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese, along with Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, American League hurler Rick Ferrell, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In 2006 the Portland Beavers honor Rodney McCray, the former Vancouver Canadian who gain everlasting notoriety in 1991 when he literally ran through the right field plywood fence trying to catch Chip Hale’s fly ball in Portland’s Civic Stadium. The PCL team commemorates the memorable play with a bobble head promotion which features the moment of impact and renames the right field area of their current ballpark “McCray Alley.”

In a great moment of fan history, in 2014 Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home run balls, both off the bat of the Astros’ DH Chris Carter. In the third inning of Houston’s 10-4 victory over Minnesota, the Springfield (VA) resident gets his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field, and then in the fifth frame, against astronomical odds, catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, which is a laser shot hit directly to his seat.

Lineup when available.


Aug 11

Game 118, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet-RM

In the third game of this four-game set the Dodgers send out their rookie RHP Walker Buehler (4-4, 3.65 ERA) to face the Rockies’ LHP Kyle Freeland (10-7, 3.04 ERA). In his last start Buehler gave up a leadoff HR to George Springer (that’s not unusual) but recovered, pitched into the sixth inning and got a win against the Astros. Freeland threw seven shutout innings against the Pirates in his last start; he started against the Dodgers on May 23, giving up three runs in 6 1/3 innings and taking the loss.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1946 Sweeping a doubleheader, the Phillies end the Dodgers’ 18-game winning streak, a major league record, in Philadelphia. The Dodgers hadn’t lost in the City of Brotherly Love since May 5, 1945.
  • 1950 Vern Bickford, throwing just 97 pitches, no-hits the Dodgers at Braves’ Field, 7-0. The 29 year-old right-hander hurls the first hitless game for Boston since Jim Tobin accomplished the feat, also against Brooklyn, on April 27, 1944.
  • 1951 WCBS-TV televises the first baseball game broadcast in color, a Braves’ 8-1 victory over the hometown Dodgers in the first game of a twin bill at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn’s announcers Red Barber and Connie Desmond provide the play-by-play commentary.
  • 1969 Don Drysdale announces his retirement. The last Dodger to have played in Brooklyn, Drysdale will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.
  • 2015 The Blue Jays, Rays, Marlins, Mets, Indians, Cubs, Royals, White Sox, Twins, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Padres, Dodgers, and Giants all win, making it the first time in the live ball era that every contest is won by the home team in a full slate of games. The unique occurrence became a reality when the two last games to finish end in extra innings, with the host clubs enjoying a walk-off victory.

Rockies lineup watchers take note: on this day in 2016 Rockies rookie outfielder David Dahl singles to right field off Rangers starter Lucas Harrell, giving him a hit in 17 straight games to start his big league career. The 22 year-old freshman’s streak, in which he is batting .365 (23-of-63), equals the mark established by Reds third baseman Chuck Aleno, who also hit in his first major league 17 games in May of 1941. The streak ended the next day.

There were some nice compliments for Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser from various folks on Twitter, including one from old friend Brandon McCarthy.

Lineup:


Aug 10

Game 117, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet-RM

The Dodgers send RHP Kenta Maeda (7-7, 3.73 ERA) to the mile-high mound at Coors Field tonight to face the Rockies’ Jon Gray (9-7, 4.73 ERA). Maeda’s ERA since the All Star break is 6.88 due mostly to four homer runs allowed, two of them three-run shots. Gray had a two-start trip to Albuquerque (it still seems weird to have a AAA team in that city that’s not affiliated with the Dodgers) and since his return has posted a 1.52 ERA in four starts.

This date 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 has previously shared the mark with Don Drysdale. (Ed. note: 50! In his eleventh 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.

Jansen is “probably” out for a month, a source tells Ken Rosenthal.

Jon W. asks “Which starter should go into the bullpen in light of Kenley’s absence?”

Lineup:


Aug 09

Game 116, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet-RM

RHP Ross Stripling (8-3, 2.68 ERA) comes off the DL where he’s been with a big toe injury just in time to take Alex Wood’s spot in the rotation; Wood has been placed on the DL with tendinitis in his left hip. Let’s hope Stripling’s toe was the cause of his dramatic fall-off since the All Star game; he had an ERA of 2.08 before the break but it’s 9.35 in his appearances since then. He’ll face the Rockies’ LHP Tyler Anderson (6-4, 4.05 ERA), who’s made two starts against the Dodgers and gone 1-0, although he gave up five runs in five innings on June 1 at Coors Field.

To make room for Stripling the Dodgers optioned Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

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 08

Game 115, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Athletics, 7:05 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, NBCSCA, MLBN (out-of-market only)

Lefty Clayton Kershaw (5-5, 2.55 ERA) has reached the .500 mark much later this season than he or the Dodgers anticipated, but he appears to have hit his stride after multiple trips to the disabled list. He gave up two runs in six innings in his last start. He’ll face the Athletics’ newly-acquired Mike Fiers, who’ll make his debut for Oakland after arriving from the Tigers last week. He was 7-6 with a 3.48 ERA for Detroit, which was pretty good for a team that’s 20 games under .500 this year.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1903 In the third inning of the 4-3 nightcap loss to New York at the Polo Grounds, Dodger starter Henry Schmidt is thrown out of the game after he throws the baseball out of the park. The Brooklyn hurler became very angry when opposing pitcher Joe McGinnity dashed home from third base while his infielders were arguing the close call at the bag.
  • 1954 Gil Hodges comes to bat three times in the eighth inning when the Dodgers score 13 runs en route to a 20-7 rout of the Reds at Ebbets Field. The first baseman will go 1-for-3 in the frame with a leadoff triple, but will be responsible for all three outs when he hits into a double play and flies out to centerfield to end the Brooklyn barrage.
  • 1957 Club President Walter O’Malley makes it official, announcing the Dodgers will play in Los Angeles next season. The club’s departure from Brooklyn corresponds with the massive social shift taking place in the borough that finds many of its former residents leaving for the suburbs of Long Island.
  • 2000 Cubs hurler Phil Norton becomes the 18th pitcher in major league history to give up four homers in one inning in the Dodgers’ 7-5 victory at Chavez Ravine. Kevin Elster, Darren Dreifort, Gary Sheffield, and Shawn Green all take the 24 year-old southpaw deep in the bottom of the fourth inning.
  • 2000 Darren Dreifort hits two home runs and gets the win in the Dodgers’ 7-5 victory over the Cubs. The starting pitcher, who hurls 6.2 innings, goes deep in the bottom of the fourth and fifth frames.
  • 2000 After kissing one another in the seventh inning, a female couple is abruptly asked to leave Dodger Stadium immediately and are told never to “set foot back on the premises” for “lewd behavior”. The pair had planned to sue the organization, but ended up not doing so after the team apologized, promising to contribute 5,000 tickets to LGBT organizations and continue sensitivity training for all its employees. [Note: The Dodgers held their sixth annual LGBT Night in 2018.]

Lineup when available.


Aug 07

Game 114, 2018

Posted on by

Dodgers at Athletics, 4:05 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, NBCSCA

LHP Rich Hill (4-4, 3.63 ERA) takes his hot streak to Oakland to face the Athletics’ LHP Sean Manaea (10-7, 3.38 ERA). Hill has lowered his ERA from 6.20 to the current 3.63 in the last two months and has given up just two earned runs in his last 20 innings. Manaea hasn’t given up more than three earned runs in a game since May 30.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2003 Fireballer Eric Gagne ties the single-season record for consecutive saves to start a season, established in 1995 by Jose Mesa of the Indians. The Dodger closer strikes out the Reds’ side in the ninth inning for his 38th save this season and 46th consecutive regular-season save overall.

Lineup when available.


Aug 05

Game 113, 2018

Posted on by

Astros at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsnet-SW, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Astros try to sweep this series with RHP Gerrit Cole (10-3, 2.55 ERA) taking the mound against the Dodgers’ RHP Walker Buehler (4-4, 3.65 ERA). The last time Cole pitched in Dodger Stadium was August of 2016; he was a Pirate then. He had an excellent June but a so-so July. Buehler spent time on the DL with a microfractured rib (is that what we used to call a cracked rib?) and hadn’t had a really good outing since he came back until his last start on July 31, when he went seven innings, gave up one earned run, struck out seven and walked none. He still got the loss as the Dodgers couldn’t score a single run in that game against the Brewers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1954 Stan Musial, in a 13-4 rout of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, paces the Cardinals attack, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs. The defeat is Preacher Roe’s first loss to St. Louis at Ebbets Field in four years.
  • 1969 With a titanic blast that clears the right-field pavilion, Willie Stargell becomes the first player to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. The 506-foot round-tripper helps the Pirates defeat LA, 11-3.

  • 1979 Don Sutton, surpassing Don Drysdale, becomes the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader with 2,487 when he fans six in an 8-1 victory over San Francisco at Chavez Ravine. After establishing the mark, and receiving a two-minute standing ovation that he acknowledges by tipping his cap, the right-hander is charged with an automatic ball due to running his fingers across his lips while thanking the crowd.
  • 1979 Outfielders Willie Mays (Giants, Mets) and Hack Wilson (Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, and Phillies) are enshrined into the Hall of Fame. Baseball administrator Warren Giles, who served as the president of the National League from 1951 to 1969, is also inducted during the Cooperstown ceremony.

Lineup when available.


With all the interchangeable parts Dave Roberts has and uses, I’m thinking of calling him Casey Stengel II.

Aug 04

Game 112, 2018

Posted on by

Astros at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATT SportsNet-SW

RHP Lance McCullers (10-6, 4.06 ERA) tries to snap a personal three-game losing streak in which he’s got a 9.22 ERA over 13 2/3 innings. He’ll face the Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda (7-6, 3.48 ERA), who was 2-1 for July but whose loss came in his last start of the month, when he gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Brewers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1908 In Brooklyn, the last-place Cardinals blank the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), 3-0. The entire Washington Park contest is played with just one ball.
  • 1941 Mickey Owens becomes the first catcher to handle three foul pop ups in one frame. The Brooklyn backstop’s third inning defense contributes to the Dodgers’ 11-6 victory over New York at Ebbets Field.
  • 1942 In a military relief game at the Polo Grounds, which will be the last war-time twilight game played, Pee Wee Reese’s grand slam in the top of the ninth, which puts the Dodgers up 5-1, doesn’t count, because of the 9:10 pm government curfew. The game ends up as a 1-1 tie with the Giants.
  • 1948 Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber, who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Daper to the Atlanta Crackers.

Lineup when available.


Kiké at first? Bellinger off? What is Roberts thinking?

Aug 03

Game 111, 2018

Posted on by

Astros at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATT Sportsnet-SW

Obviously this is a rematch of last year’s World Series, won by the Astros in seven games. RHP Justin Verlander (10-6, 2.24 ERA) starts for the Astros and LHP Alex Wood (7-5, 3.68 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Verlander started Games 2 and 6 last fall and went six innings each time, giving up a total of five runs. Wood pitched twice as well, starting in one game and relieving in another. He gave up just one run in 7 2/3 innings. Verlander is 1-4 with a 3.54 ERA in his last eight starts, while Wood is 6-0 in his last eight decisions with a 2.61 ERA over that stretch.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 In the second All-Star Game played this summer, Yogi Berra’s two-run home run off Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale in the third inning at the LA Memorial Coliseum proves to be the difference in the American League’s 5-3 victory over the Senior Circuit. The home run will be the last one hit by a Bronx Bomber in a Mid-Summer Classic game for 41 years until Derek Jeter goes deep in 2001.
  • 1995 Making his first start for the Rockies since being acquired from the Mets, Brett Saberhagen gives up 13 hits and walks three batters, but gets the win in the team’s 9-4 win over the Dodgers. The sellout crowd gives their new hurler an enthusiastic standing ovation when he departs the game with one out in the seventh inning.
  • 1997 Jeromy Burnitz, coming off the bench in the Brewers’ 6-5 loss to Seattle at County Stadium, homers as a pinch hitter for the second consecutive time, tying an American League record. The major league mark for consecutive pinch-hit appearances with a home run is three, shared by Lee Lacy (Dodgers – May 2, 6, and 17, 1978) and Del Unser (Phillies – June 30, July 5 and 10, 1979).
  • 2013 The first-place Dodgers set a franchise record, winning their 13th consecutive game on the road with their 3-0 victory over the Cubs in Chicago. The Giants established the National League mark in 1916 when the team won 17 straight games away from the Polo Grounds.

Today the Dodgers celebrate Andre Ethier, who announced his retirement last month. Here’s a summary of his career from the official Dodgers blog.

Lineup:


Aug 02

Game 110, 2018

Posted on by

Brewers at Dodgers, 6:00 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, FSWI, Dish455

The Brewers send ace RHP Jhoulys Chacín (10-3, 3.45 ERA) to the hill to face the Dodgers’ ace LHP Clayton Kershaw (4-5, 2.52 ERA). Had Kershaw not been on the DL for nearly a month this season I suspect his W-L record would be as scintillating as his ERA is. Chacín has gone 18 innings in his last three starts and given up just three earned runs over that stretch. People are fussing about Kershaw’s lower velocity so far this year, but he’s still getting people out and his strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio of 9.17 is only one below what he averaged from 2014-2017.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 Bright yellow baseballs designed by Frederick Rah, who believes the visibility of the dandelion-hue sphere will help players avoid getting hit by a pitch, are used in the first game of a doubleheader. The one-game experiment draws mixed reactions and the Dodgers complete their sweep of the twin bill from the Cardinals, 6-2 and 9-3, using the traditional white ball in the nightcap.
  • 1982 During a ceremony held in Cooperstown, NY, the United States Postal Service unveils a 20-cent stamp commemorating baseball great Jackie Robinson as part of its annual Black Heritage series. The Dodger infielder becomes the first individual baseball player to be depicted on a U.S postage stamp.

  • 2002 Reds general manager Jim Bowden is fined by commissioner Bud Selig for the comments he made to reporters prior to yesterday’s game against the Dodgers comparing a baseball strike with the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Quickly realizing the use of such analogy was inappropriate and insensitive, the Cincinnati GM issues an immediate apology after the game.
  • 2008 In the first game after the Manny Ramirez trade to the Dodgers, the Fenway Faithful enthusiastically welcome Jason Bay, the player replacing the Boston icon. The former Pirates outfielder doesn’t disappoint, tripling and scoring the winning run in the 12th inning of the Red Sox’s 2-1 victory over the A’s.
  • 2017 The Dodgers lost to the Braves, ending their nine-game winning streak. Had they won it would have been the third time that season they’d have won ten straight. The bullpen gave up the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta.

Lineup when available.


Turner’s back from the DL, which moves Machado back to SS. Muncy’s back after a day off and Bellinger moves to CF. That means Kemp and Taylor get the night off unless they’re need for pinch-hitting duties.