Category Archives: Game Threads

For discussion of today’s game

Aug 16

Game 119, 2017

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White Sox at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-C

The White Sox try to get a split of this series tonight, sending out YALHP Carlos Rodon (1-4, 4.24 ERA) to face the Dodgers’ big (6′ 5″, 220 lbs) trade deadline acquisition, RHP Yu Darvish (8-9, 3.81).

This will be Darvish’s home debut, and if he continues the way he did in his first two starts for the Dodgers he’ll please the crowd, his teammates and management. Since his acquisition he’s 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and has 20 strikeouts to only three walks in 12 innings. He also has finished off a strikeout with 30.3 percent of his two-strike pitches. Rodon’s last start against the Astros was his best of the season. He went 8 innings and gave up just two runs but got no decision for all his work.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1950 At the Polo Grounds, Hank Thompson’s two inside-the-park home runs off Don Bankhead and Carl Erskine contribute to the Giants’ 16-7 drubbing of the Dodgers. The 24 year-old third baseman will hit 129 round-trippers in his 9-year career, three of which will be of the IPHR variety.
  • 1964 St. Louis outfielder Curt Flood collects eight consecutive hits during a doubleheader against Dodgers pitching. The Cardinals split the twin bill in Los Angeles, losing the opener to Sandy Koufax, 3-0, but take the nightcap when Curt Simmons tosses a six hitter to give the Redbirds a 4-0 victory.

Babe Ruth died in New York City on this day in 1948.

Lineup:

I suspect Kiké is in the lineup because he homered twice off Rodon in his only other start against the Dodgers back in July.

Aug 15

Game 118, 2017

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White Sox at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, WGN, MLBN (out-of-market only)

RHP Miguel Gonzalez (6-10, 4.85 ERA) goes for the Sox in this two-game interleague series, while LHP Alex Wood (14-1, 2.37 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers.

Four of the five starts Gonzalez has made since the All Star break meet the “quality start” standard. Seven of Wood’s last nine starts do. The Sox hit southpaws very well: they have the third-highest batting average (.279) and slugging percentage (.435) in their league against lefties.

Chris Hatcher has been traded for international bonus pool space and Segedin has been reinstated from the 60-day DL.

This day 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.
  • 1951With 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.

Puig moves to 6th from 8th in the order. Roberts says production will dictate whether he stays there.

Aug 13

Game 117, 2017

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Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

The visiting Padres send RHP Luis Perdomo (6-6, 4.81 ERA) to the mound to face the Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda (10-4, 3.69 ERA) in a Sunday afternoon game.

Perdomo gets 62 percent of balls in play to hit the ground, tops among all NL pitchers with 100+ innings. He’s induced 22 ground-ball double plays this year, tied for third in all of baseball. Maeda has had trouble all year getting past the sixth inning, and his last time out was no exception. He went five and got no decision. He’s been in 20 games (18 starts) this season and has completed exactly 100 innings.

Hatcher reinstated, Farmer optioned.

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1910 In a game which features each team having 38 at-bats, 13 hits, 12 assists, 2 errors, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 hit batsman, and 1 passed ball, the Pirates and the Superbas (later to be known as the Dodgers) play to what else – an 8-8 tie.
  • 1951 Any fan who shows up with a musical instrument during the Dodgers’ Musical Depreciation Night is admitted free to the Ebbets Field contest against Boston. With an assortment of trumpets, trombones, zithers, tubas, accordions, bugles, flutes, various type of drums, violins, mandolins, assorted horns, a glockenspiel, a washboard, and a piano, 2,426 fans, which is about 10% of the total crowd, take advantage of the team’s unusual promotion.
  • 1965 Dean Chance establishes an American League record when he fans to extend his streak to 11 consecutive plate appearances with a strikeout. The Angels’ right-hander falls one shy of the major league mark set by Sandy Koufax, who whiffed in 12 consecutive plate appearances in 1955.
  • 1982 At Chavez Ravine, Dodger second baseman Steve Sax steals his 41st base to set a franchise record for rookies when he swipes second base in LA’s 6-1 victory over San Francisco. The eventual National League Rookie of the Year, the fourth consecutive Dodger to win the award, will extend the record to 49.
  • 2006 LA’s Greg Maddux and SF’s Jason Schmidt hook up in a classic West Coast pitcher’s duel, reminiscent of match-ups of Koufax and Marichal, as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 1-0, thanks to Russell Martin’s 10th inning walk-off home run. When Giants slugger Barry Bonds lines into a double play in the first inning, it marks the only time in baseball history a 300 game winner pitches to a batter with over 700 homers.
  • 2007 For the first time in 1,303 games, Nomar Garciaparra of the Dodgers is ejected from a game. The 12-year veteran infielder, who is tossed by home plate umpire Tom Hallion for arguing a called third strike in the fourth inning, is restrained by first base coach Mariano Duncan when he continues to shout and points his bat toward the umpire.

Lineup when available.

Aug 12

Game 116, 2017

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

The Padres’ RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-8, 4.15 ERA) faces the Dodgers’ LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 3.53 ERA). Chacin pitched 5 shutout innings against the Dodgers in Petco Park on July 2; he’s had his road troubles (7.36 ERA) but in his last 12 starts he’s put up a 3.21 ERA overall. Ryu’s last start was his best of the year, and in fact he’s thrown 15 straight scoreless innings and is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in his last six appearances.

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 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 115, 2017

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

LHP Clayton Richard (5-12, 5.17 ERA) goes for the Padres while LHP Rich Hill (8-4, 3.47 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Richard hasn’t won in two months, but in his last start he went six innings while giving up four unearned runs, which for the Padres is seen as a positive sign. Hill had a weird start the last time he pitched, giving up three home runs in the first inning but only two more hits through the next five innings, after which he came out of the game. The Dodgers rallied to win, so Hill still hasn’t lost a game since June.

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.
  • 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.

Lineup when available.

Aug 10

Game 114, 2017

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

The Dodgers send Yu Darvish (7-9, 3.81 ERA) to make his second start in the NL; his first was a rousing success. He’ll face YALHP Anthony Banda (1-1. 3.86 ERA), who got his first big league win in his most recent start.

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 tenth 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 when available.

Aug 09

Game 113, 2017

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 3:40 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

Two thirteen-game winners face off tonight at Chase Field: the Dodgers’ LHP Alex Wood (13-1, 2.33 ERA) against the D-Backs’ RHP Zack Greinke (13-4, 3.10 ERA). Wood cited fatigue as a reason for a drop in his velocity (his fastball had a 90.8-mph average, lowest of the year) in his last start but says a change in mechanics has resolved that. Greinke saw his ERA jump nearly a full point from 2.12 to 3.10 after he gave up six earned runs in six innings in his last start.

Wood needs to be careful with A.J. Pollock; he has a .462 batting average and two homers in 13 career at-bats against the Dodgers’ lefty.

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.

Lineup:

Aug 08

Game 112, 2017

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-A

The Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda (10-4, 3.79 ERA) has won his last four starts. He’ll face the D-Backs’ Zack Godley (5-4, 2.86 ERA), who hasn’t allowed a run in his last thirteen innings (two starts).

Sports Illustrated has an article about the Dodgers and the Darvish acquisition.

Brock Stewart has been recalled while Luis Avilan goes on the paternity list.

On this date 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 GLBT organizations and continue sensitivity training for all its employees.

Today in 1941 Les Brown and his Orchestra record “Joltin’ Joe” for Columbia Records. The song about Yankee outfielder Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak will be played incessantly on radio stations across the country, eventually reaching number 12 on the charts.

Lineup when available.

Aug 06

Game 111, 2017

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Dodgers at Mets, 5:00 PM PT, TV: ESPN

If the Dodgers win they’ll sweep the season series with the Metropolitans.

A win on Sunday would also give the Dodgers their first sweep in New York since July 20-22, 2012, and would give them their first season sweep of the Mets ever. The Dodgers took five of six games from New York in 1981, 2009, and 2013, and won 16 of 18 in 1962 and 1963, but have never dropped a seasonal bagel on the Big Apple.

The Dodgers send LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 3.83 ERA) to the mound to face LHP Steven Matz (2-4, 5.30 ERA). Ryu has been very good in his last four starts, giving up just six runs and striking out 23. He has been far better at home than on the road, however; he’s got a 4.25 ERA and opponents are hitting .295 against him in their own parks. Matz is 0-2 with a 12.21 ERA in four starts after the All-Star break.

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:

Aug 05

Game 110, 2017

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Dodgers at Mets, 1:05 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SNY, FS1

The Dodgers send July’s NL Pitcher of the Month Rich Hill (8-4, 3.35 ERA) to the mound to face RHP Seth Lugo (5-3, 4.53 ERA).

Hill has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 12 of his 15 starts, and he went 4-0 with a 1.45 ERA in July. Lugo was 2-2 with a 5.29 ERA in July. He’s gone 3-0 against NL West teams this year, albeit with a rather unsightly 4.91 ERA.

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.