Jun 20

Game 72, 2017

Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SNY, ESPN (out-of-market only)

The Mets send LA native RHP Robert Gsellman (5-4, 5.50 ERA) out to make his first ever start in California. He’ll face the Dodgers’ increasingly-consistent righthander Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.14 ERA).

Gsellmann has not had a good year and if not for injuries to other starters he’d probably be in the bullpen or in the minors trying to get his mojo back. Instead he’s started 12 games for the Mets this year and put up a 5.71 ERA while doing so. McCarthy, on the other hand, came back from a dislocated left (non-throwing) shoulder injury and has put up a 1.91 ERA in his last five starts.

For the statheads:

Entering Monday, no full-time starter had allowed a lower rate of “hard-hit” balls (those with exit velocities of at least 95 mph) than McCarthy’s 21.4 percent, and no pitcher had allowed a lower rate of barrels (the most favorable batted balls for hitters, yielding expected batting averages of at least .500 and slugging percentages of at least 1.500) than McCarthy’s 2.2 percent.

Here are videos of Bellinger’s five most memorable HRs in this young season, per CutFour.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2008 In recognition of their significant contributions to the community, the Dodgers become the first sports franchise to be honored by the Hollywood Historic Trust and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The team receives an Award of Excellence star, which is placed in the Walk of Fame, which includes a constellation of celebrities, real and fictional, who have had a major impact on the entertainment industry.
  • 2009 Jeff Weaver beats his kid brother Jered when the visiting Dodgers best the Halos, 6-5, at Angel Stadium. The Northridge, California natives become the eighth set of siblings in major league history to start against one another.

Lineup when available.

Jun 19

Game 71, 2017

Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SNY

This will be the first time the Mets’ RHP Zach Wheeler (3-4, 4.48 ERA) pitches against the Dodgers. He’ll face LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-2, 2.23 ERA).

Wheeler had a pretty good May and June until his last outing, when he was shelled by the Cubs, giving up eight runs in only 1 2/3 innings. He’s coming off Tommy John surgery and has already thrown 64 1/3 innings, which the Mets say is about halfway to the point where they want to shut him down. Kershaw threw seven good innings in his last start against the Indians, and he’s working on an extra day of rest, too. He has been more susceptible to the gopher ball this year than in the past; he’s given up 13 already this season, three short of his career high.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1952 Carl Erskine throws a no-hitter against the Cubs in the Dodgers’ 5-0 victory at Ebbets Field. A third inning walk to the opposing pitcher, which accounts for the only runner to reach base, may have been a result of skipper Chuck Dressen telling the 25 year-old right-hander to speed up his pitches due to an impending storm.
  • 1972 At Three Rivers Stadium, Roberto Clemente hits a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to become the Pirates’ all-time RBI leader. The Pittsburgh right fielder’s three ribbies in the 13-3 drubbing of the Dodgers give the future Hall of Famer a total of 1,274 runs batted in for the Bucs.
  • 1973 In different games, the Reds’ Pete Rose and Dodger Willie Davis both collect their 2,000th career hit. The Cincinnati infielder, known as ‘Charlie Hustle’, reaches the milestone with a single against San Francisco in the Reds’ 4-0 victory at Candlestick Park, and the L.A. outfielder, known as 3-Dog, reaches the plateau in front of the home crowd with a two-run home run in the team’s 3-0 victory over Atlanta.
  • 2003 During a College World Series contest against Stanford, a pitch strikes Cal State Fullerton shortstop Justin Turner on the left side of his face as he attempts to bunt. Adding insult to injury, the future Mets infielder also suffers a broken ankle on the play when he unsuccessfully tries to avoid getting hit by the 87-mph fastball thrown by Matt Manship.

Lineup when available.

Jun 18

Game 70, 2017

Dodgers at Reds, 10:10 AM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O

The Dodgers hope to sweep the series with this game, and they’ll send RHP Kenta Maeda (4-3, 4.95 ERA) out to try to win it. He’ll face old acquaintance Bronson Arroyo (3-5, 7.01 ERA).

Maeda has struggled this season, with only two quality starts in the ten games he’s started, but his last outing was a four-inning save against the Reds on June 9. If he pitches to that level again he may rejoin the Dodgers’ starting rotation.

Arroyo never threw a pitch for the Dodgers, but he came over from the Braves in the July 2015 trade in which they acquired Alex Wood, Mat Latos, Luis Avilan, Jose Peraza and Jim Johnson. He was injured at the time and the Braves were dumping his salary. He was granted free agency in November of that year and landed with the Reds. He may not last very long if his performance doesn’t improve, because Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan can come off the DL by the end of June.

Notes:

Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger has been clobbering the ball in June. On Tuesday, he became the fastest player to record at least four multihomer games. According to Statcast, as of Saturday, Bellinger is fifth in MLB in barrel rate (23.5 percent) and currently leads left-handed batters in hard contact rate against left-handed pitchers this season. His teammate Corey Seager ranks second in hard contact rate. Bellinger hit his 19th homer on Saturday.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 After accepting GM Larry MacPhail’s offer to coach first base, Babe Ruth wears a Dodger uniform for the first time as a coach and takes batting practice with the team. The ‘Bambino’ will quit at the end of the season, ending his ties with major league baseball.
  • 1940 Dodger Ducky Medwick, acquired in a trade less than a week ago, is beaned by former Cardinal teammate Bob Bowman and needs to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Brooklyn president Lee MacPhail accuses the St. Louis pitcher of deliberately hitting Medwick in the head because the two had quarreled in a hotel elevator prior to the game.
  • 1996 Brant Brown hits the first three home runs of his career on the same day. The 25 year-old rookie goes deep as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning off Chan Ho Park in a 9-6 loss to the Dodgers in the opener of a Wrigley Field twin bill, but his two additional round-trippers contribute to Chicago’s 7-4 victory in the nightcap.
  • 2014 With the only batter reaching base as a result of a throwing error by shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the seventh inning, Clayton Kershaw no-hits the Rockies at Dodger Stadium, striking out a career-high 15 batters. The left-hander’s teammate Josh Beckett also threw a no-hitter 24 days ago, making it the shortest span between no-hitters by a team since the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer accomplished it in consecutive starts, four days apart, in 1938.

Vinnie calls Kershaw’s no-hitter:

Lineup when available.

Jun 17

Game 69, 2017

Dodgers at Reds, 1:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O

LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-6, 4.42 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers, trying to get his first win in nearly a month. The Reds’ rookie RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 5.21 ERA) hasn’t won since May 20 himself. Ryu has given up four runs including four home runs in each of his last two starts. Wojciechowski has gone at least five innings in each of his last two starts after giving up three home runs over four innings in his first start with the Reds on May 30.

Before the game the Reds unveiled a bronze statue of Pete Rose in headlong slide, joining statues of Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez outside Great American Ballpark.

Dodgers farmhand Jair Jurrjens was suspended for 80 games by MLB for testing positive for testosterone. He’s 4-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 11 Pacific Coast League outings this season, including 10 starts.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1956 Joe Adcock’s ninth-inning home run off Brooklyn right-hander Ed Roebuck, his second round-tripper of the game, proves to be the game winner in the Braves’ 5-4 victory over the Dodgers. The blast to left field, which clears an 83-foot wall at the 350-foot mark, is believed to the only homer ever to land on the roof at Ebbets Field.
  • 1956 Fred Haney, named yesterday to replace Charlie Grimm , wins two games in his managerial debut with the Braves when the team sweeps a doubleheader against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, 5-4 and 3-1, starting a streak of 11 consecutive victories. The club’s former coach will compile a 341-231 (.596) record, guiding Milwaukee to two pennants and a world championship during his four seasons at the helm.
  • 1976 At Shea Stadium‚ Dave Kingman hits a walk-off homer to give the Mets a 1-0 victory over the Dodgers. Sky King’s game-ending blast comes off Charlie Hough in the 14th inning.
  • 1992 Dodger farmhand Mike Piazza, believing he was low balled in his contract negations, takes exception to the team giving a reported bonus of $500,00 to top draft pick Ryan Luzinski, a 220-pound catcher from Holy Cross High in Delran, New Jersey who will never play in a major league game. Next season, Piazza will be selected as the National League’s Rookie of the Year, and will hit .331 in seven seasons for LA.

Lineup:

Jun 16

Game 68, 2017

Dodgers at Reds, 4:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O

Lefty Alex Wood (6-0, 2.01 ERA) faces RHP Tim Adleman (4-2, 4.34 ERA). Wood pitched last Saturday and got no decision against the Reds, giving up three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. Adleman faced the Dodgers on Sunday and also got no decision, giving up three runs and five hits in five innings.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1933 Last year’s National League batting champ, Lefty O’Doul, and pitcher Watty Clark, a 20-game winner last season, are traded by the Dodgers to the Giants for first baseman Sam Leslie. Brooklyn’s newest infielder will bat .311 during his three seasons with the team, before returning to New York in 1936.

In non-Dodgers history of note:

  • 1978 Reds’ right-hander Tom Seaver no-hits the Cardinals at Riverfront Stadium, 4-0. The gem is Tom Terrific’s first no-no after taking a hitless game into the ninth inning three times during the first 12 years of his career.

Lineup when available.

Jun 15

Game 67, 2017

Dodgers at Indians, 9:10AM PT, TV: SPNLA, Sportstime Ohio, MLBN (out-of-market only)

Rich Hill (3-2, 3.77 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers against the Indians’ Josh Tomlin (3-8, 5.73 ERA) in this early starting day game. Hill’s been good when healthy, but he’s taxed the Dodgers’ bullpen; he’s not gotten into the sixth inning in any of his seven starts this season. He pitched for the Indians and manager Terry Francona in 2013. Tomlin has given up at least three runs in 9 of his 12 starts this year, and his last outing was one of his worst. He gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings against the White Sox on Saturday.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 In the first night game played in New York City, Johnny Vander Meer pitches his second consecutive no-hitter, beating the Dodgers at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, 6-0. Four days ago, the Reds’ southpaw held the Braves hitless in a 3-0 victory at Crosley Field.
  • 1951The Cubs trade Andy Pafko along with Johnny Schmitz, Wayne Terwilliger, and Rube Walker to the Dodgers for Bruce Edwards, Joe Hatten, Eddie Miksis, and Gene Hermanski. The deal, which prevents the coveted ‘Handy Andy’ from going to the rival Giants, is the first of many to be made by Buzzy Bavasi, Brooklyn’s new general manager.
  • 1996 In the first inning of their 6-2 victory over the Braves, the Dodgers turn their first triple play in forty-seven years. After making a running, back-to-the-plate grab of Chipper Jones’s popup to short left with runners on first and second, Juan Castro throws to second baseman Delino DeShields to double up Marquis Grissom, then the ball is relayed to first baseman Eric Karros to get Mark Lemke, who was also running on the pitch.

Lineup when available.

Jun 14

Game 66, 2017

Dodgers at Indians, 4:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, Sportstime Ohio, MLBN (out-of-market only)

Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 3.28 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and Corey Kluber (5-2, 4.38 ERA) pitches for the Indians.

McCarthy credits much of his success this year (his ERA is at a five-year low) to a newfound reliance on his cutter. He’s now throwing one nearly 32 percent of the time, up from 13 percent the previous three seasons. “I noticed that even bad ones were better than they had been in the past,” McCarthy said. This will be Kluber’s third start since coming off the 10-day DL (lower back strain). In his last two starts he threw six innings in each game, with 18 strikeouts, three walks and just three runs allowed. Before his trip to the DL he gave up seven homers in six starts; he hasn’t given up one since he came back from it.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2003 After being activated from the disabled list by the Dodgers, first baseman Fred McGriff bats cleanup and goes 2-for-4 in his return against the Padres. It was the Crime Dog’s first trip to the DL during his 18-year career.
  • 2010 After just seven days in the major leagues, Stephen Strasburg is named National League Player of the Week. The Nationals’ right-handed flame thrower starts his career 2-0 with 22 strikeouts, second to only Karl Spooner, who fanned five more batters in his first two major league starts with the Dodgers in 1954.

Lineup:

Jun 13

Game 65, 2017

Dodgers at Indians, 4:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SportsTime Ohio

This will be the first time the Dodgers play an American League team this year; they’re the only team which hasn’t played an interleague game yet in 2017.

Cleveland is frustrating its manager.

The visiting Dodgers send Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 2.20 ERA) to the mound to face the 2016 World Series runners-up Indians’ starter Trevor Bauer (5-5, 6.10 ERA). Austin Jackson, Edwin Encarnacion and Abraham Almonte (10-day DL) are the only three Indians who have ever faced Kershaw. They’ve combined to go 1-for-10 with two strikeouts. This will be Kershaw’s second career start against the Indians and his first career start at Progressive Field. His home start was in 2008, the sixth start of his career. He gave up four runs on four hits and three walks and struck out five in five innings. Bauer has made two career starts against the Dodgers and gone 1-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. In his last start he gave up four runs on five hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings to the Twins.

From MLB.com:

23. Los Angeles Dodgers: OF Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
[MLB.com Draft and prospect expert Jim] Callis: I know the industry soured on Kendall a bit because of his strikeout rate at Vanderbilt, but I love this pick at No. 23, and personally, would have taken him in the top 10. Yes, he swings and misses, as evidenced by his 74 whiffs in 261 at-bats, but he has the best tools in the college ranks, and he’s been a very productive player at a top program. He has a chance to be a 15-HR, 30-steal guy while playing a quality center field.

The Dodgers picked RHP Morgan Cooper of the U of Texas in the second round. Details about him here.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1957 In a game which features the ejection of Johnny Logan and Don Drysdale, Clem Labine loses for the first time in ten months and 38 relief appearances when the Braves beat Brooklyn, 8-5. The Milwaukee shortstop charged the mound after getting drilled in the ribs by the Dodger right-hander, resulting in banishment for both players.
  • 1973 The Dodgers infield, a quartet which will be together eight and a half years, setting a major league record for longevity, plays together for the first time. First baseman Steve Garvey, second baseman Davey Lopes, third baseman Ron Cey, and shortstop Bill Russell are in the lineup in the 16-3 defeat to the Phillies.
  • 1998 The first triple play ever completed at Dodger Stadium is turned by Darren Dreifort (p), Eric Young (2b), Jose Vizcaino (ss), and Bobby Bonilla (3b). With Colorado runners on first and second base, the 1-6-4 double play becomes a triple killing when Jamey Wright is thrown out at third base by the LA second baseman, who covered first base for the second out.
  • 2010 The Angels, with their first sweep at Dodger Stadium, complete their 14-game road trip with 11 victories, the most for the team on a single trip since 1962. In the 6-5 decision over their crosstown rivals, Halo hurler Jered Weaver strikes out his older brother, Jeff, who came into the game as a long reliever in the third inning, for the first time since they were kids.

Lineup when available.

Jun 11

Game 64, 2017

Reds at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O

The Reds send RHP Tim Adleman (4-2, 4.42 ERA) to the hill to face the Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-6, 4.08 ERA). Adleman has thrown three consecutive quality starts including a seven-inning three-hit performance last Tuesday against the Cardinals. Ryu has struggled to regain his form of 2013-2014 since shoulder surgery in 2015 and elbow surgery in 2016, but his last two starts have been his longest since 2014 and he’s only walked three batters in his last four starts and 22 1/3 innings.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1957 The Dodgers’ Roy Campanella surpasses former Cub and Giant backstop Gabby Hayes to establish a new National League mark when he hits his 237th career round-tripper as a catcher. Campy’s historic home run comes off Ray Crone in the seventh inning of Brooklyn’s 7-2 loss to the Braves at Ebbets Field.
  • 1972 LA outfielders Manny Mota and Willie Davis both hit inside-the-park homers down the foul lines at Dodger Stadium off Bucs’ starter Bruce Kison. Roberto Clemente’s seventh inning home run over the fence proves to be the difference in Pittsburgh’s 7-5 victory, their 21st win the last 26 games.

I didn’t realize this milestone was so close: “Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is one save away from becoming the sixth active pitcher to reach 200 career saves.” Who are the other five? Find them here.

Lineup when available.

Jun 10

Game 63, 2017

Reds at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FS-O, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Reds ask RHP Asher Wojciechowski (1-0, 4.50 ERA) to make his fifth start of the year, tenth of his career and first ever against the Dodgers. In his previous four starts the Reds have gone 3-1. He’ll face Alex Wood (6-0, 1.69 ERA), fresh off the Dodgers’ 10-day disabled list. Wood has a 25 1/3 scoreless inning streak going and has struck out 39.5% of the right-handed hitters he’s faced over the past 30 days.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2012 Bobby Abreu, who was tied with Mickey Mantle for 109th place on the all-time hit list, surpasses the Yankee legend with a second-inning double in L.A.’s 8-2 interleague victory over Seattle at Safeco Field. The 38 year-old outfielder has collected 2,416 hits playing for the Astros, Phillies, Yankees, Angels, and Dodgers.

In other news of former Dodgers, Maury Wills was presented the “Hall of Game” award by the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum today. The Hall of Game annually honors former Major League Baseball (MLB) stars who played the game with the same passion, determination, flair and skill exhibited by the heroes of the Negro Leagues.

Lineup when available.