Oct 16

NLCS Game Five, 2020

Dodgers vs Braves, 6:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Braves have a 3-1 lead in the series. They send LHP A.J. Minter to “open” the game. He’ll be followed by several other bullpen pitchers. The Dodgers ask RHP Dustin May to hold the Braves down and hope their offense, which has been mostly absent in three of the first four games, can get untracked and send the series to a Game Six.

Today in Braves’ history:

  • 2001 Diamondback southpaw Randy Johnson strikes out 11 batters en route to throwing a three-hitter, beating Greg Maddux and the Braves 2-0 in Game 1 of the NLCS. The matchup at Bank One Ballpark matchup features starters who have combined for 457 career victories and have collectively won seven Cy Young Awards.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1949 Brooklyn does not renew Branch Rickey’s contract as president of the Dodgers. The ‘Mahatma’ will join the Pirates as the team’s executive vice president and general manager, with his son, Branch Jr., assuming the post of Pittsburgh’s vice president and farm system director.
  • 1985 In Game 6 of the NLCS, Cardinal first baseman Jack Clark’s dramatic come-from-behind two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning stuns a sold-out Dodger Stadium. St. Louis wins the game, 7-5, and captures the National League flag.

  • 1988 At Dodger Stadium, Don Baylor becomes the first player to participate in three consecutive World Series for three different teams when he pinch-hits in the eighth inning of the A’s 6-0 loss to L.A. in the second game of the Fall Classic. The 39 year-old veteran played with the pennant-winning Red Sox in 1986 and the World Champion Twins in 1987.

Lineups:

Braves:

Dodgers:

Oct 16

ALCS Game Six, 2020

Astros vs Rays, 3:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Rays still lead the series 3-2 and can win it today. They’ll send LHP Blake Snell to try to do it. He’s already made three starts this postseason, defeating the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series, losing to the Yankees in the Division Series, then beating the Astros in Game One of this series.

The Astros send LHP Framber Valdez to try to even the series. He lost to Snell in Game One. He pitched the Astros to wins against the Twins and the As in previous rounds of these playoffs.

Oct 15

NLCS Game Four, 2020

Dodgers vs Braves, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: Fox

The Dodgers once more ask LHP Clayton Kershaw to be their ace and get them back to even in the series, which the Braves still lead 2-1 despite the bludgeoning they took yesterday. Kershaw is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 postseason innings this year. The Braves hand the ball to yet another rookie (in nine postseason games they’ve started six rookie pitchers), a righthander named Bryse Wilson. This will be his first postseason appearance. He was 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA in six games in 2020, two of which were starts. It’s not expected that Wilson will be in the game very long, but he could be the reincarnation of Howard Ehmke. Who knows?

Let’s hope the Dodgers repeat yesterday’s first-inning exploits:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1981 With Dave Righetti, Ron Davis, and Goose Gossage combining to shut out Oakland, 4-0, the Yankees sweep the A’s to capture their thirty-third American League pennant. The Bronx Bombers will face the Dodgers in the World Series for the third time in the past five Fall Classics.
  • 1988 In his only plate appearance in the Fall Classic, a limping Kirk Gibson, appearing as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning of Game 1, sends a two-out, 3-2 pitch from relief ace Dennis Eckersley over the right-field fence, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the A’s. The round-tripper marks the first time a World Series game ends on a come-from-behind home run in the final inning.
  • 2008 In Game 5 of the NLCS, the visiting Phillies beat the Dodgers, 5-1, to win their first pennant since 1993. Southpaw Cole Hamels, the series MVP, hurls his third postseason gem, and Jimmy Rollins starts the Philadelphia attack with a leadoff home run to start the game.
  • 2017 Twenty-nine years later to the day, Justin Turner follows Kirk Gibson into franchise folklore when he hits a postseason walk-off three-run home run in the 12th inning of the LA’s 4-1 victory over the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS. In 1988, a hobbled Kirk Gibson, in his only Fall Classic appearance, came off the bench to hit one of the most memorable round-trippers in World Series history, giving the Dodgers a come-from-behind victory against the A’s in Game 1.

Lineups:

Braves:

Dodgers:

Oct 15

ALCS Game Five, 2020

Rays vs Astros, 3:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Rays lead the series 3-1 and can end it today. They’ll send RHP John Curtiss out to “open” the game and hope he can go several innings before they initiate a parade of relievers. The Astros send RHP Luis Garcia out in an all-hands-on-deck game; he’s a rookie who had never pitched above Class A until this year. He hasn’t pitched since September 27 (1/3 of an inning) and hasn’t gone more than two innings since he went five on September 9 in his second MLB game.

Events which involve the Rays’ that took place on this date in baseball history all had to do with MLB deciding which division to put them in after expansion. The Astros’ have one slightly more exciting episode: in 1986 in the longest postseason game ever played to that point (4 hours and 42 minutes), the Mets clinch their third National League crown, beating Houston in sixteen innings at the Astrodome, 7-6. Trailing 3-0, Lenny Dykstra and Ray Knight spark a ninth-inning rally, which sends the game into extra innings. [The Dodgers – Astros 2017 World Series Game Five went ten innings and lasted 5:17.]

Oct 14

ALCS Game Four, 2020

Rays vs Astros, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Rays are up 3-0 and can close the series with a win today. They’ll try to do it with RHP Tyler Glasnow, who’s 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three postseason starts this year. He’s struck out 20 in the 13 1/3 innings he’s worked in those games. He’ll face veteran RHP Zack Greinke, who ignored arm soreness and worked 4 2/3 innings in Game Four of the ALDS against the As, giving up four runs in the process. Greinke’s only gotten past the fourth inning twice in the postseason since he pitched for the Dodgers in 2015.

Oct 14

NLCS Game Three, 2020

Dodgers at Braves, 3:08 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Dodgers become the visitors today, and they’ll send LHP Julio Urias out to put a stop to the Braves’ two-game winning streak. He’ll face RHP Kyle Wright. Urias is 2-0 in this postseason, getting a win in long relief against the Brewers in the first Wild Card game and then going five innings against the Padres after May had opened the game. Wright threw six scoreless innings in the Braves’ clinching game of the NLDS against the Marlins.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1978 In the sixth inning of Game 4, Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda argues unsuccessfully that the umpires should call interference on Reggie Jackson when a throw from Dodger shortstop Bill Russell caroms off his hip near first base, allowing Thurman Munson to score from second. New York eventually overcomes a three-run deficit with a 4-3 walk-off victory in ten innings at the Bronx ballpark, tying the World Series at two games apiece.

  • 1985 “Go crazy, folks, go crazy.” – JACK BUCK, Cardinals broadcaster’s reaction to Ozzie Smith’s unlikely home run during the 1985 NLCS against Dodgers.

    Ozzie Smith provides one of the most memorable moments in Cardinals history by hitting a dramatic homer to win Game 5 of the NLCS. The round-tripper was the first left-handed home run of the Wizard’s career, which spans 3009 major league at-bats.

    Lineups when available.

    Braves lineup:

    Dodgers’ lineup:

Oct 13

ALCS Game Three, 2020

Rays vs Astros, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Rays lead the series 2-0.

The Rays will send LHP Ryan Yarbrough to the hill to face the Astros’ RHP Jose Urquidy. This will be Yarbrough’s first postseason start; he went five innings in Game Four against the Yankees in the ALDS and gave up two runs on six hits. Urquidy has made two starts this postseason, going 4 1/3 innings in each. In his ALDS start he gave up four solo HRs to the As.

Oct 13

NLCS Game Two, 2020

Braves vs Dodgers, 3:05 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Braves give the ball to rookie RHP Ian Anderson, who made his first appearance in the big leagues on August 26. He went 3-2 in the regular season and has improved on that once the postseason began, going 2-0 and allowing no runs at all in 11 2/3 innings. The Dodgers had planned to ask LHP Clayton Kershaw to get them even, but back spasms have intervened. They will send RHP Tony Gonsolin to the mound instead. This will be the first postseason appearance of his career.

Here’s the rest of the story of Kershaw’s back and the Dodgers’ plans for the rotation.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1974 Herb Washington, representing the tying run in the top of the ninth, is picked off first base by Dodger closer Mike Marshall for the second out of Game 2, the only contest the A’s will lose in the Fall Classic. The world-class sprinter, who will never have a plate appearance in his brief 105-game career, was selected by Oakland owner Charlie Finley to become the team’s “designated runner,” a position that doesn’t exist with any other major league club.

    Lineups when available.

    Braves’ lineup:

    Dodgers’ lineup:

Oct 12

NLCS Game One, 2020

Braves vs Dodgers, 5:08 PM PDT, TV:Fox. All this Series’ games will be played at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.

MLB has a position-by-position preview and analysis of the two teams.

The Dodgers give RHP Walker Buehler the ball for Game One, just as they’ve done for the previous two series. He hasn’t gone past four innings in either of his previous two starts and hasn’t thrown more than 95 pitches in a game since 2019. He’ll face LHP Max Fried, who won Game One of the Wild Card Series for the Braves, beating the Reds, but gave up four runs in four innings against the Marlins in the NLDS. The Braves win behind him, though: they’re 12-1 in his starts this year.

Edwin Ríos and Alex Wood have been added to the 28-man roster for the NLCS. Gavin Lux and Terrance Gore were dropped to make room.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1916 In front of record crowd of 43,620 fans at Braves Field, Red Sox right-hander Ernie Shore three-hits the Robins in Game 5 of the World Series, 4-1, to capture the team’s fourth World Championship in the 13-year history of the Fall Classic. Boston, as it did last season, plays its Fall Classic home games in their crosstown National League rival’s larger ballpark, which allows more fans to attend the game than if the contest had held at Fenway Park.
  • 1920 At Cleveland’s League Park, the Indians’ hurler Stan Coveleski blanks the Robins, 3-0, to win the 1920 World Series. The Tribe, en route to the franchise’s first World Championship, wins the best of nine series five games to 2.
  • 1948 The Yankees surprise their fans and a skeptical press when they name Casey Stengel to replace Bucky Harris as the team’s manager. In his previous stints as the skipper with the National League’s Braves and Dodgers, the ‘Old Perfesser’ had never finished higher than fifth place.
  • 1949 Vin Scully, working his first broadcast ever, does the play-by-play when Maryland defeats Boston University at Fenway Park, 14-13. The football assignment marks the start of a 67-year career in the broadcast booth for the Hall of Fame baseball announcer, who becomes the iconic voice of the Dodgers.

Lineups when available.

Braves’ lineup:

Dodgers’ lineup:

Oct 12

ALCS Game Two, 2020

Astros vs Rays, 1:07 PDT, TV: TBS

RHP Lance McCullers goes for the Astros and RHP Charlie Morton, former Astro, pitches for the Rays. McCullers started Game One of the ALDS and was pushed around by the As, giving up five runs including three home runs in four innings. Despite that, the Astros won the game. Morton started Game Three of the ALDS against the Yankees and went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and getting the win.

Here’s Castillo’s five-out save of Game One:

This day in baseball history includes two Dodger losses in clinching games of the World Series (1916 and 1920), Vin Scully’s first broadcast, Dave Henderson’s go-ahead HR off Donnie Moore in the ninth to keep the Angels from winning the 1986 ALCS and more.