RHP Tony Gonsolin (11-0, 1.62 ERA) brings his unblemished record to the hill to face the Cardinals’ long-time ace Adam Wainwright (6-7, 3.15 ERA). In his last start Gonsolin went seven innings, gave up two runs on four hits and saw his ERA go up for his trouble. Wainwright is 40 years old; he and Kershaw each have 191 career wins (Kershaw has 26 fewer losses). In Wainwright’s last start he gave up two runs on five hits, pitched a complete game and lost 2-0.
Today in Dodgers’ history:
2019 The Dodgers got four home runs from Muncy, Turner, Bellinger and Pollock and Ross Stripling got the win as the Dodgers defeated Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox 11-2.
The visiting Dodgers send RHP Mitch White (1-1, 3.38 ERA) to the Busch Stadium mound to face the Cardinals’ LHP Matthew Liberatore (2-1, 4.74 ERA). White’s last seven appearances have all been starts, and his ERA has dropped fairly consistently since he left the reliever role. Liberatore is a 22-year-old rookie who made his debut on May 21 of this season; this will be his seventh MLB appearance.
In a late change, Jordan Hicks will serve as the opener for the Cardinals tonight in their series opener against the Dodgers. Matthew Liberatore will be available as a long reliever. https://t.co/pGNgyueLE0
1949 The first All-Star Game which includes black players is played at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers’ Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, and Don Newcombe represent the National League in an 11-7 loss to Larry Doby and his AL teammates.
1966 The National League All-Stars edge the AL, 2-1, in a game played at the newly-built Busch Stadium when hometown favorite Tim McCarver scores the winning run on Dodger shortstop Maury Wills’s tenth-inning walk-off single, with Giants hurler Gaylord Perry getting the victory by tossing a scoreless ninth and tenth inning. The 105-degree weather, 113 degrees on the playing surface, results in nearly 150 people needing treatment for heat exhaustion.
This is notable: In 1949 the major league owners agree to install warning tracks made of cinder in front of outfield fences before the start of next season. The origin of the concept began at Yankee Stadium, where an actual running track, used in the ballpark’s track and field events, helped fielders know their proximity to the outfield fence when attempting to make a play. One wonders if that might have saved Pete Reiser’s career. Reiser “was taken off the field on a stretcher a record 11 times.”
LHP Drew Smyly (2-5, 3.80 ERA) goes for the Cubs in this final game of the series and LHP Julio Urías (7-6, 2.57 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Smyly is making his first big league start after six weeks on the IL with a left oblique injury. he went four innings and threw 52 pitches in a minor league rehab start on Monday. Urías has won his last four starts and his ERA is seventh-best in the league, which his manager thinks makes him a good candidate for the All Star Game.
On this date in Dodgers’ history:
1943 Some of the Dodgers, led by infielder Arky Vaughan, threaten not to play in today’s game to protest the suspension of their teammate Bobo Newsome by manager Leo Durocher. The Ebbets Field contest begins ten minutes late. Brooklyn plundered the Pirates, 23-6, and in a few days, Newsome, who had argued with his skipper over a pitch selection in a previous game, is traded to the Browns for Archie McKain and Fritz Ostermueller.
1953 With Roy Campanella’s home run off Giants hurler Sal Maglie, the Dodgers establish a National League record, homering in their 24th consecutive game. Campy’s homer is the only run Brooklyn scores as the Giants extend their winning streak to seven with the 6-1 victory. Six teams have surpassed 24 consecutive games with at least one HR since; the record is now 31 games in a row by the 2019 NY Yankees.
1979 With his team trailing the Padres 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs at Veterans Stadium, Phillies pinch hitter Del Unser hits a three-run walk-off home run, giving the team a 6-5 comeback victory. The dramatic dinger makes Del Unser only the second player in major league history to hit a homer in three consecutive at bats as a pinch hitter, a feat also accomplished by Lee Lacy of the Dodgers last season.
1984 At San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Dodger southpaw Fernando Valenzuela and Mets rookie Dwight Gooden combine to strike out six consecutive American League All-Stars on the 50th anniversary of Carl Hubbell’s memorable 1934 Midsummer Classic performance of setting down five future Hall of Famers on strikes (see below). Dwight Gooden, at the age of 19, becomes the youngest player ever to participate in an All-Star Game.
In one of the most famous events in baseball history, at the All Star Game in 1934 in New York’s Polo Grounds, Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell faces a starting lineup comprised of nine eventual Hall of Famers. ‘King Carl’ is up to the unique occurrence in baseball history when he fans five batters in a row after letting the first two hitters reach base: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin.
Cubs at Dodgers, Marquee Sports Network, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA
It’ll be the Cubs’ RHP Marcus Stroman (2-5, 5.32 ERA) vs the Dodgers’ LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 2.57 ERA) this evening at Chavez Ravine. Stroman had his worst outing of the year in his last start; he gave up nine runs on ten hits in just four innings. That pushed his ERA up nearly 1 1/2 points from 3.95 to 5.32. Kershaw deserved a win in his last start: he went seven shutout innings and gave up just one hit to the Padres, but the Dodgers only scored one run for him and the bullpen gave up four runs in the ninth and lost the game.
Today in Dodgers’ history:
1956 The BBWAA, by a narrow margin of 14-12, votes to establish the Cy Young Award to honor the major leagues’ most outstanding pitcher. Commissioner Ford Frick initiated the idea because he felt hurlers were not recognized in the MVP voting, but ironically the first recipient of the Cy Young Award, Dodger Don Newcombe, also won the Most Valuable Player Award.
1996 In Philadelphia, Dodger backstop Mike Piazza hits a moon shot into the upper-deck at Veterans Stadium and also bangs a RBI double, helping the NL to blank the AL, 6-0, in All-Star action.
In non-Dodger history, it seems fitting that in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher, the All Star Game would play out this way: in the first All-Star game played indoors, American Leaguers are held to just three hits in the Astrodome, with the National League winning the first Mid-Summer Classic to end with a score of 1-0. The contest’s lone tally comes in the bottom of the first frame when Willie Mays, who had been picked off but stayed on the bases due to Luis Tiant’s throwing error, scores an unearned run on a double play ball.
In 2002 despite chants of “Let them play!” from the sellout crowd of 41,871 at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig declares the 73rd All-Star Game a 7-7 tie after 11 innings. No player is selected to receive the first Ted Williams Most Valuable Player award, an honor named for the late Red Sox legend who died five days ago. This would be the nadir of Selig’s term as Commissioner of Baseball on the anniversary of his selection to the job seven years earlier.
RHP Keegan Thompson (7-3, 3.41 ERA) pitches for the Cubs tonight and LHP Tyler Anderson (9-1, 3.09 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Thompson was a reliever until May of this year when the Cubs turned him into a starter. He’s now made ten starts; only two of them have extended into the 6th inning. In his last start his defense made some errors behind him and he threw 86 pitches in just four innings. After losing his previous start in Colorado Anderson went 6 1/3 innings, gave up one run on six hits and got the win in his next one last Friday.
Today in Dodgers’ history:
1949 Hank Thompson, who broke into the majors as a member of the St. Louis Browns twelve days after Larry Doby’s American League debut with the Indians in 1947, becomes the first African-American to play for the Giants. When the former Kansas City Monarchs’ standout faces Dodger right-hander Don Newcombe, it marks the first time a pitcher-batter confrontation takes place between black players in the major leagues.
In the “Dubious Moments in Baseball History” column comes this item: in 1979 the Mets announce the selection of Mettle as the name for the team’s new mascot mule. Dolores Mapps of Mercerville, N.J., who submitted the winning entry, believes the moniker captures the team’s “spirit, ardor, stamina, and courage, all of which the Mets have in abundance.”
In a slightly more aesthetic moment, back in 1994 Red Sox shortstop John Valentin snares Marc Newfield’s sixth-inning line drive, steps on second to retire Mike Blowers, and then tags the runner coming from first, Kevin Mitchell, to turn an unassisted triple play. After completing the rare feat, accomplishing a play that has occurred only ten times in major league history, the infielder begins a three-homer outburst by Boston in the bottom of the frame, helping the team defeat the Mariners at Fenway Park, 4-3.
RHP Mark Leiter Jr. (2-2, 4.85 ERA) pitches for the baby Bruins and RHP Tony Gonsolin (10-0, 1.54 ERA) takes the hill for the Dodgers. Leiter came in when the Cubs’ starter had to leave after throwing seven pitches on Saturday and threw 5 1/3 innings of four hit, one run relief. Gonsolin has continued his remarkable season for the Dodgers.
Today in Dodgers’ history:
1953 The Dodgers set a major league mark for the most consecutive games with a home run by a team with at least one round-tripper in their 24 contests. Brooklyn starter Preacher Roe hits the record-breaking homer with a third-inning blast in the team’s 9-5 victory over Pittsburgh at Forbes Field. (Note: this record has been broken by seven teams since then, most recently in 2019 by the NY Yankees, who did it in 31 straight games ending July 1)
1998 Jeff Shaw becomes the first player to participate in an All-Star Game wearing a uniform for a team he hasn’t yet played for when he works an inning, allowing three hits and a run pitching for the National League squad before appearing in a regular season game for the Dodgers. The 32 year-old closer, who posted a 1.81 ERA along with 23 saves in the first half of the season for the Reds, was traded three days ago by Cincinnati to Los Angeles for Paul Konerko and Dennys Reyes.
2004 Kazuhisa Ishii tosses a one-hitter in the Dodgers’ 11-0 defeat of Arizona. The 30 year-old Japanese southpaw retires the first 12 batters he faces before issuing a leadoff walk to Luis Gonzalez, which is followed with a single by Shea Hillenbrand, but then the left-hander proceeds to mow down 15 consecutive D-Backs to finish his masterpiece.
Rockies at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA
Game 81 marks the mid-point of the season.
The Rockies hand the ball to RHP Jose Ureña (0-0, 3.52 ERA), while the Dodgers hand theirs to RHP Mitch Wbite (1-1, 3.93 ERA). Ureña hasn’t gone more than three innings in any start this year, and he’s only made four appearances altogether, all starts and all in April. He’s no rookie, though; he’s pitched six full years in the AL with Miami and Detroit. White has made 11 appearances this year, six of them starts. His K/BB ratio this season is a tidy 3 to 1.
The Dodgers activated IF/OF Zach McKinstry and LHP Caleb Ferguson from the injured list, optioned RHP Ryan Pepiot and placed IF/OF Chris Taylor on the 10-day injured list with a left foot fracture.
1938 At Crosley Field, Yankees’ hurler Lefty Gomez is defeated for the first time in four All-Star starts as the NL wins the All-Star game 4-1. National League shortstop Leo Durocher becomes the first Dodger to start in an All-Star Game and gets a ‘bunt’ home run.
1953 In his first major league start, 24 year-old right-hander Al Worthington throws a two-hitter, blanking the Pirates, 6-0. The Giants’ rookie, known as ‘Red’, will become the first National League freshman to throw consecutive shutouts at the start of a career, when he repeats the feat in his next outing, also blanking the Dodgers, 6-0.
2000 Vin Scully, 72, is voted the No. 1 sportscaster of the 20th century by members of the American Sportscasters Association. The Dodger veteran broadcaster’s 51-year career has included play-by-play of 25 Fall Classics and a dozen All-Star Games.
Lineups when available.
RHP José Ureña gets his 1st start in a Rockies uni in Game 3 vs. the Dodgers!
RHP Germán Márquez (4-6, 5.89 ERA) pitches for the Rockies and RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-0, 3.18 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. This will be Mãrquez’s third start against the Dodgers already this season; he’s 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. Pepiot has made three appearances for the Dodgers this season, all starts. He’s given up six hits and four runs in 11 1/3 innings.
This date in Dodgers’ history:
1935 The Cuccinellos become the third pair of brothers, following the Waners (2) and Ferrells, and the first on opposing teams to homer in the same game when Al goes deep in the bottom of the ninth in the Giants’ 14-4 loss to Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds. The New York’s third baseman’s sibling, Tony, playing second base for the Dodgers, had homered in the previous inning.
1952 In their final season in Boston, the Braves play in front of the largest home crowd of the season when 13,405 fans watch Brooklyn beat their team for the 12th consecutive time, a 5-3 complete-game victory by Carl Erskine. The most memorable moment of the contest occurs in the second inning when the game is delayed because a small dog has to be escorted off the field by Dodger outfielders Carl Furillo and Duke Snider.
1961 Cardinals first baseman Bill White collects 14 total bases when he hits three home runs and a double. The 27 year-old infielder’s offensive output helps the Redbirds rout the Dodgers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 9-1. (Note: White has written a very entertaining autobiography.)
2004 At Dodger Stadium, Diamondback third baseman Chad Tracy’s ninth inning run-scoring single on an 0-2 changeup ends Eric Gagne’s record streak of 84 consecutive saves. The new mark established by the Los Angeles closer is 30 more than the prior mark set by Tom Gordon for the Red Sox in 1999.
2007 At Dodger Stadium, Chipper Jones’ two solo home runs are the difference in the Braves’ 8-6 victory over Los Angeles. With his pair of round-trippers, the team’s third baseman surpasses Dale Murphy for the Atlanta team record of 372 homers.
Today is also the anniversary of the first game Larry Doby played for the Indians, integrating the American League. He ended up with 1,515 hits, only three behind Jackie Robinson. Also on this date in 1953, Robin Roberts pitched his 28th consecutive complete game, shutting out Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, 2-0. Twenty-eight straight complete games! We’ll never see that again!
LHP Kyle Freeland (4-5, 4.31 ERA) pitches for the visiting Rockies and LHP Julio Urías (6-6, 2.64 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. In his last start Freeland took advantage of his team’s rare success against Clayton Kershaw and got the 7-4 win. One day later Urías was the beneficiary of Germán Márquez’s bad day.
Ever wonder what a team eats on its flights? Here’s the Rockies’ menu from yesterday’s trip to LA:
2 series W’s for the homestand ✅ Happy Flight ✅ . . . . That means…menu time! Who’s hungry? 😎🍝🥩🥗 pic.twitter.com/mT6OnjMkG0
1884 In American Association action, Louisville right-hander Guy Hecker pitches complete games to win both ends of a doubleheader. The Youngsville, Pennsylvania native does not walk a single batter when he beats the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers at Eclipse Park, 5-4 and 8-2.
1998 The National Baseball Facility of Ireland, considered the main home of the Irish National baseball team, officially opens in Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin when U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Dodger owner Peter O’Malley played an instrumental role in the construction of the diamonds now known as the Fields of Dreams, which includes a regulation sized adult field and an international standard Little League field.
2006 Nomar Garciaparra ties the major league record for being hit by a pitch in a game as he is plunked three times by three different Diamondback pitchers in a 10-4 Dodger victory. The LA first baseman is the first National Leaguer to equal the mark, both literally and figuratively, since the 2000 season, when Astros outfielder Richard Hidalgo got thwacked thrice in a game in April.
LHP MacKenzie Gore (4-3, 3.34 ERA) takes the ball for the Padres and LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 2.94 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. Gore is a rookie who debuted on April 15 of this year. He won his first two starts in April but is 2-3 since. He’s got 14 walks and 18 strikeouts in June, which is not a recipe for success. Kershaw’s last start was his worst of the year; he gave up six runs on nine hits in just four innings and saw his ERA jump nearly a full run, from 2.00 to 2.94.
This date in Dodgers’ history:
1925 Milt Stock sets a National League mark by having his fourth consecutive four-hit game, going 16-for-23 during the span to compile a .696 batting average. The 31 year-old second baseman’s offensive output, which includes three singles and a triple, helps the Robins beat the Giants at Ebbets Field, 6-3.
1949 En route to a 16-0 shutout of the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds, starting pitcher Monte Kennedy hits a grand slam. Another 51 seasons will pass by before another Giants hurler hits a four-run homer when Shawn Estes accomplishes the feat in 2000.
1958 In their 35th home date in L.A., the transplanted Dodgers reach the one million mark in attendance. Last season, the team drew only 1,028,258 fans, playing in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field.
2013 Yasiel Puig becomes the first player to be named Player of the Month for the first month he plays in the major leagues in the 55-year history of the award. The Dodger outfielder played in 26 games in June, compiling a .436 batting average, with his 44 base hits being the second-most ever by a first-month player, only behind Joe DiMaggio’s total of 48 in 1936.
