Oct 31

World Series Game Four, 2023

Texas at Arizona, 5:03 PM PDT, TV: Fox. Texas leads the Series two games to one.

LHP Andrew Heaney (0-0, 6.00 ERA postseason) goes for the Rangers while LHP Joe Mantiply (2-0, 4.26 ERA postseason) pitches for the D-Backs.

Today in baseball history:

  • 2001 The Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks marks the first time a team comes back to tie a Fall Classic game in the ninth and then goes on to win in extra innings since the Philadelphia A’s Mule Haas hit a game-tying two-run homer in Game 5 of the 1929 World Series. Tino Martinez sent the contest into overtime with a two-out homer off Diamondbacks’ closer Byung-Hyun Kim, and Derek Jeter, dubbed Mr. November, wins the game after the stroke of midnight with a full count two-out round-tripper, giving the Bronx Bombers the walkoff victory.
  • 2005 On Halloween night, former Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein eludes the media on the night of his resignation parked outside Fenway Park disguised in a gorilla suit. The hairy costume will be auctioned at a future charity event, making $11,000 for the Jimmy Fund and Theo’s Foundation, To Be Named Later.
  • 2009 In Game 3, Alex Rodriguez’s fly ball in the right-field corner of Citizens Bank Park becomes the subject of the first instant replay call in World Series history. The umpires changed the Yankee third baseman’s hit, initially ruled a double, to a home run after the replay clearly showed the ball going over the fence before striking a television camera and bouncing back to the field.
Sep 08

Game 140, 2023

Dodgers at Nationals, 4:05 PM PDT, TV: MASN 2, SPNLA

RHP Emmet Sheehan (3-1, 5.31 ERA) takes the mound for the visiting Dodgers and LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-10, 4.28 ERA) does so for the Nationals.

Have you noticed how high the uniform numbers worn by some of the Dodgers’ young pitchers are? Bryan Hudson (#93) is the highest of them all, then Dustin May (#85). Sheehan’s wearing #80, Michael Grove has #78 and Bobby Miller’s got #70.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 The Dodgers clinch their eighth National League pennant with a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Brooklyn’s 17-game lead makes it the earliest date that a team has captured a flag in baseball history.
  • 1957 Before their departure to play on the West Coast for next season, the Dodgers and Giants face one another for the final time in New York. The Jints beat the Bums at the Polo Grounds, 3-2, to finish the intense 68 year-old storied rivalry with a 656-606 advantage over Brooklyn in the battle between the boroughs.
  • 1967 The Mets, at the urging of their fans, honor former Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired last season when arthritis ended his career prematurely at the age of 30. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, who threw a no-hitter against New York in 1962, started twenty games against the Amazin’s, compiling a 17-2 record that included 14 complete games and 5 shutouts.
  • 2007 Alex Rodriguez, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs, joins Babe Ruth (1920-54, 1921-59, 1927-60, 1928-54), Roger Maris (1961-61), and Mickey Mantle (1956-52, 1961-54) to become only the fourth player in Yankee history to hit 50 or more homers in a single season. The Yankee infielder’s second homer breaks the major league mark of 49 homers hit by a third baseman, shared with Mike Schmidt (Phillies-1980) and Adrian Beltre (Dodgers-2004).
  • 2017 The Dodgers, who just a couple of months ago seemed poised to challenge the major league record of 116 wins in a season, lose again, their 8th straight defeat and 13th in 14 games, as they bow to the Rockies, 5 – 4. They blow an early 4 – 1 lead as D.J. LeMahieu hits a two-run double in the 5th to put Colorado ahead to stay. On a positive note, Yu Darvish records the 1000th strikeout of his career, punching out Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, becoming the fastest starting pitcher to reach the mark, in 812 innings over 128 games.

One of the most important inventions in all of baseball history was officially introduced on this day in 1885 when George H. Rawlings patented a close-fitting baseball glove that features padding made of felt and rubber in the fingers, thumb, and palm. The owner of a St. Louis sporting goods store invented the padded piece of equipment to prevent players from bruising their hands when catching a ball.

Lineups when available.

May 07

Game 35, 2023

Dodgers at Padres, 4:00 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

LHP Julio Urías (4-3, 3.86 ERA) starts the rubber match for the Dodgers. He’ll face the Padres’ RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 10.80 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 At the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Yankees defeat the Dodgers, 6-2, in an exhibition game played to benefit Roy Campanella, who was paralyzed in an auto accident prior to the team moving to the West Coast in 1958. The game, which draws the largest crowd ever for a baseball game, 93,103 fans with another estimated 15,000 turned away from the sellout, begins with an emotional ceremony in which Pee Wee Reese pushes the wheelchair-bound catcher into the darkened stadium that is totally illuminated by fans holding candles or matches.
  • 1960 The Sherry boys become the tenth pair of siblings to appear as batterymates in a major league game when Norm replaces John Roseboro behind the plate in the top of the eighth to catch Larry, who is starting his first inning in relief. The backstop will hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, assuring his brother of a victory in the Dodgers’ 3-2 walk-off win over Philadelphia.
  • 1969 Willie Davis, furious with the Wrigley Field Bleacher Bums because of their continual verbal abuse of him, tells his Dodgers teammates that he wants to hit a home run in the middle of the group, which he does in the sixth inning to tie the score. The LA center fielder exacts a bit more revenge on the heckling horde when his 12th-inning two-run round-tripper proves to be the difference in the 4-2 defeat of the Cubs.
  • 1970 At Shea Stadium, Wes Parker hits a triple off Jim McAndrew to beat the Mets in the tenth inning, 7-4. The three-bagger completes the cycle for the Dodger first baseman.
  • 1991 Darryl Strawberry returns to New York as a Dodger with mixed results. A crowd of 49,118 mostly booing fans watches him hit a two-run home run, and they cheer when he makes the last out of the game with the potential tying and winning runs on base in the 6-5 Mets victory.
  • 2009 The Dodgers fail to improve upon their 13-game winning streak at home to open the season–the victorious span surpassed the 1911 Tigers to set a new major league mark. The 11-9 loss to Washington comes on the same day the team learns about Manny Ramirez, the club’s most productive hitter, being suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance.
  • 2009 Major League Baseball suspends Manny Ramirez for fifty games after he tests positive for the use of a banned substance. The 36 year-old Dodgers outfielder, who will not be eligible to return to the team until July 3, apologizes to the fans, explaining he did not take steroids, but was given a medication which a doctor thought was okay to be prescribed.
  • 2011 After a first-inning walk in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Mets, Andre Ethier goes 0-for-4, ending his 30-game hitting streak. The L.A. outfielder falls one game short of the franchise record set in 1969 by Willie Davis, who enjoyed a 31-game hitting streak that season.
  • 2014 Adrian Beltre becomes the fifth player in major league history to hit 100 home runs for three different teams when he goes deep in the Rangers’ 9-2 loss to Colorado at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The 35 year-old third baseman, who joins Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Darrell Evans, and Reggie Jackson in accomplishing the feat, hit 147 homers for the Dodgers (1998-2004) and 103 with the Mariners (2005-09).

Rest in Peace, Vida Blue. Roger Angell once reported that Charlie Finley had tried to get Blue to change his name from Vida to True. Given Angell’s sense of humor, I’m not sure he was telling the truth. On the other hand, it does sound like something Finley would suggest.

Lineups when available.

Oct 31

World Series Game Three, 2022

Astros at Phillies, 5:03 PM PDT, TV: Fox

The Astros hand the ball to RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (4-2, 2.27 ERA regular season; 0-0, 2.45 ERA postseason). He’ll face the Phillies’ RHP Noah Syndergaard (5-2, 4.12 ERA regular season; 0-0, 1.69 ERA postseason) LHP Ranger Suárez (10-7, 3.65 ERA regular season; 1-0, 1.86 ERA postseason). The postponement helped the Phillies, as Syndergaard hasn’t pitched much recently and probably couldn’t have gone more than three or four innings. Suárez has been a workhorse for the Fightin’ Phils.

A Jeter home run, an A-Rod home run following the first use of instant replay, the first and last instance of the Cy Young Award being earned by the brother (Gaylord) of a previous winner (Jim) and a whole lot of hirings and firings of managers. That’s what took place October 31 in baseball history.

On November 1 in baseball history Campanella won the first of three MVP Awards, Koufax won the last of his three Cy Young Awards, in 2007 two Japanese pitchers combined for a perfect game to win the Japan Series and in 2015 the Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years.

In Dodgers news, Justin Turner is this year’s winner of the Roberto Clemente Award. Congratulations to him and his wife Kourtney!

Oct 19

ALCS Game One, 2022

Yankees at Astros, 4:37 PM PDT, TV: TBS

RHP Jameson Taillon (14-5, 3.91 ERA regular season; 0-1, ∞ postseason) pitches for the Yankees and RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA regular season; 0-0, 13.50 ERA postseason) does so for the Astros.

Rick Monday’s ninth inning HR against the Expos, Alex Rodriguez’s slap of the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove and much more on this day in baseball history.

May 07

Game 25, 2022

Dodgers at Cubs, 4:40 PM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

LHP Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.55 ERA) starts the second game of the doubleheader for the Dodgers. He’ll face LHP Daniel Norris (0-1, 6.00 ERA) of the Cubs.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 At the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Yankees defeat the Dodgers, 6-2, in an exhibition game played to benefit Roy Campanella, who was paralyzed in an auto accident prior to the team moving to the West Coast in 1958. The game, which draws the largest crowd ever for a baseball game, 93,103 fans with another estimated 15,000 turned away from the sellout, begins with an emotional ceremony in which Pee Wee Reese pushes the wheelchair-bound catcher into the darkened stadium that is totally illuminated by fans holding candles or matches.
  • 1960 The Sherry boys become the tenth pair of siblings to appear as batterymates in a major league game when Norm replaces John Roseboro behind the plate in the top of the eighth to catch Larry, who is starting his first inning in relief. The backstop will hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, assuring his brother of a victory in the Dodgers’ 3-2 walk-off win over Philadelphia.
  • 1969 Willie Davis, furious with the Wrigley Field Bleacher Bums because of their continual verbal abuse of him, tells his Dodgers teammates that he wants to hit a home run in the middle of the group, which he does in the sixth inning to tie the score. The LA center fielder exacts a bit more revenge on the heckling horde when his 12th-inning two-run round-tripper proves to be the difference in the 4-2 defeat of the Cubs.
  • 1970 At Shea Stadium, Wes Parker hits a triple off Jim McAndrew to beat the Mets in the tenth inning, 7-4. The three-bagger completes the cycle for the Dodger first baseman.
  • 1991 Darryl Strawberry returns to New York as a Dodger with mixed results. A crowd of 49,118 mostly booing fans watches him hit a two-run home run, and they cheer when he makes the last out of the game with the potential tying and winning runs on base in the 6-5 Mets victory.
  • 2009 The Dodgers fail to improve upon their 13-game winning streak at home to open the season–the victorious span surpassed the 1911 Tigers to set a new major league mark. The 11-9 loss to Washington comes on the same day the team learns about Manny Ramirez, the club’s most productive hitter, being suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance.
  • 2009 Major League Baseball suspends Manny Ramirez for fifty games after he tests positive for the use of a banned substance. The 36 year-old Dodgers outfielder, who will not be eligible to return to the team until July 3, apologizes to the fans, explaining he did not take steroids, but was given a medication which a doctor thought was okay to be prescribed.
  • 2011 After a first-inning walk in the Dodgers’ 4-2 loss to the Mets, Andre Ethier goes 0-for-4, ending his 30-game hitting streak. The L.A. outfielder falls one game short of the franchise record set in 1969 by Willie Davis, who enjoyed a 31-game hitting streak that season.
  • 2014 Adrian Beltre becomes the fifth player in major league history to hit 100 home runs for three different teams when he goes deep in the Rangers’ 9-2 loss to Colorado at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The 35 year-old third baseman, who joins Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, Darrell Evans, and Reggie Jackson in accomplishing the feat, hit 147 homers for the Dodgers (1998-2004) and 103 with the Mariners (2005-09).

Lineups when available.

Sep 08

Game 140, 2021

Dodgers at Cardinals, 4:45 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Midwest, SPNLA

RHP Mitch White (1-2, 3.49 ERA) starts a bullpen game for the Dodgers. He’ll face RHP Adam Wainwright (14-7, 2.91 ERA) of the Cardinals.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 The Dodgers clinch their eighth National League pennant with a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Brooklyn’s 17-game lead makes it the earliest date that a team has captured a flag in baseball history.
  • 1957 Before their departure to play on the West Coast for next season, the Dodgers and Giants face one another for the final time in New York. The Jints beat the Bums at the Polo Grounds, 3-2, to finish the intense 68 year-old storied rivalry with a 656-606 advantage over Brooklyn in the battle between the boroughs.
  • 1967 The Mets, at the urging of their fans, honor former Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired last season when arthritis ended his career prematurely at the age of 30. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, who threw a no-hitter against New York in 1962, started twenty games against the Amazin’s, compiling a 17-2 record that included 14 complete games and 5 shutouts.
  • 2007 Alex Rodriguez, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs, joins Babe Ruth (1920-54, 1921-59, 1927-60, 1928-54), Roger Maris (1961-61), and Mickey Mantle (1956-52, 1961-54) to become only the fourth player in Yankee history to hit 50 or more homers in a single season. The Yankee infielder’s second homer breaks the major league mark of 49 homers hit by a third baseman, shared with Mike Schmidt (Phillies-1980) and Adrian Beltre (Dodgers-2004).
  • 2017 The Dodgers, who just a couple of months ago seemed poised to challenge the major league record of 116 wins in a season, lose again, their 8th straight defeat and 13th in 14 games, as they bow to the Rockies, 5 – 4. They blow an early 4 – 1 lead as D.J. LeMahieu hits a two-run double in the 5th to put Colorado ahead to stay. On a positive note, Yu Darvish records the 1000th strikeout of his career, punching out Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, becoming the fastest starting pitcher to reach the mark, in 812 innings over 128 games.

Lineup:

Sep 08

Game 43, 2020

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: FS-A, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Walker Buehler (1-0, 3.60 ERA) goes to the Chase Field mound to face the home team’s RHP Luke Weaver. Coincidentally the last outing for each of these guys was against the other’s team. Buehler went five innings, gave up just two hits and walked just one while striking out six on September 2, while Weaver went 5 1/3 innings against the Dodgers on September 3, giving up four hits and two runs and taking the loss.

Here are Seager’s two home runs from Sunday’s game:

Old friend note: Dee Gordon has changed his name to Dee Strange-Gordon to honor his mother, who was killed by her boyfriend when Dee was just seven years old.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 The Dodgers clinch their eighth National League pennant with a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Brooklyn’s 17-game lead makes it the earliest date that a team has captured a flag in baseball history.
  • 1957 Before their departure to play on the West Coast for next season, the Dodgers and Giants face one another for the final time in New York. The Jints beat the Bums at the Polo Grounds, 3-2, to finish the intense 68 year-old storied rivalry with a 656-606 advantage over Brooklyn in the battle between the boroughs.
  • 1967 The Mets, at the urging of their fans, honor former Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired last season when arthritis ended his career prematurely at the age of 30. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, who threw a no-hitter against New York in 1962, started twenty games against the Amazin’s, compiling a 17-2 record that included 14 complete games and 5 shutouts.
  • 2007 Alex Rodriguez, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs, joins Babe Ruth (1920-54, 1921-59, 1927-60, 1928-54), Roger Maris (1961-61), and Mickey Mantle (1956-52, 1961-54) to become only the fourth player in Yankee history to hit 50 or more homers in a single season. The Yankee infielder’s second homer breaks the major league mark of 49 homers hit by a third baseman, shared with Mike Schmidt (Phillies-1980) and Adrian Beltre (Dodgers-2004).
  • 2017 The Dodgers, who just a couple of months ago seemed poised to challenge the major league record of 116 wins in a season, lose again, their 8th straight defeat and 13th in 14 games, as they bow to the Rockies, 5 – 4. They blow an early 4 – 1 lead as D.J. LeMahieu hits a two-run double in the 5th to put Colorado ahead to stay. On a positive note, Yu Darvish records the 1000th strikeout of his career, punching out Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, becoming the fastest starting pitcher to reach the mark, in 812 innings over 128 games.

Lineup:

Jul 25

Game 3, 2020

Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: Fox

As of Friday evening the Giants are using that TBD guy off the mound again, while the Dodgers ask LHP Alex Wood to beat them for the third straight game. Wood spent last year ostensibly with Cincinnati but mostly on the injured list. He signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers in the off-season, presumably in hopes he can recover his previous form (career 53-43, 3.40 ERA) and leverage it to a new contract for 2021.

Here are Muncy’s two HRs from Friday night:

This date in Dodgers history:

  • 1962 At Sportsman’s Park, Stan Musial surpasses Giants’ legend Mel Ott as the National League’s all-time RBI leader. ‘Stan the Man’s’ two-run home run off Don Drysdale in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers gives the Cardinals’ right fielder 1,862 career runs batted in with the Redbirds. (Ed. — He’s now eighth on the all-time list, behind Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Alex Rodriguez, Cap Anson, Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds and Lou Gehrig)

Non-Dodgers history which amuses me as a lapsed guitarist: 2010 The Baseball Hall of Fame honors John Fogerty for his classic rock song “Centerfield”. At the induction ceremonies, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer performs his 1985 hit and then donates his baseball bat shaped-guitar to the Cooperstown museum.

Here’s John and his kids playing the song at Dodger Stadium earlier this year:

Lineup when available.

Sep 08

Game 145, 2019

Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: NBCS BA, SPNLA

The Giants’ RHP Derek Rodríguez (5-8, 5.15 ERA) comes off one of his best games of the year, a one-run seven-inning gem last Tuesday against the Cardinals, and tries to complete a sweep. Julio Urias (4-3, 2.55 ERA) will try to stop it for the Dodgers. Urias went three innings last week in his first appearance after completing a suspension, giving up one run.

There was nary a Dodgers’ highlight in yesterdays game. In case you missed it, there was a complimentary column about Dodger catcher Will Smith in USA Today the other day.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 The Dodgers clinch their eighth National League pennant with a 10-2 victory over the Braves at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. Brooklyn’s 17-game lead makes it the earliest date that a team has captured a flag in baseball history.
  • 1957 Before their departure to play on the West Coast for next season, the Dodgers and Giants face one another for the final time in New York. The Jints beat the Bums at the Polo Grounds, 3-2, to finish the intense 68 year-old storied rivalry with a 656-606 advantage over Brooklyn in the battle between the boroughs.
  • 1967 The Mets, at the urging of their fans, honor former Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax, who retired last season when arthritis ended his career prematurely at the age of 30. The Brooklyn-born southpaw, who threw a no-hitter against New York in 1962, started twenty games against the Amazin’s, compiling a 17-2 record that included 14 complete games and 5 shutouts.
  • 2007 Alex Rodriguez, hitting his 50th and 51st home runs, joins Babe Ruth (1920-54, 1921-59, 1927-60, 1928-54), Roger Maris (1961-61), and Mickey Mantle (1956-52, 1961-54) to become only the fourth player in Yankee history to hit 50 or more homers in a single season. The Yankee infielder’s second homer breaks the major league mark of 49 homers hit by a third baseman, shared with Mike Schmidt (Phillies-1980) and Adrian Beltre (Dodgers-2004).
  • 2017 The Dodgers, who just a couple of months ago seemed poised to challenge the major league record of 116 wins in a season, lose again, their 8th straight defeat and 13th in 14 games, as they bow to the Rockies, 5 – 4. They blow an early 4 – 1 lead as D.J. LeMahieu hits a two-run double in the 5th to put Colorado ahead to stay. On a positive note, Yu Darvish records the 1000th strikeout of his career, punching out Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th, becoming the fastest starting pitcher to reach the mark, in 812 innings over 128 games.

Lineup: