Tag Archives: Don Drysdale

Aug 09

Game 116, 2018

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Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet-RM

RHP Ross Stripling (8-3, 2.68 ERA) comes off the DL where he’s been with a big toe injury just in time to take Alex Wood’s spot in the rotation; Wood has been placed on the DL with tendinitis in his left hip. Let’s hope Stripling’s toe was the cause of his dramatic fall-off since the All Star game; he had an ERA of 2.08 before the break but it’s 9.35 in his appearances since then. He’ll face the Rockies’ LHP Tyler Anderson (6-4, 4.05 ERA), who’s made two starts against the Dodgers and gone 1-0, although he gave up five runs in five innings on June 1 at Coors Field.

To make room for Stripling the Dodgers optioned Pat Venditte to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

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.

Also on this date, in 2013 Dan Haren becomes the thirteenth pitcher in history to record a victory over all 30 major league franchises when he hurls seven solid innings in the Nationals’ 9-2 win over Philadelphia. The 32 year-old right-hander joins Al Leiter, Randy Johnson, Barry Zito, A.J. Burnett, Kevin Brown, Terry Mulholland, Curt Schilling, Woody Williams, Jamie Moyer, Javier Vazquez, Vicente Padilla, and Derek Lowe in accomplishing the feat.

Lineup when available.


Aug 05

Game 113, 2018

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Astros at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsnet-SW, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Astros try to sweep this series with RHP Gerrit Cole (10-3, 2.55 ERA) taking the mound against the Dodgers’ RHP Walker Buehler (4-4, 3.65 ERA). The last time Cole pitched in Dodger Stadium was August of 2016; he was a Pirate then. He had an excellent June but a so-so July. Buehler spent time on the DL with a microfractured rib (is that what we used to call a cracked rib?) and hadn’t had a really good outing since he came back until his last start on July 31, when he went seven innings, gave up one earned run, struck out seven and walked none. He still got the loss as the Dodgers couldn’t score a single run in that game against the Brewers.

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.


With all the interchangeable parts Dave Roberts has and uses, I’m thinking of calling him Casey Stengel II.

Aug 03

Game 111, 2018

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Astros at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATT Sportsnet-SW

Obviously this is a rematch of last year’s World Series, won by the Astros in seven games. RHP Justin Verlander (10-6, 2.24 ERA) starts for the Astros and LHP Alex Wood (7-5, 3.68 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Verlander started Games 2 and 6 last fall and went six innings each time, giving up a total of five runs. Wood pitched twice as well, starting in one game and relieving in another. He gave up just one run in 7 2/3 innings. Verlander is 1-4 with a 3.54 ERA in his last eight starts, while Wood is 6-0 in his last eight decisions with a 2.61 ERA over that stretch.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 In the second All-Star Game played this summer, Yogi Berra’s two-run home run off Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale in the third inning at the LA Memorial Coliseum proves to be the difference in the American League’s 5-3 victory over the Senior Circuit. The home run will be the last one hit by a Bronx Bomber in a Mid-Summer Classic game for 41 years until Derek Jeter goes deep in 2001.
  • 1995 Making his first start for the Rockies since being acquired from the Mets, Brett Saberhagen gives up 13 hits and walks three batters, but gets the win in the team’s 9-4 win over the Dodgers. The sellout crowd gives their new hurler an enthusiastic standing ovation when he departs the game with one out in the seventh inning.
  • 1997 Jeromy Burnitz, coming off the bench in the Brewers’ 6-5 loss to Seattle at County Stadium, homers as a pinch hitter for the second consecutive time, tying an American League record. The major league mark for consecutive pinch-hit appearances with a home run is three, shared by Lee Lacy (Dodgers – May 2, 6, and 17, 1978) and Del Unser (Phillies – June 30, July 5 and 10, 1979).
  • 2013 The first-place Dodgers set a franchise record, winning their 13th consecutive game on the road with their 3-0 victory over the Cubs in Chicago. The Giants established the National League mark in 1916 when the team won 17 straight games away from the Polo Grounds.

Today the Dodgers celebrate Andre Ethier, who announced his retirement last month. Here’s a summary of his career from the official Dodgers blog.

Lineup:


Jul 25

Game 102, 2018

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Dodgers at Phillies, 9:35 AM PDT, TV: SPNLA, NBCSP, MLBN (out-of-market only)

If any member of either team is awake enough to play well behind the two rested starting pitchers I’ll be surprised. The Dodgers send out their young righthander Walker Buehler (4-2, 3.45 ERA) to face the Phillies’ righty Jake Arrieta (7-6, 3.47 ERA). Buehler arrived in Philadelphia from Oklahoma City Tuesday. He’d been sent there as a roster move before the All Star break but didn’t pitch an inning for the team there on this latest visit. Arrieta started the year with two good months, going 5-2 in April and May. His June was awful: he lost four out of five starts. He’s bounced back in July to win two games and lose none so far.

Manager Dave Roberts says he expects Buehler “to stick around for a while.”

Injury updates were announced before Tuesday’s marathon. Tom Koehler is done for the year without throwing a pitch for the Dodgers. Puig and Baez are rehabbing in OKC and will be back for Thursday’s game in Atlanta, and Ryu is about to start rehabbing in the minors. The Dodgers expect him to make at least four starts before returning to the big club.

Today 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.
  • 2017 The Dodgers defeat the Minnesota Twins to run their record to 70-31. Kenta Maeda gets his ninth win of the season and Josh Ravin posts his first save.

Lineup when available.

Jul 01

Game 83, 2018

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Rockies at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATT SportsNet-RM

Hoping to complete the sweep, the Rockies send RHP Chad Bettis (5-1, 5.07 ERA) out to duel with the Dodgers’ RHP Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.98 ERA). Bettis allowed the Giants just two runs over 6 1/3 innings last Tuesday; prior to that he’d given up at least five runs in each of his previous five starts. Stripling went five innings against the Cubs in his last start and gave up just one run but got a no-decision for his efforts.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1968 Bob Gibson’s scoreless inning streak ends abruptly at 47 with a questionable call when the official scorer rules a wild pitch, and not a passed ball, allowed Len Gabrielson to score in the first inning of the Cardinals’ 5-1 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Without the hometown decision, the Redbird right-hander, who will blank San Francisco in his next start, would have been within three innings of breaking the mark of 58 scoreless frames established in June by Don Drysdale, tonight’s losing pitcher.
  • 2011 Dee Gordon, in the seventh inning of a 5-0 inter-league victory over the Angels in Anaheim, steals second and third base, and then completes the stolen base cycle by swiping home. The Dodger shortstop becomes the 40th major leaguer to accomplish the trifecta in the same frame.

Lineup when available.


Jun 28

Game 80, 2018

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Cubs at Dodgers, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, NBC Sports Chicago, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Cubs send out LHP José Quintana (6-6, 4.26 ERA) to face LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-4, 2.94 ERA) in his second start back from the disabled list. While Quintana got beaten his last time out, giving up four earned runs in five innings while walking two and striking out only three, he’s made two starts against the Dodgers in his career and hasn’t given up a run in the 14 innings he’s pitched against them. Kershaw showed the rust in his last outing, giving up two runs on five hits in just three innings. He threw just 55 pitches in that game.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1969 After ending an 11-game losing streak in their previous contest, the expansion Padres are the victims of a 19-0 shutout for the second time this season when Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale equals the National League-record for the largest margin of victory in a shutout. L.A. will score more than half of their runs when they tally ten times in the third inning.
  • 2000 The Rockies draw their 20 millionth fan to one ballpark faster than any other team in major league history. Taking less than six years, Colorado eclipses the Dodgers’ mark of taking nine years in two stadiums to reach the milestone.
  • 2008 In Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers, without the benefit of a hit for the entire game, defeat the Angels, 1-0. The combined losing effort of Halo hurlers Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo isn’t considered officially as a no-hitter because the home team didn’t have to bat in the ninth (a nitpick if I ever heard one).

Lineup when available.


Jun 26

Game 78, 2018

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Cubs at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, WGN, ESPN (out-of-market only)

It’s a clash of potential All Stars as the Baby Bruins send LHP Jon Lester (9-2, 2.10 ERA) to the hill to face the Dodgers’ RHP Ross Stripling (6-2, 1.99 ERA). Lester threw 119 pitches in his team’s win against the Dodgers last Wednesday and gave up only five hits and no runs while doing so. He’s gotten through the sixth inning in seven consecutive starts. The Cubs ended Stripling’s six-game win streak in the game Lester pitched, in which Stripling went six innings, gave up eight hits and three runs.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1944 At the Polo Grounds with over 50,000 fans looking on, the New York major league teams face each other in a six inning three-team game (a team played consecutive innings against the other two teams then sat out an inning) to raise money for war bonds. The charity contest, billed as the Tri-Cornered Baseball Game, ends with the final score of Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants 0.

  • 1968 Cardinals right-hander Bob Gibson tosses his fifth consecutive shutout as he blanks the Pirates, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader played at Busch Stadium. The future Hall of Famer’s accomplishment is one shy of the major league mark, set earlier in the month by Don Drysdale of the Dodgers.
  • 1999 At Candlestick Park, Todd Hundley’s second homer of the day, a ninth inning three-run shot to deep right field off Giants’ closer Robb Nen, sparks the Dodgers’ 7-6 comeback win. Ellis Burks had put San Francisco ahead in the bottom of the eighth, 6-4, with a three-run homer off Alan Mills.
  • 2011 Three days after Jim Riggleman’s sudden resignation, the Nationals name senior advisor Davey Johnson as the team’s manager for the remainder of the season. The 68 year-old former skipper compiled an 1148-888 (.564) record during his 14 years in the dugout with the Mets, Dodgers, Reds, and Orioles, finishing lower than third place on only three occasions.

Things of no great import that are nonetheless interesting, Number 317: In 1995 Before rejoining the Yankees to make a start in Chicago, Columbus Clipper starter Mariano Rivera pitches a five-inning no-hitter against the International League’s Rochester Red Wings in Ohio’s Cooper Stadium. During his tenure in the minor leagues, Mo, the future major league leader in career saves, is used primarily as a starter, starting 68 games, including seven complete contests, en route to compiling a 27-18 record along with a 2.35 ERA.

I had no clue Rivera had been a starter and that he was that good at it.

Lineup when available.


Jun 13

Game 67, 2018

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Rangers at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, FSSW

The Rangers ask LHP Cole Hamels (3-6, 3.86 ERA) to put a halt to their 5-game losing streak. He’ll face the Dodgers’ RHP Kenta Maeda (4-4, 3.61 ERA), newly activated from the disabled list where he’d been with a strained right hip. Hamels has been on a downward slide recently: he’s 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA in his last three starts. Maeda was pitching very well before his injury; unfortunately the Dodgers’ offense wasn’t producing the way it has been recently or he’d have more wins.

Here’s an article from The Athletic offering up blue-sky predictions of what MLB expansion might look like. It’s fun and thought-provoking.

Today 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 08

Game 63, 2018

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Braves at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, FSSO

Coming off a 5-1 road trip the Dodgers send young righthander Walker Buehler (3-1, 2.74 ERA) out to face old friend RHP Brandon McCarthy (5-2, 4.83 ERA), who has nearly equaled his win total of last year for the Dodgers already. Buehler has made four starts at home this season and is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 27 Ks in 25 innings. McCarthy has been healthy so far, which is the biggest difference between last season and this. He missed two months of the Dodgers’ 2017 season with a blister on his right hand, one of three disabled list stints on the season for McCarthy.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1952 Prior to the start of a twin bill against the Reds, Dodger manager Chuck Dressen tells Cal Abrams if he wants to stay with the team that the benchwarmer will need to verbally taunt the skipper of the opposing club. Much to his chagrin, the spare outfielder, who spends the entire first game of a double-header severely heckling his opponents and their leader, is informed between games he has been traded to Cincinnati, effective tomorrow, and will need to report to his new field boss, one very angry Roger Hornsby.
  • 1955 After only eight games and 13 innings of work, the Dodgers option rookie left-handed pitcher Tom Lasorda to Montreal to make room for a bonus baby who is also a southpaw. Sandy Koufax, who had injured his ankle, comes off the 30-day disabled list.
  • 1968 Dodger right-hander Don Drysdale’s scoreless streak ends at a record 58 2/3 consecutive innings when Tony Taylor is driven in by Howie Bedell’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. It will be the Phillies outfielder’s only RBI for the season.
  • 2007 With their 3-0 victory over Detroit at Comerica Park, the Mets begin a span of 18 games to become the first team in baseball history to play six consecutive series against six different clubs that all participated in the playoffs the previous season. New York will compile an 8-10 record during the stretch playing against the Tigers, Dodgers, Yankees, Twins, A’s, and the Cardinals.
  • 2012 Six Mariners pitchers combine to hurl the franchise’s third no-hitter when starter Kevin Millwood leaves the game with an injury and five relievers, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen, keep the Dodgers hitless in the team’s 1-0 victory at Safeco Field. Brian Runge, the home plate umpire, was also behind the dish for Philip Humber’s perfect game, making him the first ump to call balls and strikes for two no-hitters in one season since Drew Coble accomplished the feat in 1990.

Lineup when available.


Jun 01

Game 57, 2018

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Dodgers at Rockies, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATTSportsNet RM, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Dodgers embark on a six-game road trip by playing the Rockies at Coors Field this evening. They’ll ask LHP Scott Alexander (1-0, 4.05 ERA) to start for the injured Kenta Maeda. Alexander has been in 20 games this season, completing 20 innings. All of them have been in relief. In fact, this is his first start in the big leagues, and it comes in his 100th MLB appearance. He’ll face the Rockies’ LHP Tyler Anderson (3-1, 4.72 ERA), who’s spent his entire three-year MLB career as a starter and has thrown 55 1/3 innings in 11 games this season.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 Duke Snider blasts three home runs in the Dodgers’ 11-8 win over Milwaukee. Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Roy Campanella also go deep in the Ebbets Field’s contest, helping Brooklyn set a franchise record with six home runs.
  • 1962 In the nightcap of a twin bill at Shibe Park, Don Drysdale beats the Phillies for the 13th consecutive time, continuing a streak which started in 1958. The Dodger right-hander, however, will drop his next seven decisions against Philadelphia after today’s victory.
  • 1997 When Wilton Guerrero scurries to pick up pieces of his shattered bat after grounding out to start the game, home plate ump Steve Ripley becomes suspicious and discovers that the rookie used an altered bat. The Dodgers second baseman is immediately ejected from the game by crew chief Bruce Froemming, and the 21 year-old infielder will also receive an eight-day suspension and a $1,000 fine for his use of a corked bat.

Lineup: