Tag Archives: Don Drysdale

May 20

Game 47, 2023

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Dodgers at Cardinals, 4:15 PM PDT, TV: Fox

RHP Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 5.94 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Miles Mikolas (2-1, 4.91 ERA) does so for the Cardinals. I notice on Mikolas’s player page at MLB that his nickname is 5280’s; I wonder what the backstory is.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1979 Don Sutton becomes the franchise’s winningest pitcher when he is credited with the victory, tossing eight innings in the Dodgers 6-4 victory over the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. The 34 year-old right-hander’s 210th win surpasses the team mark established in 1969 by Don Drysdale.

During yesterday’s game the Dodgers’ broadcasters mentioned the speed of Jordan Hicks’s pitches. Back in 2018 Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks equals Aroldis Chapman’s mark for the fastest pitch known in baseball history when he throws a pair of pitches clocked at 105 mph in the team’s 5-1 victory over the Phillies at Busch Stadium. The 21-year-old Redbird rookie right-handed reliever had never appeared in a game above Class A before starting the season with St. Louis this year. As we all know, speed alone doesn’t make you successful; his career record is 8-15 with a 4.15 ERA and 20 saves, and he’s had his troubles this season as well.

Lineups when available.

Apr 17

Game 17, 2023

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Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN, SNY, SPNLA

LHP David Peterson (0-2, 4.91 ERA) pitches for the Mets and RHP Dustin May (1-1, 1.47 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1904 By not charging admission but requiring fans to buy a scorecard, the Superbas find a way to play their first Sunday game at home, beating the Beaneaters, 9-1, at Brooklyn’s Washington Park. The strategy attempts to circumvent legislation, known as the Blue Laws, designed to enforce religious edicts, including the observance of Sunday as a day of worship.
  • 1955 In his first major league at-bat, Roberto Clemente singles off Dodger pitcher Johnny Podres. The Pirates’ rookie, who will die in a plane crash attempting to bring relief aid to earthquake-stricken Nicaragua in 1972, will collect precisely 3,000 hits during his 18-year major league career, all with Pittsburgh.
  • 1956 White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio, Dodger right-hander Don Drysdale, and Reds outfielder Frank Robinson play in their first major league games. The trio’s debut marks the first time three future Hall of Famers have made their initial appearance on the same day.

  • 1988 The Braves beat the Dodgers, 3-1, after breaking the National League record with ten losses to start the season. The team will drop 27 of its first 39 decisions, costing Chuck Tanner his job as the Atlanta manager.
  • 2013 Clayton Kershaw becomes the second-fastest Dodger to strike out 1,000 batters when he throws a second-inning 93-mph fastball past San Diego first baseman’s Yonder Alonso. The 25-year-old southpaw reaches the milestone in 970 career innings, 15 2/3 more than needed by Hideo Nomo, who established the team mark in 2003.

Lineups when available.

Sometimes I wonder about Dave Roberts. Chris Taylor, he of the .135 BA with five hits (albeit four of them home runs) in 37 ABs, hits cleanup today.

Apr 15

Game 15, 2023

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Cubs at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

RHP Jameson Taillon (0-2, 7.00 ERA) goes for the Cubs and RHP Michael Grove (0-1, 14.73) pitches for the Dodgers.

Here’s a profile of an alumna of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democrat from IL-14 and a nurse with a postgrad degree (like Jackie’s wife Rachel, who’s got an MS in psychiatric nursing and was an Assistant Prof at Yale’s School of Nursing). It’s from the NYT but it’s out from behind the paywall and free for y’all to read.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1909 On Opening Day, the Superbas are no-hit by the Giants’ Red Ames for 9.1 innings. The Polo Grounds contest will go thirteen innings before Brooklyn defeats the 26 year-old right-hander, 3-0.
  • 1930 On Opening Day, Phillies’ southpaw Les Sweetland throws a three-hitter at Ebbets Field. The 28 year-old southpaw doubles and scores the lone run in the eighth inning of his 1-0 complete-game victory over Brooklyn.
  • 1933 In his major league debut, Tigers rookie Lynwood “Schoolboy” Rowe tosses a six-hitter, blanking the White Sox, 3-0. During his 15-year career, playing also with the Dodgers and Phillies, Rowe will compile a 158-101 record, posting an ERA of 3.87.
  • 1947 A year before President Truman desegregated the military, Jackie Robinson debuts for the Dodgers, becoming the first black player to participate in a major league game this century. In front of 25,623 Ebbets Field fans, the 28 year-old first baseman is hitless in three at-bats, but scores a run in the 5-3 Opening Day victory over the Braves.
  • 1958 On Opening Day, the transplanted New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers play the first major league game on the West Coast. The California contest sees Ruben Gomez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale at San Francisco’s Seals Stadium, 8-0.
  • 1959 Cardinal right-hander Bob Gibson makes his major league debut at LA Memorial Coliseum, tossing the final two innings in a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. The 23 year-old rookie becomes the first future Hall of Fame hurler to give up a home run to the first batter he faces in the major leagues when third baseman Jim Baxes takes him deep in the seventh inning.
  • 2004 Major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration commemorating the day the color line was broken in 1947. At big league venues across the country ceremonies are being held to honor the ground-breaking historic event, including baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Jackie’s widow Rachel Robinson attending the festivities at Shea Stadium.
  • 2005 The Dodgers, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game in the big leagues, wear replicas of the old road uniforms worn by the 1947 team which played in Brooklyn. Right-hander Derek Lowe throws a three-hitter, blanking the Padres in San Diego, 4-0.
  • 2007 To honor Jackie Robinson, some players on each team, including Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter and Braves’ outfielder Andruw Jones, wear the Dodger immortal’s uniform No. 42 on the 60th anniversary of his historic breaking the color barrier in baseball. In the Cardinals and Brewers contest at Busch Stadium, every player and coach on both teams dons Jackie’s revered number.

Lineups when available.

Apr 07

Game Eight, 2023

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Arizona Extra, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 1.50 ERA) makes his 400th regular season start at Chase Field. He’ll face fellow LHP Madison Bumgarner (0-1, 11.25 ERA); this will be his 353rd regular season start. I think it’s safe to say that, based on recent performances, Bumgarner is closer to the end of his career than Kershaw is.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1969 After throwing just two pitches to start the season, Don Drysdale finds himself and his team trailing by two runs when Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan hit back-to-back homers. The 32 year-old right-hander settles down, and the Dodgers come back to win the Crosley Field contest, 3-2.
  • 1969 Bill Singer becomes the first major league reliever to officially record a save, a new stat which will be kept starting this season, in the Dodgers’ 3-2 win over Cincinnati in the season-opener at Crosley Field. The ‘Singer Throwing Machine’ does not allow a hit, hurling three scoreless innings en route to saving Don Drysdale’s victory.
  • 1977 Gary Thomasson starts the game by walloping the first pitch in the Dodgers’ opener for a home run off Don Sutton, who had apparently thrown a gopher ball. Unbeknownst to the Giants’ leadoff hitter, the ball was to be taken for a pitch and handed to the home plate umpire to be sent to Cooperstown.
  • 1977 Frank Sinatra keeps his promise to Tommy Lasorda by singing the Star-Spangled Banner on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. ‘Old Blue Eyes’ had told the team’s new skipper he would perform the National Anthem if his friend ever became the L.A. manager.

  • 2012 Octavio Dotel, playing for his 13th team, breaks a major league record he previously shared with Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs, and Ron Villone. The 39 year-old Tiger reliever, who throws 1.1 scoreless innings against Boston, has also appeared with the Mets, Astros, A’s, Yankees, Royals, Braves, White Sox, Pirates, Dodgers, Rockies, Blue Jays, and Cardinals.

Lineups when available.

Mar 30

Opening Day, Game One, 2023

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Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Arizona, SPNLA

27-year-old RHP Zac Gallen (2022: 12-4, 2.54 ERA) makes the Opening Day start for the D-Backs. 26-year-old LHP Julio Urías (2022: 17-7, 2.16 ERA) starts for the Dodgers.

There have been thousands of words written and barrels of ink used discussing the Dodgers’ actions and inactions over the off-season; we’re about to see what all that means when the results count.

Five Thirty Eight says: The Dodgers Lead Our 2023 MLB Forecast — But They’re The Weakest Favorite In Years

Talk about damning with faint praise!

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1966 Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale’s refusal to report to spring training ends when the hurlers agree to the Dodgers’ offer of $235,000, signing for $130,000 and $105,000, respectively. The LA starters’ joint holdout lasts for 32 days, paving the way for other players to be more aggressive when negotiating with owners.
  • 2012 Jamie Moyer becomes the oldest starting pitcher to make an Opening Day roster when the Rockies announce that the 49 year-old southpaw will face Houston in the second game of the season. Knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm was the same age as the Colorado left-hander when he opened the season with L.A. in 1972, but ‘Old Sarge’ appeared strictly in relief for the Dodgers.

Lineups when available.

Sep 28

Game 155, 2022

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Dodgers at Padres, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: BS San Diego, SPNLA

The Dodgers give LHP Julio Urías (17-7, 2.25 ERA) the ball to face the Padres’ RHP Joe Musgrove (10-7, 3.12 ERA). Urías leads the NL in ERA.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1924 Rogers Hornsby finishes the season with a .424 batting average to lead the National League. The Cardinal second baseman easily outdistances Zack Wheat, who finishes second in the race, batting .375 for the Dodgers.
  • 1952 On the last day of the season at Ebbets Field, the Braves’ 77 years of representing Boston is extended by three innings when Eddie Mathews’ ninth-inning, two-out double ties the game. The contest is called due to darkness and ends in the 12th inning in a 5-5 tie with the Dodgers.
  • 1955 In the bottom of the second inning, Elston Howard, in his first World Series at-bat, knots the score at 2-2 when he homers off Dodgers’ right-hander Don Newcombe. The round-tripper to deep left field at Yankee Stadium marks the first time a black batter has hit a home run off a black pitcher in the history of the Fall Classic.
  • 1959 The Braves, who ended the National League regular season in a first-place tie with the Dodgers, lose Game 1 of the three-game series, 3-2, in front of a sparse crowd of 18,297 at County Stadium. Milwaukee will lose tomorrow’s game in L.A., spoiling their chance for a three-peat as NL Champs.
  • 1966 At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Larry Jaster throws a four-hitter, blanking Don Sutton and the Dodgers, 2-0. It’s the southpaw’s fifth shutout against LA this season, equaling a post-1900 major league mark held by the Senators’ Tom Hughes (against the Indians in 1905) and Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Phillies (against the Reds in 1916).
  • 1988 In his last start of the regular season, Dodger Orel Hershiser tosses 10 shutout frames to extend his streak to 59, breaking Don Drysdale’s record of 58 consecutive scoreless innings.
  • 1997 With his 40th home run, catcher Mike Piazza sets a single season Los Angeles Dodger record. Duke Snider holds the franchise record, slugging 43 round-trippers for Brooklyn in 1956.
  • 2003 At Turner Field in Atlanta, Jose Reyes becomes the second Mets player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game. Lee Mazzilli was the first when he went yard twice against the Dodgers in LA on September 3, 1978.
  • 2006 At Coors Field in Colorado, James Loney collects four hits, including two homers, and drives in nine runs in the Dodgers’ 19-11 victory over the Rockies. The rookie first baseman, who had one homer and eight runs batted in in 93 previous at-bats with the team, ties the franchise RBI mark set by Gil Hodges in his 1950 four-homer game for Brooklyn and breaks the Los Angeles club mark held by Ron Cey.

Lineups when available.

Sep 14

Game 142, 2022

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Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: BS Arizona, BS Arizona Extra, SPNLA

The Dodgers haven’t yet named a starter, but the D-Backs have. They’ll give the ball to RHP Zach Davies (2-4, 4.09 ERA).

Update: Michael Grove will start.


That’s an astonishing statistic: 60 times Kershaw has gone seven-plus innings without allowing a run. In a different era he’d have been pushing the shutout numbers that Sutton (52), Drysdale (49) and Koufax (40) put up for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1951 Preacher Roe wins his 20th game of the season when the Dodgers beat the Pirates at Forbes Field, 3-1. The 36 year-old southpaw will finish the season with a 22-3 record.
  • 2002 Chin-Feng Chen becomes the first Taiwan-born player to appear in the major leagues as he walks and scores as a pinch-hitter for the Dodgers against the Rockies. The 24 year-old first baseman-outfielder played for the 1990 Taiwan team which won the Little League World Series.
  • 2008 Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, with his eighth-inning thievery in a 7-4 loss to the Braves at Shea Stadium, becomes the first player to have four straight seasons of 50 or more stolen bases playing for a New York area team, which also includes Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants. The accomplishment extends the infielder’s own record, as he is also the only Gotham major leaguer to achieve the feat for three consecutive years.

Also, in 1990 Mariner Ken Griffey and his son, Junior, become the first father and son to hit homers in the same major league game. The back-to-back blasts are given up by Angel hurler Kirk McCaskill.

Lineups when available.

Aug 12

Game 111, 2022

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Dodgers at Royals, 5:10 PM PDT, BSKC, SPNLA

The Dodgers’ RHP Tony Gonsolin (13-1, 2.30 ERA) heads for the Kauffman Stadium mound this evening. He’ll face the Royals’ LHP Daniel Lynch (4-7, 4.79 ERA). Gonsolin has won his last two starts and four of his last six. Lynch got no decision in his last start but won the one prior.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1984 Former Dodgers Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese, along with Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, American League hurler Rick Ferrell, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
  • 2021 The Romines become the first siblings to be battery mates since the Dodgers’ Norm and Larry Sherry (1960-62) when Andrew, an infielder by trade, takes the mound in a mop-up role, throwing the ball to his younger brother, Austin, in the Cubs’ 17-4 loss to the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The sons of Kevin, an outfielder with the Red Sox (1985-1992), join Jim & Ed Bailey (1959 Reds) and Bobby & Billy Shantz (1954-55 A’s), who also appeared in the same major league game as pitcher and catcher, playing at the same time in the contest.

In 2006 the Portland Beavers honor Rodney McCray, the former Vancouver Canadian who gain everlasting notoriety in 1991 when he literally ran through the right field plywood fence trying to catch Chip Hale’s fly ball in Portland’s Civic Stadium. The PCL team commemorates the memorable play with a bobble head promotion which features the moment of impact and renames the right field area of their current ballpark “McCray Alley.”

In a great moment of fan history, in 2014 Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home run balls, both off the bat of the Astros’ DH Chris Carter. In the third inning of Houston’s 10-4 victory over Minnesota, the Springfield (VA) resident gets his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field, and then in the fifth frame, against astronomical odds, catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, which is a laser shot hit directly to his seat.

Lineups when available.

Aug 10

Game 110, 2020

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Twins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: BSSN, SPNLA

RHP Sonny Gray (6-3, 3.19 ERA) pitches for the visitors this evening and RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 2.76 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. In Gray’s last start he went five scoreless innings and gave up just one hit but got no decision in a game which blew up after he left: The Jays got three runs in the sixth and six in the eighth and won 9-3. Pepiot has been in four games for the Dodgers, all starts in this his rookie season. He got his first win in his last game, the first one in which he went as many as five innings. He gave up four hits and one run in that one.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1979 Dodger hurler Don Sutton sets a franchise record with his 50th shutout, blanking San Francisco at Candlestick Park, 9-0. The 34 year-old right-hander had previously shared the mark with Don Drysdale. (Ed. note: 50! In his twelfth year [now fifteenth] Clayton Kershaw has a career total of 15! In fact, Kershaw hasn’t thrown a complete game since 2017, which shows how the management of pitchers has changed.)
  • 1995 The first forfeit in the majors in sixteen years occurs when the fans for the third time during the night throw promotional souvenir baseballs onto the Dodger Stadium field. At the time of the decision to halt the game, Los Angeles is trailing the Cardinals, 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

August 10 is a good day for pitchers: in 1971 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Juan Marichal records his 50th career shutout as the Giants blank the Expos, 1-0. The Dominican hurler’s ninth inning double helps to build the winning run.

Lineups when available.

Aug 09

Game 109, 2022

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Twins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: BSSN, SPNLA

RHP Joe Ryan (8-4, 3.67 ERA) pitches for the Twins, who are making a rare appearance at Dodger Stadium. He’ll face LHP Julio Urías (11-6, 2.57 ERA). Ryan is in his second year in the big leagues, all as a starter. He had a mediocre July, going 1-1 but posting a 5.06 ERA. His only August start was much better: he went five innings against the Tigers, gave up one run on three hits and got the win. Urías is on a roll; he’s won his last eight starts.

This day 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.

Lineups when available