Sep 01

Game 139, 2019

Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-A, SPNLA

RHP Ross Stripling (4-4, 3.64 ERA) is back from the IL and expected to pitch only two or three innings, after which he’ll give way to RHP Dustin May (1-3, 4.07 ERA). The Diamondbacks send rookie LHP Alex Young (6-3, 3.81 ERA) out to face them. Opponents are hitting a meager .217 against Young in his 11 appearances this season.

Here’s Smitty’s 13th HR of his rookie season, which gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1890 On Labor Day at Brooklyn’s Washington Park, the Bridegrooms, later to be known as the Dodgers, win all three games against Pittsburgh in the first tripleheader ever played. The home team sweeps the visiting Alleghenys, who will be renamed the Pirates next season, 10-9, 3-2, and 8-4.
  • 1953 The Cardinals tie a major league mark, hitting five homers in a 12-5 loss to Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. The solo shots hit by Stan Musial, Harry Elliot, Rip Repulski, and Steve Bilko (2), all off starter Preacher Roe, aren’t enough to offset the Dodgers’ 17-hit attack, which includes six doubles but no round-trippers.
  • 1969 At Dodger Stadium, Willie Davis ties the franchise record by hitting in 29 consecutive games with his second-inning single in LA’s 10-6 victory over New York. The mark was established by Zack Wheat in 1916.

Lineup when available.

Aug 02

Game 112, 2019

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: FSSD, SPNLA

LHP Eric Lauer, (5-8, 4.52 ERA) will face the Dodgers’ highest-ranked pitching prospect, RHP Dustin May (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Lauer has been slumping; he’s 1-4 since June 3. The 21-year-old Mr. May was just called up by the Dodgers from OKC yesterday. It may be the Dodgers are looking at this as an audition for a September call-up. They may wonder how he’ll do against big league competition in case they want to use him in relief in the post-season, or maybe they’re thinking of adding him to the rotation and moving Maeda to the bullpen for the playoffs, where he’s had success. Feel free to speculate.

Here’s young Mr. Smith’s grand slam in Thursday’s game:

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 Bright yellow baseballs designed by Frederick Rah, who believes the visibility of the dandelion-hue sphere will help players avoid getting hit by a pitch, are used in the first game of a doubleheader. The one-game experiment draws mixed reactions and the Dodgers complete their sweep of the twin bill from the Cardinals, 6-2 and 9-3, using the traditional white ball in the nightcap.
  • 1982 During a ceremony held in Cooperstown, NY, the United States Postal Service unveils a 20-cent stamp commemorating baseball great Jackie Robinson as part of its annual Black Heritage series. The Dodger infielder becomes the first individual baseball player to be depicted on a U.S postage stamp.

  • 2002 Reds general manager Jim Bowden is fined by commissioner Bud Selig for the comments he made to reporters prior to yesterday’s game against the Dodgers comparing a baseball strike with the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Quickly realizing the use of such analogy was inappropriate and insensitive, the Cincinnati GM issues an immediate apology after the game.
  • 2008 In the first game after the Manny Ramirez trade to the Dodgers, the Fenway Faithful enthusiastically welcome Jason Bay, the player replacing the Boston icon. The former Pirates outfielder doesn’t disappoint, tripling and scoring the winning run in the 12th inning of the Red Sox’s 2-1 victory over the A’s.
  • 2017 The Dodgers lost to the Braves, ending their nine-game winning streak. Had they won it would have been the third time that season they’d have won ten straight. The bullpen gave up the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta.

Lineup when available.

Jul 07

Game 88, 2018

Dodgers at Angels, 4:15 PM PDT, TV: FOX

RHP Ross Stripling (6-2, 2.27 ERA) goes for the Dodgers against the Angels’ RHP Deck McGuire (0-1, 7.56 ERA), who’ll be making his second big league start. His first didn’t go well: last Sunday he gave up five runs in 3 1/3 innings to the Orioles. Stripling himself hasn’t won in his last four starts.

Maeda to paternity list, RHP Dylan Floro called up.

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 a 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.
  • 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.

Lineup when available.


Jul 04

Game 86, 2018

Happy Fourth of July from the Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber.

Pirates at Dodgers, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, ATT SportsNet-PIT

The Dodgers ask lefty Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68 ERA) to complete the sweep of the hapless Buccos, who will send RHP Clay Holmes to the mound for his first big league start. He’s 6-3 with a 3.39 ERA for AAA Indianapolis and has made two relief appearances for the Pirates, giving up two hits in four innings while striking out two.

The Dodgers and Reds made a deal today.

The Los Angeles Dodgers today acquired RHP Dylan Floro, minor-league RHP Zach Neal and international signing bonus pool space from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league RHPs James Marinan and Aneurys Zabala.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 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.

Lineup:


Aug 19

Game 121, 2017

Dodgers at Tigers, 1:05 PM PT, TV: FS-D, FS1, SPNLA

The Dodgers send lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-6, 3.63 ERA) to the hill to face the Tigers’ RHP Michael Fulmer (10-10, 3.78 ERA). The Dodgers are 6-1 in Ryu’s last seven starts (five of which ended before the sixth), and he’s got a 2.50 ERA in those games. Fulmer has lost four starts in a row and put up a 7.89 ERA in those games.

The Dodgers acquired Curtis Granderson from the Mets for the proverbial player-to-be-named-later or cash. This may have an impact on Joc Pederson’s playing time, and it’s hard to see what they do with André Ethier when he presumably returns from his injuries in September. “The Dodgers designated pitcher Dylan Floro for assignment to make room for Granderson on the 40-man roster. They will have to make a corresponding transaction to make room on the active roster once Granderson joins the team.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 For the sixth consecutive season, Robin Roberts is a 20-game winner. The Phillies right-hander, who will finish the season with a 23-14 record, beats Don Newcombe and the first place Dodgers at Connie Mack Stadium, 3-2.
  • 1957 Citing poor attendance as the reason, Giants’ president Horace Stoneham, ignoring baseball’s edict of banning announcements about relocation of franchises until after the World Series, informs the press the club has signed a lease to play its home games in San Francisco next season. The club’s Board of Directors voted 8-1 approving the shift to the West Coast, with the only dissenting vote cast by M. Donald Grant, who will become the chairman of the Mets, an expansion team located in New York to fill the National League void created by the departure of the Giants and Dodgers to California.
  • 2004 Pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth inning, John Smoltz establishes the franchise record with his 142nd save in a Braves uniform. The right-handed reliever surpasses Gene Garber as Atlanta beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 6-5.
  • 2008 The Dodgers reacquired Greg Maddux (6-9, 3.99) from the Padres for cash and two minor leaguers to be named or an additional monetary sum. The 42 year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander, obtained to help the club down the stretch run, played in LA for part of the 2006 season, winning six of nine decisions.

On this day in 1951 Forty-three inch tall Eddie Gaedel walks on four pitches in his only major league appearance. Bill Veeck’s idea of playing the midget was legal at the time but is later outlawed.

Lineup when available.

Huh. Granderson’s arrival allows movement all over the lineup. I hope it works.