Oct 16

ALCS Game Two & NLCS Game One, 2023

Texas at Houston, 1:37 PM PDT, TV: Fox

RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-0, 1.32 ERA postseason) pitches for the Rangers and LHP Framber Valdez (0-1, 10.38 ERA postseason) takes the ball for the Astros. The Rangers lead the series 1-0.

Arizona at Philadelphia, 5:07 PM PDT, TBS

The first game of the series is a matchup of Zac(k)s, as RHP Zac Gallen (2-0, 3.19 ERA postseason) goes for the D-Backs and RHP Zack Wheeler (1-0, 2.08 ERA postseason) pitches for the Phillies.

Before we get to the events of this date earlier in baseball history, here’s a bit of current news which is historical in itself: the Giants have formally interviewed Alyssa Nakken for their vacant managerial job. She’s believed to be the first woman ever to be considered for an MLB manager’s position. She’s been a full-time coach for the Giants since January of 2020, and she coached first base in April of 2022. She was an outstanding softball player at Sacramento State, a three-time All-Conference first baseman and a four-time academic All-American.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1912 Fred Snodgrass’ 10th inning two-base error of pinch-hitter Clyde Engle’s routine pop fly in center field sets up the tying run en route to the 3-2 Red Sox victory over the Giants and a World Championship for Boston. The play, which becomes infamously known as “Snodgrass’ Muff,” is followed by his spectacular catch of a long drive hit by Tris Speaker, but the 20-year-old outfielder historically becomes known as the goat in the Fall Classic.
  • 1969 The Mets, thanks to Ron Swoboda’s double and two Oriole errors in the eighth inning, win their fourth straight World Series game to become World Champions. Jerry Koosman tosses a five-hitter, beating Baltimore 5-3 in Game 5, in a contest best remembered for manager Gil Hodges winning the ‘shoe polish’ argument.

  • 1983 The Orioles win their fourth straight contest against the Phillies and take the World Series in five games. Scott McGregor pitches a five-hit complete game in the 5-0 victory at Veterans Stadium, and Eddie Murray hits two home runs.
  • 1999 In a game slated to be a battle between the respective aces of each team, the Red Sox crush the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALCS, 13-1. The dream pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens at Fenway Park doesn’t materialize when the ‘Rocket’ fails to get out of the third inning, giving up five earned runs on six hits.
  • 2020 The sixth inning of Game 5 of the NLCS was the best of times and the worst of times for Will Smith, the Dodgers catcher, who smacks a three-run homer off Will Smith, the Braves reliever. The Globe Life Field matchup marks the first time in postseason history that features a hitter facing a pitcher with the same first and last name.
Sep 29

Game 160, 2023

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15 PM PDT, TV: NBCS BA, SPNLA

RHP Lance Lynn (12-11, 5.83 ERA) takes the mound at Candlestick Oracle Park, where he’ll face the Giants’ RHP Keaton Winn (1-2, 3.89 ERA).

The Giants fired Manager Gabe Kapler today. This might partially explain why:

The Giants held the third and final NL Wild Card spot when they embarked on their final road trip of the season, but their playoff hopes evaporated after they went 2-8 against the Rockies, D-backs and Dodgers. They ended up dropping 28 of their final 34 road games and entered Friday 8-17 in September, meaning they’ll need to sweep the first-place Dodgers to avoid finishing under .500 this year.

“We played our worst baseball when it mattered the most,” Zaidi said.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1951 Don Newcombe becomes the first black pitcher to win twenty games in a season. In a must-win for the Dodgers, the right-hander bests Robin Roberts, also a 20-game-winner, when he blanks the Phillies at Shibe Park, 5-0.
  • 1959 At the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, the Dodgers capture the NL flag with a dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Braves, taking the first two games of the three-game playoff necessitated by the teams being tied on the last day of the season. The deciding run comes in the bottom of the 12th inning, after the first two batters make outs, when Gil Hodges walks and scores on singles by Joe Pignatano and Carl Furillo.
  • 1976 Tommy Lasorda is named to succeed Walter Alston as Dodger manager. ‘Smokey’ compiled a 2040-1613 record (.558), during his 23-year tenure with the club, winning seven pennants and four world championships.
  • 1979 Manny Mota sets a major league record with his 146th career pinch hit, a single to right field, in LA’s 6-2 victory over Chicago at Dodger Stadium. The Dominican Republic native surpasses the all-time record set by Smoky Burgess, who collected his last hit as a pinch-hitter in 1967.
  • 2000 Gary Sheffield ties the Dodgers’ franchise single-season home run record when he goes deep off Woody Williams in the team’s 3-0 victory over San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium. The left fielder, with his career best 43rd round tripper, now shares the team mark with Duke Snider, who established the record in 1956 when he played for Brooklyn.

Lineups when available.

Sep 28

Game 159, 2023

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

RHP Ryan Yarbrough (8-6, 3.78 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Chris Flexen (1-8, 7.01 ERA) goes for the Rockies.

Today 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.

Aug 31

Game 133, 2023

Braves at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports SE, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

The Braves send their ace RHP Spencer Strider (15-4, 3.46 ERA) to the mound. He’ll face the Dodgers’ newly-acquired RHP Lance Lynn (10-9, 5.56 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1950 In front of 14,226 fans at Ebbets Field, Gil Hodges becomes the fourth major leaguer in the century to hit four home runs in one game as Brooklyn routs the Braves, 19-3. The Dodger first baseman also ties the major league record for total bases with 17.
  • 1959 Sandy Koufax fans 18 batters to establish a new National League record for a nine-inning game in the Dodgers’ 5-2 win over San Francisco at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The left-hander’s performance equals the major league mark established in 1938 by Indians fireballer Bob Feller during a 4-1 loss to Detroit.
  • 2010 The Dodgers trade a player to be named (infielder Tony Abreu) to the Diamondbacks in exchange for starter Jon Garland. The 31 year-old right-hander will post a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in his six late-season starts for the Dodgers, before signing as a free agent with San Diego.

Lineups when available.

Aug 29

Game 131, 2023

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Diamondbacks (see listings at prior game post), MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Merrill Kelly (10-5, 2.97 ERA) pitches for the D-Backs and LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-4, 2.52 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1939 Wheaties sponsors the first telecast of a baseball game when their ads are aired during the Ebbets Field contest between the Reds and the Dodgers. The commercial broadcast is available only in New York City, where an estimated 500 people own television sets.
  • 1948 Jackie Robinson hits for the backward cycle when he homers in the first inning, triples in the fourth, doubles in the sixth, and completes the rare event with a single in the eighth. In addition to his ten total bases, the Dodger second baseman drives in two runs, scores three times, and steals a base, helping Brooklyn beat the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park, 12-7.
  • 1951 With his second home run of the game, the sixth time he has accomplished the feat this year, Gil Hodges hits his 36th round-tripper to establish a new franchise record for homers in a season. The Dodger first baseman’s seventh-inning three-run blast in the team’s 13-1 rout of Cincinnati at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field surpasses the mark of 35 set by Babe Herman in 1930.
  • 1989 Giving up just three singles, recently acquired Mets southpaw Frank Viola outduels Orel Hershiser and beats the Dodgers, 1-0. The classic contest between two aces marked the first time in baseball history that the reigning winners of the Cy Young Award have faced one another in the regular season.

Cultural history note: On this date in 1966: On a typically cool night, the Beatles play their final concert at Candlestick Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants. The “Fab Four’s” performance on a five-foot stage, which is located just behind second base surrounded by a six-foot high wire fence, is less than stellar due the ballpark’s inadequate lighting, poor acoustics, and the group’s growing disdain of doing live shows.

Lineups when available.

Aug 27

Game 129, 2023

Dodgers at Red Sox, 10:35 AM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NESN, SPNLA

Reliever LHP Caleb Ferguson (7-3, 2.81 ERA) opens for the Dodgers; he’ll face the Sox’ RHP Tanner Houck (3-7, 5.08 ERA).

Here’s a good story at ESPN about Cody Bellinger’s hitting revival.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1937 Dodger right-hander Fred Frankhouse holds the Reds hitless for 7.2 innings before a heavy downpour ends the Ebbets Field contest. The right-hander’s 5-0 victory will be one of the 31 “no-no’s” erased when MLB redefines a no-hitter in 1991 as a game in which a pitcher throws nine innings or more without giving up a hit.
  • 1951 Dodger right fielder Carl Furillo, in the top of the third inning in the team’s 5-0 victory over Pittsburgh at Ebbets Field, throws out Mel Queen by two feet at first base, after the Pirates pitcher had apparently singled into right field. The ‘Reading Rifle’ will lead the NL in assists for the second consecutive season, with opponents becoming increasingly reluctant to challenge the Brooklyn outfielder’s strong arm.
  • 1952 The Dodgers set the National League mark for consecutive games with a double play when they complete a twin killing in their twenty-third straight contest, a 10-5 loss to Chicago at Wrigley Field. The fifth inning 1-4-3 DP, pitcher Clyde King to second baseman Jackie Robinson to first baseman Gil Hodges, leaves Brooklyn two shy of the major league record.
  • 2005 Jeff Kent becomes the first player to hit 300 homers as a second baseman. The Dodger infielder, who surpassed Ryne Sandberg’s total of 277 last September, is the major league leader at this position, with Joe Gordon holding the American League record with 246 round-trippers.

Lineups when available.

Aug 23

Game 125, 2023

Dodgers at Guardians, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-4, 2.48 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Xzavion Curry (3-1, 3.24 ERA) does likewise for the Guardians.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1958 Gil Hodges hits his 14th career grand slam in the Dodgers’ 10-1 victory over Milwaukee at LA Memorial Coliseum. The first baseman’s bases-full round-tripper establishes a new National League record, but is far fewer than Lou Gehrig’s major league mark of 23.
  • 1989 In the 11th frame of an eventual 22-inning 1-0 loss, the Expos’ Youppi! becomes the first mascot to be thrown out of a game when Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda complains to the umpires about the hairy orange giant’s behavior at Olympic Stadium. The L.A. skipper takes exception to the loud noise caused by the hairy creature’s running leap onto the visitors’ dugout before sneaking back into a front row seat.
  • 1989 In that same game, the second-longest shutout in big league history ends when Rick Dempsey hits a home run in the top of the 22nd inning, giving the Dodgers an eventual 1-0 victory over the Expos at Olympic Stadium. The Astros blanked the Mets for 24 frames en route to a 1-0 win at the Astrodome in 1968.
  • 2000 Team president Bob Graziano apologizes to a female couple who were asked to leave Dodger Stadium on August 8th because the two shared a kiss during a game. The pair felt the action of the eight security guards was discriminatory because the couple’s friends, a man and a woman, also kissed but were not ejected.
  • 2013 At a Dodger Stadium press conference, LA announces Vin Scully will continue to broadcast Dodgers’ games for his 65th consecutive season. Some of the historic moments the Hall of Fame broadcaster has called include Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, 19 no-hitters, including four thrown by Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron’s 715th home run, and Kirk Gibson’s dramatic walk-off home run in the 1988 Fall Classic.

Lineups when available.

Aug 01

Game 105, 2023

Athletics at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NBCSCA, SPNLA

Oakland hasn’t yet named its starter, while the Dodgers hand the ball to the newly-acquired RHP Lance Lynn (6-9, 6.47 ERA).

Update: LHP Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6.38 ERA) will start for the A’s.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1906 After pitching 10 2/3 innings of no-hit ball, Harry McIntire yields a single to Pirates second baseman Claude Ritchey. The Dodgers and McIntire lose the game in the 13th on an unearned run, 1-0.
  • 1924 Dazzy Vance strikes out seven consecutive batters to establish a major league record when the Brooklyn Robins defeat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 4-0. The future Hall of Famer, who will compile a 28-6 record for the Brooks this season, will lead the National League in strikeouts with 262.
  • 1957 Gil Hodges, in a 12-3 win over the Cubs, hits his 13th and last career grand slam in Brooklyn Dodger history. The first baseman’s bases-loaded shot off Dick Littlefield establishes a new National League record, previously shared by Rogers Hornsby and Ralph Kiner.
  • 2011 After popping out in a pinch-hitting appearance, Craig Counsell remains without a hit in his last 45 at-bats, tying the longest single-season hitless streak by a position player in history, established by Brooklyn backstop Bill Bergen in 1909. The major league record is 0-for-70, established in 1970 by Bob Buhl, a pitcher who toiled with the Braves and Cubs that season. Counsell and Bergen’s record for position players has since been surpassed by the Orioles’ Chris Davis, who got it up to 54 straight hitless ABs in 2019 before getting a hit on April 13.
  • 2015 Clayton Kershaw strikes out Mike Trout looking with a wicked curveball, marking the first time that reigning MVPs have faced one another in a major league game. The interleague contest between the two LA teams ends with the Dodgers southpaw keeping the Angels outfielder 0-for-3 while hurling eight innings in the team’s 3-1 victory over the Halos at Chavez Ravine.

Lineups when available.

Late breaking news:

I don’t understand that move at all. The Dodgers are in need of starting pitchers, not cash.

Apr 23

Game 23, 2023

Dodgers at Cubs, 11:20 AM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (3-1, 2.52 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers while RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 0.75 ERA) does the same for the Baby Bruins.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1958 In a 7-6 loss to Chicago at the LA Coliseum, two Dodger mainstays from Brooklyn reach career milestones. First baseman Gil Hodges, who will finish his 18-year major league tenure with 370 home runs on his way to the Hall of Fame, hits his 300th career round-tripper, and Captain Pee Wee Reese, a future Hall of Fame shortstop himself, plays in his 2000th game.
  • 1999 Fernando Tatis Sr. becomes the only player in baseball history to hit two grand slams in one inning when he collects eight RBIs in one frame to breaks the old record of six. The Cardinal third baseman hits both off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park in an 11-run third of the team’s 12-5 victory at Chavez Ravine.
  • 2000 The Dodgers complete a sweep of the Reds to notch their 1,000th win over baseball’s oldest professional franchise. Since 1970, Los Angeles is the only National League franchise to play over .500 ball (120-115) in Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field).

Lineups when available.

Apr 02

Game Four, 2023

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Arizona Extra, SPNLA

My goodness. There were 11 runs, 13 hits, 5 walks and 17 strikeouts in Saturday’s game and it was played in 2 hours and 14 minutes.

RHP Zach Davies (2022: 2-5, 4.09 ERA) pitches for the Diamondbacks and RHP Noah Syndergaard (2022: 10-10, 3.94 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers in his debut with the team.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 2003 Todd Zeile homers in his first at-bat as a Yankee, becoming the only major leaguer to hit a home run for ten different teams, surpassing Tommy Davis, who went deep for nine different clubs. In addition to homering with the Bronx Bombers, the infielder has also gone deep for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, and Rockies.
  • 2007 For only the fourth time in major league history, a hurler under the age of 21 wins an Opening Day assignment when 20 year-old Venezuelan right-hander Felix Hernandez pitches eight strong innings in the Mariners’ 4-0 victory over the A’s at Safeco Field. Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers was the last pitcher ‘not of age’ to accomplish the feat, beating the Astros, 2-0, in 1981.
  • 2008 Third base ump Ed Montague tosses Larry Bowa for not staying within the boundaries of the coaching box although he warned the Dodger coach several times to follow the new edict put in place by MLB following the tragic death of Tulsa Drillers’ first base coach Mike Coolbaugh. The former infielder and manager’s behavior will lead to a three-game suspension for “inappropriate and aggressive conduct,” in which he had to be restrained by manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer in the sixth inning of the 3-2 victory over the Giants in Los Angeles.

In non-Dodger history, on this day in 1972 after playing a round of golf in West Palm Beach with his coaches on Easter Sunday, Mets manager and former Dodger Gil Hodges, two days shy of his 48th birthday, suffers a fatal heart attack. The club will name current first base coach and former Yankee skipper Yogi Berra to run the team when the strike-delayed season begins.

Lineups when available.