Tag Archives: Noah Syndergaard

Apr 19

Game 19, 2023

Posted on by

Mets at Dodgers, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: SNY, SPNLA

It’s the Mets’ RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 3.72 ERA) versus the Dodgers’ RHP Noah Syndergaard (0-3, 4.91 ERA)

Today in Dodgers’ history,

  • 1890 The Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who will later be known as the Dodgers, play their first National League game. The former American Association team loses to the Beaneaters, who will become known as the Braves in 1912, at Boston’s South End Grounds, 15-9.
  • 1938 During the first inning, both Dodgers’ Ernie Koy and Phillies’ Emmett Mueller homer in their first major league at-bats. The pair of rookies will collectively hit a total 42 home runs during their nine seasons in the major leagues.
  • 1956 In the first major league game ever played in New Jersey, the Dodgers begin their Jersey City home game experiment with a 10-inning 5-4 victory over the Phillies at Roosevelt Stadium. A sparse crowd of 12,214, limited by inclement weather, sees Brooklyn backstop Roy Campanella tie the score in the tenth inning with his 1000th career hit, a double down the left field line.
  • 1968 Nolan Ryan makes quick work of the Dodgers when he strikes out the side on nine pitches in the top of the third inning of the Mets’ 3-2 loss at Shea Stadium. The 21 year-old New York fireballer, who will also accomplish the feat with the Angels in 1972, strikes out 11 batters in 7.1 frames, including Claude Osteen, Wes Parker, and Zoilo Versalles, the victims of his immaculate inning.
  • 2000 Veteran hurler Orel Hershiser ties a major league mark, equaled by 19 others, hitting four batters in one game. Astro Richard Hidalgo also ties a modern major league record by getting hit three times in a game, twice by Hershiser and a third time by Dodger reliever Matt Herges.
  • 2002 Mariners’ third baseman Jeff Cirillo ties the major league record for consecutive errorless games at the hot corner by playing his 99th contest without a miscue. John Wehner, a journeyman infielder with the Dodgers, Pirates, and Marlins, established the mark during a span of eight-plus seasons.

Lineups when available.

Apr 14

Game 14, 2023

Posted on by

Cubs at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Marquee Sports Network, SPNLA

LHP Justin Steele (1-0, 0.75 ERA) pitches for the Cubs; Noah Syndergaard (0-1, 6.30 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers. Steele has given up just one run in 12 innings while striking out 11. He walked four in his last start, which harks back to last year when he had control issues and walked 50 batters in 119 innings. After a good first outing this season Syndergaard stumbled in his second, giving up six runs on eight hits over four innings.

The Cubs have lost the last 10 games they’ve played against the Dodgers, dating back nearly two years, and were outscored 60-25 in those 10 contests.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1931 At Braves Field, Jack Quinn becomes the oldest pitcher to start an Opening Day game. The 47 year-old Robin right-hander gives up six runs on nine runs in six innings of work, taking the loss when Brooklyn bows to Boston, 7-4.
  • 1968 Jim Bunning becomes the first pitcher since Cy Young to collect a thousand strikeouts in both leagues when he whiffs eight Dodgers during his first win for the Pirates, a 3-0 complete-game victory in Chavez Ravine. The 37 year-old right-hander, acquired from the Phillies in December, sent 1,406 American League batters back to the bench with a bat in their hands for nine seasons while pitching for the Tigers at the start of his Hall of Fame career.
  • 1993 After establishing the all-time career major league record last night with his 358th save, Cardinal reliever Lee Smith breaks the National League mark, recording his 301st in the Senior Circuit when he tosses a perfect 15th frame in the Cardinals’ 2-1 victory at Dodger Stadium. The right-handed reliever will extend the big league mark to 478, pitching for the Cubs (1980-1987), Red Sox (1988-1990), Cardinals (1990-1993), Yankees (1993), Orioles (1994), Angels (1995-1996), Reds (1996), and Expos (1997).
  • 2004 In the next game played after teammate Mike Mussina earns his 200th career victory, Kevin Brown, who the Yankees obtained from the Dodgers for Jeff Weaver and two minor-leaguers in an off-season trade, reaches the same plateau, beating the Devil Rays, 5-1. It is the first time in baseball history members of the same pitching staff have won their 200th career victory in consecutive starts.

Lineups when available.

Apr 02

Game Four, 2023

Posted on by

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.

Feb 24

Spring Training Games Begin!

Posted on by

Dodgers at Brewers at American Family Fields of Phoenix. 12:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA

MLB’s Matthew Ritchie says: Dodgers have several lineup options in Cactus League opener

In terms of who plays where and when against Milwaukee, Gavin Lux will likely be paired up the middle with rookie infielder Miguel Vargas, who hasn’t been swinging due to a hairline fracture on his pinky finger, but he should play about five innings. David Peralta could be in the lineup as well. Aside from knowing that starter Michael Grove will be the starting pitcher on Saturday, there are still questions brewing, especially with lineup construction.

“I’ve thought about it, you know,” said Roberts, when asked about how much time he’s spent on lineup combinations. “It’s just trying to figure out, you know, Mookie [Betts] at the top, is it best? Where to put J.D., where to put Will Smith, where’s Max [Muncy]? I don’t think there’s a right answer. As we have conversations and let things play out, it’ll show itself a little more.”

In another MLB article, Juan Toribio previews spring camp:Three things to look for:

  1. How does the up-the-middle defense hold up?
    The Dodgers will have a new starting shortstop, second baseman and center fielder. Lux moves to short, Vargas will start at second (not till next week when his hairline-fractured finger is fully healed), and center is still uncertain.

  2. Can Syndergaard turn back the clock?
    Can he get his velocity back, and will his command come with it?

  3. Which young pitchers take the next step?
    If there are no injuries the rotation on Opening Day will be Julio Urías, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Syndergaard. After them? Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove and Andre Jackson. According to observers, Pepiot has impressed early in camp, and Grove will start the Dodgers’ opener on Saturday.

    Top prospects Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller will also be in the mix. Stone is the Dodgers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year and is the more polished of the two pitchers. Miller, on the other hand, hits triple digits with ease, and scouts fall in love with his ability to spin the baseball.

    “It’s going to be important,” Roberts said of the Dodgers’ young pitchers continuing to develop. “They have to take the next step because we expect more from them this year than we did last year.”

Jan 11

Hot Stove League #4, 2022-2023

Posted on by

The LA Times’s Jack Harris offers a recap and analysis of the Dodgers’ relative inactivity this offseason.

For most of Andrew Friedman’s tenure as the club’s president of baseball operations, this is how the Dodgers have operated.

They’ll flex their financial muscle on deals they believe to be worth the value, but rarely expand their financial strike zone beyond what they deem a deal to be worth.

In recent offseasons, that has meant hanging around “the backboard,” as Friedman likes to say, in hopes of scooping up a loose superstar on the rebound.

Sometimes it works, such as their blockbuster trade and extension for Mookie Betts in 2020, or the shock signing of Freddie Freeman after the league’s lockout last spring. Sometimes it doesn’t, such as when the Dodgers missed out on Bryce Harper in 2018 and Gerrit Cole in 2019.

But for a club that prioritizes “sustained success” — another Friedman principle — and considers multi-year outlooks when constructing its roster and payroll, it has become the default course of action.

This winter proved no different.

While Rodón and Jacob deGrom got nine-figure guarantees, the Dodgers filled out their pitching staff with Noah Syndergaard and Shelby Miller (they were also heavily linked with Seth Lugo).

While Trea Turner, Bogaerts and Correa secured long-term deals, the Dodgers added J.D. Martinez on a one-year deal, and Jason Heyward and Steven Duggar on minor league contracts (they also made a strong push for Kevin Kiermaier).

The team never completely abandoned the thought of another marquee signing. With Dansby Swanson, for example, they positioned themselves as a shorter-term alternative for the All-Star shortstop in case he didn’t get the mega-deal he was seeking. Swanson eventually agreed to a seven-year contract with the Chicago Cubs before the holidays.

But in the end, the Dodgers effectively decided to double-down on themselves, bypassing the very top of the free-agent market with the belief they could contend in 2023 in other, less expensive ways.

I don’t have major complaints about the team’s unwillingness to spend a fortune on long multi-year contracts for guys in their thirties, although I’d like to have seen them keep Trea Turner and re-sign Justin Turner (for a lot less than Trea). We’ll just have to wait and see how this younger team does and trust that Friedman and Company will be able to find competent help at the trade deadline.

Nov 03

World Series Game Five, 2022

Posted on by

Astros at Phillies, 8:03 PM PDT, TV: Fox

RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA regular season; 1-0, 7.20 ERA postseason) will pitch for the Astros and RHP Noah Syndergaard (5-2, 4.12 ERA regular season; 0-0, 1.69 ERA postseason) will pitch for the Phillies. The Series is tied at two games apiece.

It wasn’t until 1953 that baseball’s rules were changed to require players to bring their gloves into the dugout when the third out of a half-inning was recorded. Also, Sandy Koufax and Greg Maddux received Cy Young Awards, and Nomar Garciaparra won the Rookie of the Year Award. These events and more took place this day in baseball history.

Oct 31

World Series Game Three, 2022

Posted on by

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 15

NLDS Games Four, 2022

Posted on by

Braves at Phillies, 11:07 AM PDT, TV: FS1

RHP Charlie Morton (9-6, 4.34 ERA) takes the ball for the Braves in this do-or-die game against the Phillies. The Phillies counter with RHP Noa Syndergaard (5-2, 4.12 ERA).

Dodgers at Padres, 6:37 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Dodgers’ backs are against the wall, and they hand the ball to LHP Tyler Anderson (15-5, 2.57 ERA). The Padres give their ball to RHP Joe Musgrove (10-7, 2.93 ERA).

Jun 14

Game 61, 2022

Posted on by

Angels at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, BS West, SPNLA, TBS (out-of-market only)

RHP Noah Syndergaard (4-4, 3.89 ERA) brings his “Thor” persona to Dodger Stadium. He’ll face the Dodgers’ RHP Tony ‘The CatMan” Gonsolin (7-0, 1.58 ERA). Syndergaard lost the last two years to injury but is doing well in a comeback season. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in six of his starts, although his fastball is now hitting about 94 MPH instead of the 100+ MPH it once was with the Mets. Gonsolin remains a surprise to the rest of the league although perhaps not so much to the Dodgers.

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1948 In front of a crowd of 12,622 at Ebbets Field, Jackie Robinson, who hits a third-inning two-run homer, and Cleveland’s Larry Doby, the only two African-Americans big leaguers, play against each other for the first time. In the Sunday evening charity exhibition game, the Dodgers best the first-place Indians, 6-2, raising $15,000 for the Brooklyn Amateur Baseball Federation, which benefits sandlot ballplayers in Flatbush.
  • 2003 After being activated from the disabled list by the Dodgers, first baseman Fred McGriff bats cleanup and goes 2-for-4 in his return against the Padres. It was the Crime Dog’s first trip to the DL during his 18-year career.
  • 2010 After just seven days in the major leagues, Stephen Strasburg is named National League Player of the Week. The Nationals’ right-handed flamethrower starts his career 2-0 with 22 strikeouts, second to only Karl Spooner, who fanned five more batters in his first two major league starts with the Dodgers in 1954.

Lineups when available.

Sep 13

Game 145, 2021

Posted on by

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

RHP Zac Gallen (2-9, 4.32 ERA) pitches for the D-Backs against the freshly-off-the-IL LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-7, 3.39 ERA). I expect that Kershaw will pitch no more than four innings unless the Dodgers are leading, in which case I suspect he’ll try to talk Roberts into letting him go one more to become eligible for the win.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1925 In the first game of a twin bill, Robins’ (Dodgers) starter Dazzy Vance no-hits the Phillies at Ebbets Field, 10-1. The Brooklyn hurler had one-hit the team from the City of Brotherly Love five days earlier.
  • 2005 During the six-run second inning uprising by San Diego, each Dodger outfielder commits an error. The fielding of Ricky Ledee (lf), Jose Cruz Jr. (right field), and Jayson Werth (cf) contributes to the 6-4 loss to the first place Padres.

Lineup when available.