Sep 13

Game 145, 2023

Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Dodgers — SPNLA; Padres — see Game 143 post

LHP Blake Snell (13-9, 2.52 ERA) takes the hill for the Padres and RHP Ryan Pepiot (2-0, 2.86 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Today 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 Colorado, 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 Rockies. The Dodgers finished 71-91 that year, in fourth place in the division. The Rockies finished last.

Also, in 1902, Johnny Evers, acquired to replace second baseman Bobby Lowe, who broke his ankle, joins shortstop Joe Tinker and first baseman Frank Chance on the Chicago infield, marking the first time the three Cubs’ infielders have played together. The legendary double play trio will be immortalized in Franklin Pierce Adams’ baseball poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon,” better known as “Tinker to Evers to Chance”. Only one of the three really had any business even being considered for induction into the Hall of Fame, as far as I’m concerned. There were a bunch of romantics or cronies on the Veterans Committee in 1946.

Lineups when available.

Sep 07

Game 139, 2023

Dodgers at Marlins, 3:40 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Florida, SPNLA

RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 1.29 ERA) starts for the Dodgers and LHP Braxton Garrett (8-5, 3.88 ERA) starts for the Fish.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1903 A year before the first subway line is completed, the Brooklyn Superbas, later to be known as the Dodgers, play their cross-town rivals in a two-stadium, same-day doubleheader. The first game played in Washington Park begins at 10:30 am with 9,300 fans watching the visiting Giants win the opener, 6-4, and later that afternoon in front of 23,623 patrons at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, Brooklyn wins the second game, 3-0.
  • 1916 The Giants defeat the Dodgers 4-1 to start their major league record 26-game winning streak. The ‘Jints’ start the span two games under .500 and make up nine games in the standings, but remain in fourth place during the entire streak.
  • 1962 With four steals in a 10-1 loss to the Pirates, Dodger Maury Wills breaks the modern National League record for stolen bases in a season with his 82nd swipe. Bob Bescher established the mark in 1911, playing left field for Cincinnati.
  • 1964 At Connie Mack Stadium, a Labor Day crowd of 26,390 fans watches the first-place Phillies split a doubleheader with the Dodgers. The attendance for the twin bill brings the season’s total to 1,224,172 patrons, breaking the all-time franchise home attendance record established by the Whiz Kids in 1950.
  • 2001 Shawn Green breaks a franchise record for homers in a season with his 44th home run, the first of two dingers the Dodger right fielder will hit off Dustin Hermanson in the team’s 7-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The previous mark had been shared by Duke Snider (1956) and Gary Sheffield (2000).

Lineups when available.

Aug 30

Game 132, 2023

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Diamondbacks (see Game 130 post), MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-6, 5.91 ERA) takes the hill for the DBacks and RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-0, 2.00 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Tony Gonsolin knew after undergoing an MRI test in mid-June that he had torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, but the Dodgers right-hander continued to pitch to prop up an injury-depleted rotation, an effort that ended with Monday’s announcement that Gonsolin will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss next season.

“Kershaw was down at the time, Julio [Urías] was down, we had Bobby [Miller] and [Emmet] Sheehan called up from double-A, so I feel like I was pitching out of necessity,” Gonsolin said Tuesday. “I thought I could do it. It just got to the point where the stuff wasn’t performing. I was hoping I could make it through the season, put up good numbers and post. It didn’t work out.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1918 At the Polo Grounds, the Giants beat the Dodgers, 1-0, on an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth in a contest that takes only fifty-six minutes to complete. Pete Compton’s base hit off Jack Combs plates Larry Doyle, who had singled to lead off the frame and moved to third on Ollie O’Mara’s errant throw on a sacrifice bunt.
  • 1952 Nine-time All-Star infielder Arky Vaughan drowns with a friend when their boat capsized while fishing in a volcanic lake near Eagleville, CA. The former shortstop and third baseman, who compiled a .318 batting average and a .406 on-base percentage playing with the Pirates and Dodgers, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.
  • 1966 Sandy Koufax, in his final decision facing the Mets, lasts only two innings, losing to Bob Friend at Shea Stadium, 10-4. The Dodgers Hall of Fame southpaw has compiled a 17-2 record against the lowly expansion team since their inception in 1962.
  • 2000 Earning his 1,600th victory, Braves’ manager Bobby Cox passes former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda on the career list for most managerial victories. His 5-2 victory over the Reds puts him 14th on the all-time list.
  • 2015 The NL’s eventual 2015 Cy Young Award recipient Jake Arrieta, needing just 116 pitches, beats Los Angeles, 2-0, tossing the 12th no-hitter ever thrown at the Chavez Ravine ballpark, and the 13th no-no in Cubs history. The contest marks the second time in ten games the Dodgers has been unable to get a hit; they were held hitless by Astros right-hander Mike Fiers on August 21.

Lineups when available.

Aug 24

Game 126, 2023

Dodgers at Guardians, Time TBD, TV: Bally Sports Great Lakes, SPNLA

The Dodgers give the ball to RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-0, 1.80 ERA). He’ll face the Guardians’ RHP Gavin Williams (1-4, 3.02 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1941 During a double-header against the Cardinals, a rag-tag group of five ‘musicians’, dubbed the Dodger SymPhony by announcer Red Barber, makes their Ebbets Field’s debut. This band, in which none of the members can read music, performs their zany antics at all evening and weekend games.
  • 1955 A telegram sent to Brooklyn president Walter O’Malley by the Patchogue Chamber of Commerce offers the team “thirty acres or more of dry flat land in open country in the heart of Long Island’s densest Dodger fan concentration.” The village’s attempt to attract the fleeing franchise to the south shore of Suffolk County will not materialize, and the club, after exploring many different venues as an alternative to Ebbets Field, will leave the East Coast in 1958 to play in Los Angeles.
  • 1957 The Dodgers, in a 13-3 loss to Milwaukee at Ebbets Field, use eight pitchers in one game, tying a major league record. Johnny Podres gives up three home runs in the fourth frame when Nippy Jones, Hank Aaron, and Andy Pafko all go deep off the Brooklyn starter.
  • 1960 During a dull game, Vin Scully, the play-by-play voice of the Dodgers, knowing that many fans in the stands follow the game on transistor radios, asks his listeners to help him surprise third base umpire Frank Secory. His ballpark audience responds when the veteran broadcaster tells them, “Let’s have some fun. As soon as the inning is over I’ll count to three, and on three everybody yell, ‘Happy birthday, Frank!'”
  • 1974 Davey Lopes steals five bases, tying a National League record established in 1904 by Giants first baseman Dan McGann. The Dodger second baseman’s quintet of stolen bags adds to the team’s franchise mark of eight stolen bases in their 3-0 victory over the Redbirds at Chavez Ravine.
  • 1975 Davey Lopes steals his major league record 38th consecutive base, but the streak will be stopped by Montreal backstop Gary Carter when he attempts to swipe another base in the Dodger Stadium contest. The second baseman will be thrown out in the 12th inning of the team’s 5-3 loss in fourteen innings.
  • 2014 Joc Pederson becomes the fourth player in the history of the Pacific Coast League to have a 30-30 season, and the first to accomplish the feat in 80 years, when he steals his 30th base for the Isotopes. The 22 year-old Albuquerque slugger, who has 32 home runs and a .432 slugging percentage in 116 games this season, will join the Dodgers when rosters expand next week.

Lineups when available.

Apr 21

Game 21, 2023

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

The Dodgers’ LHP Julio Urías (3-1, 1.90 ERA) faces the Cubs’ Drew Smyly (1-1, 4.70 ERA).

Mookie calls his shortstop debut “a dream come true.”

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1925 No games are played in the National League due to the funeral for Dodger owner Charles Ebbets, who died three days ago. Edward McKeever, who became president of the Brooklyn club upon the death of the owner, contracts pneumonia at the services for his business partner and will be dead in eight days.
  • 1948 Returning after serving his one-year suspension from baseball, Dodger manager Leo Durocher uses 24 players in a 9-5 loss to the Giants. The controversial ‘Lip’ had been suspended last April by commissioner Happy Chandler for an assortment of actions deemed detrimental to baseball.
  • 1967 For the first time since LA opened their stadium in Chavez Ravine in 1962, the team is rained out at home. The postponement of their scheduled game against St. Louis ends a streak of 737 consecutive contests at Dodger Stadium without a washout.
  • 2000 In Cincinnati, the Dodger/Red game is delayed for 27 minutes due to the umpires’ equipment being accidentally shipped to New York. Replacement gear is secured from a downtown store, but due to heavy traffic, a police escort is needed to get the goods to Cinergy Field.
  • 2016 Jake Arrieta tosses a no-hitter in the Cubs’ 16-0 rout over the Reds at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park. The Chicago right-handed ace becomes only the second pitcher, joining Johnny Vander Meer, who threw consecutive no-hitters in 1938, ever to go unbeaten between no-hit games, having not recorded a loss in his last 17 regular-season starts since he threw a no-no against the Dodgers last season.

You know, fans say the Cubs’ trade of Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio was possibly the worst trade ever, but I think this one comes very close: in 1966 the Phillies obtain Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl from the Cubs in exchange for future Hall of Fame hurler Ferguson Jenkins, outfielder Adolfo Phillips, and first baseman/outfielder John Herrnstein. The pair of right-handers will post a 47-53 record collectively for Philadelphia as Chicago’s new moundsman will win twenty or more games for six consecutive seasons starting in 1967.

Lineups when available.

Feb 24

Spring Training Games Begin!

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.”

Sep 20

Game 147, 2022

First game of a doubleheader.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: BS Arizona, SPNLA

RHP Zach Davies (2-4, 4.05 ERA) goes for the D-Backs and RHP Michael Grove (0-0, 4.11 ERA) goes for the Dodgers.

Rest in Peace, Maury Wills.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1907 At Exposition Park in Pittsburgh, Nick Maddox no-hits the Dodgers, 2-1. At the age of 20 years and ten months, the Pirates hurler becomes the youngest pitcher and the second rookie to throw a no-hitter.
  • 1911 Bill Bergen ends his major league career with the lowest lifetime batting average for a position player in major league history by hitting an anemic .170 during his 11-year tenure with the Reds and Superbas. The 33 year-old backstop, who had only one year of batting above .200, also holds the records for lowest season batting average for a regular season (.139 in 1909) and the longest streak of at-bats without a hit (46 in 1909).
  • 1954 The Giants clinch the pennant when they beat the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, 7-1. The National League champs, finishing the season five games ahead of second-place Brooklyn, will go on to sweep Cleveland in the Fall Classic.
  • 1959 The San Francisco Giants, bowing to the Dodgers, 8-2, play their last game at Seals Stadium. The transplanted New York team, who compiled a 163-145 record in their two-year stay in the former PCL park, will move to the newly constructed Candlestick Park next season.
  • 1961 In a 13-inning contest, Sandy Koufax goes the distance, beating the Cubs, 3-2, in the last regular season game to be played at the LA Memorial Coliseum, which was originally built for the 1932 Olympics. The Dodgers are leaving the only home they have known since moving from Brooklyn four seasons ago to play in a brand new stadium in Chavez Ravine, located a few miles from downtown Los Angeles.
  • 2011 Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers’ first 20-game winner since Ramon Martinez accomplished the feat in 1990. Allowing just one run in 7 1/3 innings, the southpaw gets the victory when LA beats the visiting Giants, 2-1.
  • 2012 Washington secures a playoff spot when they beat the Dodgers at Nationals Park, 4-1. The last time there was postseason baseball in the nation’s capital occurred 79 years ago, when player-skipper Joe Cronin and the Senators lost to the Giants in five games in the 1933 World Series.

Lineups when available.

Sep 04

Game 133, 2022

Padres at Dodgers, 4:08 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

RHP Mike Clevinger (5-5, 3.59 ERA) goes for the Padres and LHP Caleb Ferguson (1-0, 1.85 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1924 The Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) take a twin bill from the Braves, sweeping their fourth doubleheader in four consecutive days. Between September 1-3, the Brooks beat the Phillies six times.
  • 1966 The Dodgers become the first team to draw two million fans at home and two million on the road as 18,670 Crosley Field patrons watch Los Angeles beat their hometown Reds, 8-6.
  • 1969 After thirty-one games, the third longest consecutive game hitting streak in National League history ends as Dodger Willie Davis is stopped by Dick Kelley and Gary Ross in a 3-0 loss to the Padres.
  • 2017 J.D. Martinez becomes the 18th major leaguer, joining Reds utilityman Scooter Gennett as the second player this season, to hit four home runs in one game when he goes deep in the top of the ninth inning In the Diamondbacks’ 13-0 rout of the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. The Arizona outfielder, who was acquired in a trade from the Tigers in July, has one more home run than the opponent’s total amount of hits.

Lineups when available.

Aug 21

Game 120, 2022

Marlins at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: BSF, SPNLA

RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 4.26 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers today, his 25th birthday, and RHP Sandy Alcantara (11-5, 1.92 ERA) does so for the Marlins. Pepiot has made two starts in August but he’s been pulled before he could finish the fifth inning in either. Alcantara leads the league in ERA (the Dodgers’ Gonsolin, Urias and Anderson are numbers 2, 3 and 6 respectively). He’s 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA in August.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1975 The Reuschel brothers of the Cubs join forces to blank the Dodgers, 6-0. Rick goes 6 1/3 innings and Paul finishes the game for the first shutout thrown by siblings.
  • 1990 The Phillies overcome an eight-run deficit, scoring nine runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Dodgers, 12-11. John Kruk’s pinch-hit three-run homer ties the game, and two batters later, Carmelo Martinez’s double plates Rod Booker with the eventual winning run in the Chavez Ravine contest. (Editor’s note: I got home from work in time to see that inning. I was nearly yelling by the time the Dodgers got the third out.)

  • 2005 Florida suspends their bat boy for six games after the 11 year-old accepts former Marlin and current Dodger hurler Brad Penny’s $500 dare to drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour without throwing up. The Milk Processor Education Program will promise to pay off the dare and to cover the lost wages resulting from the suspension if the sixth grader, who is able to drink the quantity in the allotted time but cannot keep it down, agrees to drink three glasses every 24 hours.

Lineups when available.

Aug 16

Game 115, 2022

Dodgers at Brewers, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: BSW, SPNLA

The Dodgers hand the ball to RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 3.92 ERA). He’ll face the Brewers’ RHP Brandon Woodruff (9-3, 3.52 ERA). Pepiot is filling Kershaw’s rotation slot. He has an 8-0 record with a 2.27 ERA at Oklahoma City this season. Woodruff missed most of June with Reynaud’s Syndrome, a circulation problem in the fingers of his pitching hand. That’s the same thing that cut Sandy Koufax’s 1962 season short. Since Woodruff has returned he’s gone 4-0 in eight starts.

These guys! Hijinks in the dugout!

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1950 At the Polo Grounds, Hank Thompson’s two inside-the-park home runs off Don Bankhead and Carl Erskine contribute to the Giants’ 16-7 drubbing of the Dodgers. The 24 year-old third baseman will hit 129 round-trippers in his 9-year career, three of which will be of the IPHR variety.
  • 1964 St. Louis outfielder Curt Flood collects eight consecutive hits during a doubleheader against Dodgers pitching. The Cardinals split the twin bill in Los Angeles, losing the opener to Sandy Koufax, 3-0, but take the nightcap when Curt Simmons tosses a six hitter to give the Redbirds a 4-0 victory.
  • 2020 Keibert Ruiz becomes the seventh player (there have now been eight — James Outman did it this season) in the 131-year history of the Dodgers to homer in his first major league at-bat and the first since Garey Ingram accomplished the feat in 1994. On his first swing, the 22-year-old Venezuelan catcher deposits Julio Teheran’s 1-1 fastball over the right-field fence in the team’s 8-3 victory at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Babe Ruth died in New York City on this day in 1948.

Lineups when available.