Aug 18

Game 121, 2023

Marlins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Florida, SPNLA

Miami sends its former Cy Young winner RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-10, 4.09 ERA) to the hill to face Los Angeles’s RHP Tony Gonsolin (8-4, 4.24 ERA). Each pitcher has had a disappointing year after scintillating seasons in 2022.

Due to Hurricane Hillary’s forecast track, MLB has rescheduled the three games scheduled for Sunday in Southern California to be parts of split doubleheaders on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sunday home game vs. the Miami Marlins has been rescheduled for a split doubleheader with starts of 12:00 p.m. (PT) and 6:10 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1959 Long time baseball executive Branch Rickey is named president of the newly formed Continental League. The 77 year-old former Dodger general manager is currently serving as an advisor with the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Editor’s Note: Here’s a pretty good book about the Continental League)
  • 1982 In the second longest game in franchise history, the Cubs lose to the Dodgers, 2-1. The Wrigley Field contest, which is played over two days, takes a Dusty Baker sacrifice fly and 21 innings to complete.

On this day in 1967 Jack Hamilton of the Angels threw a fastball which shattered Tony Conigliaro’s left cheekbone. The 22 year-old Red Sox slugger missed the rest of 1967 and all of the following year and never came close to the Hall of Fame potential displayed during his first three seasons.

Lineups when available.

Feb 09

World Baseball Classic 2023

This event is supposed to be a quadrennial affair, but the pandemic played hell with that as it did with so much else. So, two years late, it begins March 8.

After a six-year wait, the World Baseball Classic has returned, and it’s bigger than ever. That’s not hyperbole, either: The tournament field has been expanded to 20 teams, with three first-time participants in Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Nicaragua [What took Nicaragua so long to enter? It failed to qualify in its previous three attempts. Panama is a returnee after missing the last two Classics.] hoping for a Cinderella run. But they’ll need to get past Japan (looking for its third title), the USA (hoping for a repeat), the Dominican Republic (the pre-tournament favorite) and Puerto Rico (trying to win it all following back-to-back second-place finishes).

Baseball is more of a global game than ever before, and that’s proven on the rosters: There are 67 MLB All-Stars, 186 players on 40-man rosters and 332 players under contract with big league teams. There are eight Major League MVPs in Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Altuve and Miguel Cabrera. In fact, 16 of the top 18 finishers for the 2022 NL MVP and six of the top 10 finishers for the 2022 AL MVP are scheduled to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with the reigning Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Munetaka Murakami and Korea Baseball Organization MVP Jung-Hoo Lee joining in, too.

So how many Dodgers are playing and for whom? Funny you should ask.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Austin Barnes, C (MEX), Mookie Betts, OF (USA), Liam Doolan, RHP (AUS), Freddie Freeman, INF (CAN), Clayton Kershaw, LHP (USA), Adam Kolarek, LHP (ISR – DPP), Jose Ramos, OF (PAN), Miguel Rojas, INF (VEN), Will Smith, C (USA), Trayce Thompson, OF (GBR), Julio Urías, LHP (MEX).

One more connection: Mike Piazza is managing Italy’s team.

Why is the Dominican Republic the favorite? Well:

This lineup is a veritable Murderers’ Row, with Rafael Devers and Manny Machado battling for time at third base, Mariners sensation Julio Rodríguez joining an outfield with Eloy Jiménez and Juan Soto, and Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s freshly minted Gold Glove and powerful bat just added to the mix.

The rotation looks just as strong as the offense, with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara fronting a staff featuring World Series champion Cristian Javier, young Pirates fireballer Roansy Contreras and veteran hurler Johnny Cueto.

One more thing:

Note: Players marked “DPP” are members of their team’s Designated Pitcher Pool. Each WBC team may choose up to 10 players as part of their pool — these players are eligible to participate in one or more consecutive rounds of the WBC, but if replaced on their team’s roster will be unavailable for the rest of the tournament. Affiliated players in Designated Pitcher Pools who are not actively on their team’s WBC roster during a given round will report to Spring Training with their Major League clubs.

Adam Kolarek is part of Israel’s Designated Pitcher Pool.

Aug 27

Game 125, 2022

Dodgers at Marlins, 3:10 PM TV: BS Florida, SPNLA

The Dodgers give the ball to RHP Dustin May (1-0, 0.00 ERA) for his second start of the year. He’ll face the Marlins” RHP Sandy Alcantara (11-^, 2.19). May is just back from a tear of rehabilitation after surgery. Alcantara has been consistent all season.

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.

Los Angwles Dodgers
Mookie Betts (R) RF
Trea Turner (R) SS
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Will Smith (R) C
Max Muncy (L) DH
Justin Turner (R) 3B
Joey Gallo (L) LF
Chris Taylor (R) 2B
Cody Bellinger (L) CF

Miami Marlins
Joey Wendle (L) 3B
Jon Berti (R) 2B
Brian Anderson (R) RF
JJ Bleday (L) CF
Garrett Cooper (R) DH
Miguel Rojas (R) SS
Lewin Diaz (L) 1B
Jacob Stallings (R) C
Peyton Burdick (R) LF

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.

Oct 06

NLDS Game One, 2020

In an attempt to eliminate any possible home field advantage, the National League is playing its Divisional and Championship Series in American League parks (Minute Maid in Houston and Globe Life in Arlington, TX) and the American League is playing its series at National League Parks (Petco Park and Dodger Stadium).

Marlins vs Braves, 11:08 AM PDT, TV: FS1

The Marlins send RHP Sandy Alcantara to the hill to face the Braves’ LHP Max Fried. Alcantara threw 6 2/3 innings in Game One of their Wild Card Series against the Cubs, giving up just one run. Fried started Game One of the Braves’ Wild Card Series against the Reds and pitched seven scoreless innings.

Padres vs. Dodgers, 6:38 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Padres have not yet named a starting pitcher as of 11:00 PM PDT Monday. The Dodgers will give the ball to Walker Buehler, who’s had blister troubles and whose innings have therefore been limited. He may go no more than four innings in this game.

Update: The Padres have selected Mike Clevinger, whose elbow injury has apparently healed enough to pitch.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1941 In Game 5 of the Fall Classic, Tiny Bonham goes the distance, limiting the Dodgers to just four hits to give the Yankees their 12th World Championship in franchise history. In one inning during the Bronx Bombers’ 3-1 victory at Ebbets Field, the New York fireballing right-hander will need just three pitches to retire the side.
  • 1949 In Game 2 of the World Series, only one run is scored again, but Preacher Roe and the Dodgers win this contest at Yankee Stadium, 1-0. Gil Hodges’ second inning single drives in Jackie Robinson to even up the Fall Classic at a game apiece.
  • 1959 The largest crowd ever to attend a major league game, 92,706 fans, watches a nail biter as White Sox hurler Bob Shaw beats Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, 1-0, in Game 5 of the Fall Classic.
  • 1963 The Dodgers complete a four-game World Series sweep of the Yankees as Sandy Koufax wins his second game, 2-1. Frank Howard leads the offense with a home run and a single, the only two hits Whitey Ford gives up, and New York’s first baseman Joe Pepitone’s error (loses a thrown ball in the white-shirted crowd) leads to the decisive run in the seventh inning.
  • 1965“Hey, skip, bet you wish I was Jewish today, too.” – Don Drysdale, commenting after the game about his poor performance on the mound with manager Walt Alston. Sandy Koufax declines to pitch the first game of the World Series against the Twins because the game is scheduled on Yom Kippur, the most sacred of the Jewish holidays. As the Dodger southpaw attends shul and fasts on the Day of Atonement, Don Drysdale gives up seven runs in three innings in the team’s 8-2 loss at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium.
  • 1966 Jim Palmer becomes the youngest player to pitch a shutout in the World Series when the 20 year-old Oriole right-hander blanks Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, 6-0. The contest will become more memorable next month when Koufax surprises the baseball world by announcing his retirement, making this game his last major league appearance.
  • 1966 In the same Game Two loss to the Orioles at Dodger Stadium, Willie Davis establishes a World Series record by committing three errors in one game. The center fielder’s blunders come on two consecutive plays in the fifth inning, the first by losing a fly ball in the sun, then by dropping the next fly ball, followed by overthrowing third base.
  • 1980 In the 163rd game of the season, 35 year-old knuckleballer Joe Niekro earns his 20th victory, going the distance to defeat the Dodgers, 7-1, in the winner-take-all contest for the NL West. With the win, the Astros hold on to capture their first title in the 19-year history of the franchise after losing a season-ending three game series to LA, (3-2, 2-1, and 4-3) that forced the one-game playoff.

Lineups when available.

Padres lineup:

Dodgers lineup:

Sep 30

NL Wild Card Series Game One, 2020

Reds at Braves, 9:08 AM PDT, TV: ESPN

The Reds send Cy Young candidate RHP Trevor Bauer to the mound to face the Braves’ LHP Max Fried. Bauer was 5-4 but had a sparkling 1.73 ERA for the season. All Fried did was go 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA this year.

Marlins at Cubs, 11:08 AM PDT, ABC

RHP Sandy Alcantara takes the mound for the Marlins while RHP Kyle Hendricks does so for the Cubs. Alcantara missed a months with the COVID-19 virus but posted a 3-2, 3.00 ERA in the seven starts he made. Hendricks has a scintillating postseason ERA: 2.98 in 11 appearances. He went 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA in September.

Cardinals at Padres, 2:08 PM PDT, TV: ESPN2

The Cards give the ball to LHP Kwang Hyun Kim, who started out the year as the team’s closer but was quickly moved into the rotation, where he went 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA. He’ll face the Padres’ RHP Chris Paddack, who was their Opening Day starter but was inconsistent, posting a 4-5 record with a 4.73 ERA in twelve starts. He’s starting mostly because starters Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet are questionable with elbow impingement and biceps tightness respectively.

Brewers at Dodgers, 7:08 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

The Brewers’ Corbin Burnes would have started this game but he hurt his oblique on Friday and is probably out for the year. This will be a bullpen game and LHP Brent Suter will serve as the “opener.” The Dodgers send a rested RHP Walker Buehler to face him, trusting that the blister problem which has allowed him to pitch just four innings in three weeks has healed.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1923 It’s Zack Wheat Day at Ebbets Field, and the retiring Dodger outfielder collects two hits and is given an automobile. Cy Williams of the Phillies spoils the special day as he ties the score in the seventh inning with his 39th homer and his 40th in the 12th frame gives Philadelphia the victory, 6-4.
  • 1933 At Sportsman’s Park in a 12-2 Cubs rout of the Cardinals, Babe Herman hits for the cycle, becoming the first player in baseball history to do it three times. The Chicago outfielder, playing for the Dodgers, also accomplished the feat on two other occasions in 1931.
  • 1947 Ralph Branca becomes the youngest player to start a World Series opener. At Yankee Stadium, the 21-year and 9 months old right hander and the Dodgers lose to the Bronx Bombers, 5-1.
  • 1951 Knowing the Giants have won their game in Boston, the Dodgers rally from a five-run deficit to beat Philadelphia in 14 innings, 9-8, forcing a three-game playoff for the National League pennant. After Jackie Robinson makes a game-saving catch in the thirteenth to preserve an 8-8 tie, he hits a home run in the next frame that proves to be the difference in Brooklyn’s victory at Shibe Park.
  • 1953 George Shuba, best known as the Montreal Royal teammate who shook Jackie Robinson’s hand after the rookie had homered, becomes the third major leaguer and the first National League player to pinch hit a home run in the World Series when he goes deep off Allie Reynolds in the Dodgers’ 9-5 Game 1 loss at Yankee Stadium. ‘Shotgun’ joins Yogi Berra (1947) and Johnny Mize (1952), who both accomplished the feat playing for the Bronx Bombers.
  • 1956 Don Newcombe, a three-time twenty-game winner, goes the distance to earn his major-league leading 27th victory when the Dodgers beat Pittsburgh at Forbes Field, 8-6, on the last day of the campaign. Newk’s win is the most ever in a season by an African-American pitcher.
  • 1962 On the last day of the season, Gene Oliver’s eighth-inning homer off Johnny Podres proves to be the difference in St. Louis’ 1-0 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. The loss to the Cardinals forces Los Angeles into a best-of-three-game playoff with the Giants for the National League pennant, a series the team will lose to San Francisco.
  • 1999 The largest regular-season crowd in Candlestick Park history, 61,389 fans, watches the Dodgers beat the home team, 9-4 in the last baseball game to ever be played at the ‘Stick’. Giant greats help mark the occasion with Juan Marichal tossing out the ceremonial first pitch before the game and Willie Mays throwing out the ballpark’s final pitch after the game.

For other notable events on this day in baseball, see here.

Brewers’ lineup:

Dodgers’ lineup:

Jul 20

Game 101, 2019

Marlins at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: FS-F, SPNLA

RHP Sandy Alcantara (4-9, 3.94 ERA) pitches for the Marlins while LHP Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 3.00 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. This is already Alcantara’s third start since the All Star break, and he’s had trouble in his first two. He’s got a 4.63 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. He’s never faced the Dodgers. Kershaw has given up just one earned run in each of his last two outings and has five outings of one earned run or less this season. He’s posted a 2.76 ERA against the Marlins in his career but has just a 5-5 record against them.

Here’s Ryu’s work Friday night in one clip:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1906 At St. Louis, Brooklyn hurler Mal Eason no-hits the Cardinals, 2-0. The ‘Kid’ was the losing pitcher when Johnny Lush pitched a no-hitter against the Superbas (Dodgers) in May.
  • 1951 In a game against the Reds with All-Star hurler Ewell Blackwell on the mound, the Giants, for the first time, employ their infamous scheme for stealing catchers’ signs using a telescope positioned in the centerfield clubhouse. The ‘Jints’ beat Cincinnati, 11-6, and New York will win 22 of the remaining 27 games at the Polo Grounds, overtaking the Dodgers to win the National League pennant.
  • 1970 Twenty-six year-old right-hander Bill Singer pitches the first Dodger no-hitter since Sandy Koufax’s departure when he keeps the Philadelphia batters hitless in a 5-0 victory at Chavez Ravine. The ‘Singer Throwing Machine,’ who spent 52 days on the disabled list earlier in the season recuperating from hepatitis, posts a 5-0 record along with a 1.84 ERA in July and will be named NL Player of the Month.
  • 2008 The Dodgers, with a five-run ninth-inning rally at Chase Field, beat the Diamondbacks, 6-5, and move into a flat-footed tie (48-50) with Arizona for first place in the National League West. Andre Ethier has the key hit in the comeback victory, a go-ahead triple off the center-field wall, as D-Back closer Brandon Lyon, pitching in his third consecutive game, couldn’t hold a three-run lead.

Lineup when available.