Tag Archives: Steven Matz

Mar 31

Game 6, 2024

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Cardinals at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

LHP Steven Matz (0-0, 0.00 ERA) takes the hill for the Cardinals and RHP Gavin Stone (0-0, 0.00 ERA) does so for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1948 At Ebbets Field No. 2, the Dodgers play their first exhibition game at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, which will remain the team’s home for 61 years. Amidst much fanfare, including Governor Millard Caldwell throwing the ceremonial first pitch, Jackie Robinson homers in the first inning as Brooklyn beats its top farm club, the Montreal Royals, 5-4.
  • 2018 Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who goes 3-for-4 in the team’s 3-2 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field, becomes the first American Leaguer to have multiple extra-base hits in the first three games of the season. In 2015, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also accomplished the feat, collecting at least two hits in each of LA’s first three contests when he compiled ten hits his first 14 at-bats of the season.

Lineups when available.

May 19

Game 46, 2023

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Dodgers at Cardinals, 5:15 PM PDT, TV: BS Midwest, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Tony Gonsolin (1-1, 1.42 ERA) goes for the Dodgers and LHP Steven Matz (0-4, 5.62 ERA) pitches for the Redbirds.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1988 Mike Marshall had three hits and Kirk Gibson had two as the Dodgers defeated El Presidente, Dennis Martinez, and shut out the Montreal Expos 2-0.

Lineups when available.

May 28

Game 55, 2019

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Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SNY, SPNLA

It’ll be LHP Steven Matz (3-3, 3.63 ERA) for the Mets and LHP Rich Hill (1-1, 2.67 ERA) for the Dodgers. Matz had a horrific outing against the Phillies in which he gave up eight runs. Take that away and he’s been the Mets’ most consistent pitcher. He’s 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA over his last five starts. In Hill’s last two starts he’s given up one run and struck out 17 over 12 innings.

Here are Bellinger’s highlights from yesterday’s game:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1957 Walter O’Malley and Horace Stoneham are given permission by the National League to negotiate deals with cities on the West Coast, with the proviso that the future location of their respective clubs, the Dodgers and the Giants, be known by October 1. The Brooklyn and New York owners both deny there is any significance to the unanimous vote other than being given an opportunity to explore all the available options for their possible relocation of their clubs.
  • 1969 The day after he becomes a father, Randy Hundley hits a grand slam and a double, driving in five runs in Chicago’s 9-8 victory over San Francisco at Candlestick Park. The eight-pound, four-ounce baby boy named Todd will follow in his dad’s footsteps, becoming a major league catcher, receiving for the Mets, Dodgers, and the Cubs.
  • 1989 With runners on second and third, no outs, and the Mets and Dodgers tied at 3-3 in the 12th inning, home plate umpire Bob Davidson calls a balk against Roger McDowell which scores the winning run in the Chavez Ravine contest. Dave Anderson is waved home when the New York reliever fails to pause and make a discernible stop.
  • 2001 In an 11-inning slugfest with Colorado, LA catcher Paul Lo Duca goes 6-for-6 in the team’s 11-10 victory at Dodger Stadium. The backstop’s five singles and a three-run homer tie a National League record for hits in an extra-inning game.
  • 2011 The game between Los Angeles and Florida continues as fans in a section of the upper deck seats at Dodger Stadium are evacuated due to a small fire in a nearby storage area. With plumes of smoke visible coming from the top level of the ballpark on the first base side, the crowd is informed by the public address announcer that it will not be necessary to evacuate the entire stadium.

Here are a whole mess of links to stories about Bill Buckner, many of which try to go beyond the events of 1986. Looking at the play-by-play, that game shouldn’t have gotten to the point it did. Schiraldi got two quick outs with the Sox ahead 5-3 and couldn’t get the third, allowing a pinch-hit single by Gary Carter, another single by Kevin Mitchell, and still another by Ray Knight. Then, with the Sox still leading 5-4, Stanley came in and wild-pitched Mitchell in to tie the game. It was at that point that Mookie Wilson hit the ground ball Buckner muffed.

Lineup when available.


Aug 06

Game 111, 2017

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Dodgers at Mets, 5:00 PM PT, TV: ESPN

If the Dodgers win they’ll sweep the season series with the Metropolitans.

A win on Sunday would also give the Dodgers their first sweep in New York since July 20-22, 2012, and would give them their first season sweep of the Mets ever. The Dodgers took five of six games from New York in 1981, 2009, and 2013, and won 16 of 18 in 1962 and 1963, but have never dropped a seasonal bagel on the Big Apple.

The Dodgers send LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 3.83 ERA) to the mound to face LHP Steven Matz (2-4, 5.30 ERA). Ryu has been very good in his last four starts, giving up just six runs and striking out 23. He has been far better at home than on the road, however; he’s got a 4.25 ERA and opponents are hitting .295 against him in their own parks. Matz is 0-2 with a 12.21 ERA in four starts after the All-Star break.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1981 The players approved a split-season format necessitated by the seven-week strike. The Yankees, A’s, Phillies, and Dodgers are declared the first-half champions and will be automatically qualified for the divisional series.

Great moments in labor-management relations: In 1908 Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb gets married, having departed the Tigers three days ago to participate in the ceremony without the team’s permission. The 21 year-old Georgia Peach’s six-day defection during a pennant race will be described by club co-owner Frank Navin as the most arrogant act he had ever heard of in baseball. (Note: The Tigers got to the World Series anyway. They lost to the Cubs, the last time the Chicago team would win a World Series until 2016.)

Lineup:

Aug 04

Game 109, 2017

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Dodgers at Mets, 1:00 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SNY

Joe Posnanski writes for MLB.com:

Assuming everyone stays healthy, the Dodgers’ crazy lineup features eight players with double-digit home runs and includes NL MVP Award candidates Corey Seager and Justin Turner, along with a certain NL Rookie of the Year Award winner in Bellinger. Their bullpen is so good that the Dodgers have gone into the sixth inning with 61 leads … and they have won every single one of those games. And the rotation will feature Kershaw, Alex Wood (who is 13-1 with a 2.33 ERA) and now Darvish. It doesn’t quite seem fair.

Dylan Hernandez writes at the LA Times:

What immediately stands out about Yu Darvish is his size.

He’s huge. Like, really, really huge.

The measurements of 6 feet 5 and 220 pounds don’t adequately describe the physical stature of the Dodgers’ recently acquired flamethrower. His shoulders are massive. His chest is expansive.

Andy McCullough has team reactions as the deal was made and confirmed.

As noted, the Dodgers send out the newly-acquired RHP Yu Darvish, who was 6-9 with a 4.01 ERA for the Rangers this season. He’ll face RHP Jacob deGrom, who’s 12-4 with a 3.29 ERA and one of the few bright spots in the Mets’ otherwise-unhappy season in which they’re eight games under .500 and only Jacob deGrom has made all 21 scheduled starts. Steven Matz, who is 2-4 with a 5.50 ERA in 10 starts, is the only other pitcher on the active roster of the seven candidates for the rotation in spring training.

This date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1908 In Brooklyn, the last-place Cardinals blank the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), 3-0. The entire Washington Park contest is played with just one ball.
  • 1941 Mickey Owens [sic] becomes the first catcher to handle three foul pop ups in one frame. The Brooklyn backstop’s third inning defense contributes to the Dodgers’ 11-6 victory over New York at Ebbets Field.
  • 1942 In a military relief game at the Polo Grounds, which will be the last war-time twilight game played, Pee Wee Reese’s grand slam in the top of the ninth, which puts the Dodgers up 5-1, doesn’t count because of the 9:10 pm government curfew. The game ends up as a 1-1 tie with the Giants.
  • 1948 Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber, who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Dapper to the Atlanta Crackers.

In non-Dodgers history, on this date in 1985 Tom Seaver won his 300th game and Rod Carew got his 3,000th hit.

Lineup when available.

Jun 22

Game 74, 2017

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Mets at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, SNY, MLBN (out-of-market only)

The Mets send YALHP Steven Matz (1-1, 3.21 ERA) out to try to salvage one game in this four-game series. His Dodgers opponent will be LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-6, 4.35 ERA).

Matz is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in two career starts in Dodger Stadium. He’s gone seven innings in each of his last two starts. Ryu has made seven starts since coming off the DL in May and gotten into the sixth inning in only two of them. This probably has something to do with that: “Batters are 31-for-75 (.413) with nine home runs and are slugging .867 against Ryu’s four-seam fastball this season.”

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1936 At Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, Ival Goodman hits an unusual home run when his fifth-inning fly ball lands and stays on top of the scoreboard in right field. With the perched ball considered in play, the three Dodger outfielders watch the Reds’ right fielder round the bases for an easy inside-the park round-tripper in their 7-2 loss to Cincinnati.
  • 1947 After pitching a no-hitter four days ago against the Braves, Reds hurler Ewell Blackwell loses his chance for a second consecutive no-hitter when Dodger second baseman Eddie Stanky singles with one out the ninth inning at Crosley Field.
  • 1959 Sandy Koufax goes the distance, beating Philadelphia at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, 6-2. The Dodger southpaw fans 16 Phillies to set a new record for strikeouts in a night game.
  • 1966 At the Astrodome, Houston sets a home attendance mark which will last for 22 years. Dodger southpaw Sandy Koufax, who tosses a complete game to improve his record to 13-2, beats the hometown team, 5-2, in front of the 50,908 fans attending the Wednesday contest.

Lineup when available.

Taylor and Pederson get the night off.

May 09

Game 32, 2016

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Mets at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA

It’s a battle of dueling lefties tonight at Chavez Ravine as Scott Kazmir (2-2, 5.68 ERA) of the Dodgers meets Steven Matz (4-1, 2.83 ERA) of the Mets. This is the first meeting of the two teams since last season’s Division Series, and the Dodgers had better have their hitting shoes on. After Matz they’ll face Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon in this four-game series.

Lineup when available.

Oct 31

World Series Game Four, 2015

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Royals at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

(Insert pro forma rant about World Series games played at night in the Northeast)

Why can’t MLB at least schedule weekend World Series games during the day so the average eight, nine or ten-year old can watch them through the end of the game? Yeah, yeah, college football. Yeah, yeah, the NFL. Competing with those entities and expecting to win is done, guys. That ship has sailed. But real baseball fans are going to watch the Series, not Texas-San Antonio v. North Texas.

On to tonight’s game. The Mets send rookie lefthander Steven Matz to the hill to face Tall Chris Young, who pitched three shutout innings of relief in the fourteen-inning Game One. If the Mets win the Series is tied, if the Royals win they’ve got a 3-1 edge.

Oct 21

ALCS Game Five, NLCS Game Four, 2015

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American League game: Royals at Blue Jays, 1:00PM PT, TV: FS1

It’s an elimination game: down 3 games to 1, the Jays have to win or they’re done. This game is a rematch of pitchers from Game One: Edinson Volquez of the Royals and Marco Estrada of the Jays. Volquez is 1-1 with a 2.31 ERA in this postseason and went six scoreless innings against the Jays in Game One. Estrada is also 1-1 in the postseason with a 3.09 ERA. He went 5 1/3 innings against the Royals in Game One, giving up six hits and three runs.

National League game: Mets at Cubs, 5:00PM PT, TV: TBS

This one is also an elimination game: the Mets are one win away from going on the World Series. If the Cubs are to make the prediction in the movie “Back to the Future” come true, they have to win the next four games. The Mets send out lefty Steven Matz, making his first appearance in the NLCS after giving up three runs in five innings against the Dodgers in the NLDS. He’ll be opposed by Jason Hammel, also appearing for the first time in the NLCS after a short (four runs in three innings) outing against the Cardinals in the NLDS.

Oct 13

ALDS Games Five, NLDS Games Four, 2015

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NLDS Early game: St. Louis at Chicago, 1:30PM PT, TV: TBS

Down two games to one, the Cardinals ask Game One starter John Lackey to keep them alive on three days rest. He was brilliant in Game One, going 7 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and no runs, walking one and striking out five. He’ll face Jason Hammel, who’ll be making his postseason debut. Hammel went 11 innings against the Cardinals during the regular season and gave up seven runs. He made four starts in September and averaged 4 1/3 innings in each one.

NLDS Late game: Dodgers at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: TBS

The Dodgers’ season rests once again on the shoulders of Clayton Kershaw, who will pitch on three days rest after throwing 112 pitches in a Game One loss on October 9. This will be the third postseason in a row in which he’s started a game on short rest. His opponent will be lefty Steven Matz, making his first start of the postseason. The rookie was 4-0 with a 2.27 ERA in 6 regular-season starts.