Mar 28

Game 3, 2024 (Stateside Opening Day)

Cardinals at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Midwest, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 3.60 ERA) goes for the hometown Dodgers; RHP Miles Mikolas (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for the visiting Cardinals. While this will be Mikolas’s fourth opening day start for the Redbirds and third in a row, it still seems odd that it won’t be Adam Wainwright on Opening Day; he worked six of them for St. Louis before his retirement at the end of last season.

Here’s the Dodgers’ expected Opening Day roster.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1999 At Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano, the Orioles edge the Cuban National team, 3-2, thanks to Harold Baines’ eventual game-winning hit in the 11th inning. The contest marks the first time a U.S. team had played in Cuba since 1959 when the Dodgers played the Reds in two exhibition games on the island.
  • 2003 The commissioner’s office announces teams will pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces during the seventh-inning stretch of all home openers by having God Bless America performed. Although the song has been part of all games since the September 11th terrorist attacks, the fans will now hear the tune only in major league ballparks at the home openers, Sunday, and holidays games.

  • 2019 At Dodger Stadium, en route to a 12-5 victory over the Diamondbacks, Los Angeles slams eight home runs, surpassing the Opening Day record of six, previously shared by the 1998 Mets (vs. Expos) and 2018 White Sox (vs. Royals). The long ball barrage, which includes multiple dingers in three different innings, features round-trippers by Joc Peterson (2), Kike Hernandez (2), Austin Barnes, Corey Seager, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger.

Lineups when available.

Mar 24

Freeway Series, Game One, 2024

Angels at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports West, SPNLA

RHP Griffin Canning (Spring Training 0-1, 2.25 ERA) goes for the Angels and RHP Bobby Miller (Spring Training 0-1, 4.32 ERA) goes for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 During a four-hour hearing with Commissioner Chandler at the Sarasota Terrace Hotel, Dodger manager Leo Durocher admits to playing occasional card games for money with Kirby Higbe. Before Opening Day, Chandler will suspend the Brooklyn skipper for the 1947 season for “association with known gamblers.”
  • 1959 A photo of Pete Whisenant taken before an exhibition game played against the Dodgers in Havana, Cuba, shows the Reds outfielder toting a machine gun. The weapon shown in the posed picture belongs to a rebel from Fidel Castro’s revolutionary army.
  • 1982 When Fernando Valenzuela ends his three-week holdout, the Dodgers automatically renew the southpaw’s contract for a reported $350,000. The National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award recipient, after earning just $42,500 in his freshman season, still refuses to sign the deal that makes him the highest-paid second-year player in baseball history, having asked for a raise to $850,000.
  • 2006 At Mickey Mantle’s Manhattan restaurant, the U.S. Postal Service unveils the Baseball Sluggers postage stamps, to be issued before the game against the White Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 15. The four featured Hall of Famers all have roots in New York, with Mickey Mantle (Yankees), Mel Ott (Giants), and Roy Campanella (Dodgers) playing their entire careers in the Big Apple, and the fourth, Hank Greenberg, setting schoolboy records at James Monroe High School in the Bronx.

Lineups:

Oct 03

Wild Card Games One, 2023

Texas at Tampa Bay, 12:08 PM PDT, LHP Jordan Montgomery v. RHP Tyler Glasnow, TV: ABC

Rangers – Rays preview.

Toronto at Minnesota, 1:38 PM PDT, TV: RHP Kevin Gausman v. RHP Pablo López, TV: ESPN

Jays – Twins preview.

Arizona at Milwaukee, 4:08 PM PDT, rookie RHP Brandon Pfaadt v. RHP Corbin Burnes, TV: ESPN2

D-Backs – Brewers preview.

Miami at Philadelphia, 5:08 PM PDT, LHP Jesús Luzardo v. RHP Zack Wheeler, TV: ESPN

Marlins – Phillies preview.

May 27

Game 53, 2023

Dodgers at Rays, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: BS Sun, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (6-4, 2.98 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers and RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his season debut for the Rays. Interestingly, these two paired off against one another twice in the 2020 World Series, and Kershaw and the Dodgers defeated Glasnow and the Rays twice. He’s been recovering from a left oblique strain.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1904 In the team’s 3-1 victory over the Superbas at the Polo Grounds, Giants first baseman Dan McGann steals five bases to establish a major league record. The 32-year-old Kentucky native’s mark will be surpassed in 1912 by A’s second baseman Eddie Collins who will swipe six bags in a game twice during the season.

Pop culture history: In 2017

“We are honored to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of “Homer at the Bat.” The Simpsons has left an impressive imprint on our culture as the longest-running American sitcom, and ‘Homer at the Bat’ remains as popular today as when the episode aired in 1992.” – Hall of Fame President JEFF IDELSON, commenting about the Cooperstown celebration of the animated series.

The Baseball Hall of Fame inducts the fictional cartoon character Homer Simpson as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Simpsons episode ‘Homer at the Bat.’ A discussion of the much-beloved episode includes comments by real Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith, who played themselves on the animated show, as well as executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, director Jim Reardon, and executive story editor Jeff Martin.

Lineups when available.

Oct 08

Wild Card Games Two, 2022

Rays @ Guardians, Game 2, 12:00 p.m., ESPN2. The Guardians lead the series 1-0.

RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 1.35 ERA) of the Rays makes his third appearance of the year after Tommy John surgery. He’ll face the Guardians’ RHP Tristan McKenzie (11-11, 2.96 ERA).

Mariners @ Blue Jays, Game 2, 4:00 p.m., ESPN. The Mariners lead the series 1-0.

Seattle asks LHP Robbie Ray (12-12, 3.71 ERA) to finish the series. Toronto gives the ball to RHP Kevin Gausman (12-10, 3.35 ERA) and asks him to extend it.

Padres @ Mets, Game 2, 7:30 p.m., ESPN. The Padres lead the series 1-0.

LHP Blake Snell (8-10, 3.38 ERA) takes the Citi Field mound for the Padres and RHP Jacob DeGrom (5-4, 3.08 ERA) does the same for the Mets.

Phillies @ Cardinals, Game 2, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2. The Phillies lead the series 1-0.

RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) pitches for the Phillies and RHP Miles Mikolas (12-13, 3.29 ERA) pitches for the Cardinals.

If you look at the collective W-L records of the pitchers in today’s games you are probably not going to be too impressed. I’m surprised at how breakeven they are.

Oct 25

World Series Game Five, 2020

Dodgers vs Rays, 5:08 PM PDT, TV: Fox

The Dodgers hand the ball to LHP Clayton Kershaw, who pitched wonderfully in Game One of this series, to face the Rays’ RHP Tyler Glasnow, who was Kershaw’s opponent in that game and was gone after 4 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs on just three hits while striking out eight, but he walked six. Kershaw is 3-1 with a 2.88 ERA this postseason; Glasnow is 2-2 with a 6.08 ERA.

I am not going to post video of that last play. I think I’ll be seeing it in my sleep, especially if the Dodgers don’t win this Series.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1981 In Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, Pedro Guerrero’s and Steve Yeager’s back-to-back solo home runs in the seventh inning off Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry give Los Angeles a 2-1 win, its third victory in the Fall Classic. Guerrero and Yeager, along with teammate Ron Cey, will be named as the co-recipients of the World Series MVP award.
  • 1986 One strike from defeat, the Mets tie the game on a wild pitch and then, thanks to Bill Buckner’s error, win Game 6, knotting the Fall Classic at three games apiece. This event was selected as one of baseball’s 30 most memorable moments. “If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words, but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.” – Vin Scully, describing the aftermath of the play after a long silence.
  • 2005 The first World Series game ever to be played in the state of Texas proves to be memorable when Geoff Blum’s 14th inning solo home run (the 30th Major Leaguer to hit a HR in his first World Series AB) becomes the beginning of the end of the longest Fall Classic contest ever played. The 7-5 victory, which gives the White Sox a commanding 3-0 advantage over the Astros, takes 5 hours, 41 minutes to complete, with the 14 frames equaling the number of innings the Red Sox needed to beat the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1916 series.

Lineups:

Dodgers:

Rays:

Oct 20

World Series Game One, 2020

Rays vs Dodgers, 5:00PM PDT, TV: Fox

By virtue of the better season record the Dodgers earned “home field advantage” for this neutral-site series; they’ll have last ups in games 1,2,6 and 7.

Here’s MLB’s position-by-position analysis. (Spoiler: In their estimation the Dodgers have large or small edges everywhere except the rotation and the bullpen.)

The Rays give the ball to their very tall (he’s 6′ 8″ and his nickname is “Baby Giraffe,” MLB says) RHP Tyler Glasnow, who’s 2-1 in the playoffs with 25 Ks. His last appearance was in Game Four of the ALCS and it didn’t go particularly well: he gave up four runs to the Astros in six innings of work. He’ll face the Dodgers’ LHP Clayton Kershaw, who’ll be making his fifth World Series start. We all know the stories of his postseason woes; Roberts does too, one assumes, and he should be ready to replace Kershaw at the first moment he looks to be in trouble.

Now this is startling:

Six years and six days before Game 1 of the 2020 World Series, Andrew Friedman left his longtime post running the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office to become the Los Angeles Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

He departed with a promise disguised as friendly banter, one that will be fulfilled when his current team lines up against his former club on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

“We joked when I left the team that we were going to meet up in the World Series one day,” Friedman said, “and for it actually to happen is surreal.”

Oh my. I like Jeff Passan of ESPN, and he wrote a good book, but I dunno. Here he is on Pablo Torre’s podcast earlier today:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1988 The Dodgers become World Champions when Orel Hershiser limits the opposition to four singles in Game 5 of the World Series and beats the A’s, 5-1. The right-hander, who also won Game 2, is named the Most Valuable Player of the Fall Classic.

  • 1994 Receiving all 28 first-place votes, Raul Mondesi (.306, 16, 56) is named the National League’s Rookie of the Year. The Los Angeles right fielder, who easily outdistanced Astros’ hurler John Hudek and Braves’ outfielder Ryan Klesko, is the third consecutive Dodger to win the award.
  • 2010 Ted Lilly signs a three-year, $33 million deal to remain with the Dodgers. The 34 year-old southpaw, obtained from the Cubs in early August, compiled a 7-4 record with a 3.52 ERA in 12 starts for LA, including victories in the first five starts for his new team.

Lineups:

Rays:

Dodgers:

Oct 14

ALCS Game Four, 2020

Rays vs Astros, 5:40 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Rays are up 3-0 and can close the series with a win today. They’ll try to do it with RHP Tyler Glasnow, who’s 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three postseason starts this year. He’s struck out 20 in the 13 1/3 innings he’s worked in those games. He’ll face veteran RHP Zack Greinke, who ignored arm soreness and worked 4 2/3 innings in Game Four of the ALDS against the As, giving up four runs in the process. Greinke’s only gotten past the fourth inning twice in the postseason since he pitched for the Dodgers in 2015.

Oct 09

ALDS Game Five, 2020

Yankees vs Rays, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The series is tied at two games apiece. One of these teams will move on to play the Astros in the ALCS after today’s game and the other will go home.

The Yankees hand the ball to their expensive ace, RHP Gerrit Cole, who’s won two games so far this postseason and has put up a 3.46 ERA while doing so. He’ll be pitching on three days rest for the first time in his career. The Rays counter with RHP Tyler Glasnow, who’s also won two games this postseason but whose ERA is a less-attractive 4.91. He’s pitching on just two days rest; like Cole, he’s never gotten less than his full complement of days between starts till now.

There has been plenty of baseball history on this date. Most memorable in the last fifty years? Probably the 1996 “Jeffrey Maier” call in Game One of the 1996 ALCS.

Oct 06

ALDS Game Two, 2020

Astros vs Athletics, 1:37 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Astros lead the series 1-0. LHP Framber Valdez goes for the Astros and LHP Sean Manaea pitches for the Athletics. Valdez gave the Astros five scoreless innings of relief in Game One of the Astros’ matchup with the Twins. Manaea didn’t pitch in the Wild Card Series against the ChiSox; his lone start against Houston this year came on September 10 when he went seven innings and gave up just one run to them.

Yankees vs Rays, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Yankees lead the series 1-0. They’ll start RHP Deivi Garcia. The rookie will be the youngest Yankee ever to start a postseason game; Whitey Ford was slightly older than Garcia’s 21 years and 140 days in 1950 when he started against the Phillies in the World Series. Garcia will face RHP Tyler Glasnow, who made three starts against the Yankees this year going 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 14 1/3 innings.