Game 156, 2017

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Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBCS BA

RHP Chris Stratton (3-3, 3.94 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants. He’ll face LHP Clayton Kershaw (17-4, 2.26 ERA) of the Dodgers.

This will be Stratton’s first appearance at Dodger Stadium. He was a victim of the long rain delay in San Francisco last week; he started, faced one hitter and did not reappear after play was halted for 2:52. Kershaw is 21-9 with a 1.62 ERA in 40 games (39 starts) against the Giants, including 3-1, 1.73 in four starts this year.

Once again the site I usually find this at is down, so here’s a game from the WS-winning year of 1981 on this date: Dodgers 7, Giants 5 at Candlestick. The Dodgers got a three-run homer from Scioscia and two more runs in the third inning to put themselves ahead. The game was — marred? supplemented? — when a fan threw a helmet and — well, here:

Reggie Smith went into the stands after a fan who had been heckling him during the game; the fan had just thrown a batting helmet into the dugout before Smith climbed into the stands; Smith punched the fan and tried to pull him over the rail onto the field; Dodger teammates grabbed Smith; eight fans were arrested and Smith was ejected by HP umpire Harry Wendelstedt; as two policemen walked with Smith down the RF line to the clubhouse, someone threw a beer bottle and missed.

Lineup:

134 thoughts on “Game 156, 2017”

  2. “Competition” where it really matters: after CBO report and Sen. Collins’s statement, is this nightmare within the nightmare finally over?

  3. Any predictions as to whom the Dodgers will face in game one of the playoffs? I know, I know, It’s Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future.

    Niels Bohr? Samuel Goldwyn? K. K. Steincke? Robert Storm Petersen? Yogi Berra? Mark Twain? Nostradamus? Anonymous?

    • Tempted as I am to Google it, I’m leaning to Goldwyn or Yogi. Gotta stick with baseball and choose Yogi.

  4. I think Steiner was commenting about players names last night and asked the question “isn’t anybody named Joe anymore”. I think Friedman heard him and acquired Connor Joe.

    • I have a couple of thoughts.

      Mattingley often said that just because Puig limps or winces it doesn’t mean he is hurt.

      Maybe it wasn’t so much that he attempted a steal and didn’t slide so much as Doc wanted to see what the hitter would do with two out in the bottom of the ninth. He is still looking for a post season team.

      • That may be, but I agree with Link’s take, that this is about more than one night.one play.
        When i finished, I felt the author of the piece indicates the lack of trust may be bad enough to not play Puig in postseason, or limit his play.
        This must be really bad for at least two reasons: Doc is always protective of his players . . . and with the bats struggling like they have this past month, who would replace Puig at the plate, much less in the field?

        • Puig will again be a trade topic in the off-season. Verdugo needs a place to land and has the arm for RF. Toles will be looking for a spot as well. Next year Joc might swing from the right side, its the only stance he hasn’t tried.

          • Had to laugh with the comment about the stance. Since I rarely have eyes (and Joc rarely plays, these days anyways), I’ve only heard about his experimenting. But I know how messed up I would get by overthinking when I was batting or trying a golf swing.

          • I like both Toles and Verdugo, but the former’s coming off a serious injury and the latter has yet to prove himself. The Dodger lineup is also lefty-heavy, so Puig’s absence would create a major vacuum.

  7. I just saw a GIF of Greasylocks’s bunt attempt yesterday. Unfortunately, it was from the centerfield camera, so Clayton was blocking his faceplant.

  8. The Dodgers will have almost a week off before starting the playoffs.
    Has anyone heard what they are planning to do to try to avoid getting rusty?

    • 4 days is a long time off when you have been basically playing six days a week since the ASG. They have enough guys on the active roster now that they could probably play pick up games.

      • That was my thought about the time off (it’s less than I thought — I was thinking they had to wait until Saturday). Intrateam scrimmage would make sense. Can you imagine them doing a schoolyard picking of teams?

    • Justin, reflecting on the 4 day layoff, was basically saying that it was a reset whether one is hitting well or hitting poorly at the end of the season.

          • “Chip” was my nickname as a kid, but not because of a chippy attitude — it’s because I always mimicked the beginning of “My Three Sons” when it came on, which featured a son named Chip.

          • Yes — I read those! (And every series I could find: Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, etc.)
            Also John R. Tunis had several sports books, including the “Kid from Tompkinsville” series we’ve talked about here before. I love “The Kid Comes Back” — what can be better than beating the Nazis, then playing for the Dodgers?
            (I Just looked him up and he wrote even more Dodger books than I knew . . .guess it’s time to go Internet hunting!)

  10. Win 190 for Dave Roberts. He is about half way up the Brooklyn/LA managerial win chart. But still not even at 10% of Alston’s 2040 total.

      • I was wondering the same thing. The Blue aren’t a running team. Chase may have more leeway because he’s more savvy (tho in Puig’s favor, he IS learning). Some players are known to have “permission” to run whenever they want. Dodgers may be under a “run only when told” order.

        • Here’s my theory: I think it was the lack of sliding coupled with Doc suspecting Puig invented the ankle injury to excuse the bad decision and lack of slide.

          • Sounds about right. He was dismissing any talk of injury in the reports I read.
            Hopefully the bats of mid-summer return (what is it, about 20 games in a row now where they haven’t collected double-digit hits?). Barring that, they will have to be aggressive and hope the pitchers are on.

  18. 7 seasons with 200 Ks, most ever for a Dodger pitcher.
    Congrats, Kersh — especially with a shortened season.

  19. I was about to comment on what a great rebound this is for Kersh when he’s bit by the HR bug. Again.

  31. After learning that Steiner’s doing TV, I’ve switched to the Dodgers’ English-language radio feed.

  39. Linguistic peculiarity, observed while listening to Jaime Jarrín: In Argentina, “inning” is in common usage in baseball and softball, and I have heard “entrada” elsewhere. Jaime, however, uses “episodio,” which I’ve only heard from him.

    • I hope he gets a few more starts and does well. Joc has had some success in the post season.

      I really loved the idea of having three young lefty bats playing together for a long time with Corey, Cody, and Joc. I like Taylor, Barnes, and Puig as young righty bats. Always nice to have a couple of older players in the lineup as well and the Dodgers have that in Turner, LoFo, and Utley this year.

      I was going to say veterans but went with older as Turner isn’t quite a veteran yet.

      • Turner in his thirties, and this is his ninth major league season. By any standard, he’s a vet.

        • To be included with Utley, Ethier, and Agon all I am asking for Turner is three full seasons as a starter 2500 plate appearances. After this year he will have the former and already has the latter.

      • Hope he does well, but late in the season to be fiddling with your stance and it didn’t seem to be working on the farm.