Game Nine, 2018

Dodgers at Giants, 1:05 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, NBCS BA

LHP Clayton Kershaw makes his third start of the season and second against the Giants. He’s 0-2 for the first time since 2009 and has lost his first two starts for the first time ever. His ERA is still a tidy 2.25, however. In a rematch of Opening Day he’ll face the Giants’ LHP Ty Balch, who’s 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1966 At the Astrodome, the Astros and Dodgers play baseball’s first game on synthetic grass. Thanks to the Monsanto chemical company, who proposed using an experimental playing surface of nylon grass, the plan to play on an all-dirt field, necessitated by the need to paint the dome’s glass panes to reduce the glare which prevented natural grass from growing, was alleviated by the use of ‘AstroTurf’.
  • 1974 Braves outfielder Hank Aaron passes Babe Ruth as the all-time home run leader with his 715th, going deep in the fourth inning off Dodger hurler Al Downing in Atlanta’s home opener. ‘Hammerin’ Hank’ equaled the Bambino’s mark on Opening Day in Cincinnati.

  • 1994 Kent Mercker no-hits Los Angeles, 6-0 at Dodger Stadium. The Braves left-hander was one of the three Atlanta pitchers, along with Mark Wohlers and Alejandro Pena, in 1991 to also no-hit the Padres, but this victory is his first complete game in the major leagues.
  • 1994 Chan Ho Park becomes the first Korean to play in the major leagues when he makes his pitching debut at Chavez Ravine. In one inning of work, the 21 year-old Kongju City native gives up two runs on one hit, walking two and striking out two batters in the Dodgers’ 6-0 loss to Atlanta.
  • 2015 Adrian Gonzalez becomes the first major league player to hit five home runs in the first three games of the season when he goes deep three times in the Dodgers’ 7-4 victory over San Diego at Chavez Ravine. The Los Angeles first baseman joins Carl Furillo (1955) and Jimmy Wynn (1974) as the only players in franchise history to have homered in the first three games of a campaign.

Lineup when available.


The Dodgers field a patchwork lineup with the loss of Bellinger to food poisoning, which also got Alex Wood. According to Ken Gurnick Wood will get an extra day to recover and Ryu will start Tuesday. Maeda won’t relieve today, and will start one of next weekend’s games.

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