It’s the first game of this bizarre 60-game season, in which each win and each loss has much more weight than in most seasons. Lose ten straight in a 162-game season and you’ve got a chance to make it up; do so in a 60-game season and you’re probably dead. If last year had been a 60-game season, the World Series Champion Nationals would not have made the playoffs. They were 27-33 in their first 60 games.
Giants at Dodgers, 7:00 PM PDT. TV: ESPN
The Dodgers send LHP Clayton Kershaw to the mound for his ninth Opening Day start in ten years. The 32-year-old was 16-5 last season with the highest ERA of his career, a whopping 3.03. He’ll face the Giants’ RHP Johnny Cueto, who was 1-2 with a 5.06 ERA last year in four September starts after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of 2018.
Here’s the Dodgers’ official 30-man roster to start the season:
Here is the Dodgers' #OpeningDay 30-man roster: pic.twitter.com/19kwKyhQIf
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 23, 2020
Today in Dodgers’ history:
- 1939 Using yellow dyed balls, the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 5-2 at Sportsman’s Park. The experimenting with the use of the colored sphere, which is designed to make the ball easier to see for the players and the fans, started in Brooklyn last week and will be tested once more, in a September game played at Wrigley Field.
- 1962 Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player inducted into the Hall of Fame. Joining the Dodger infielder in the Cooperstown ceremony are fireballer Bob Feller, veteran manager Bill McKechnie, and outfielder Edd Roush.
- 1965 Dick Stuart homers in the first inning in the Phillies’ 5-1 win over New York at Shea Stadium. ‘Dr. Strangeglove’, who played in Boston for the previous two seasons, becomes the first player to have gone deep in each of the 19 major league ballparks now in use. (Ed. note – Nineteen ballparks because both Los Angeles teams, the Angels and Dodgers, share the ballpark in Chavez Ravine. – LP)
- 1974 At Three Rivers Stadium, Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey, a write-in All-Star starter, singles and doubles to help the National League beat the Junior circuit, 7-2. Mike Schmidt, also a write-in, plays in his first Midsummer Classic thanks to radio intern Howard Eskin’s on-air campaign which urged Phillies fans to stuff the ballot box for their young third baseman.
Also, Nomah! In 2002 Nomar Garciaparra establishes the record for consecutive home runs in the shortest time in terms of innings. In a 22-4 rout of the Devil Rays at Fenway Park, the Red Sox shortstop homers three times in two frames – two two-run homers in the second and a grand slam in the third.
Lineup when available.
Kershaw is a late scratch due to back pain and has been replaced as the Dodgers’ starting pitcher by Dustin May, the first rookie to start an Opening Day game for the team since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
Tonight's #OpeningDay lineup vs. Giants: pic.twitter.com/NICSftUlNM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 24, 2020
NPUT
Kiké had quite a night. Five RBI on Opening Day puts him up in the top 5 or 6 best Dodger performances of all time. Mondesi had six, Guerrero had five, Pederson had five, and now Kiké is in that group along with Van Lingle Mungo, who did it back in 1935.
Kolarek and Graterol sound like medicines for which they warn about all kinds of possibly dangerous consequences.
You are on a late roll tonight Scoop!
Kike’s’ mustache just got a little better looking
Is the SF pitching staff that much better than AZ and LAA that the Dodgers hitters have met their match?
Feels a bit slow tonight but ESPN doesn’t help.
Cueto seems to be struggling a bit now, but Barnes let him off the hook.
Woot! Kiké!
“¡Se empata el juego!” (según Jaime).
Woo-HOO!!!
Dodgers win!
Wow. The Dodger Stadium crowd came late and left early tonight.
Ha!
Thanks. Feeling my oats, I guess. Very nice to hear from you all again. Only 59 games left in the regular season.
Scoop!!!
Two scoops of humor in every box of oats.
Nice!
Ha!
Everybody in the starting lineup with at least one hit except for Barnes.
Barnes made up for it with a RBI.
Yes, he did.
I like the Dodgers’ chances to pick up the win tonight.
¡Despídalo con un beso!
Kiké!!!!!
Kiké!
In the MVP lead over Betts, Belli and Seager.
Hustle double.
Here we go again…
I was going to type that exact thing under your comment – but knew you were typing it here and thought it would be too much of a good thing!
Oh how I have missed this.
I’m smiling right now. It’s fun to be back.
No dingers, but a buncha doubles.
Hustling JT double!
Mystery balloon.
Nice relief pitching!
No home runs. Are we playing Mookie Ball this year?
They did hit a bunch in summer camp.
https://twitter.com/Ned2point0/status/1286522223214252033?s=20
I like this Dany Jiménez.
Yep. My favourite SF pitcher so far this year.
Mookie can add the frosting with a hit here.
Sloppy play.by the Gnats but I’ll take it!
Barnes keeps it going.
Hernandez
¡Quique!
Kiké!
I already did my Kiké, early!
Sounds like bad situational hitting from Seager.
Mookie!
Head first into the catcher. It will take Friedman a few games to not have a heart attack when he sees that.
And that’s why the Dodgers are paying him $1 million per year.
For 365 years.
This is our inning.
Singles rally or big bop?
Looks like it will be small ball.
You might be right!
Update – you were definitely right Scoop!
I had to make up for my president/prime minister gaffe.
Thoughts on this season and post season actually being completed as scheduled? It feels not much better than a coin flip to me to be honest. (But I’m hopeful it will.)
I will feel uneasy through the entire season.
Yes. I think that sums it up perfectly.
It’s all part of the calculus.
I think in a few weeks MLB will announce that all teams make the playoffs.
Ha!
I’d be down with a World Cup style tourney though with all 30 teams.
I was thinking about the Dodger v Dodger exhibition games earlier today. They were enjoyable enough to watch in their own fashion.
Then I was imagining watching different sports without a natural opponent. For example, I don’t think I would watch golf if it was just a single golfer or an auto race with just one car.
This is reason number 37 why I don’t have Twitter. I would just tweet random thoughts like this all day long.
Belly laugh!
You could be just like our (not yours) president.
Canadia doesn’t have a president.
I have been dutifully and doubly corrected.
But I still appreciate your original sentiment.
Ahmm. That’s Prime Minister
Better to Remain Silent and Be Thought a Fool than to Speak and Remove All Doubt
Classic.
Now if our Twitter-in-chief would remain silent…
So Joe McCarthy finally reappears after all these years!
Unbelievable. I have a project I need to finish, and I just turned on the game for the first time, with Bellinger batting in the bottom of the 5th. For the next eight minutes or so, I heard nothing about the game — nothing — just an announcer or two babbling with am overly talkative member of the A’s. This is simply atrocious and inexcusable. Perhaps WBBsAs is lucky that he cannot watch tonight.
If I could watch ESPN, it would still be on mute.
I wonder if ESPN would ever do something crazy and outside of the norm like, oh I don’t know – announce the actual game?
They’re the worst.
They are showing video for most of it though. I missed Joc’s hit because they were either showing Hernandez’ mustache or Betts sitting in the dugout instead of the hitter.
Ferguson looked good. May did well.
Just need to get the bats rolling.
Now that I am back on west coast time I get to see the game start at 7 instead of 10. It is still full daylight here in Washington and I see it is dark in LA.
May, the Force, be with us.
Where in Washington are you?
Ridgefield, fastest growing city in WA, probably pretty high on the list for the USA too.
So, are you getting tear-gassed?
Not me. I’m staying clear to that. Don’t like that the Feds are involved.
It’s not wafting over the Columbia?
I don’t watch local news much or get a local paper so Vancouver might have demonstrations as well.
Really? No love for “May, the Force, be with us?
I see (now) what you did there.
Initially I was thinking you were talking about the other types of (armed) forces in your State.
I’m used to having to plead
I’ll try and pick it up quicker this season!
https://twitter.com/GrantBrisbee/status/1286499183738753026?s=20
Clever.
Thanks Muncy. Cueto was starting to bug me.
Or rather ESPN talking about Cueto.
No video here. Was it close to going out?
Delayed response – but no.
Is Mary Hart one of the cut-outs behind home plate? The one wearing sunglasses maybe?
Ruh roh.
Well if the 3 summer camp games are anything to go by – Dodgers dont start scoring themselves until the other team has done so.
And then the Dodgers score a bunch.
Right! I forgot!
May has given up only bloop hits thus far.
But he keeps getting them. Weird baseball luck so far.
Kiké!
Yikes. How far ahead are you? I’m only at JT…
I’m listening to Jaime Jarrin, and still waiting.
Well he did get a hit. But I was kinda expecting more.
What say you, future person?
Kinda like the upside of the Dodger rotation in the future: Buehler, May, Urias, Gray etc.
He sure makes 100 look effortless.
I can’t even drive a car at 100 that smoothly.
McCarthy at least had the decency to strike out.
Nice catch by Dickerson.
A little hinky but May stayed cool!
A little hinky but May stayed cool!
Okay Betts. Let’s see you get it started.
Is there a minimum that someone has to stay on the new “IL”?
Good question. Did they move it back to 15 or is it still 10 for this year?
I think it’s 10.
If it’s 10, here’s hoping he is a six-game winner this year.
Rules per the LAT:
So much for the no-hitter.
You are 30-40 seconds into the future from me.
And… we miss the first batter (and an error by Corey) because of ESPN and their need for commercials.
So much for seeing the first pitch!
My loathing for ESPN know no limits.
We’ve gotten that idea over the years.
I apologize for being snotty.
I can handle that better than I can tolerate ESPN.
You’re a good sport.
Mid season form
Happy New Year
Opening Day!
Can’t believe the last 24 or 36 hours:
1. I like the Betts signing as long as it doesn’t prevent financial muscle too much down the road.
2. Not a fan of the extended playoffs. Totally money grab right there. Especially this year as the 60 games become almost meaningless except for playoff seeding. The postseason is basically a 1/3 as long as the regular season. Yuck.
3. Sad about no Kershaw tonight. Seems very likely that he will not have another OD start in his career. I get it is merely a ceremonial thing to place any importance on which pitcher starts the first game – but I like some ceremony and tradition within baseball.
Also – hey everyone. I hope that most of the crowd from previous years will be back posting again this year.
Thanks to Link for keeping the door open and the coffee brewing. Also – shout out to WBBsAs for being the most constant poster throughout the extra long off season.
Dave!
RBI!
Lol
Coffee, tea, craft beer…get your peanuts here!
https://twitter.com/RonBrownstein/status/1286452190043725824?s=20
Good for them.
ESPN can’t even be bothered to post highlights videos of a game in progress.
As MLB continues shooting itself in the foot, both today’s games are ESPN blackouts.
It’s gamesmanship to force the Giants to field a lefty lineup!
https://twitter.com/Dodgers/status/1286423984104337408
https://twitter.com/ericstephen/status/1286423557023571968?s=20
It took reading Howard Cole’s post at SI to clue me in, but P Dustin May is not on the roster to start the season.
Now starting tonight!
Klayton with back pain to IL.
27-33 just might be good enough now that 16 teams will be in the playoffs!
The only appropriate walkup song for the 2020 season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEWJuDCxn70
Soto out with Covid19. Tested Monday, played Tuesday and just informed today. Not sure this is going to work. Team already seems to be ignoring the agreed protocols as regards contact tracing.
Apparently tested Tuesday before the game.
I tested negative on Monday, have a minor surgery tomorrow.
Hope your surgery goes super smoothly.
Hoping the magic of baseball takes me away from all of this! But guessing that things won’t go well, leaving me more depressed.
Josh Wilker at Cardboard Gods does his take. Great writer, though normally a bit of a downer.