Game 53, 2020

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:10 PM PDT, TV: ATTSportsNet-RM, SPNLA

LHP Clayton Kershaw (5-2, 2.28 ERA) goes for the Dodgers while RHP Chi Chi González (0-1, 8.68 ERA) pitches for the home Rockies. Kershaw was the victim of shoddy defense his last time out; he’d struck out nine and walked none when he left the game in the 7th. González was awful in his last outing (walked three, hit one, pulled after 1/3 of an inning) but he’d had two strong relief appearances before that.

Will Smith gets voluminous praise from one of MLB’s editors: “Smith has a triple-slash line of .303/.417/.596, which is good for an OPS+ of 171. That’s the highest mark on Los Angeles, ahead of even Betts (163) and Seager (155) and puts Smith among some extremely impressive company.” He’s in the top ten in OPS, ahead of Jose Abreu and right behind Manny Machado.

Here’s the Dodgers’ five-run fifth inning yesterday:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1935 The Cubs win their 16th consecutive game as they beat Carl Hubbell, completing a four-game sweep of the Giants. The mark is the most since the 1924 Dodgers won 15 straight games.
  • 1964 With two outs in the bottom of the 16th inning, Willie Davis, after singling, swiping second, and advancing to third on a wild pitch, steals home, giving the Dodgers a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia. The fleet outfielder’s theft of the plate is in the latest frame in a National League game the feat has ever been accomplished and ties Hal Trosky’s major league record set in 1944.
  • 1973 Astros’ infielder Dave Campbell hits a first-inning two-run double against San Diego right-hander Clay Kirby to snap an 0-for-45 drought, tying a major league record set in 1909 by Bill Bergen, a catcher who played with Brooklyn. ‘Soup’, who will become a respected national baseball broadcaster, endured the futility while playing for three teams, combining a 17 at-bat hitless streak with the Padres and another 21 at-bat hitless streak for the Cardinals before hitting the two-bagger in his eighth at-bat with Houston.
  • 2000 A Dodger fan, in addition to other court-ordered restrictions, has been banned from attending home games in Los Angeles for 18 months. The irate patron threw coffee in the face of a Mets fan who was cheering a grand slam hit by New York’s catcher Todd Pratt.
  • 2014 LA’s Clayton Kershaw becomes the first 20-game winner of the season when the team routs Chicago at a windy Wrigley Field, 14-5. The 26 year-old southpaw, who has compiled a 20-3 (.870) record along with an ERA of 1.80. is the first Dodger hurler to reach the 20-win plateau twice since Claude Osteen accomplished the feat in 1969 and 1972.

Lineup when available.

126 thoughts on “Game 53, 2020

  1. I will always like Kemp. He is a survivor. He was denied the deserved MVP award in 2011 by the cheater Braun. Kemp’s monster season that year included 40 stolen bases. He has not had a stolen base since 2016.

    • As I remember the Dodgers played their last game in San Diego that year and Kemp hit a ball that was caught against the fence in the deepest part of the park that in maybe any other ball park would have been a home run. It would have been #40 for a 40 40 season.

    • I was at the game in Denver when he crashed into the center field fence. He was laying on the field for a long time and allowed to stay in the game. Before the inning was over he ran in on a popup and dove head first and slid a long ways on his stomach to try to make the catch. He was taken out after that play.

      • I was at the July 23, 2013 game against the Nats. First game after his second stint on the DL that year. Went 3-4 with a double and a dinger. Hurt his ankle crossing the plate in the ninth and was pretty much through for the year. Matty sure had more than his share of injuries.

  2. Muncy in Seager’s spot in the line up so he was contractually obligated to swing at the first pitch.

  3. San Diego, trailing Seattle, 4-1 in the top of the 9th, loaded the bases with no one out on three straight singles. Cronenworth then hit into a pitcher-catcher-first DP and Profar grounded out to Dee Strange-Gordon at 2nd to end the game. The Dodgers lead the Padres by five games. Each team has seven remaining. Dee’s legal surname was always Strange-Gordon, but he has now decided to use it. His mother’s name was DeVona Strange, and she was killed when he was 6.

  4. Barnes always knows when to run when the ball gets away from the catcher. Interesting that the team thinks one of their smallest players is the toughest on the team. They picked him as the guy they want in the car when driving in an unsafe area.

    • Willie Davis stuff. Several times I watched Willie score from second on a ground ball out at first.

  5. AJ and CT both having very solid seasons. That has helped make up for the less than par performances of Cody, Max and Joc.

  6. Not the best run down play when the pitcher has to get involved. Not bad, just not the way you want it to work.

  7. It’s an unexpectedly warm evening so my wife and I are going for a walk. Check you all later.

        • The Dodgers rushed Tommy Davis back too soon after the terrible ankle break he suffered in 1965. Although he could still hit, he could not run like he previously could. After spending his first eight seasons with the Dodgers, he was with nine other teams over his next 10 years. I met him at a Dodgers fantasy camp in Vero Beach. He is a very fine person. He said that a phone call from Jackie Robinson convinced him to sign with the Dodgers. The Yankees had been courting Davis, a Brooklyn native.

    • He has always been one of my all time favorites and his story was just as good as his 145 RBI season.

          • There’s a lot more about Holman Stadium’s integration here, although it doesn’t mention TD’s efforts, giving the credit to Walter O’Malley. Further down the page it does mention Davis, quoting from Michael Leahy’s book “The Last Innocents.”

            I’ve read that book, and I must have missed that section.

  8. Old friend Butera must be a great defensive catcher. In nine of his 11 seasons in the majors, many of them with few at bats, he has batted under .200. His lifetime batting average is just a hair under that.