332 thoughts on “Game 28, 2021

  1. The Dodgers claimed Phil Bickford off waivers from the Brewers and designated Mike Kickham for assignment in order to add the right-handed relief pitcher to their 40-man roster.

    Bickford, 25, has appeared in two Major League games in his career, allowing a combined six runs on six hits in two innings with the Brewers. He was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the first round (18th overall) of the 2015 Draft out of the College of Southern Nevada.

  2. Today’s game between the Dodgers and the Cubs has been rained out. It will be made up Tuesday at 11:20 a.m. (West Coast time) as part of a split twinbill. The second game is set for 4:40 p.m. (West Coast time).

  3. Today in Dodgers History

    May 3rd

    1947

    The Pirates deal five-foot, six-inch reserve outfielder Al Gionfriddo
    to the Dodgers for five players and a hundred thousand dollars in cash,
    delivered by the diminutive flycatcher when he arrives in Brooklyn. The
    Bucs received Hank Behrman, Dixie Howell, Gene Mauch, Cal McLish, and
    Kirby Higbe, a former 20-game winner from South Carolina, made
    expendable due to his comments about playing with his new teammate
    Jackie Robinson, the first black to play in the major leagues this
    century.

    2004

    Similar to last season, the aging outfielder Rickey Henderson re-signs
    with the Atlantic League’s Bears, hoping for a shot of returning to the
    big leagues. The 45 year-old future Hall of Famer batted .339, hit eight
    home runs, drove in 33 runs, scored 52 runs, and stole nine bases for
    the Newark team last season before joining the Dodgers in July.

    2009

    Defeating San Diego 2-1 in 10 innings, the Dodgers tie a franchise
    record, winning their ninth consecutive decision at home from the start
    of the season. The 1946 club also reeled off nine straight victories at
    Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field at the beginning of the post-war campaign.

  4. Today’s lineup
    Betts — RF
    Seager — SS
    Turner — 3B
    Muncy — 1B
    Smith — C
    Taylor — CF
    Pollock — LF
    Lux — 2B
    Buehler — P
    Pederson, just off the IL, is leading off and playing left field for the Cubs.
    Each team has one player hitting above .300 — Turner (.337), Bryant (.323).

  5. Taylor has scored 5 runs today. The club record, in Brooklyn or Los Angeles, is 6, set by Green in his 4-HR game in 2002. I haven’t done Rotisserie baseball in about a dozen years, but I did that year and Green was on my roster.

  6. Buehler vs. Hendricks in Chicago tomorrow, 4:40 p.m. West Coast time. (That’s 6:40 for you, WD, as if you didn’t know.)

  7. The Dodgers will pick up a game on either the Giants or the Padres. San Francisco leads San Diego 4-1 in the 4th now.

  8. Well, that was a pleasant sojourn. May it continue tomorrow in Chicago. May you all be well, particularly Link.

  9. For me, using a pitcher for this half inning who can actually shut the game down is worth it. But I am not a manager. What do I know?

  10. It looks like the Dodgers have found a good batting practice pitcher.

  11. Where have you gone Zac Rosscup? (I believe the last Dodger to wear number 59.)

    • I think he ended up in Seattle at first, but he’s now in the Rox org.

      • Others, besides Rosscup, who have worn #59 for the Dodgers include Ismael Valdez and Guillermo Mota.

  12. Beaty and Pollock – what have you done for me lately? Striking out. Lol

  13. We haven’t scored more runs in a game since March 30, 2019, the third game of that season, when we tallied 18 runs.

  14. When Texas beat Baltimore 30-3, their 8 and 9 hitters both had 7 RBI’s.

    • When I saw that the Dodgers had called Kickham up, I looked at his stats. They were, to put in mildly, not impressive, as previously noted.

  15. Bases loaded! Just need Rios to unload to get to 3 Grand Slams!

  16. Lux breaks into the RBI club today.
    AJ – 8
    Beaty – 7
    Lux – 1

  17. Torn between wanting another GS and wanting AJ to get to 10 RBI’s.

  18. This ties the Dodgers’ record of 2 grand slams in one game, established three times previously:

    Jimmy Sheckard and Joe Kelley in 1901: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN190109230.shtml [the team was then known as the Brooklyn Superbas}

    Mariano Duncan and Pedro Guerrero in 1985: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=198508230MON

    Shawn Green and Adrian Beltre in 2000: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=200005210FLOhttps://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN190109230.shtm

  19. 11% of Beaty’s career RBI’s have come in this game. (7 of 62)

  20. Both Beaty and Pollock have more RBI’s than Shawn Green had vs Milwaukee when he hit 4 hrs, a double and a single. Green only had 6 RBI’s.

  21. I have to wonder if Dodgers are on pace to break the HBP record?

  22. The Dodger hitters are looking like they are having fun out there today.

  23. It looks as if Counsell will continue to let Bettinger take one for the team.

  24. This has brightened a beautifully bright day where I live. Can anyone recall the last time we scored 5 or more runs in an inning?

      • It’s not like the Dodgers haven’t had a problem in holding leads.
        But this one should be safe now.

  25. Reflecting on the Dodgers’ performances over the last two weeks brings to mind this portion of Rudyard Kipling’s 1910 poem “If”, which was written as a father’s advice to his son:
    “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same . . .”
    “And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son.”

    The Dodgers are only a half-game out of first.

    • I had a grandson for the night so we watched Wall E while the game was happening. It helped! Great movie.

  26. If Mitch was available to pitch maybe they should have brought him in a bit earlier than bases loaded and no outs.

  27. CT3 swung at a bad pitch early in his at bat and had a ball hit the knob of his bat. Otherwise they would have had bases loaded at this point with no out.
    Let’s see what Smith can do.

  28. At least starting with the runner at 2nd, a lead off walk isn’t terrible.

  29. I really don’t get not bunting when you have a pitcher pinch hitting and have a runner on third with less than 2 outs.

    • Me either. And Kersh is considered an above average bunter. That’s Roberts for you.

  30. The umpiring often ranges from inconsistent to lousy, but that’s not why we’re 3-9.

    • Agree, though of course a team that builds its offense through plate discipline is at a disadvantage when umps are inconsistent.

  31. None of the seven pitchers we have used tonight has an ERA above 2.00. That’s remarkable. (I’m looking for positive takeaways.)

  32. When was the last time Kenley entered a tie game at the start of the 8th inning? I can’t recall that.

  33. Right-handed reliever with an ERA above 4.50 comes in and strikes out Seager. I know things like that happen, but everything going bad for us has become enlarged. I cannot ever recall the Dodgers going through what is now a two-week hitting funk/slump such as this one. Six hits is frequently our limit these days.

    • If the Dodgers had won 9 of their last 12, I would be enjoying this one quite a bit. Minus the injury to May of course.

  34. VG outing by Alexander, who’s going to get more innings now, I suspect.

  35. A bit of a drop off from May to Cleavinger. Will need the bats to show up tonight for sure.

  36. I’d sure like us to jump out to an early lead of 3 runs or more, but wouldn’t we all?

  37. It was a pleasant change of pace to watch a game with a dominant pitching performance that turned into a laugher.

  38. Does nobody realize this is an afternoon game?

    Treinen really worked out of one in the eighth.

  39. Unfortunately, Link and I ran into another glitch, so my posts will be limited to here (hopefully Link, about to undergo surgery, will be back by the weekend).