Category Archives: Game Threads

For discussion of today’s game

Apr 08

Game 5, 2016

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Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBC-BA

Ross Stripling makes his debut against the most bitter rival the Dodgers have in the rival’s home park. Welcome to the big leagues, kid! He’ll face Matt Cain, who’s fallen from previous stardom due to elbow and forearm injuries to the #5 starter’s spot in the Giants’ rotation (which is still better than Tim Lincecum, who hasn’t thrown a pitch since June of last year and is now a free agent, rehabbing from hip surgery).

Puig and Gonzalez have eight and seven hits respectively for the Dodgers in this young season; Seager and Utley have six, Pederson has five. The pitching’s been excellent until Thursday, when not only Wood but the bullpen (saving Louis Coleman, who threw 1 1/3 innings of hitless ball) failed, Wood after four good innings.

Lineup when available.


Carl Crawford gets a day off for the second day in a row.

Apr 07

Game 4, 2016

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Dodgers at Giants, 1:35PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

Alex Wood makes his 2016 debut for the Dodgers and Jake Peavy does the same for the Giants.

The projected starting eight for the Dodgers is a combined 8-for-66 against Peavy. Time for a change!

Apr 06

Game 3, 2016

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Dodgers at Padres, 6:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

Two righthanders face off: newcomer Kenta Maeda meets Andrew Cashner. Maeda is fresh off an 8-year career in the Japan Central League with Hiroshima in which he was 97-67 with a 2.39 ERA; Cashner is in his 7th year in the big leagues with a record of 26-42 and an ERA of 3.59. He went 0-3 against the Dodgers last year but had a 3.38 ERA, getting little to no run support in three of his four starts against them.

The Dodgers have to be greatly encouraged by Yasiel Puig’s performance in the first two games, with 2 triples among his 3 hits in 6 ABs and 3 RBIs already.

Lineup when available.

Apr 05

Game 2, 2016

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Dodgers at Padres, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, FSSD

The Dodgers began their quest for NL West domination with a 15-0 shutout of the Padres yesterday, the largest Opening Day shutout by any team in Major League history. Clayton Kershaw got off to a superlative start (but that’s not surprising anymore, I guess), going seven innings, striking out nine, giving up no runs and only one walk.

Today is another day, and so we see Scott Kazmir go for the Dodgers against James Shields of the Padres. Kazmir faced them once last year as a member of the As and went five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, getting a no-decision for his troubles. Shields started four games against the Dodgers last year and pitched well, going 1-0 with three quality starts.

Lineup when available.

Apr 04

Game 1, 2016

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Opening Day! Let’s have a little Danny Kaye to start the season off.

Dodgers at Padres, 4:05PM PT, SPNLA, FSSD

It’ll be Clayton Kershaw making his sixth straight Opening Day start for the Dodgers; Don Sutton holds the record of seven. This will be Tyson Ross’s first Opening Day start for any team. Overall it’s the 10th time the Dodgers and Padres have opened against one another.

Nov 01

World Series Game Five, 2015

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Here we go. Can the Mets stave off expulsion from the Series or will they succumb to the Royals and the incessant hitting machine that is their lineup?

Royals at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

The pitchers from Game One are matched up again. Edinson Volquez returns from attending his father’s funeral in the Dominican Republic to face Matt Harvey, who took the loss the first time these two righthanders met last week.

If you think the Royals are the latest edition of The Comeback Kids, you’re right: “Kansas City has now won six games this postseason after trailing by multiple runs.”

Oct 31

World Series Game Four, 2015

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Royals at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

(Insert pro forma rant about World Series games played at night in the Northeast)

Why can’t MLB at least schedule weekend World Series games during the day so the average eight, nine or ten-year old can watch them through the end of the game? Yeah, yeah, college football. Yeah, yeah, the NFL. Competing with those entities and expecting to win is done, guys. That ship has sailed. But real baseball fans are going to watch the Series, not Texas-San Antonio v. North Texas.

On to tonight’s game. The Mets send rookie lefthander Steven Matz to the hill to face Tall Chris Young, who pitched three shutout innings of relief in the fourteen-inning Game One. If the Mets win the Series is tied, if the Royals win they’ve got a 3-1 edge.

Oct 30

World Series Game Three, 2015

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Royals at Mets, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

Noah Syndergaard tries to stop the Royals and prevent them from taking a nearly-insurmountable three-zip lead and Yordano Ventura tries to throttle the Mets yet again in this Series. Syndergaard has made two starts in the postseason and pitched an inning of relief in the NLDS, running up a 1-1 record with a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings. Ventura has made four starts already in the postseason, going 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA. His first start contributed heavily to that high ERA, however: he went only 2 innings and gave up 4 hits and 3 runs.

Here’s an interesting statistic: In the NLDS and NLCS, Mets pitchers struck out 91 batters in 80 innings; they’ve only struck out 10 Royals in 21 1/3 innings in the World Series.

Oct 28

World Series Game Two, 2015

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Mets at Royals, 5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

Buzz cut wearers need not apply to this game, not with the Mets’ curly-haired Jacob deGrom going against the Royals’ dreadlocked Johnny Cueto. deGrom has won all three of his playoff starts this postseason, while Cueto has had a mixed performance, winning one and losing one of his three starts in October.

Both bullpens might be in a bit of disarray after last night’s 14-inning marathon.

Oct 23

ALCS Game Six, 2015

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If the Royals win they move on to the World Series against the Mets; if the Jays win they force a Game Seven tomorrow.

Blue Jays at Royals, 5:00PM PT, TV: FS1

The Jays ask David Price to win the most critical game yet in a week of them; in Game Two he was very good until the seventh inning when the wheels came off. The Royals counter with Yordano Ventura, who started Game Two against Price and gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings and didn’t figure into the decision.