Aug 02

Game 103, 2022

Dodgers at Giants, 6:45 PM PDT, TV: NBCBS BA, SPNLA, TBS

LHP Tyler Anderson (11-1, 2.61 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers while LHP Alex Wood (7-8, 4.11 ERA) does the same for the Giants. Anderson had a great July, going 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA and being named to the All Star Game. He went 6 innings against the Giants and gave up one run on four hits on July 22 but got no decision. Wood was nearly equally good for the month; he went 2-1 with a 1.68 ERA. His one loss was to the Dodgers on July 23 when he went four innings and gave up two runs on four hits.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1938 Bright yellow baseballs designed by Frederick Rah, who believes the visibility of the dandelion-hue sphere will help players avoid getting hit by a pitch, are used in the first game of a doubleheader. The one-game experiment draws mixed reactions and the Dodgers complete their sweep of the twin bill from the Cardinals, 6-2 and 9-3, using the traditional white ball in the nightcap.
  • 1982 During a ceremony held in Cooperstown, NY, the United States Postal Service unveils a 20-cent stamp commemorating baseball great Jackie Robinson as part of its annual Black Heritage series. The Dodger infielder becomes the first individual baseball player to be depicted on a U.S postage stamp.

  • 2002 Reds general manager Jim Bowden is fined by commissioner Bud Selig for the comments he made to reporters prior to yesterday’s game against the Dodgers comparing a baseball strike with the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Quickly realizing the use of such analogy was inappropriate and insensitive, the Cincinnati GM issues an immediate apology after the game.
  • 2008 In the first game after the Manny Ramirez trade to the Dodgers, the Fenway Faithful enthusiastically welcome Jason Bay, the player replacing the Boston icon. The former Pirates outfielder doesn’t disappoint, tripling and scoring the winning run in the 12th inning of the Red Sox’s 2-1 victory over the A’s.
  • 2017 The Dodgers lost to the Braves, ending their nine-game winning streak. Had they won it would have been the third time that season they’d have won ten straight. The bullpen gave up the go-ahead runs in the eighth inning at Sun Trust Park in Atlanta.

Lineups when available.

Jul 28

Game 98, 2022

Dodgers at Rockies, 5:30 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

LHP Tyler Anderson (10-1, 2.79 ERA) pitches for the visiting Dodgers and José Ureña (1-2, 3.13 ERA) does so for the Rockies. Anderson was an All Star but didn’t make an appearance in the game; in his one start since he went six innings, gave up four hits and one run and got no decision. Ureña was DFAed by the Brewers in May when roster sizes were reduced. He signed a minor league deal with the Rockies almost immediately and was called up in July; he’s made four starts since. In those starts he gave up 9 runs on 23 hits in 24 innings.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1991 Expos right-hander Dennis Martinez pitches a perfect game, defeating Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. Ron Hassey becomes the first backstop to ever catch two perfect games, as he also was behind the plate on May 15, 1981 when Indian hurler Len Barker faced 27 batters, beating the Blue Jays, 3-0.
  • 2017 Alex Wood won his twelfth game against just one loss, going seven innings while giving up eight hits and four runs to the Giants. The Dodgers came from behind with four runs in the seventh and won 6-4.

Lineups when available.

Jul 25

Game 95, 2022

Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN2, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Paolo Espino (0-3, 3.57 ERA) takes the ball for the Nationals and Tony Gonsolin (11-0, 2.02 ERA) gets it for the Dodgers. In three career appearances (one start) against the Dodgers, Espino does not have a decision with a 3.68 ERA. He’s appeared in 27 games this season, seven of them starts. Gonsolin had a rough All Star Game showing; he and his team hope that was an aberration.

The worst All-Star game ever? So thinks Ken Levine, ex-broadcaster and comedy writer.

Ken Rosenthal notes at The Athletic:

…while the Giants-Dodgers rivalry remains among the most intense in the game, it does not preclude former teammates — and their wives — from remaining close. On Friday, two Dodgers wives, Ellen Kershaw and Nicole Barnes, helped host a baby shower in Los Angeles for two Giants wives whose husbands used to play for the Dodgers, Suzanna Wood and Kelsey Pederson.

Suzanna and Alex Wood are expecting their first child in September. Kelsey and Joc Pederson are expecting their third in October.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1962 At Sportsman’s Park, Stan Musial surpasses Giants’ legend Mel Ott as the National League’s all-time RBI leader. ‘Stan the Man’s’ two-run home run off Don Drysdale in a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers gives the Cardinals’ right fielder 1,862 career runs batted in with the Redbirds.
  • 2017 The Dodgers defeat the Minnesota Twins to run their record to 70-31. Kenta Maeda gets his ninth win of the season and Josh Ravin posts his first save.

Lineups when available.

Jul 23

Game 93, 2022

Giants at Dodgers, 4:15 PM PDT, TV: fox

The visiting Giants send one-time Dodger LHP Alex Wood (6-7, 4.20 ERA) to the mound to face the Dodgers’ LHP Julio Urías (8-6, 2.89 ERA). Wood faced the Dodgers once earlier this season; he gave up three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings and took the 9-1 loss when the Dodgers’ bullpen did what the Giants’ pen could not: hold the other team scoreless the rest of the game. Urías is 1-1 against the Giants this season, winning the day after Wood lost in May and losing a month later despite giving up just two runs on three hits in six innings. Those were the only runs the Giants got in the game, but that was enough to hand the Dodgers the 2-0 loss.

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.

Lineups when available.

May 04

Game 23, 2022

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: NBCBS Bay Area, SPNLA

Old friend LHP Alex Wood (2-1, 4.19 ERA) faces RHP Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 1.59 ERA). Wood had two good outings before his last one, which he lost while giving up five runs on six hits. He has yet to go longer than five innings this season. Gonsolin got his lone win in his next-to-last start when he went six innings and gave up no runs on just one hit to the Braves. That was his longest start of the year thus far.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1919 A SRO crowd attends the first-ever major league game played on a Sunday in Brooklyn. The Ebbets Field contest, in which the Dodgers beat the Braves, 6-2, was made possible when the New York Legislature passed the Sunday Baseball Bill into law.
  • 1966 In a 6-1 victory over L.A. at Candlestick Park, Willie Mays becomes the all-time National League home run leader when he strokes his 512th career round-tripper off Dodger starter Claude Osteen. The San Francisco center fielder passes another Giant, breaking the mark established by Mel Ott in 1946.
  • 1976 Illinois state Rep. Eugene F. Schlickman, co-author of the House of Representative Resolution 747 declaring today as Rick Monday Day, will be in attendance when Los Angeles vice president and GM Al Campanis presents the Cub outfielder with the flag he saved that was about to burned on the field at Dodger Stadium. Last month, the former Marine reservist, in a game played in Los Angeles, ran in from his position, swiping the ‘Stars and Stripes’ away from a father and a son, who were intent on setting it afire.
  • 2009 In the bottom of the second inning, with two runners aboard at Dodger Stadium, the Diamondbacks pull off their second triple play in franchise history. The 6-4-3 triple killing starts with shortstop Josh Wilson’s backhanded grab of Casey Blake’s scorching line drive (1), with his throw to Felipe Lopez doubling off Russell Marin at second (2), and Matt Kemp becoming the third out when the relay easily beats him back to first base (3).

  • 2009 In the same game the Dodgers establish a National League record for consecutive victories to open a season at home. Their 11-0 start surpasses the NL mark shared by the 1918 Giants, 1970 Cubs, and 1983 Atlanta Braves, and is one shy of the major-league record set by the Tigers in 1911.

Lineups when available.

Oct 11

NLDS Games Three, 2021

Game One: Brewers at Braves, 10:07 AM PDT, TV: TBS

The Brewers hand the ball to RHP Freddie Peralta (10-5, 2.81 ERA). The Braves give theirs to RHP Ian Anderson (9-5, 3.58 ERA).

Game Two: Giants at Dodgers, 6:37 PM PDT, TV: TBS

LHP Alex Wood (10-4, 3.83 ERA) goes for the Giants, while RHP Max Scherzer (8-4, 2.76 ERA with the Dodgers, 15-4, 2.46 ERA overall) goes for the Dodgers.

Today in baseball history the Indians win their second World Series in 1948, Willie Davis of the Dodgers steals three bases in one game of the 1965 World Series, in 1975 George Carlin hosts the first Saturday Night Live and compares baseball to football,

and the Astros finally win a postseason series in 2004 after seven attempts in the previous 43 years. But wait, there’s more at the link!

Lineups when available.

Brewers:

Braves:

Giants:

Dodgers:

Jul 28

Game 103, 2021

Dodgers at Giants, 6:45 PM PDT, TV: NBCS BA, SPNLA

RHP Walker Buehler (10-1, 2.31 ERA) goes for the visiting Dodgers and RHP Anthony DeSclafani (10-4, 2.87 ERA) does the same for the Giants.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1991 Expos right-hander Dennis Martinez pitches a perfect game, defeating Los Angeles 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. Ron Hassey becomes the first backstop to ever catch two perfect games, as he also was behind the plate on May 15, 1981 when Indian hurler Len Barker faced 27 batters, beating the Blue Jays, 3-0.
  • 2017 Alex Wood won his twelfth game against just one loss, going seven innings while giving up eight hits and four runs to the Giants. The Dodgers came from behind with four runs in the seventh and won 6-4.

Lineup when available.

Jul 20

Game 96, 2021

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NBCSBA, SPNLA

Old friend LHP Alex Wood (8-3, 3.67 ERA) goes for the visiting Giants. The Dodgers have yet to announce their starter or opener; it will be a bullpen game, though.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1906 At St. Louis, Brooklyn hurler Mal Eason no-hits the Cardinals, 2-0. The ‘Kid’ was the losing pitcher when Johnny Lush pitched a no-hitter against the Superbas (Dodgers) in May.
  • 1951 In a game against the Reds with All-Star hurler Ewell Blackwell on the mound, the Giants, for the first time, employ their infamous scheme for stealing catchers’ signs using a telescope positioned in the centerfield clubhouse. The ‘Jints’ beat Cincinnati, 11-6, and New York will win 22 of the remaining 27 games at the Polo Grounds, overtaking the Dodgers to win the National League pennant.
  • 1970 Twenty-six year-old right-hander Bill Singer pitches the first Dodger no-hitter since Sandy Koufax’s departure when he keeps the Philadelphia batters hitless in a 5-0 victory at Chavez Ravine. The ‘Singer Throwing Machine,’ who spent 52 days on the disabled list earlier in the season recuperating from hepatitis, posts a 5-0 record along with a 1.84 ERA in July and will be named NL Player of the Month.
  • 2008 The Dodgers, with a five-run ninth-inning rally at Chase Field, beat the Diamondbacks, 6-5, and move into a flat-footed tie (48-50) with Arizona for first place in the National League West. Andre Ethier has the key hit in the comeback victory, a go-ahead triple off the center-field wall, as D-Back closer Brandon Lyon, pitching in his third consecutive game, couldn’t hold a three-run lead.

Lineup when available.

May 27

Game 50, 2021

Giants at Dodgers, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: MLBN (out-of-market only), NBCS BA, SPNLA

The Giants send ex-Dodger Alex Wood (5-1, 1.93 ERA) to the mound in the first of a four-game series. The Dodgers intend this to be a bullpen game, with David Price (1-0, 3.95 ERA) possibly starting.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1904 Giants’ infielder Dennis McGann steals five bases to establish a major league record. The 32 year-old Kentucky native’s thievery helps New York beat Brooklyn at the Polo Grounds, 3-1.

Also! In 2017

“We are honored to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of Homer at the Bat. The Simpsons has left an impressive imprint on our culture as the longest-running American sitcom, and ‘Homer at the Bat’ remains as popular today as when the episode aired in 1992. ” – Hall of Fame President JEFF IDELSON, commenting about the Cooperstown celebration of the animated series.

The Baseball Hall of Fame inducts fictional cartoon character Homer Simpson as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Simpsons episode ‘Homer at the Bat.’ As part of the ceremony, a roundtable discussion of the much-beloved episode includes comments by real Hall of-Famers Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith, who played themselves on the animated show, as well as executive producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, director Jim Reardon, executive story editor Jeff Martin and casting director Bonnie Pietila.

Lineup when available.

May 17

Game 45, 2021

In case anyone is curious about radiation, here’s how mine’s going. It’s a fascinating process. Because the cancer is in my throat, while I was in the hospital they built a plastic mesh mask form-fitted to my face and head. They place the mask over my face when I lie down on the standard narrow table, clamp it to the table to immobilize my head, and then start the radiation process, which typically lasts no more than 15 minutes.

I asked. Apparently about half the patients take their plastic thingie home as a souvenir when their treatment is completed.

Dodgers at Giants, 6:45 PM PDT, TV: NBCS BA, SPNLA

The visiting Dodgers send RHP Trevor Bauer (4-2, 2.20 ERA) to the hill to face the Giants’ LHP Alex Wood (5-0, 1.75 ERA). Obviously Wood knows the Dodgers well and vice versa since he spent nearly five years with the team from Southern California.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1927 For the second consecutive day, an umpire at Ebbets Field is the target of fan abuse. Arbiter Frank Wilson needs a police escort after the Robins (Dodgers) drop a twin bill to the Cubs.
  • 1952 The Dodgers score a major league record fifteen first-inning runs en route to a 19-1 rout over the Reds at Ebbets Field. After Ewell Blackwell retires the first batter, the next 19 Brooklyn batters reached base (10 hits, 7 walks, and 2 HBP), including Pee Wee Reese getting to first base three times during the frame.
  • 1963 Jim Maloney ties a major league record shared by Max Surkont (1953 Braves) and Johnny Podres (1962 Dodgers) when he strikes out eight consecutive batters, beginning with the last out in the first inning, in the Reds’ 2-0 victory over Milwaukee at County Stadium. The Cincinnati right-hander also equals the franchise mark with 16 strikeouts in one game, established by Noodles Hahn in 1901.
  • 2000 Major League Baseball has its first six grand-slam day less than one year after establishing the mark with five, with Garret Anderson (Angels), J.T. Snow (Giants), Brian Hunter (Phillies), Jason Giambi (A’s), and Adrian Beltre and Shawn Green (Dodgers) all contributing to the record. The NL also set a league record, blasting four of the six base-loaded homers.

Lineup: