Tag Archives: Austin Barnes

Mar 28

Game 3, 2024 (Stateside Opening Day)

Posted on by

Cardinals at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sports Midwest, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 3.60 ERA) goes for the hometown Dodgers; RHP Miles Mikolas (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for the visiting Cardinals. While this will be Mikolas’s fourth opening day start for the Redbirds and third in a row, it still seems odd that it won’t be Adam Wainwright on Opening Day; he worked six of them for St. Louis before his retirement at the end of last season.

Here’s the Dodgers’ expected Opening Day roster.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1999 At Havana’s Estadio Latinoamericano, the Orioles edge the Cuban National team, 3-2, thanks to Harold Baines’ eventual game-winning hit in the 11th inning. The contest marks the first time a U.S. team had played in Cuba since 1959 when the Dodgers played the Reds in two exhibition games on the island.
  • 2003 The commissioner’s office announces teams will pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces during the seventh-inning stretch of all home openers by having God Bless America performed. Although the song has been part of all games since the September 11th terrorist attacks, the fans will now hear the tune only in major league ballparks at the home openers, Sunday, and holidays games.

  • 2019 At Dodger Stadium, en route to a 12-5 victory over the Diamondbacks, Los Angeles slams eight home runs, surpassing the Opening Day record of six, previously shared by the 1998 Mets (vs. Expos) and 2018 White Sox (vs. Royals). The long ball barrage, which includes multiple dingers in three different innings, features round-trippers by Joc Peterson (2), Kike Hernandez (2), Austin Barnes, Corey Seager, Max Muncy, and Cody Bellinger.

Lineups when available.

Apr 01

Game Three, 2023

Posted on by

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 6:10 PM PDT, TV: Bally Sport Arizona, SPNLA

A few years ago this would have been an Opening Day marquee matchup. LHP Madison Bumgarner (2022: 7-15, 4.85 ERA) goes for the D-Backs and LHP Clayton Kershaw (2022: 12-3, 2.28 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Bumgarner’s 2022 was horrid but his last start of the season might have been his best: he gave up just one hit and one walk while striking out five Dodgers in six innings on Sept. 21. The 2022 edition of Kershaw was his usual impeccable self when healthy; he missed a month between May and June and another 3 weeks in August.

From yesterday’s game:

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1937 The Reds sell Babe Herman to the Tigers. The 34 year-old outfielder, batting .300 for his new team, will appear in only 17 contests with Detroit before effectively retiring from the game, although he will return to play briefly for the war-time Dodgers in 1945.
  • 1963 Former Brooklyn Dodger Duke Snider returns to New York when the Mets purchase him from LA for $40,000. The 36 year-old outfielder, who will represent New York in the All-Star Game, will be told at the end of the season by Buzzi Bavasi, his former GM, that the Yankees had asked for him to back up Mickey Mantle before he was dealt to the team the across the river.
  • 2008 On Opening Day in Los Angeles, Juan Pierre’s 434 consecutive game streak, the longest current one in the major leagues, comes to an end when the Dodger outfielder does not play in the 3-2 victory over the Giants. New skipper Joe Torre plays Andre Ethier in left field in place of the highly paid but light-hitting fly chaser.
  • 2013 Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ Opening Day pitcher, hits a leadoff home run off San Francisco’s George Kontos in the bottom of the eighth inning to break up a scoreless tie in the team’s eventual 4-0 victory. LA’s 25-year-old southpaw retires the side in the next frame, completing a 4-0 complete-game shutout against the Giants at Chavez Ravine.

Lineups when available.

Trayce Thompson, CT3 and Barnesy get their first starts of the year.

Feb 09

World Baseball Classic 2023

Posted on by

This event is supposed to be a quadrennial affair, but the pandemic played hell with that as it did with so much else. So, two years late, it begins March 8.

After a six-year wait, the World Baseball Classic has returned, and it’s bigger than ever. That’s not hyperbole, either: The tournament field has been expanded to 20 teams, with three first-time participants in Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Nicaragua [What took Nicaragua so long to enter? It failed to qualify in its previous three attempts. Panama is a returnee after missing the last two Classics.] hoping for a Cinderella run. But they’ll need to get past Japan (looking for its third title), the USA (hoping for a repeat), the Dominican Republic (the pre-tournament favorite) and Puerto Rico (trying to win it all following back-to-back second-place finishes).

Baseball is more of a global game than ever before, and that’s proven on the rosters: There are 67 MLB All-Stars, 186 players on 40-man rosters and 332 players under contract with big league teams. There are eight Major League MVPs in Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Altuve and Miguel Cabrera. In fact, 16 of the top 18 finishers for the 2022 NL MVP and six of the top 10 finishers for the 2022 AL MVP are scheduled to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, with the reigning Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Munetaka Murakami and Korea Baseball Organization MVP Jung-Hoo Lee joining in, too.

So how many Dodgers are playing and for whom? Funny you should ask.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Austin Barnes, C (MEX), Mookie Betts, OF (USA), Liam Doolan, RHP (AUS), Freddie Freeman, INF (CAN), Clayton Kershaw, LHP (USA), Adam Kolarek, LHP (ISR – DPP), Jose Ramos, OF (PAN), Miguel Rojas, INF (VEN), Will Smith, C (USA), Trayce Thompson, OF (GBR), Julio Urías, LHP (MEX).

One more connection: Mike Piazza is managing Italy’s team.

Why is the Dominican Republic the favorite? Well:

This lineup is a veritable Murderers’ Row, with Rafael Devers and Manny Machado battling for time at third base, Mariners sensation Julio Rodríguez joining an outfield with Eloy Jiménez and Juan Soto, and Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s freshly minted Gold Glove and powerful bat just added to the mix.

The rotation looks just as strong as the offense, with reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara fronting a staff featuring World Series champion Cristian Javier, young Pirates fireballer Roansy Contreras and veteran hurler Johnny Cueto.

One more thing:

Note: Players marked “DPP” are members of their team’s Designated Pitcher Pool. Each WBC team may choose up to 10 players as part of their pool — these players are eligible to participate in one or more consecutive rounds of the WBC, but if replaced on their team’s roster will be unavailable for the rest of the tournament. Affiliated players in Designated Pitcher Pools who are not actively on their team’s WBC roster during a given round will report to Spring Training with their Major League clubs.

Adam Kolarek is part of Israel’s Designated Pitcher Pool.

Apr 12

Game Four, 2022

Posted on by

Dodgers at Twins, 4:40 PM PDT, TV: BSN, SPNLA

The Dodgers’ LHP Andrew Heaney makes his first start of the year. He’ll face RHP Chris Archer, who’s doing the same. Heaney was a Dodger in 2014, coming to them with Chris Hatcher, Austin Barnes, and Enrique Hernández from the Marlins in exchange for Dan Haren, Dee Gordon, and Miguel Rojas. Five hours later the Dodgers traded him to the Angels, receiving Howie Kendrick in return. This is Archer’s first season with the Twins; he was 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA in 19 innings with the Rays last year.

On this day in Dodgers history:

  • 1906 At Brooklyn’s Washington Park, Boston Beaneater rookie Johnny Bates becomes the first modern player to homer in his first major league at-bat. The 23 year-old outfielder connects off Harry McIntire in the top of the second inning in the team’s 2-0 Opening Day victory over the Superbas.
  • 1962 Pete Richert, making his major league debut, comes out of the bullpen and strikes out the first six batter he faces, a major league record. The rookie southpaw fans four in the third inning in LA’s 11-7 comeback victory over the Reds at Dodger Stadium.
  • 1976 The game against the Padres is rained out at Dodger Stadium for only the second time in the 14-year history of the ballpark. The washout ends a streak started in April 1967, covering a span of 724 straight contests, with subsequent postponements coming much sooner when inclement weather cancels two consecutive home dates in September.

Lineups when available.

Aug 19

Game 26, 2020

Posted on by

Dodgers at Mariners, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: ROOTNW, SPNLA

LHP Julio Urias (2-0, 2.53 ERA) goes to the mound in Seattle’s T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco). He’ll face the Mariners’ RHP Taijuan Walker (1-2, 4.05 ERA). In his last start Urias gave up back-to-back HRs in the first inning and then kept the Padres confined to first base into the seventh. Walker missed most of the last two years with Tommy John surgery and recovery. He had a rough first start this season but boasts a 2.16 ERA and only 10 hits allowed in his last 16 2/3 innings.

Here’s how the winning run scored in yesterday’s game:

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1955 For the sixth consecutive season, Robin Roberts is a 20-game winner. The Phillies right-hander, who will finish the season with a 23-14 record, beats Don Newcombe and the first place Dodgers at Connie Mack Stadium, 3-2.
  • 1957 Citing poor attendance as the reason, Giants’ president Horace Stoneham, ignoring baseball’s edict of banning announcements about relocation of franchises until after the World Series, informs the press the club has signed a lease to play its home games in San Francisco next season. The club’s Board of Directors voted 8-1 approving the shift to the West Coast, with the only dissenting vote cast by M. Donald Grant, who will become the chairman of the Mets, an expansion team located in New York to fill the National League void created by the departure of the Giants and Dodgers to California.
  • 2004 Pitching a perfect bottom of the ninth inning, John Smoltz establishes the franchise record with his 142nd save in a Braves uniform. The right-handed reliever surpasses Gene Garber as Atlanta beat the Dodgers in Los Angeles, 6-5.
  • 2008 The Dodgers reacquired Greg Maddux (6-9, 3.99) from the Padres for cash and two minor leaguers to be named or an additional monetary sum. The 42 year-old future Hall of Fame right-hander, obtained to help the club down the stretch run, played in LA for part of the 2006 season, winning six of nine decisions.

Lineup when available.

Jul 18

Opening day roster speculation

Posted on by

Who’s gonna be on it?

Pitchers: Pedro Báez, Walker Buehler, Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Clayton Kershaw, Ross Stripling, Blake Treinen, Julio Urías, Alex Wood, Brusdar Graterol and Dustin May

Starting depth could be an issue. After losing Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill (68 starts combined last year) over the offseason, the only veteran starters the Dodgers added were Price and Jimmy Nelson, but both are out for the season. That leaves Urías, Wood and youngsters May, Gonzalez and White to pick up those 68 starts.

Will Smith and Austin Barnes are the catchers. Infielders are Enrique Hernández, Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios. Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Joc Pederson, A. J. Pollack and Chris Taylor are the outfielders.

Subject to change at any moment, of course.

Aug 25

Game 132, 2019

Posted on by

Yankees at Dodgers, 4:05 PM PDT, TV: ESPN

RHP Domingo Germán (16-3, 4.15 ERA) takes to the mound for the Yankees, facing LHP Clayton Kershaw (13-2, 2.71 ERA) of the Dodgers. The Yankees are trying to conserve their 27-year-old pitcher’s arm, which is why Germán has averaged less than six innings per start this year. He’s appearing in just his 51st big league game. The Dodgers’ Kershaw has not gone fewer than six innings in any one of his 22 starts this year; in his last one he went six, gave up three solo home runs and walked three batters but still got the win as the Dodgers clobbered the Blue Jays 16-3.

Here’s that eventful ninth inning from yesterday:

Yesterday was Kiké Hernández’s 28th birthday; today is Max Muncy’s 29th.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1979 In a Hollywood Stars vs. the Media game played at Dodger Stadium, Robin Williams, the star of the hit television series, Mork and Mindy, a show in which he plays an alien, runs the bases backwards. The comedian explains circling the bags clockwise is very common on the Planet Ork, his character’s home in the universe.
  • 1995 At Veterans Stadium, Gregg Jefferies hits for the cycle when Philadelphia crushes the Dodgers, 17-4. The Phillies’ first baseman, who has four RBIs and scores four runs, collects all of his extra-base hits off of LA starting pitcher Hideo Nomo.
  • 2008 After being swept in a four-game series earlier in the month in L.A., the Phillies return the favor, beating the Dodgers, 5-0, to complete its own four-game sweep. It is the first time in franchise history that Philadelphia has swept the Dodgers in a four-game series at home.
  • 2009 With a 5-4 win in ten innings over the Dodgers, the Rockies move 18 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history. The wild-card leader, winning 52 of their last 74 games, the latest on a Troy Tulowitzki bases-loaded single, has cut LA’s Western Division lead from 15.5 games on June 3 to just two games.
  • 2012 In a nine-player blockbuster trade, the Dodgers obtain Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto, and cash considerations for James Loney, Allen Webster, Ivan De Jesus, Jr., and two players to be named later (Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands). The deal gives the new Dodgers ownership an opportunity to show their fans they are serious about making a run for the postseason, while giving an under-performing Boston team more financial flexibility in the offseason.

Players’ Weekend Dodger nickname code, for help in deciphering today’s lineup.

Note: Austin Barnes was called up to replace Russell Martin after this was published, so his nickname doesn’t appear on that list. Here’s the explanation for his nickname “Sam”:

The origin story of “Sam” is actually quite funny. During Spring Training in 2016, some of the veterans sent Barnes, a rookie, on a taco run. When he got back, A.J. Ellis joked that he didn’t even know his name, so Utley said, “It’s Sam.” In reality, most of his teammates call him “Barnsey.”

Lineup:

Aug 24

Game 131, 2019

Posted on by

Yankees at Dodgers, 1:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, YES

Unless these two teams meet in the World Series, this will be the Yankees’ retiring LHP CC Sabathia’s (5-7, 5.01 ERA) last appearance at Dodger Stadium. He has made two other appearances at Chavez Ravine, going 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA. In his last start he went just three innings, giving up four runs on four hits in his return from a month on the IL. Sabathia will face the Dodgers’ RHP Tony Gonsolin (1-1, 3.00 ERA), who bobbed and weaved for four innings in his last start against Atlanta but gave up only one run.

The Dodgers have recalled Austin Barnes and placed Russell Martin on the bereavement list.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1941 During a double-header against the Cardinals, a rag-tag group of five ‘musicians’, dubbed the Dodger SymPhony by announcer Red Barber, makes their Ebbets Field’s debut. This band, in which none of the members can read music, performs their zany antics at all evening and weekend games.
  • 1955 A telegram sent to Brooklyn president Walter O’Malley by the Patchogue Chamber of Commerce offers the team “thirty acres or more of dry flat land in open country in the heart of Long Island’s densest Dodger fan concentration.” The village’s attempt to attract the fleeing franchise to the south shore of Suffolk County will not materialize, and the club, after exploring many different venues as an alternative to Ebbets Field, will leave the East Coast in 1958 to play in Los Angeles.
  • 1957 The Dodgers, in a 13-3 loss to Milwaukee at Ebbets Field, use eight pitchers in one game, tying a major league record. Johnny Podres gives up three home runs in the fourth frame when Nippy Jones, Hank Aaron, and Andy Pafko all go deep off the Brooklyn starter.
  • 1960 During a dull game, Vin Scully, the play-by-play voice of the Dodgers, knowing that many fans in the stands follow the game on transistor radios, asks his listeners to help him surprise third base umpire Frank Secory. His ballpark audience responds when the veteran broadcaster tells them, “Let’s have some fun. As soon as the inning is over I’ll count to three, and on three everybody yell, ‘Happy birthday, Frank!'”
  • 1974 Davey Lopes steals five bases, tying a National League record established in 1904 by Giants first baseman Dan McGann. The Dodger second baseman’s quintet of stolen bags adds to the team’s franchise mark of eight stolen bases in their 3-0 victory over the Redbirds at Chavez Ravine.
  • 1975 Davey Lopes steals his major league record 38th consecutive base, but the streak will be stopped by Montreal backstop Gary Carter when he attempts to swipe another base in the Dodger Stadium contest. The second baseman will be thrown out in the 12th inning of the team’s 5-3 loss in fourteen innings.
  • 2014 Joc Pederson becomes the fourth player in the history of the Pacific Coast League to have a 30-30 season, and the first to accomplish the feat in 80 years, when he steals his 30th base for the Isotopes. The 22 year-old Albuquerque slugger, who has 32 home runs and a .432 slugging percentage in 116 games this season, will join the Dodgers when rosters expand next week.

Lineup when available.

Jul 26

Game 105, 2019

Posted on by

Dodgers at Nationals, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN, SPNLA

The Dodgers’ Cy Young candidate LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (11-2, 1.76 ERA) takes the hill against the Nationals’ RHP Aníbal Sánchez (6-6, 3.80 ERA). The last time Ryu faced the Nats he threw a one-hit shutout over eight innings, and he’s had two extra days of rest to prepare for this rematch. Sánchez lost to the Dodgers on May 10, giving up three runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Since then, however, he’s improved greatly. In his last nine starts he’s put up a 2.75 ERA and gone 6-0 while doing so.

On this date in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1900 In Brooklyn, a sheriff seizes the St. Louis share of gate receipts to reimburse Gus Weyhing, recently released by the Cardinals after posting a 3-4 record in eight starts with the team, who claims to have been cheated out of ten days of pay. Next week, the right-hander, known as Cannonball by his teammates, will sign with the Superbas as a free agent.
  • 1948 Former Dodger skipper Leo Durocher, who left the team ten days ago, makes his first appearance at Ebbets Field since taking over the Giants. The return of ‘the Lip’ is less-than-triumphant when his new team drops a 13-4 decision to Brooklyn.
  • 1951 In a 9-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Jim Russell becomes the first player in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a game in two different games. The Dodger outfielder’s accomplishment will be surpassed in 1956 when Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle goes deep both right and left-handed in the same game for a third time.
  • 1960 The Phillies end their scoreless streak of thirty-eight consecutive innings when Johnny Callison plates Tony Gonzalez with a sixth-inning single in the team’s 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Philadelphia’s drought began when the team failed to score in the last six frames of a 3-0 win against the Giants, and continued when they were shut out in three straight games ( 2-0, 2-0, and 9-0) by the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
  • 1991 Mark Gardner no-hits the Dodgers for nine innings, but Los Angeles wins the game in the bottom of the tenth on two singles off the Expos’ starter and Darryl Strawberry’s RBI single off reliever Jeff Fassero. It’s the first time the Dodgers had been held hitless at home for nine innings since Johnny Vander Meer’s second straight no-hitter in 1938.

Lineup when available.

Apr 23

Game 21, 2018

Posted on by

Marlins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, FS-F, MLBN (out-of-market only)

It’ll be the Marlins’ LHP Jarlin Garcia (1-0, 0.86 ERA) vs. the Dodgers’ #1 prospect, Walker Buehler, making his first big league start. Garcia has made two starts this year, the first of his big league career. They’ve been good ones, too: he went 10 1/3 innings against the Mets and the Yankees without allowing a hit until he gave up a double in the fifth inning of the second one. That ties the modern MLB record. Bobo Holloman also did it in 1953 for the St. Louis Browns, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Marlins are monitoring his innings just as the Dodgers will do with Buehler and with Urias when he gets back. In 2017 Garcia led Miami in appearances with 68 and logged 53 1/3 innings, mainly as a lefty specialist.

Buehler threw only 98 innings all of 2017, and although the Dodgers haven’t confirmed a speculated target of between 135 to 150 innings this year, they do want to limit his work. He had Tommy John surgery in 2015. He’s made three starts at AAA OKC in 2018, going 1-0 with a 2.10 ERA, 16 Ks and four walks in 13 innings.

Here are the Dodgers’ plans for Buehler.

Buehler, the Dodgers’ top prospect, will probably also start in Saturday’s doubleheader against the Giants before being returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. At least that’s manager Dave Roberts’ story and he was sticking to it on Sunday.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1958 In a 7-6 loss to Chicago at the LA Coliseum, two Dodger mainstays from Brooklyn reach career milestones. First baseman Gil Hodges, who will finish his 18-year major league tenure with 370 home runs, hits his 300th career round-tripper, and Captain Pee Wee Reese, a future Hall of Fame shortstop, plays in his 2000th game.
  • 1999 Fernando Tatis becomes the only player in major league history to hit two grand slams in the same game in one inning. The Cardinal third baseman hits both off Dodger starter Chan Ho Park in an 11-run third, setting the major league mark. The third baseman’s eight RBIs in one inning also breaks the old record of six.
  • 2000 The Dodgers sweep the Reds to notch their 1,000th win over the Reds, baseball’s oldest professional franchise. Since 1970, Los Angeles is the only National League franchise to play over .500 ball (120-115) in Cincinnati (Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field).

Note: Fernando Tatis’s son Fernando Tatis Jr. is currently playing for the AA San Antonio Missions.

In case you missed it, Brandon Belt had a 21-pitch at-bat for the Giants in their defeat of the Angels today. Afterward he said “When I’m in the field I hate it when a batter keeps fouling pitches off. I’m like ‘Dude, just put it in play. It’s not that hard. Let’s go.’ So I basically had to apologize to everybody after that.”

Lineup when available.


Eric Stephen notes that all three Dodger catchers are in the lineup: Barnes at 2B, Farmer at 3B and Grandal behind the plate. Seager gets the night off.