Oct 01

Game 159, 2015

Dodgers at Giants, 12:45PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

Businessman’s special today — baseball under the sun as Abner Doubleday meant it to be played!

Brett Anderson goes for the Dodgers. He’s looking for win number 10 on the year, but perhaps even more importantly, if he goes three innings he’ll surpass the 175 1/3 innings he pitched in his rookie year of 2009, the most he’s ever pitched in a single season. He’s had a tough September, though, going 1-1 with a 6.20 ERA for the month and 11 earned runs in only 8 2/3 innings in his last two starts.

He’ll face Tim Hudson, who is the major leagues’ active leader in wins with 222 against 132 losses. He’s got a career ERA of 3.49. He’s retiring at the end of this season, during which he’s 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA. His last start was not good; he went only 1 1/3 innings against the As on Saturday.

Lineup:

Jun 20

Game 69, 2015

Giants at Dodgers, 4:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, MLBN

The Giants have won 8 of the 10 games between the two teams so far this season. They’ll ask Tim Hudson, 4-6 with a 4.65 ERA, to keep the mastery going. The Dodgers are hoping their bats will come alive and they’re hoping that Carlos Frias, 4-4 with a 4.14 ERA, can stop the Giants.

Lineup when available.

May 19

Game 38, 2015

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

Carlos Frias brings his 3-0 record and his 2.89 ERA to the hill at AT&T Park to face veteran Tim Hudson, who’s 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA this season. Frias has faced the Giants twice, both times in relief, and is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA against them. Hudson is 6-6 with a 4.03 ERA against the Dodgers in his long career.

In other news, the Dodgers finalized the contracts for 30-year-old IF Hector Olivera and 25-year-old RHP Pablo Fernandez. Olivera hopes to be in baseball condition within a month and playing in LA soon after that, while Fernandez says he wants to get into shape and he’ll go wherever the team sends him. Neither of these guys have played since the 2013-2014 season in Cuba.

Club President of Baseball Operations spoke to the press today, primarily about the two players mentioned above. Other topics included Frias, Bolsinger, Urias and Ryu.

Lineup:

Oct 29

World Series Day Seven, 2014

Giants at Royals, 2:00PM HST/5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

I wrote this at my other blog:

There’s no more dramatic phrase in sports, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve said so before and I’ll say it again: Game Seven is evocative of heroics on the field in do-or-die circumstances: Bill Mazeroski and Joe Carter’s home runs, Sid Bream’s slide, Carlos Beltran’s strikeout, Luis Gonzalez’s dribbler…so many instances of melodrama.

Tonight we see another Game Seven. It’s only the third time in 13 years the World Series has gone the full seven games and the fourth time in the last 20 years, so cherish it.

The Giants ask veteran Tim Hudson to hold the Royals in check as long as he can, and the Royals do the same with veteran Jeremy Guthrie. The Giants have Madison Bumgarner in reserve, since today would be his between-starts throw day; the Royals have their fearsome bullpen threesome, only one of whom has pitched since Game Four (Davis threw an inning in the Royals’ 5-0 Game Five loss).

I can’t wait.

Oct 24

World Series Day Three, 2014

Royals at Giants, 2:00PM HST/5:00PM PT, TV: Fox

You’d think MLB would put its weekend World Series games on during the day rather than at night, but I suppose it doesn’t want to compete with college football and the NFL.

It’s a battle of veterans as the Royals pitch Jeremy Guthrie while the Giants send out Tim Hudson. Guthrie was drafted and signed by the Indians in 2002. He was waived and came up for good with the Orioles in 2007. He spent a year in the National League with the Rockies and then was traded to the Royals for Jonathan Sanchez. He’s got an 83-100 lifetime record with a 4.23 ERA and a WHIP of 1.319. His start in the ALCS was his first postseason appearance.

Hudson has been around since 1999 when he came up with the As. He spent six years in Oakland and then nine in Atlanta. This is his first season with the Giants. He’s got a lifetime record of 214-124, an ERA of 3.45 and a WHIP of 1.233 over that stretch of 16 years. He’s been in 8 playoffs series but never on a winning team until this season.

The Royals won’t have a DH in the three games in San Francisco, so Billy Butler will be a pinch-hitter. Pablo Sandoval has now hit in 25 straight postseason games.

Oct 14

NLCS & ALCS Day Three, 2014

Cardinals at Giants, 10:00AM HST/1:00PM PT, TV: FS1

Lackey for the Cards, Hudson for the Giants. The biggest lineup change is A.J. Pierzynski catching for the Redbirds in place of Yadier Molina, out with an oblique strain. It’s hard to believe, but this is Tim Hudson’s first start in an LCS game. His previous postseason appearances were in Division Series contests, and he has always been on the LDS-losing team until this year. Lackey has a well-deserved reputation for pitching well in big games.

Orioles at Royals, 2:00PM HST/5:00PM PT, TV: TBS

The managers stayed with the announced Game Three starters, Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and Royals right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, no matter the rainout yesterday.

Oct 04

NLDS Day Two, 2014

Giants at Nationals, 2:30PM PT, TV: Fox Sports 1

After winning Game One the Giants hope Tim Hudson (9-13, 3.57 ERA; 1-3, 3.46 ERA postseason) can keep the momentum going. They’re facing Jordan Zimmermann (14-5, 2.66 ERA; 0-1, 11.25 ERA postseason), and all he did his last time out was pitch a no-hitter for his fourteenth win.

The Giants have won nine straight postseason games. The record is twelve, held by the Yankees (twice), the As and the Red Sox.

Cardinals at Dodgers, 6:30PM PT, TV: MLBN

The Dodgers have to shrug off yesterday’s stunning loss and regroup, and they’ll send Zack Greinke (17-8, 2.71 ERA; 2-2, 4.30 ERA postseason) out to face Lance Lynn (15-10, 2.74 ERA; 5-4, 4.81 ERA postseason).

Sep 24

Game 159, 2014

Giants at Dodgers, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, ESPN, KDOC-56, CSN-BA

If the Dodgers win, they win the NL West. If the Giants win, they clinch a playoff berth. One way or the other one of these teams is going to be celebrating something after tonight’s game.

Most every sportswriter in the country and most fans as well are probably chalking up this game as a win for the Dodgers, what with Clayton Kershaw pitching for them tonight. Well, Tim Hudson is having a poor year, but he’s not chopped liver. He’s started 456 games in his 16-year career and won 214 of them (first among all active pitchers) while losing only 123, with a lifetime ERA of 3.45. However, in his last outing he went only 4 1/3 innings against the Padres, giving up four runs on seven hits. The start before that was against the Dodgers, and it was awful: six runs on eight hits in just one inning.

In personnel news, Mattingly thinks Hyun-Jin Ryu won’t be seen on the mound again until the playoffs.

Lineup when available.

Sep 13

Game 148, 2014

Dodgers at Giants, 6:05PM PT, TV: SPNLA, CSN-BA

Zack Greinke brings his 14-8, 2.73 ERA to the game. His opponent will be Tim Hudson, who’s 9-10 with a 3.12 ERA. Hudson is 214-121 with a 3.43 ERA in a long and distinguished career. He’s hungry for postseason, not having played there since 2010 with the Braves. Greinke is 120-90 in his career with a 3.56 ERA.

If the Giants win the two teams are tied for first in the NL West. If the Dodgers win they’ve got a 2-game lead.

Lineup when available.

Sep 12

Game 147, 2014

Dodgers at Giants, 7:15PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBC Bay Area

Hyun-Jin Ryu faces Madison Bumgarner. Ryu is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA against the Giants this season; Bumgarner is 2-1 with a 2.41 ERA against the Dodgers this season. This year Ryu is 14-6 with a 3.16 ERA overall; Bumgarner is 17-9 with a 3.02 ERA overall.

It will be Greinke v. Hudson on Saturday night and Kershaw v. Petit Sunday afternoon.

Lineup when available.

Also from Twitter: “The Dodgers have selected the contract of LHP Scott Elbert from Triple-A Albuquerque, and designated RHP Red Patterson for assignment.”