Tag Archives: Yadier Molina

Oct 19

NLCS Game Three & ALCS Game Four, 2023

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Philadelphia at Arizona, 2:07 PM PDT, TBS. The Phillies are up two games to none in the series.

LHP Ranger Suárez for the Phillies and RHP Brandon Pfaadt for the Diamondbacks.

Houston at Texas, 5:03 PM PDT, TV: FS1. The Rangers are up two games to one in the series.

RHP José Urquidy goes for the Astros and LHP Andrew Heaney pitches for the Rangers.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1949 In one of their best trades in franchise history, the White Sox obtain future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox from the A’s in exchange for catcher Joe Tipton. The hard-nosed second baseman will lead the league in hits four times, winning the 1959 American League MVP during his 14-year tenure with the team.
  • 1969 Three days after capturing the world championship, the Mets appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and sing “You Gotta Have Heart,” an inspiring song from the Broadway play Damn Yankees. The show’s host, concerned that some of the ball players imbibed too many mai tais following rehearsals at a nearby Chinese restaurant, brings in a choir to back up the performers, out of sight from the audience.

  • 1981 Dodger outfielder Rick Monday dashes the first Canadian pennant hopes with a ninth-inning two-out dramatic home run to beat the Expos, 2-1, in the NLCS’s deciding game. The series marks the first and last time in franchise history Montreal makes it into the postseason until 2012, when the Washington Nationals, the team’s new name and home for the past seven seasons, finishes first in the National League East Division.
  • 1993 The Dodgers trade future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to the Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields, who will hit .241 during his three seasons with Los Angeles. The 21-year-old Dominican right-hander will win 55 of 88 decisions in his four-year tenure with Montreal before being dealt to Boston before the 1998 campaign.
  • 2006 For a new generation, the term “the Catch” may conjure up memories of Endy Chavez’s NLCS Game 7 leaping catch when he grabs a ball with his outstretched glove destined to be a Scott Rolen two-run home run and starting an unbelievable double play. The Shea Stadium heroics are overshadowed in the ninth inning when Yadier Molina hits a two-run homer and Carlos Beltran, with the best HR ratio (11/81) in postseason history, looks at a third strike with the bases loaded with Mets, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 victory and the pennant.
May 09

Game 37, 2023

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Dodgers at Brewers, 4:40 PM PDT, TV: BS Wisconsin, SPNLA

RHP Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 6.32 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers and LHP Eric Lauer (3-3, 4.40 ERA) does the same for the Brew Crew.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman, who admits he had been ‘kinda loud’ in leading his team in verbally abusing Jackie Robinson with racial slurs during yesterday’s game, sends word to the Brooklyn clubhouse that he would like to make amends by posing with the Dodger first baseman for the newspaper photographers. The orchestrated gesture, which Robinson agrees to, admitting later that is one of the hardest things he ever had to make himself do, is prompted by the bad press created by the Phillies manager’s intolerance and the wrath of Commissioner Chandler.

Also on this day: In 2015 with runners on second and third, the Pirates turn the first recorded 4-5-4 triple play in baseball history, recording all three outs entirely on the left side of the infield. The oddity occurs when Yadier Molina lines out to second baseman Neil Walker (1), who throws to third baseman Jung Ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta (2), who had strayed too far off the third, and then fields the third baseman’s return throw to triple up Jason Heywood at second base (3).

Lineups when available.

May 09

Game 27, 2022

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Dodgers at Pirates, 3:35 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet PIT2, SPNLA

LHP Julio Urías (2-1, 1.88) pitches for the visiting Dodgers today at PNC Park; he’ll face LHP José Quintana (0-1, 3.38 ERA). Urías’s 1.88 ERA is slightly higher than the combined ERA for all Dodger pitchers; that’s 1.83. Quintana has only given up as many as three runs in one of his five starts; he’s gone as many as five innings in three of them.

This is pretty good company to be in.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman, who admits he had been ‘kinda loud’ in leading his team in verbally abusing Jackie Robinson with racial slurs during yesterday’s game, sends word to the Brooklyn clubhouse that he would like to make amends by posing with the Dodger first baseman for the newspaper photographers. The orchestrated gesture, which Robinson agrees to, admitting later that is one of the hardest things he ever had to make himself do, is prompted by the bad press created by the Phillies manager’s intolerance and the wrath of Commissioner Chandler.

Also on this day: In 2015 with runners on second and third, the Pirates turn the first recorded 4-5-4 triple play in baseball history, recording all three outs entirely on the left side of the infield. The oddity occurs when Yadier Molina lines out to second baseman Neil Walker (1), who throws to third baseman Jung Ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta (2), who had strayed too far off the third, and then fields the third baseman’s return throw to triple up Jason Heywood at second base (3).

Lineups when available.

May 09

Game 40, 2019

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Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN, SPNLA

LHP Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.71 ERA) makes his first start against the Dodgers as a member of the Nats. As a Diamondback last season he was 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA in 23 1/3 innings against them. His opponent will be LHP Rich Hill, (0-0, 3.60 ERA), who’ll be making just his third start. He was sharp in his first one against the Pirates but went only four innings in the second start against the Padres, giving up three runs on two HRs by Manny Machado.

Here is the latest speculation about free agent Craig Kimbrel. The Dodgers could see a need for him if Kenley Jansen can’t stop giving up HRs.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1947 Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman, who admits he had been ‘kinda loud’ in leading his team in verbally abusing Jackie Robinson with racial slurs during yesterday’s game, sends word to the Brooklyn clubhouse that he would like to make amends by posing with the Dodger first baseman for the newspaper photographers. The orchestrated gesture, which Robinson agrees to, admitting later that is one of the hardest things he ever had to make himself do, is prompted by the bad press created by the Phillies manager’s intolerance and the wrath of Commissioner Chandler.

Also on this day: In 2015 with runners on second and third, the Pirates turn the first recorded 4-5-4 triple play in baseball history, recording all three outs entirely on the left side of the infield. The oddity occurs when Yadier Molina lines out to second baseman Neil Walker (1), who throws to third baseman Jung Ho Kang to double up Jhonny Peralta (2), who had strayed too far off the third, and then fields the third baseman’s return throw to triple up Jason Heywood at second base (3).

Lineup when available.


Jul 27

Game 104, 2018

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Dodgers at Braves, 4:10 PM PDT, TV: SPNLA, FSSO

This afternoon LHP Clayton Kershaw (3-5, 2.64 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers against the Braves’ RHP Mike Foltynewicz (7-6, 2.85 ERA). Kershaw was the victim of three unearned runs in his last start and got a loss. His velocity is several MPH below what we’ve seen from him for years, but he’s still getting batters out. In his first 16 starts Foltynewicz gave up two earned runs or fewer in 15 of them; in his last three starts he’s given up four or more.

Here’s a treat from Kenley Jansen:


Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1918 In his major league debut, Robins (Dodgers) starter Harry Heitman, after giving up hits to four consecutive batters in a 22-7 loss to the Cardinals, is pulled from the Ebbets Field contest. The 21 year-old Brooklyn rookie right-hander will never hurl again in the big leagues, ending his career with an ERA of infinity.
  • 1959 The Continental League is formally announced, with franchises located in Denver, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, and Toronto. The concept of the new major league is the brainchild of William Shea, an attorney who proposed the idea a year after the Giants and Dodgers left New York City to move to the West Coast.
  • 1966 Sandy Koufax strikes out 16 Phillies and Jim Bunning whiffs 12 Dodgers in the first 11 innings of a pitching duel between future Hall of Famers at Chavez Ravine. With both starters out of the game, Los Angeles beats Philadelphia, 2-1, thanks to an unearned run scored in the bottom of the twelfth inning.
  • 1998 Tony Womack of the Pirates establishes a new major league mark by not grounding out into a double play in 888 consecutive at-bats, breaking the record previously established by Dodger outfielder Pete Reiser in 1946.
  • 2005 Ryan Freel becomes the first player in the Reds’ 136-year history to steal five bases in a game, including two in the ninth that moves him to third base, where he scores the eventual winning run on Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly. The Cincinnati second baseman’s thievery contributes to the team’s 7-6 victory over the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. [Note: the Dodgers’ catcher was Jason Phillips, in his only season with the team.]

Lineup when available.


Oct 19

NLCS Game Five, 2017

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Dodgers at Cubs, 5:00 PM PT, TV: TBS

The Dodgers try to close out the series again today with LHP Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31 ERA) pitching against the Cubs’ LHP Jose Quintana (11-11, 4.15 ERA). It’s a rematch of last Saturday’s Game One pitchers.

Kershaw went five innings in that game and got no decision. Quintana also went five innings and got no decision, giving up the tying runs and watching his bullpen and offense fail him.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1981 The first Canadian pennant hopes are dashed when Dodger Rick Monday’s ninth inning two-out dramatic home run beats the Expos, 2-1, in the deciding game of the NLCS. It will be the first and last time in franchise history the team makes it into the postseason until 2012, when the Washington Nationals, the team’s new name and home for the past seven seasons, finishes first in the National League East Division.

In other baseball history, in 2004 in an ALCS game which features two reversed calls by the umpires, the Red Sox become the first team in baseball history to force a Game 7 after trailing the series 0-3. Boston, which was three outs from being swept in Game 4, gets an outstanding pitching performance from Curt Schilling to beat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium 4-2. Schilling played with a dislocated ankle tendon, thus this game was called “the bloody sock” game. Also, in the NLCS Game 7 in 2006 Endy Chavez made a leaping catch at Shea’s left field fence, grabbing a ball seemingly destined to be a Scott Rolen two-run home run and starting an unbelievable double play. The heroics are overshadowed in the ninth inning as Yadier Molina hits a two-run homer and Carlos Beltran, who has the best HR ratio (11/81) in postseason history, looks at a third strike with the bases loaded with Mets, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 victory and the pennant.

Lineup when available.

Apr 26

Game 22, 2017

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In case you missed it, here’s the most amazing play of the year thus far:

Dodgers at Giants, 7:10PM PT, TV: SPNLA, NBC-Bay Area, MLBN (out-of-market only)

Lefty Alex Wood (1-0, 3.29 ERA) faces Johnny Cueto (3-1, 5.25 ERA) in Game Three of the four-game set. It might be Wood’s last start for a while, because of this news:

followed by this remark: “Roberts said Urias is up to stay.”

Lineup when available.

Roberts keeps switching batting orders around for reasons I don’t understand. Bellinger’s leading off? Toles was leading off and now he’s hitting eighth? Utley’s hitting 0-for April and yet he’s at second base?