Dodgers Powerbomb Vogelsong, Retain Baseball World Heavyweight Title

"You want some? Didn't think so."
Despite dropping the second fall to the Giants in a shocking Kershaw loss, the Dodgers emerged victorious in their first defense of their Baseball World Heavyweight Title*. They retained the belt in exactly the same way they won it, by dropping four bombs. In the end, Ryan Vogelsong was left broken on the mat, and the Dodgers walk away with the strap.


Here's the 2015 title history to date:


The champs get a day to rest and flaunt their gold, but then are right back at it Friday night against the DBacks. This will be the Dodgers' second straight defense against a team that has already defeated them in a series this season. If they can manage to retain, they'll take the belt on the road to Milwaukee, starting on Monday.

Confused about what the BWHT is and how it works? Hit the BWHT link on the sidebar.

*Commissioner's Note: Name change from "Championship" to "Title" to save characters on Twitter. New abbreviation will be BWHT.

Game 21 Thread: April 29 vs. Giants, 7p

Last we saw, Madison Bumgarner was yelling at this fleece.

Zack Greinke (3-0, 1.35) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (0-1, 7.71).

So we're not going to get the revenge sweep against the Giants this series, but the Dodgers can still get the series win and finish the month on a high note. The matchup is right, too: Greinke has been the Dodgers' stopper so far this season, and the Dodgers hit two home runs off Vogelsong last time they faced him (unfortunately, that game ended in an ugly 10-inning loss).

Is Drew McCourt still working for the Dodgers? If so, better proofread that fleece.

Notes for a Wednesday

• Wishing Gibby the best. Kirk Gibson diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (ESPN.com)
  
• Kershaw's Challenge is back. You can pledge here.
  
• We're super-late on this, but for posterity: Dodgers to unveil Jackie Robinson statue later this year (MLB.com)

Matinee Notice: The Role of the Marlins Will Be Played by THE ORIOLES

There's absolutely nothing funny about what's happening in Baltimore.

Hopefully a few more women like #BaltimoreMom have stepped forward to help calm things down.

However, there's something very surreal about this part....

If the Os win and nobody's there to witness it, do they get the W? Will their non-public game have a better turnout than a Braves playoff game (or any time the Marlins take the field)? And will there still be a Kiss Cam?

Game 20 Thread: April 28 vs. Giants, 7p

Clayton Kershaw (1-1, 4.07) vs. Ashley Madison (1-1, 4.63).

When last we saw these two guys in a duel, neither got off a killshot, and arguably Kershaw won the face-off (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 9 Ks; vs. 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 6H, 6 Ks). This time, the Dodgers ride an eight-game home win streak and have bats stepping up to fill the injury void. Shoot, that's about all I've got for this post, as I'm too busy playing Marvel Puzzle Quest. What do you have to say, MLB.com?

"The Giants won their last encounter at AT". I don't even know what that means, but it's not true.

Thanks for the deep insight, Earl Bloom!

Post-Game 19 Thread: Eight Straight At Home

DODGERS 8, GIANTS 3

I seem to recall noise about the Dodgers playing our arch-rivals recently, but honestly I never heard what the outcome was; this is commonplace for Giants games, as their fan base registers the lowest championship television ratings of all time. So maybe they happened? All I know is, the Dodgers entered the week in first place in the NL West.

And, against a backdrop of a continued rash of injury news (this time to Brandon McCarthy, whose dividend payouts from his $48M deal will not start to harvest until sometime next year, at the earliest), the Dodgers busted out the whuppin' sticks and mashed the Giants at home, 8-3. It was the Dodgers' eighth-consecutive win at the Stadium.

And that win was powered by Joc Pederson, both offensively (2-for-3 with 2 RBI, involving a double and a HR) and defensively (a highlight-reel catch in the first inning to make an over-the-shoulder Angel Pagan fly ball, then a rocket back to relay man Jimmy Rollins to double off Nori Aoki from first. The HR was significant, only a solo shot but after the score had gotten to 4-3 LA, to give us breathing room. Justin Turner extended the lead to 8-3 with a three-run HR in the eighth, extinguishing any SF hope.

Bumgarner / Kershaw round 2, tomorrow!

photo from SoSG AC, taken at tonight's game

Game 19 Thread: April 27 vs. Giants, 7p

Tonight's stadium giveaway.

Brett Anderson (1-1, 5.40) vs. Madison Bumgarner (1-1, 4.63).

After rolling over and playing dead in SF, the Dodgers traveled to "pitcher-friendly" confines of Petco Park and scored a total of 15 runs over three games. Okay, 11 of those runs were in that bizarre Game 2, but the point is that THEY'RE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT TEAM NOW. And just in time, as the Giants come rolling into town having split two in Colorado (yesterday's game was rained out).

Who had Brandon McCarthy (probably) heading to the DL before Brett Anderson? With an injury epidemic hitting NL pitchers (McCarthy, Wainwright, Scherzer) and with Ryu already warming his haunches on the DL, the last thing the Dodgers need is for Anderson to live up to his injury history. Slow and steady wins the race, Brett. No need to be a hero.

Dodgers Clobber Padres to Win Baseball World Heavyweight Championship

Current Champion: The Los Angeles Dodgers
With an 11-8 slobberknocker victory on Saturday night, the Dodgers have upended the Padres to capture their first Baseball World Heavyweight Championship! The Dodgers broke out the bats against the Padres like Sting against the NWO.


Here's a refresher course on the BWHC, for those of you who tuned in late:

The BWHC imagines the World Series Championship as a pro wrestling belt defended in regular season series. The defending World Series champions start the season with the belt. From there:

1. A team must win a series from the champion to take the belt. One game isn't going to cut it, considering it's a 162-game season and teams all view the season in terms of series.

2. If the belt-holder splits a series (two- or four-game series), it retains. Much like on a draw in boxing or a count-out situation in pro wrestling, you don't get the belt unless you actually beat the champion. A tie isn't good enough.

3. If, at the end of the regular season, the belt-holder does not make the playoffs -- and due to the dynamics of this thing, that scenario is entirely plausible -- said team will be stripped of the title for not qualifying for the postseason. Then the winner of the playoffs -- the World Series -- takes the belt and the title into the offseason.

4. Rainout Provision: If a game is rained out and rescheduled for later in the season (not a doubleheader in the same series), the series will be considered shortened to the number of actual scheduled games played. For example, if one game of a four-game series is rained out, that series becomes a three-game series for the purposes of tracking the championship. Furthermore, if one of the two teams is champion if/when the makeup game is played, that single game will be for the championship.

The Dodgers are the third BWHC belt-holders in 2015, following the Giants and the Padres. Here's the 2015 title history to date:

Now that the Dodgers' long (imaginary) championship drought is over, they can't get complacent. They must immediately defend the gold against the former champion Giants, beginning tonight at Dodger Stadium. The hunters have become the hunted, but the Giants will have to get through this man if they want to be two-time champs...

So Basically 'Cribs' with Yasiel Puig

Somedaye, ESPN.com Maye Get Proofreaders

Willie "Mayes"? Wow, that's embarrassing.

Screenshot from April 27, 2015.

Game 18 Thread: April 26 @ Padres, 1p

We borrowed this guy from Texas for the day

Scott Baker (0-0, -.--) vs. Brandon Morrow (0-0, 3.15)

Today's game notes are not exactly a ringing endorsement:

Baker gets the nod for the series finale, the third different fifth starter the Dodgers have used in as many chances. He was signed after being released by the Yankees at the end of Spring Training.

Welp, we'll see. At least it's good to see a guy named Baker in a Dodger uniform. Puig is out of the lineup again with a troublesome hammy but on the positive side Guerrero gets the start at third. A sweep would be nice here to help wipe away the lingering stench that was the series in San Francisco. Let's get a win and get home, boys!

Post-Game 17 Thread: New Champs!

AGon taunts his former team with his newly-won prize.
Dodgers 11, Padres 8

This one was, as good ol' J.R. would say, a "slobberknocker." Petco Park became Coors Field for the evening, as the Dodgers smashed four home runs, en route to beating the Padres, 11-8. Andre Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, and yes, even Juan Uribe(!!!) hit one out of pitcher-friendly Petco. (I wish I could have seen this offensive outburst, but my MLB.tv was hot garbage tonight.)

Brandon McCarthy's night was, to use another J.R.-ism, "bowling shoe ugly." McCarthy coughed up 3 home runs to Padres hitters (one to Wil Myers and two to Justin Upton) before exiting in the 6th with the frightening-sounding "forearm tightness." We hope the injury isn't serious, because McCarthy's a genuinely cool guy who just can't seem to catch a break health-wise. (Plus, Puig's hammy is still questionable, and he may be headed for the DL.)

That left the bullpen to defend a suddenly vulnerable 10-6 lead for four innings. Brand new Dodger reliever Sergio Santos was shaky, surrendering a run. Juan Nicasio pitched two scoreless. Chris Hatcher continued his up and down year by surrendering another run, but finally shutting the door in the ninth.

And of course, as you can see from the image above, the Dodgers have won the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship by taking two straight falls from the Padres. (The new side plates for the belt are at the engravers, and will be here Monday.) This is the Dodgers' first title reign, and the fact that their victory comes just after a Dodgers blog took charge of tracking the championship is strictly coincidence.

I swear.

Game 17 Thread: April 25 @ Padres, 5:30p

Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 4.50) vs. Ian Kennedy (0-0, 0.00)

Fresh off their series-opening win against the Pod Rays last night, the Dodgers look to continue their winning ways (well, ok, at least for the last game) and, potentially take the championship belt from the reigning BWHC campeones.

It's early, but these games against contenders are just as important now as they are in September. As always, Petco Park = Chavez Ravine South, and tonight should be no different. Great to see so much Azul in the crowd there in San Diego. It is even chillier there than it is here in LA, but visiting Dodger fans can bask in the warmth of a tenuous first place position.

Yours truly is heading to a local bar in order to be able to watch this one live on - what do they call it - video. Hope more than 30% of our beloved readers can do the same. Make it so!

Game 16 Thread: April 24 @ Padres, 7p

How in the world did @ThkBleu get this picture? Zack Greinke (2-0, 1.83) vs. Andrew Cashner (1-2, 2.65).

First place versus second place! The verdict is still out on Yasmani Grandal, but couldn't we have thrown in some more cash in the Matt Kemp deal and gotten Cashner or Tyson Ross? Just a thought as we smart from that momentum-killing sweep in San Francisco. Scoring six total runs in a three-game series ain't gonna get it done, boys.

Fortunately, dreamboat Zack has picked up the slack from hopefully-still-recovering-from-that-root-canal Kershaw. In his three starts, Greinke has gone 6, 7, and 6 2/3 innings, with a total of 14 strikeouts and only two walks. Now the Dodgers just have to wake up the bats in cavernous Petco Park, because the pitchers can't do everything.

(Re)Introducing the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship!

Current Baseball World Heavyweight Champions: San Diego Padres
Sons of Steve Garvey is proud to announce that it is the new home of the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship (formerly the Eye On Baseball Heavyweight Championship)! What the hell is the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship, you ask? It was created a few years back by Dayn Perry and Matt Snyder of CBS Sports' Eye On Baseball blog, as a way to combine their nerdy love of baseball with their nerdy love of wrestling. The idea is simple: Imagine the World Series Championship as a wrestling title that must be defended in every regular season series. In this scenario, the title would change hands several times throughout the year. As a bonafide wrestling nerd myself, I was fascinated with the concept and followed the history of the title on EOB closely, even mentioning it here when the Dodgers had a shot at the title.

Sometime last year, however, the updates on the title stopped. So, I recently asked Dayn Perry what was up. After being told the concept was forgotten/abandoned, I asked if I could carry on the championship here at SoSG. Dayn consented, and I am honored to be the new keeper of the championship lineage. With a new home comes a new name, the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship* (BWHC for short), and a new championship belt. Just as with the actual WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the current champion's logo will be represented in the side plates. (See above.)

Here, via EOB, are the original rules, which will remain in place. The defending World Series champions start the season with the belt. From there:

1. A team must win a series from the champion to take the belt. One game isn't going to cut it, considering it's a 162-game season and teams all view the season in terms of series.

2. If the belt-holder splits a series (two- or four-game series), it retains. Much like on a draw in boxing or a count-out situation in pro wrestling, you don't get the belt unless you actually beat the champion. A tie isn't good enough.

3. If, at the end of the regular season, the belt-holder does not make the playoffs -- and due to the dynamics of this thing, that scenario is entirely plausible -- said team will be stripped of the title for not qualifying for the postseason. Then the winner of the playoffs -- the World Series -- takes the belt and the title into the offseason.

For the 2015 season, I am implementing a new rule for rain postponements. If a game is rained out and rescheduled for later in the season (not a doubleheader in the same series), the series will be considered shortened to the number of actual scheduled games played. For example, if one game of a four-game series is rained out, that series becomes a three-game series for the purposes of tracking the championship. Furthermore, if one of the two teams is champion if/when the makeup game is played, that single game will be for the championship.

With the rules out of the way, let's look at the championship picture in 2015 so far:
The Giants (*sigh*) started the season as Baseball World Heavyweight Champions, and retained the title in their opening series against the DBacks. They were quickly squashed by the Padres on April 12, with the Padres taking 3 straight to close out a four-game series. The Padres went on to retain their title with series wins over the DBacks and Cubs, and a four-game split with the Rockies.

This means, dear readers, that your Los Angeles Dodgers are the new #1 contenders to the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship, and get a shot at the belt against the Padres this weekend. What better way to wash the stink of getting swept in SF than to win a fake title belt? Also, as badly as I want the Dodgers to win the title (To my knowledge, they never won it while it was being tracked at EOB.), I will not allow my personal bias to cloud my judgement as Championship Commissioner, as has happened in the past.

There will be a new post updating the title history after each title change or successful defense. Big thanks again to the Eye On Baseball guys for creating this concept, and to Dayn Perry for passing the torch to me. Also, apologies in advance, as I'm about to get even nerdier than usual up in here.

*Originally, I thought the Baseball World Heavyweight Championship was going to be a placeholder name until I thought of a better one. (I didn't want to just name it the SoSG Heavyweight Championship, since it wasn't our original idea.) But the more I type it out, the more I like it. It's like when WWE took the WCW name off the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. If you have any good name ideas, though, leave them in the comments and maybe I'll use one.

Read About Where Puig Gets His Bats

Thanks to our east-coast sources for pointing us to this article:

• Small Maine company making baseball bats for major leagues (MaineNewsSimply.com)

photo by Mike Lange/Piscataquis Observer

Game 15 Thread: April 23 @ Giants, 12:45pm

Mike Bolsinger (0.00 -.--) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (0-1, 10.45)

Get-away game, and boy do we need it. After running the Great Boob Streak of '15, the Dodgers ran into the slumping pile of scruffy greasers who were clearly highly motivated to turn things around and to beat their chief rivals. Aaaand have they.

Today Mike Bolsinger makes his Dodger debut, generating exactly no excitement or optimism (except probably from Karina). Game 15 and we're already scrambling for starting pitching - what could go wrong? Here's hoping the not-really-necessary-14-games-in decision to rest key players last night pays off and the Dodger bats re-awaken, as does the infield defense.

I heard on the radio this morning that last night's matchup was the first time in baseball history that a reigning World Series MVP and a reigning Cy Young award winner had ever faced off against one another. Makes me wonder if two pitchers whose last names involve singing have ever faced off?

Too bad this isn't a weekend day, or it would be straight to the Assassins' Circle Bar for some spicy Bloody Marys with a shot of hate on the side.

Game 14 Thread: April 22 @ Giants, 7pm

Graphic by The Conman. See the story behind it here.
Clayton Kershaw (1-1, 4.42) vs. Madison Bumgarner (1-1, 5.29)

I'm going to pretend that yesterday's game never happened.  One because we lost.  Two, because I was working until 1am last night and never saw any of the game.  So, lets start all over again and begin a new winning streak.  And we have the perfect guy to do it with the NL MVP going against the WS MVP (the first time in history those two award winners have been opposing starters in the same game per the mlb app).  So fire up all of those illegal streaming pages and VPN websites to watch the boys in blue!  Oh and here are some male asses that Karen wanted.

Please Thank Steve Dilbeck For Jinxing This Series

On Monday, Steve Dilbeck went ahead and kicked the Giants when they were down, and sure enough we know what happened next:

Now the Halloween-Colored Boys won’t always win at their current .286 clip (4-10), though a guy can dream. They’ve lost nine of their last 10, while the Dodgers have won seven straight. Of course, the way this historic series goes, the Dodgers get swept.

Doubt it, though. Right now the Giants are monumentally bad. Only one team in major league history has gone from World Series champion to last place the next season, and that was the completely gutted 1997 Marlins. It seems too much to hope for, but you know, our parents taught us to hope, too.

Two games to go in this series. Let's see how this plays out. (And thanks a lot, Steve.)

Post-Game 13 Thread: Deflated

GIANTS 6, DODGERS 2

Well, that was depressing. Starter Brett Anderson only lasts four innings, giving up nine hits and four ER while striking out only one. The Dodgers get a meager seven hits against the Giants, with Tim Lincecum surviving six innings in picking up his first win of the year.

Good sign in Alex Guerrero doubling in Juan Uribe in the fifth inning, not only to get the Dodgers on the board, but also to send Anderson to the showers.

And now, we need a new GT theme. Any ideas?

Game 13 Thread: April 21 @ Giants, 7p

Anderson has been a surprising lift for the Dodgers.
Brett Anderson (1-0, 3.27) vs. Tim Lincecum (0-1, 2.25)

BRING OUT YOUR HATE! BRING OUT YOUR HATE! It's time to square off against the "you-may-have-won-it-all-last-year-but-now-it's-an-odd-year-so-you-suck-donkey-nuts" Giants.

The Giants are a woeful 4-10 to start the season, having lost 9 of their last 10. The Dodgers are hotter than a blog full of gratuitous boob pics. What does this mean for this series? Probably nothing! If precedent holds, however, the Gnats will be crushed under the weight of the Lucky Boobs Streak (patent pending), just like these beer cans.

Coming Soon to SoSG

@daynperry Speaking of meaningless (except to me), are you still tracking the baseball heavyweight champ? Currently the Padres, right? -N

— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) April 21, 2015

@daynperry Then, may I (in the grand tradition of Doink, Razor and Diesel, Sin Cara, etc.) take over the gimmick and run it on our blog?

— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) April 21, 2015

@sosgsosg Don't see why not, with the caveat that's (remotely) possible we may revive it at some point.

— Dayn Perry (@daynperry) April 21, 2015

@daynperry Excellent! Thank you! And I'll happily defer to you should you revive it.

— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) April 21, 2015

@sosgsosg Loser Leave Town match only way to settle it.

— Dayn Perry (@daynperry) April 21, 2015

Earlier at SoSG.

"Please, Don't Hurt Me."

Squad goals. @TommyLasorda, @randy_couture and @danhendo. pic.twitter.com/iv4sWIV7of

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 19, 2015

Caption contest?

Milton Bradley's Scary Tale

I'm catching up on some old Sports Illustrated issues and read this sad article about former Dodger (A's, Cubs, Padres, Rangers, etc.) Milton Bradley and his apparent inability to control his anger. This results in the tragic end of his wife's life from the cycle of domestic abuse. Gosh, I still remember him throwing that water bottle at the fan in the right field corner.  So sad.  It is nice to see that we now have some what looks like to be good character guys on the team.   I always find pleasure in cheering for good guys on and off the field, regardless if they win or lose.

• The tragic extent of Monique and Milton Bradley's violent relationship (SI.com)

Puig May Be An Original, But Any Kid Can Get His / Her Own Replica

Hey kids! If you're 14-and-under, all you have to do is be one of the first 15,000 ticketed kids on Sunday May 3 at Dodger Stadium, and you can come home with your very own Yasiel Puig, in the flesh!

Hope there's an extra seat in the car for the ride home (because he sure won't fit in the trunk, especially not with that sore hammy).

Screenshot taken from my phone this weekend.

Jackie Robinson's 2015 Topps "Archetypes" Card

Wow, look what I pulled from a pack of Topps 2015 Series 1 Cards today: Jackie Robinson himself!

Always nice to get an insert card, even if this card is just one of many and the whole set only runs $15?

I love the end quote however: "It kills me to lose. All I ever wanted to do was finish first."

Post-Game 11 Thread: Greinke Just Good Enough

DODGERS 6, ROCKIES 3

My OCD won't let this PGT go unrecorded, so let me spin back one game from yesterday's 7-0 victory and make sure that the Dodgers' 6-3 game over the Rockies got its due. Zack Greinke went 6.2 IP but couldn't stretch it to a full seven, yielding a two-run HR to DJ LeMahieu, who has plenty of vowels in his last name).

With the score 4-3, Greinke exited, but the Dodgers tacked on two more runs later that inning (off of run-scoring Yasiel Puig and Howie Kendrick doubles) to get the lead back to three runs. Puig and Kendrick both had two hits in the game.

Joel Peralta got the save, his third.

Ok, now I can go back to work.

Post-Game 12 Thread: 7-Up

DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 0

The Dodgers won their seventh in a row with a 7-0 victory, completing the sweep of the Rockies on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the Stadium. The action started in the second inning, when a Scott Van Slyke one-out double scored Howie Kendrick, and Joc Pederson followed that with a double of his own to score SVS.

The sixth inning was an explosion, however. Kendrick leadoff HR, then Andre Ethier walked to set up a two-run SVS homer, and then Pederson followed with a HR of his own. Justin Turner (4-for-5 today) doubled home A.J. Ellis later in that frame, to make it 7-0. The only offensive disappointment was Adrian Gonzalez: 0-for-5 with 7 LOB, plummeting his average to... .469. Very nice to see Ellis finally get a hit this season, after starting the year 0-for-11. Van Slyke's 3-for-4 today gives him a 1.600 OPS on the year.

On the other side of the coin, Brandon McCarthy continued notching strikeouts (6 Ks), and this time didn't allow a barrage of HRs, which was refreshing! Dodgers remain in first place in the NL West and take another rest day before the long flight to San Francisco for a series that starts Tuesday (Clayton Kershaw vs. Ashley Madison in the Wednesday matchup!).

Well-placed icon hands

So high. So far. So good.

It's been a while since I've lived life in the reserve section.  Lines are longer.  Air is thinner.  But with the home run show the view is perfect.   Even saw the guy SOSG Todd gave his prized season tix to. 

Look for me in SOSG gear drinking my second 15 dollar can of something that usually costs a buck. 

Ten people in parking lot when I got here.  Still took forever

The reserve level masses 

Mystery urinal meat. 

As my dodger newbie friend said "that's a view". Indeed.  

Now I have to convince my kids they can F'ing share a cotton candy. 

Game 12 Thread: April 19 vs. Rockies, 1p

Mr. & Mrs. McCarthy at the Dodgers' gala event the other night.

Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 6.75) vs. Eddie Butler (1-0, 1.64)

Curious fellow, this Brandon McCarthy: 6'7", funny guy, hot wife who's also pretty funny...and he's given up roughly one home run for every three strikeouts he records. McCarthy is second on the Dodgers' staff in strikeouts (19 to Kershaw's 26, and Clayton has pitched one more game), but leads in home runs allowed (6; Kershaw has given up 3).

The longballs have to come down, of course, but of further curiosity is our front office's predilection for pitching reclamation projects. McCarthy, Brett Anderson and Brandon Beachy are guys with injury histories that the Dodgers scooped up, hoping for bargains, although McCarthy would have to pitch really well for $48 million over four years to be considered outright theft. He went seven innings in his last start, so let's hope that endurance continues.

The first-place Dodgers have won six straight, and why? The Lucky Boobs Streak, and it started here. Let's continue it!

Not Official Post Game Thread - But Had to Be Said

Game 11 Thread: April 18 vs. Rockies, 6p

Greinke ponders third-world debt forgiveness

Zack Greinke (1-0, .69) vs. Jordan Lyles (1-0, 2.25)

Having moved into a tie for first place with the win last night, Dodgers get another crack at the heretofore red-hot Rockies. Just when I was getting ready to start bellyaching oh, say, about five games ago, we've reeled off five in a row and now WE are red hot, it would seem. Only the Mets have a longer streak at six. Wait, if you count losing streaks, the Hated Ones take the cake as they have lost EIGHT in a row (0-5 at Phone Monopoly Park).

While Dodger pitching hasn't exactly been picture perfect (pitcher perfect?), including Brandon McCarthy's and Clayton Kershaw's yin/yang performances, it's certainly gotten the job done. Greinke, however, has been the best so far, so we'll look to him to keep the pressure on the Rox.

If there's one thing we do here at Sons, it's to beat a dead horse. If there are two things we do, the second is to post gratuitous pictures of boobs in order to keep up a win streak. If there's a third thing...well, that's pretty much it.

Post-Game 10 Thread: First Place, Again

DODGERS 7, ROCKIES 3

Powered by a red-hot Adrian Gonzalez RBI double in the first, RBI double in the fifth; three runs and 3-for-4 on the day) and a two-run Howie Kendrick HR shot to left (also in the first), the Dodgers cruised to victory over the Rockies to assume a share of first place for the first time since Opening Day. Dodgers have a five-game win streak; Gonzalez has been on base twice in each of the ten games this season (if I heard Charley Steiner's stat correctly over the radio broadcast).

It got a little shaky in the fifth inning when Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run HR to make it 4-3 LA, but starter Clayton Kershaw went six innings and had 12 Ks to earn the win, his first of the year. Kershaw is giving up the long ball a little too much for my liking, across three games of 2015 now, and his 4.42 ERA shows it. Paco Rodriguez, Yimi Garcia, and new Dodger Adam Liberatore (MLB debut) each had a scoreless inning (Garcia was the only one to allow a baserunner), and the Dodgers added some cushion with another Kendrick RBI (double) as well as an Andre Ethier sac fly to left.

Slightly eariler game tomorrow: 6p start for Zack Greinke (vs. Jordan Lyles).

In other news, Giants lost 9-0 at home to the Diamondbacks; Jake Peavy (0-2) gave up 4 ER over 3.2 IP to put his ERA to 9.39.

On to Friday Night Fireworks!

Game 10 Thread: April 17 vs. Rockies, 7p

My new favorite shirt. Get one here.
Clayton Kershaw (0-1, 5.84) vs. Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 6.00)

0-1? 5.84 ERA? This is Clayton Kershaw, we're talking about, right? OK, so Kid K hasn't exactly exploded out of the blocks this year, but it's still early. He's probably just getting used to throwing to a new catcher. (What's that? He's still only pitching to AJ? OK...) EDIT: Nope! Grandal catches Kershaw tonight.

But hey, he's facing the Rockies tonight. At Dodger Stadium. I have a vague recollection of that going quite well last time it happened. Just...don't pay any attention the Rockies' hot start.

Tonight is also the first Friday Night Fireworks of the season. Hmmm...I wonder how I can tie that into the Lucky Boobs Streak.

Scoreboard Watching: Well Played, Von's Virgil Village

Scoreboard watching while we await the Rockies.

D'Bags vs The Hated Ones.  Bradley vs Bumgarner.