Astros starter Lance McCullers was beaten by a pair of blisters on his throwing hand, helping the Dodgers pounce on Houston for seven XBH, three of which were home runs from Andy Pages (who also made a great catch in center field late in the game). Awesome news for the Dodgers to actually win a series on the road for a change, giving us some momentum before a rest day Thursday and a series against the red-hot Braves this weekend at home.
Boy, I hate Houston.
Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.56) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (2-2, 6.32).
Today could be a merciful end to a horrifically unproductive road trip: 2-3 record in the first five games, but only scoring more than four runs one time. But with the National League-leading Atlanta Braves waiting for us this weekend, it might be nice to have a little of momentum going into that series.
You see what happens when you try and extend a Game Thread theme into a second GT? Havoc ensues.
Anakin goes from awakening from a nightmare to descending into evil. And just like that, the Dodgers' bats shifted from a single promising game to reverting back to sleep in Houston, leaving starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani hung out to dry on two cheapie solo home runs, only notching one run from a Kyle Tucker RBI.
Teoscar Hernandez left at least 427 people on base today thanks to his 0-for-4, 2K night. And for the second game this season, Dave Roberts sent Santiago Espinal up to pinch hit, only to watch Espinal K on three straight pitches.
We need Mookie Betts back, fast. And if Hernandez is going to be as much of an offensive liability as he already is defensively, it's time for him to take a seat.
Shohei Ohtani (2-1, 0.60) vs. Lambert (1-2, 3.52).
Just like Anakin, the bats woke up from their slumber on May the Fourth, a 8-3 win over the Astros in which the Dodgers had seven runs, and home runs by Alex Freeland and Kyle Tucker, in the first three frames.. That was more than enough to let Yoshinobu Yamamoto do his work (6.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Ks and 1 BB), guiding the Dodgers to a comfortable victory.
Today, we've got Shohei Ohtani on the mound...and at the plate. Considering Ohtani hasn't had a hit in his last five games, let's see if he can focus on both sides of the game today. UPDATE: Doc Roberts changed his mind, and Ohtani won't hit today, after all.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-2, 2.87) vs. Steven Okert (0-0, 4.20).
I don't care if it's May the Fourth. Screw these dirty, evil cheaters.
Sheehan vs. Gordon.
After dropping the first two games of the series, I've lost hope here. I hate the Astros.
Shohei Ohtani vs. Framber Valdez.
More cheaters cheating this afternoon. I hate the Astros.
SoSG Orel and I will be at the game today!
Fri 7.26 5p: Stone vs. Valdez the Cheater Sat 7.27 4p: Wrobleski vs. Blanco the Cheater Sun 7.28 11a: TBD vs. Arrighetti the Cheater
The names may change, but the stench of the 2017 World Series remains clad in Astro orange and blue. And with Cheaters Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve helping the 2024 Astros claw back into first place in the AL West (ahead of Seattle by a game, and Texas by 2.5 games), there's little doubt that they will be up to even more illicit and morally corrupt behavior in this series.
When the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988, I was but a boy with hopes and dreams. 32 years later, that boy is older and heavier, his hopes and dreams having become wishes and adjusted expectations.
32 years is enough time to get an education and a job and realize how different they are from experience and a career. It's enough time to start a family, who will learn to tolerate your irrational Dodgers fandom.
Is it the Cubs' 108 years? Of course not. Is it still a fucking long time? Yes it is.
It's also enough time to figure out winning the World Series takes talent, discipline...and some je ne sais quoi.
Talent: The Dodgers were always rich enough to afford it (and sometimes stupid enough to give it away).
Discipline: Levels of hard work and common sense seemed to vary with the revolving door of managers that followed Tommy Lasorda's 20-year tenure, as well as the whims of whoever was keeping the GM chair warm (Kevin Malone? DePo?).
Intangibles: We never seemed to possess the inevitability of the Yankees, the devil magic of the Cardinals and Giants, the scrappiness (later entitlement) of the Red Sox. We endured 31 years of postseason drought and disappointment, never even getting within a victory of reaching the World Series. The Astros' cheating scandal of 2017 and the Red Sox cheating in 2018 were just the cherries on top of the cowpie.
So what changed? It was as slow as turning a battleship, but here's the summary:
The result? A steady stream of talent (not just the occasional Manny Ramirez-esque splurge) resulting in 8 straight division titles. An organizational philosophy of discipline. Remember how frustrating the swing-for-the-fences approach was just a few years ago? Then this year, cavernous Globe Life Field became our "home" park and talk started about how the Dodgers' homer-happy approach could fall flat there.
Globe Death Field
— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) October 7, 2020
Instead the Dodgers made adjustments and nailed the balance of situational hitting and bashing dingers. Discipline! Lots of credit to hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc for that.
And the intangibles! Finally luck was a lady, the cookie didn't crumble, the ball bounced our way:
NLDS Game 1. 5th inning: Padres 1, Dodgers 0. Dodger-killer Jake Cronenworth makes a throwing error, allowing us to tie the score. We score 4 runs the next inning.
Something about that 5th inning pic.twitter.com/Bp7xCo6Bgh
— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) October 7, 2020
NLDS Game 2. 7th inning: Dodgers 4, Padres 3. Cody's catch! It sets the stage for a one-run squeaker of a victory (thanks Kenley):
I thought we were toast after going down 3-1 to the Barves in the NLCS. Indeed we were losing in the 6th inning of Game 7, but there was a crucial momentum shift two innings earlier:
NLCS Game 7. 4th inning: Barves 3, Dodgers 2. The inexplicable Barves double brain-fart:
What if Swanson pulls a Pierzynski and touches home after JT's tag? Maybe a replay situation. What if Riley doesn't double back like ZZ Top in Back to the Future III? Maybe he's safe at third. More maybes than in an Arrested Development marathon!
NLCS Games 5-7. One word: Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooookie.
And the coup de grâce:
World Series Game 5. 4th inning: Dodgers 3, Rays 2. Manuel Margot decides he's the man:
Silly rabbit, Kershaw's the man.
(And for anyone questioning the legitmacy of a COVID-shortened season: The two best teams met after a regular season that was mentally and emotionally more taxing than a 162-game season, plus every playoff team had to play an extra round. Take your asterisks back to 2017 where they belong.)
32 years is a generation! Thanks to the Guggenbros for investing the scratch, to Friedman for his roster wizardry and to Doc for keeping the egos in check. Best of all, their sustainable approach means we should be competitive for the forseeable future.
And when we win the World Series again, I still won't be done celebrating this one.
The nadir of the Dodgers' 31 years of postseason futility came in the 2006 NLDS against the Mets. Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew were thrown out at home on the same play — by an all-former-Dodgers relay of Shawn Green to José Valentín to Paul "Fuck the Dodgers" Lo Duca. Naturally the Dodgers went on to lose that game by 1 run and get swept out of the series.
The collective outrage from group e-mails within our circle of Dodger fans must have been overheating our Intel Celeron microprocessors because days later, we decided to take our talents to Blogger. The Dodgers' streak of futility was at a mere 18 years — what babies we were! — when Sax made our first post.
It was three years B.T. (Before Twitter) and we were getting started during the golden age of sports blogging. It was thrilling to see the blog gain readership and recognition by the Dodgers organization itself (shoutout to Josh Rawitch!).
A glance at the sidebar shows our "attendance" at over 3.5 million views, which still blows my mind. A big hug to my friends and fellow Sons — the rest of the O.G. 6 — AC, EK, Lasorda, Pedro & Sax — and the "newcomers" — Delino, Dusty, Gnomes & Stubbs (and honorary DoSG Karina!).
But 14 years of blogging? Also a long time. At times it's felt like a crying baby that needs to be fed (damn GTs!). And the 31 years of falling short didn't help.
Now that we've arrived at the promised land...I don't know? In this fucked-up year, Vin Scully's truism holds even more true: "If you want to make God smile, tell him your plans."
Go Blue!
Well, that series didn't quite go as I had hoped.
Coming off a killer pair of victories against the Brewers, we hosted the Houston Astros only to get shut down by Justin Verlander (14 Ks) on Friday, then slaughtered 14-0 on Saturday, before winning Sunday's finale in a tense 3-2 victory.
Sunday's heroes were Walker Buehler (8 Ks over 5.1 IP), new Dodger Brian Dozier (two-run double in the bottom of the first, to put the Dodgers up 2-1), and Cody Bellinger (RBI double in the third). Manny Machado went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. And while our squad nurses injuries to Alex Wood (tendinitis), Erik Goeddel (right lat inflammation), Yasiel Puig (oblique), and Matt Kemp (ankle, not to mention a batting slump), Houston also came away with injuries to Lance McCullers and George Springer (whose leadoff HR Sunday was thankfully short-lived). That's a lot of casualties in a weekend series, which compounds the overall concern about the Dodgers' chances to win a World Series with this squad.
Only the anticipated midseason surge by the Dodgers hasn’t materialized and here they are, still clustered with a group of so-so teams. And if the season ended Sunday, neither the Dodgers nor the Diamondbacks would be in position for a wild card spot. The Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves would play in the wild card game.
“I think that it’s a lot [harder] than saying you get to first place and you’re just going to leave everyone behind you,” manager Dave Roberts said.
The reality is that the Dodgers aren’t as good as they were last season. As much as Andrew Friedman’s front office was credited with building a team that reached the World Series, it’s undeniable that the group’s efforts were aided by a league-high payroll.
The Dodgers are now operating with a budget, the $197-million luxury-tax threshold.
They have something of a feast-or-famine lineup. Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig were sidelined with injuries Sunday, but the Dodgers nonetheless started eight position players who averaged almost 19 home runs between them. Remove Manny Machado from the group, however, and the highest batting average entering the game was Joc Pederson’s .261.
If the Dodgers were criticized in previous seasons for constructing teams that were better suited for the regular season than the playoffs, the opposite is now the case.When the Dodgers moved into first place for the first time on July 12, the expectation was for them have a comfortable lead over the Diamondbacks and Rockies by now.
But look, we ended up the weekend tied with the Diamondbacks, whom we can watch play the Phillies tonight at 6.40p (Arrieta (9-6, 3.32) vs. Godley (12-6, 4.46)). We may get back to outright first place by the end of the night, while we enjoy our first off-day since the All-Star break, before pitting Rich Hill against his former Sean Manaea and his former team.
And, Roberto Osuna didn't pitch this weekend, saving Osuna from inevitable boos, and allowing the Astros to postpone heralding the further erosion of any possible integrity for another day. So that's a win, I suppose.
Lest you fall down the Dylan Hernandez rabbit hole, I should remind you that Baseball Prospectus' playoff odds have the Dodgers at a 62.1% chance to win the division, with the Diamondbacks at 29.0%. We still wield the World Series of any NL team (13.3%), trailing only Houston (17.0%) in the majors.
Ah yes, Houston. I'm hoping we don't have to see them again this year, as this series didn't give me a lot of hope. But we move on.
Let's lick our wounds and get cracking on the divisional title, boys.
Fri, 7p: Alex Wood vs Justin Verlander
Sat, 6p: Kenta Maeda vs Lance McCullers Jr.
Sun, 1p: Walker Buehler vs Gerrit Cole
These fuckin assholes again.
Thanks Orel for the post; UPDATE from Sax (6:37p):
Well, last night was the first time I'd been to the stadium in a long time, and it was really cathartic to be there for that 21-5 explosion over the Brewers. I'd been filled with hangover dread for a lot of this season, having gone to a number of games early on (when we were falling nine back of the NL West lead), and the team looked like it hadn't yet overcome that bitter World Series loss from last year. Neither had I, for that matter.
Last night, for me, set the Dodgers rejuvenated. Not only did we re-take the division lead and now sit a game ahead of Arizona and two games ahead of Colorado, in first place--but the trade deadline moves to pick up Manny Machado (what an arm!) and Brian Dozier (two HR in three games now ties the season output from his successor, Logan Forsythe), but it was a full beatdown of a decent team vying for the lead in its own division. We made the Brewers look like chumps last night, Christian Yelich and his hometown fan club (who sat a couple levels up, behind me) notwithstanding (local boy Yelich was pretty great last night, to be fair).
And here come the Astros again, still playing with racist idiots, but now recently fortified with a player suspended by the league for an alleged domestic violence incident. This, from an organization that earlier cited its "zero-tolerance" policy on domestic violence. Uh huh.
Tough day to be an Astros fan. Maybe donate $ to a local women’s shelter for every Osuna strikeout. I don’t know what to say. It sucks.
— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) July 30, 2018
The Astros are worthy of your hate. Let's hope we didn't use all of our offense in Thursday's game.
It's tiiiiiime for Dodger baseball!
And I'm not ready.
The baseball fan in me has been suspended in cryonic stasis since November 1, 2017, the day the Dodgers' championship drought officially reached 29 years.
As you all know, it hurt like a bitch. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who dealt with it by burying the pain deep, deep inside (plus booze).
When the Dodgers made the playoffs, I purposely didn't attend any games because I wanted to save my shekels for the Big Dance. And once the Dodgers made it to the World Series, I smashed my piggy bank and bought tickets for Game 1, the first World Series game in Los Angeles in, well, 29 years.
Hours before gametime, SoSG Sax and I had settled into our seats in Reserve 5 when I got a text from my brother, a Dodger fan unfortunate enough to live in the Bay Area:
That's nice, I thought. He must be going to Game 2. Wrong. He was on his way to Game 1, lateness be damned. That's what 28 years of waiting will do to a fan.
So while my brother was racing down to L.A., Sax & I were giddy and in tears after one helluva National Anthem by Keith Williams Jr.:
The high final note, the flyover...it was electric.
Honestly I don't remember a lot of details from the game itself because every out, every pitch, felt like life or death. Especially without listening to play-by-play and color commentary, it was too easy to get way inside my head while watching the game.
Somewhere during the middle of the game, my brother landed and was hectoring a taxi driver to get him from LAX to Dodger Stadium in rush-hour traffic — ASAP!
We took a two-run lead in the 6th but it might have well been a tie game for how nervous we were.
My brother arrived in the 7th but he would have to wait. Our section was packed and I couldn't afford to miss a single beat of this experience.
The crowd was exemplary. No bullshit waves, no bullshit beachballs on the warning track. Constant cheering and standing and screaming for every two-out at-bat.
After Kenley slammed the door in the 9th: GIGANTIC EXHALE. The loudest I've ever heard Dodger Stadium. Awkward hugs and high-fiving folks I had never met before and will never see again. We finally found my brother and chilled in our section to savor the afterglow and let traffic ease up (it didn't help).
And that's the sum total of my in-person World Series experience. We had an awesome viewing party for Game 4 at Casa Orel but after Game 7...numbness. The Astros aren't even a really hateable team (Gurriel excepted, honorable mention to Reddick).
The Dodgers' extreme inactivity during the off-season reinforced my moribund mindset, although it's nice to have Matt Kemp back, for purely sentimental reasons.
So ready or not, we'll see how this season goes. We'll still do game/series threads (I think) but I know some of us are still looking for a hangover cure.
Go Blue (I can still muster that)!
It’s like the field is crying. Finally letting it all out after WS Game 7.
— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) March 28, 2018
The @Dodgers never said die this year, and it was such a fun regular season. So, Verlander, Schmerlander. Here's to a win in Game 6.
— Erin (@erinmscot) October 31, 2017
Do you have those dreams where you're trying to execute a basic task and somehow it becomes the biggest struggle in the world? I've dreamt that I'm trying to make a simple phone call yet my hands are moving like they're underwater and I keep punching the wrong numbers.
That's how watching Game 5 felt — in the late innings the Dodgers staged multiple miraculous comebacks to tie the game over and over yet they couldn't quite get over the hump and take the lead. Of course, the Astros seemed to take advantage of every opportunity they created.
I don't know how Dave Roberts does it, or the Dodger players for that matter. Five hours of YES NO YES NO AAAUGH JESUS and these guys are just playing the game like the professionals they are. And keeping their heads! — scoring eight runs from the 5th inning on.
I do know baseball pundits are calling this game one for the ages, but Dodger fans will remember this game as the one where Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen plain ran out of gas. The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a four-run lead and he ended up giving up six runs, all earned, and exiting in the 5th.
Kenley, in his second inning of work and needing just one more out to put the game into the 11th inning, went HBP, walk, single to give the Astros the win.
But we need to recognize the offensive heroes: Seager and Barnes had an RBI apiece; Bellinger had 4 RBIs, including a 3-run HR in the 5th; Puig hit a 2-run HR in the 9th and Taylor tied it up at 12 with an RBI single with the Dodgers down to their last strike.
Alas, it's the pitching that worries. Kershaw, toast. Kenley...toasty. Brandon Morrow talked his way into the game and gave up four runs in six pitches. If Rich Hill doesn't basically have perfecto stuff tomorrow, it's over. (Although if we somehow manage to force a Game 7, I like our chances with a rested Darvish.)
So: Get some rest, eat your Wheaties and join us tomorrow for one, or two, last game(s). And remember...
After five hours of not breathing, we have taken a breath and will say this:
— Sons of Steve Garvey (@sosgsosg) October 30, 2017
WE GONNA CHEER FOR THE DODGERS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER ON TUESDAY.
Hey, turn that frown upside down. All three games have been decided by two or fewer runs. It's anyone's game. And though we are down 2-1, that's with one starter flaming out, Bellinger not hitting squat, our own bullpen melting down once (they were fine last night), and the rest of our offense suddenly not clutch. We will be fine. Let's just win Game 4.
