In that first series, Max Muncy absolutely crushed a walk-off grand slam. In the second series, Dustin May stood up to Blake Snell in a pitching duel for the ages. Also, Mookie Betts hit a solo homer to tie it up, and rookies Michael Busch and James Outman drove in 3 runs the top of the 10th. That same game, reliever Evan Phillips blew away Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado — BOOOOOO! — and Juan Soto, 1-2-3, to record his 5th save of the season. Those are my Dodgers of the last few years!
Max Muncy walks off to glory (May 9, 2023).
I simply cannot wait to get back to the Ravine. It’s so exciting to see Clayton Kershaw vying for yet another Cy Young! Our bats have come alive, and the clutch hits are coming from everywhere! Those are MY Dodgers!
Chris Taylor opens the doors to a victory on Sunday.
Believe it or not, the Dodgers just won all three games from those dastardly St. Louis Cardinals!
I was at all three games, and we climbed to 16-13, our best record this season. Not only that, but we’re now tied for 1st with the D’Backs!
I had so much fun at all the games. Friday (April 28), Stephen and I held our breath as Dustin May started out a little shaky, giving up two runs right off the bat. But he settled down, and miraculously, our bats came alive. We pulled out a 7-3 victory despite another shaky showing by reliever Alex Vesia. He walked the first guy in the top of the 9th, then gave up two singles before closing it out with the tying run at the plate. Phew! BOX SCORE
I took score Saturday (April 29), while the wonderful Clayton Kershaw pitched perfectly into the 5th inning. It was so funny. My neighbor season ticket holder (Liz) and I were dead silent as Kersh struck people out, induced ground outs and fly balls, and made one outstanding play on a come-backer where he hurled it like a laser-guided missile to Freddie Freeman on 1st base. All around us, it seemed like no one else was even paying attention. Steve was completely engrossed in a loud and lively discussion with our other STH neighbor (Jen) and her friend, and there was a pack of feral hipsters in front of us being as obnoxious as they possible could. I swear not one of them looked at the field throughout the game. Liz and I were silently hoping history would be made, but with one out in the 5th, Cardinal Dylan Carlson slammed it into centerfield. There goes the perfect game!
But Kershaw ended up with his 5th win of the season, 9 Ks, and he gave up just two hits through 7 shutout innings. We only scored one run, so it was a nail biter all the way, but the game was the fastest I can ever remember witnessing in person. Just 2 hours 14 minutes. And we came away with a 1-0 win. BOX SCORE
The coup de grâce was Sunday’s game (April 30). A very generous friend at the last minute gave me his Dugout Club seats, and we watched a great, sweeping 6-3 win from just behind the Visitors’ Dugout. It was so amazing! Great view, great food, great service, the absolute best way to pretend you’re rich and/or famous. Also Noah Syndergaard got his first win as a Dodger! BOX SCORE
A funny thing happened on the way to the Ladies’ Room afterwards. I noticed a Cards fan (full red regalia) and her husband, who not surprisingly was wearing a T-shirt praising a former president I prefer not to name. (Well, I usually just call him FUCKFACE, but mostly I try to pretend he doesn’t exist.) She entered the bathroom right behind me, and as I was washing my hands, she said, “Excuse me, I just want to say,” and I’m bracing myself, “you have a really amazing whistle. I always wanted to whistle like that!” I’m embarrassed, and I’m struck by her graciousness when she follows it up with, “Congratulations on your win!” Turns out she’s originally from St. Louis, but she lives here now, “because L.A. has the best weather.” She was sweet and thoughtful, and I felt a little ashamed about how I prejudged her. (Her T-shirt wearing husband, on the other hand, not so much.)
Stephen, Richard and Debora (from L) in our bitchen seats!
A funny thing happened on the way to the Ladies’ Room afterwards. I noticed a Cards fan (full red regalia) and her husband, who not surprisingly was wearing a T-shirt praising a former president I prefer not to name. (Well, I usually just call him FUCKFACE, but mostly I try to pretend he doesn’t exist.) She entered the bathroom right behind me, and as I was washing my hands, she said, “Excuse me, I just want to say,” and I’m bracing myself, “you have a really amazing whistle. I always wanted to whistle like that!” I’m embarrassed, and I’m struck by her graciousness when she follows it up with, “Congratulations on your win!” Turns out she’s originally from St. Louis, but she lives here now, “because L.A. has the best weather.” She was sweet and thoughtful, and I felt a little ashamed about how I had prejudged her. (Her T-shirt wearing husband, on the other hand, I find it harder to abide.)
Anyway, I was happily reminded that people are people, with good parts and bad, no matter what team they root for.
Clayton Kershaw joined the 200-Win Club on Tuesday night (April 18).
We teeter over the brink to below .500 … again — the Mets just beat us, 5-3, on Wednesday (April 19)BOX SCORE — the main takeaway of the season so far is, “It doesn’t matter how good our starters are, or how many homers we hit, or how many double plays we execute if our bullpen is just going to start pitching batting practice in the last three innings.”
Last night (April 18), I saw a gem of a Clayton Kershaw start: 7 innings, 9 Ks, 3 hits and no runs. It was beautiful, and he got run support, as well, earning him his 200th career victory, 5-0, over the Mets. BOX SCORE For once this season, the bullpen was solid, like they knew Vin Scully (who was the night’s honoree with a swag Jersey giveaway) was watching.
But that only evened our record at 9-9, since the dreaded Cubbies won the weekend series (CHI 8-LAD 2 on Friday, LAD 2-CHI 1 Saturday, and CHI 3-LAD 2 Sunday), and the Mets nipped the opener on Monday night (April 17). A very eventful 8-6 affair in which J.D. Martinez went long twice only to see our 6-5 edge disappear with the arrival of reliever Alex Vesia on the mound. BOX SCORE Boy, did he and Phil Bickford really stink up the joint! Bickford balked in the tying run before throwing one pitch! But those loaded bases fall squarely on Vesia’s shoulders.
Aside from the groans when virtually any reliever is announced, the games this week have been fun to attend. Sometimes, when I’m walking on the Top Deck concourse, I feel like a teenager again, recalling those springs and summers when I covered all kinds of sports for the Valley News & Green Sheet. It makes me miss my dad, but in a good way.
He hired me at 17 as a full-time member of the Green Sheet’s Sports Dept., a rare thing for a girl in 1973. Now, it’s 50 years later, there are a lot of female sports reporters. A woman is a heartbeat away from the presidency. And yet, we are reminded every day that the world is still pretty much run by old white dudes.
Next Taco Tuesday, maybe we’ll see, “MALE MARIACHI GARIBALDI” on the ribbon board.
Yeah, probably not.
The struggle for a world that’s right and truly gender-blind rages on.Mariachi Las Catrinas perform at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday (April 18).
Piewalla's Dodger Blues 