Archives for posts with tag: Gavin Lux

Save Some for Later!

June 12, 2024 //
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Everybody got a Joe Kelly jersey last night.

Holy cow! I just hope the Dodgers didn’t use up all their homestand home runs in one game!

What a slugfest that was last night. It was hard to believe it was even happening, there were so many homers and important hits, like Mookie Betts‘ 3-run double that tore the game open in the 4th. In the 6th inning, 10 Dodgers batted, scoring 7 runs on 6 hits (4 of them round-trippers)!

Not exactly the pitching duel I like to watch. In fact, in the 7th, the Rangers (reigning World Series Champions) had their backup catcher, Andrew Knizner, come out with bases loaded and a 14-2 deficit to do their dirty work on the mound. But to tell you the truth, he turned out to be more effective than their real pitchers. He lobbed the ball like it was batting practice, but only gave up a sac fly and one walk. And he had a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th.

The real batting practice came off Grant Anderson in the 6th, when the Dodgers were ahead, 7-1, with one out and Mookie walked. Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run to right field, and Freddie Freeman (who went 3-for-4 by the way) followed with another homer. Will Smith hit a single before Teoscar Hernández did what he does best: he clobbered the ball over the left field wall.

But a 12-1 advantage wasn’t enough for these greedy boys. After a lineout to left by Gavin Lux, Andy Pages smoked a single down the 3rd-base line, and Jason Heyward sent Anderson’s last pitch into the visitors’ dugout. Hey ya!!!

I just hope they still have some in the tank for tonight!

MY SCORECARDS
GAME 68: Dodgers 15-Rangers 2

Side note: Whoever posts the pitch counts on the scoreboard kept counting the fourth ball in a walk as a strike, and there were a lot of walks (10 altogether). So the pitch counts were completely wrong throughout the game. What a numbskull!

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Categories 2024

Bullpen Squeaker

April 3, 2024 //
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Shortstop Mookie Betts celebrates a game-tying home run that also happened to be his 1,500th career hit. He’s on fire right now!

The Dodgers this year are such a good team. The contributions come in all forms: come-from-behind bombs by Mookie Betts, sturdy singles from Freddie Freeman, reliable relief from Evan Phillips or spectacular defense by Kiké Hernàndez. Last night, we got to see all those in one game, even though we had no starting pitcher.

As is his wont, Mookie reached base in the 1st with a bloop single that dropped right in the middle of the Giants’ infield and outfield. Two batters later, Freeman knocked him in with one of those solid base hits to right field. Dodgers draw first blood, 1-0.

Next inning, our second of five pitchers, Ryan Yarbrough, started his 4.1-inning stint by giving up a double to Wilmer Flores, who would go on to score on a base hit by Nick Ahmed. Giants tie it up, 1-1.

Yarbrough began the next inning by dealing another double, this time to Matt Chapman, who later came home on a single by Michael Conforto. The Giants take the lead, 2-1.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Kiké flied out to center field, and then Mookie — the Mini-Monster — stroked his 1,500th career hit into the Left Field Pavilion, tying it up, 2-2.

Well, just as the first 3 innings belonged to the top of our order, the 4th was all about the bottom. Max Muncy doubled a screamer down the first-base line and Téoscar Hernàndez walked, setting up James Outman to be a hero. Unfortunately, Giants first baseman Flores had other ideas. He snagged a line drive that would surely have been at least a two-run double, and Outman licked his wounds all the way back to the dugout. But! Gavin Lux — whose bat has been dismally silent since he came back after taking last year off for injuries — came through with a double to center that was surely spurred by his anger over two very unfair strike calls he had just received from the home-plate ump. He scored what would prove to be the winning run on a single by Kiké.

In the 6th, Yarbrough started pooping out. He left the game after giving up a homer and two base hits, bringing the Giants to the brink of taking the lead. With the tying run on first, the bulldog Alex Vesia came in to shut the threat down. Dodgers 5, Giants 4. That’s how it stayed. Although Phillips put the tying run on base again with two outs in the 9th, he then struck out Chapman on three pitches to secure his third save of the year so far.

So, we’re atop the standings in the NL West, and we have already won the series from the Giants. Tonight, it’s hooded sweatshirts for everybody!

MY SCORECARDS
Game 8: LAD 5-SF 4

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Categories 2024

Dodgertown Spirit

April 5, 2023 //
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A couple days ago, I was looking at the Nextdoor app to see what was going on with neighbors, porch thefts, lost animals, etc., and I saw terrified (multi-exclamation-pointed) posts about the tremendous roar of fighter jets passing low over Echo Park. “What did it mean? Are we at war?” Silly newbies! It’s Dodgers Opening Day!!!

Blue is definitely the predominant color in my neighborhood. When I used to take the bus home late at night from The Times, I always wore Dodger T-shirts or an LA beanie to let the homies on Echo Park Avenue know I was one of them. Now, the incoming hipsters are learning how important the Boys in Blue are to Echo Park. One trendy new bar is even offering free drinks to a certain sidelined shortstop. (Across the street from the gas station where I met Gavin Lux last year.)

This past week, the Dodgers have played 6 games and won 4 of them. Sunday (April 2), after going into the 9th tied, 1-1, reliever Brusdar Graterol screwed the pooch, and they lost to the D’backs, 2-1. But the good news was that starter Noah Syndergaard had a stellar 6-inning, 6K Dodger debut. BOX SCORE  

On Monday (April 3), Stephen and I climbed to our seats in the top row of the Top Deck, braving hurricane winds and icy temps, only to watch one inning and then leave because we were so freaking uncomfortable. We slunk off to the warmth of our little home, 1 mile away, and watched the rest of the game on TV. The final score was 13-4 over the Rockies. BOX SCORE 

And then last night (April 4), Stephen couldn’t come to the game with me due to other obligations, so he dropped me at the stadium to get the swag (2 hooded sweatshirts). 

I was supposed to watch a few innings, and then Stephen would pick me up. But I was having so much fun with my good friend Liz that I ended up watching the entire game! All 2 hours 25 minutes of it!

Julio Urías pitched great! He even got himself out of a no-outs, bases-loaded jam that looked like curtains for our boys early on. Thank heavens for double plays! 

All our runs were the result of homers (by Will Smith, Jason Heyward and Max Muncy). It looked like we were cruising to a 5-0 shutout, but reliever Phil Bickford did not have his best day. He started giving up runs in the top of the 9th, and it was too painful to watch, so I went to the bathroom. By the time I got out, “I Love L.A.” was blaring from the speakers, and Dodgertown was happy once more. Final score, 5-2. BOX SCORE

The main takeaway, in my opinion, about the first week of Dodger Baseball 2023, is that our starting pitching has been quite solid. (Knock on wood!) That’s a very good thing, because our bats are, game by game, either spicy hot or icy cold, so a good starter is the only thing that will keep us in the game during a freeze snap. Now, let’s hope our bullpen can rise to the occasion!

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Categories 2023