[PilotMan]

4/4 3-2 W over the Giants
Rickey goes 4-5, steals 3 bases, and delivers the walk off, bases loaded single, in the bottom of the 9^th to get the first W of the year for LA. Henderson and Ozzie combined for 7 of the 10 LA hits, while Smith delivered the first RBI of the year for the team. Bryn Smith went 7 strong, but Franco (1-0) got the win with a scoreless 9^th.


4/5 4-0 W over the Giants
The Giants are not a high powered team. LA took advantage of 3 errors to score 3 unearned runs in this one. Pete O'Brien and Mike Schmidt added 2 hits each and Downs (1-0) went 7 while striking out 8. Tekulve pitched the final 2 innings to preserve the shutout.


The team makes a tremendous, controversial move by claiming Astros OF Todd Benzinger off of waivers. Benzinger hit .310 with 16 HR's and 82 RBI's last year. He was even Rookie of the Month for August. To put him on the roster, the team options Pete Inkaviglia, our own, slugging rookie. Does Inky deserve this demotion in favor of Benzinger though?


4/7 5-0 W over the Braves
Tanana (1-0) allowed 5 hits over 8 innings and LA got it's first homer of the season, from Von Hayes (1). LA cracked 11 hits, with Winfield getting 3 of them. Only O'Brien and Tanana failed to get a hit in this one. LA is off to a good start. Every game counts.


Former Dodger starting first basemen, Sid Bream, was claimed by the Royals when LA put him on waivers.


4/8 9-4 W over the Braves
Make it 4 to start the year. Richard Dotson (1-0) went 7, allowing 2 runs, but the bigger news was the major league debut of Tom Glavine for the Braves. Glavine had a very rough outing. In his 6 innings of work, he allowed 10 hits, 3 HR's and 7 runs altogether. The Dodgers offense was powered by Ozzie, who went 4-5 and hit his first HR (1) in over a year and a half. Rickey also homered (1) along with Mike Schmidt's first.


4/9 7-6 L to the Braves
Well there goes the streak. The teams combined for 34 hits in a still brisk 3 hour and 4 minute game. LA had jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 3, but Bryn Smith couldn't hold it. Rickey and Scioscia both had 3 hits each. Dave Winfield homered for the first time this year (1). LA had the tying run at third with 2 out. Ozzie walked and was picked off of first base to end the game with Larry Parrish at the plate. Frank DiPino (0-1) took the loss and the Braves Randy Johnson got his first career win (1-0).


4/10 2-1 W over the Braves
Kelly Downs (2-0) stuck out 11 in 8, and allowed his first run of the season. Down 1-0 in the 9^th, Surhoff lead off with an infield single, then took second on a bad throw. Rickey then knocked a base hit up the middle and Surhoff came around to score. Henderson took second on the fielders choice. Von Hayes would knock Henderson in to take the lead. Franco pitched the 9^th for his first save of the year. Zane Smith threw 8 shut out innings for the Braves.


LA commits to Pete O'Brien as he signs a very affordable 2-yr/1.1M extension. It's a 120k raise from his current salary.


4/12 10-1 W over the Padres
Frank Tanana (2-0) only needed 84 pitches to decimate the Padres, who are the first good team that we've played this season. Tanana went the distance, but raised his ERA to 0.53. LA put the game away in the 3^rd inning when they loaded the bases and Mike Schmidt cleared them for his 2^nd of the year. Only Ricky failed to get a hit. The controversy continues and Inky, who had just been called up, pinch hit in the 9^th and promptly reminded everyone just who he is when he hit it out of the park (1) to add insult to injury for the Padres.


Roy Smalley was activated from the DL. To make room for him, Jim Morrison was placed on waivers and designated, in what has to be a giant kick in the pants as it's the 2^nd time it's happened to him by LA. The team also recalled Inky and placed Benzinger on waivers and designated him. He's already been claimed.


4/13 4-1 L to the Padres
Dotson (1-1) pitched well enough today and went the distance, but we ran into a buzz saw in Jimmy Key (1-1) who allowed 3 hits all day, while striking out 9. Winfield had 2 of them, which is hard to win when nobody else gets on.


4/14 5-2 W over the Padres
Bryn Smith (1-0) pitched strong, while the Dodgers cranked out 10 hits. Dave Winfield hit #2 to put LA up. LA committed 3 errors, which is the worst fielding performance on the season. Franco pitched the last 2 innings to get his 2^nd save of the year.


Todd Benzinger heads to Baltimore after the Orioles claim him off of waivers.


4/15 5-0 L to the Braves
Zane Smith (1-1) has had a long history of casual dominance of the Dodgers. Today, he was to exceptionally dominant today. He went 7, and allowed only 3 hits. Not a single Dodger got to 2^nd base the entire game. Kelly Downs (2-1) pitched a really good game, but he made a bad throw on a ball in the 7^th and that opened the door for all 5 runs the Braves scored.


4/16 4-1 L to the Braves
Back to back losses for the first time this season. LA wasted 10 hits and just couldn't get runs across. Fernando had major control issues walking 7 in 5.2 innings. Winfield, Schmidt and Templeton all had a pair of hits. Winfield the only extra base hit of the day.


4/17 7-3 W over the Braves
Frank Tanana (3-0) pushes himself and this team through another game. Tanana struck out 7 in 7.1 innings. Garry Templeton knocked in 3. Pete O'Brien, Winfield and Hayes all had a couple of hits each. The big question is what happens to Ozzie Smith who was injured on the last play of the game.


4/18 7-3 L to the Padres
Jimmy Key (2-1) silences Dodger bats in a complete game win. Richard Dotson (1-2) takes the loss after giving up a bases loaded double to Matt Williams in the 6^th. LA scored it's first run after relief pitcher, John Denny doubled and then scored on a Surhoff sac fly. LA failed to capitalize on 3 Padre errors.


4/19 12-1 W over the Padres
It would be easy to look at all the hitting and overlook the start by Bryn Smith (2-0) but we shouldn't. He went the distance and struck out 8 along the way. Great job. Now, the hitting. Stunningly BJ Surhoff went 0-6. HA! So yeah, Winfield went 4-4, scored 4 runs. Pete O'Brien hit his first and Von Hayes hit #2. LA torched poor Paul Kilgus (0-3) and his manager just left him out there. Kilgus served up 12 hits, 5 walks and 10 runs in 3.2 innings. He threw 104 pitches. Good god.


Ozzie Smith was diagnosed with Shoulder Tendinitis. That will keep him on the sidelines until the end of May it looks like. In response, the team reinstated Jim Morrison. He will play 2B and Garry Templeton will move over and cover shortstop.


4/20 13-3 L to the Padres
Turn about is fair play I suppose. The Padres scored 4 in the 6^th and 6 in the 7^th to rout LA. Neither Downs (2-2) nor Denny in relief were effective today. The lone highlight was Surhoff going 3-4 and scoring 2 of our runs. The game, embarrassingly enough, ended on a strikeout/throwout double play.


4/21 6-1 W over the Padres
Fernando does it again. Valenzuela (1-0) pitches 8 strong and looks like his old self today, striking out 6, walking 2. Franco pitched a scoreless 9^th. LA had 0 extra base hits, but both Henderson and Hayes went 2-4 in the game.


4/22 7-1 W over the Giants
Tanana (4-0) keeps on rolling throwing 99 pitches, allowing 4 hits, striking out 6, while cruising to a win over the hapless Giants. Von Hayes lead off the game with his 3^rd homer and Jim Morrison hit his first in the 4^th. LA got 2 hits each from Rickey, Winfield, and O'Brien. We were helped by 4 Giant errors.


4/23 5-2 L to the Giants
Richard Dotson (1-3) was recently demoted to the 5 slot and serves up 3 in the first. LA can't come back. Rob Deer crushes 2 HR's (4,5). Inky goes 3-4 in the loss. Frank DiPino with another shaky showing in relief.


4/24 15-2 W over the Giants
Things got weird in this one. As in, the game was over at 6-2 in the 9^th, then LA decided to put up 9 more. That included Inky (2) and Smalley (1) going deep, back to back. BJ Surhoff stole 2^nd and 3^rd, while up by 12 runs. Kent Tekulve scored a run after he reached on an error. Pete O'Brien went 5-5. Winfield had 4, and LA still left the bases loaded in the 9^th and left 10 guys on for the game. Bryn Smith (3-0) got the W.


4/26 5-3 W over the Cubs
Kelly Downs ( 3-2) fell behind 2-0 in the first and LA scrapped to keep up. Downs and Cone combined to go 3-5 in the batters box. Winfield homered for the 4^th time, a solo shot. LA got a go ahead RBI on a Pete O'Brien single in the 7^th. Morrison and Scioscia both added 2 hits, and Franco pitched the 8^th and 9^th for his 3^rd save of the year. Ricky has 15 steals in 20 games.


4/27 6-5 (13) W over the Cubs
Frank DiPino, who had come on in the 13^th, hit a bases loaded double with 2 outs to sent the teams home for the night. For DiPino, it was only his 2^nd career hit and the first RBI of his career. Schmidt homered in the 2^nd. That gives him 3 on the year and 497 for his career. Rickey, Hayes, and Schmidt all had 3 hits. Tanana, went 8 in the start, but gave up 3 in the first on Paul O'Neil's 3^rd of the season.


4/28 5-1 W over the Cubs
Fernando strikes out 7, in 7.2 innings and nails down his 2^nd win of the year (2-0). LA fell behind early, but a 3 run 5^th, lead by a 2-run shot by Pete O'Brien (2) and a solo shot from Garry Templeton (1) put LA up for good. Franco pitched the last 4 outs to secure his 4^th save.


4/29 3-0 L to the Cardinals
Mike Morgan (2-2) dominates LA. Morgan is one of the lowest winning percentages among active players, but tonight he was on fire. Bryn Smith lowers his ERA to 2.89, but his record drops to 3-1. Schmidt and Morrison both had a couple hits.


Richard Dotson was designated and placed on waivers. John Denny was promoted to the rotation and Ken Howell was brought up from Albuquerque to take his place. Denny is scheduled to make the next start. Dotson is 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA.


4/30 5-2 L to the Cardinals
John Denny (0-1) gets the start, gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings. There was nothing but 0's on the board until the 6^th when Mell Hall opened the game up (5) with a 2-run shot. Brunansky smacked his 3^rd right after as they went back to back. Schmidt went 3-4 and scored twice. Ken Howell got his first ML work of the year and Jim Beattie threw 2 scoreless.