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Old 06-22-2018, 01:40 PM   #153
PilotMan
Head Coach
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Seven miles up
Royals catcher Carlton Fisk hit his 300th career HR. The 40yr old signed a 2 year deal after playing in Baltimore the last couple seasons. He's been coming off the bench this season.


7/1 5-4 W over the Cubs
LA scored in the first 3 innings, going up 4-0 with Kelly Downs on the mound. The Cubs fought back though, and in the 8th off of Niedenfuer (1-0) they tied it up. In the bottom of the 8th LA got the lead again on a sac fly from Ronald King that scored Schmidt. Speaking of Schmidt. He was good. He went 3-4 with an RBI and a run. Franco pitched the 9th for this 14th save. Winfield was ejected in the first after arguing a strikeout. He stormed back and bumped the ump, so we expect him to be out for a couple days at least.


Winfield will miss 2 games with a suspension.


7/2 9-4 W over the Cubs
Ken Caminiti crushed a 3-run HR (5) in the 2nd inning to give LA a good lead. He would go on to hit 4-3 with 4 RBI's. Pete O'Brien went 3-5 with 2 more RBI's. Tanana (9-6) pitched well, as he allowed 9 hits over 7.1 innings. He was hurt by a couple errors, one of his own making. Dwayne Murphy started in center and left after making a diving catch.


The Chicago White Sox made one of the most controversial and possibly dumbest moves ever in recent history. The first place White Sox, with a record of 52-30 and a half game ahead of the Rangers in the AL West, designated Joe Carter for assignment and placed him on waivers. Carter, 28, is a 2-time All Star, and Silver Slugger winner last year. He hit 51 HR's and had 133 RBI's last season, while batting .310. Carter had signed a 6-yr extension to stay in Chicago and filled an outfield with young Barry Bonds and Harold Baines. Baines was lost for the year earlier, and Carter lead the team with 17 HR's. Carter was then picked up by the Yankees, who are in third in the NL East, 2.5 games behind the Blue Jays. The Yankees are 13th in the AL in HR's and getting Carter for free, locked into a cheap 6 year contract, is a huge steal. IT's a big boner for the White Sox. No idea what they were thinking.


7/3 10-2 L to the Cubs
Hard to believe that this was 0-0 after 6. Valenzuela (4-9) takes the loss, but pitches better than most of his recent starts. Today it was the bullpen that just gave it all away. Tekulve gave up 2 HR's and he and Denny combined to allow 8. Larry See and Schmidt had 2 hits each. Schmidt homered in the 9th (9).


Von Hayes was activated off the DL. Jennings was optioned back to the minors. Dwayne Murphy will be alright. He has a thumb bruise and won't go on the DL.


7/4 2-1 W over the Cardinals
LA hosted the Cardinals for Independence Day Fireworks, and found themselves in a pitchers dual between Bryn Smith and Oil Can Boyd. Both pitchers combined for 15 innings and 8 hits allowed. The Cards scored first on a Smith balk in the 5th. LA tied it in the 8th and in the 9th, on the 4th pitch from Jerry Don Gleaton (4-2), Pete O'Brien tagged one over the right field wall (10) to walk off with a win (and fireworks). Franco, pitched the 9th and ran his record to 2-1.


7/5 7-1 W over the Cardinals
The wins are coming in bunches as LA is heating up for real. Mike Schmidt goes 3-4 and LA gets home runs from Von Hayes (10), Rickey (8), Winfield (13) and pinch hitting Inky (5). Getting the start for LA was Jim Beattie (1-0) who started his first game in over 2 years. He pitched 7.1 innings and struck out 5. He's taken John Denny's spot in the rotation.


Catcher Stan Holmes was claimed off of waivers from the Orioles. To make room, backup catcher Larry See (2-4 in 1 start) was designated and placed on waivers. I guess See should hope he gets picked up because the team doesn't look like they think he's got anything to give. Holmes is a 28 yr old player who also plays corner infield and all outfield positions. He was a minor league MVP and 2-time Gold Glover in '83 and '84. He has 112 career at bats, and a career .232/.265/.402 slash line. Mike Scioscia might be back the end of this month, and Surhoff is done until the very end of the year, if he's lucky. LA is the 4th team to claim Holmes off of waivers in his career.


7/6 4-1 W over the Cardinals
Caminiti goes 3-3 and a big solo homer by O'Brien (11) in the 7th put LA up for good in this one. Kelly Downs (9-4) pitched 7 and struck out 6 to get the win. Franco pitched the 8th and 9th for his 15th save of the year. Mike Morgan (7-5) pitched well for the Cardinals.


Garry Templeton was designated and placed on waivers today. He batted .239/2/18 in limited time at second and short. Taking his place is Curtis Wilkerson, who was playing in Albuquerque. Wilkerson had been starting for the Mets, when LA picked him off the waiver wire. He's a solid middle infielder with good speed. He was also a starter for the Rangers for 3 years.


7/8 3-2 (12) L to the Pirates
LA took a lead into the 9th but the Pirates got to Franco and tied it up. His 3rd blown save of the season. Mike Scott and Frank Tanana both pitched great, but the Bucs pen did a better job. Rickey stole his 47th base in 85 games. Mike Schmidt homered in the 5th to give LA the lead. His 10th on the season. Niedenfuer (1-1) only allowed 1 hit in 2 innings, but it was was Chili Davis's 16th on the year that was the winning margin. The Pirates lost 3 players in the game to injury (Denny Gonzalez, Rafael Ramirez and Mike Henneman).


7/9 3-1 W over the Pirates
Juan Guzman pitched so well again for the Pirates. He went 7, striking out 7 and allowing 4 hits. Bryn Smith was almost as good, going 7 and striking out 7, but Guzman singled in the only run for the Pirates. In the 9th , closer Tom Henke (5-3) came on to close it out. Nearly untouchable, Henke allowed a lead off single to Ronald King. Dwayne Murphy came on to pinch hit and beat out an infield single. Von Hayes came up next, with 0 outs, and smashed a forkball over the right field fence to give LA the win (11). Henderson stole #48. Kent Tekulve (4-0) pitched 2 scoreless for the win.


The All Star game rosters were announced today. Rickey Henderson will start in left. He's the only Dodger starter on the team. It's his 4th All Star game apperance. LA only had 1 other player selected to the team this year and that was closer John Franco. Franco has 15 saves, and a 1.05 ERA in 43 innings. It's his 2nd All Star game selection.


7/10 8-7 L to the Pirates
Fernando (4-10) was rolling along, had a 4-3 lead and for some reason, Lasorda, in his infinite wisdom decided to send him out for the 8th inning. Things went south in a hurry and the bases were soon loaded. Valenzuela walked the tying run in and then followed that by serving up a grand slam to the not very dangerous Jim Lindeman (3). Lindeman is hitting .176 and that was his 3rd career HR. Down 8-4 in the bottom half LA answered by putting 2 on and their own pinch hitter, Pete Incaviglia bashed the answer over the left field wall (6). LA down by 1 put a runner on third, but they couldn't get him home.


All Star Break


7/12 6-1 W for the AL
AL Catcher and 4-time All Star, Ernie Whitt was named the MVP for today's All Star Game. Whitt went 2-3 and clubbed a solo homer in the 4th inning off of the Reds Jack Morris. Gary Carter homered for the NL, giving them their only run in the 3rd inning. Of the Dodger players, only Ricky got in the game. He started in left and lead off, going 0-2 with 2 walks.


Bob Welch was just sent from the Royals to the Yankees for Otis Nixon and Ken Hill. Welch has a year and a half left on his contract.


The Royals keep making moves by getting OF Jessie Barfield from the Rangers for relivers Steve Farr and Rob Dibble. Barfield was in the first year of a 5 year deal after coming over from the Blue Jays in the offseason.


7/14 6-3 W over the Cubs
LA jumped out with 3 in the first, thanks to a 2-run HR from Dave Winfield (14). Schmidt went 3-4 with an RBI and Ozzie added another 2 hits. David Cone (7-7) had a rough outing for the Cubs. While Bryn Smith (10-7) struck out 7 in 6.2 innings. Franco went another 2 innings for his 16th save. Franco dropped his ERA back below 1 (0.98).


7/15 9-3 W over the Cubs
LA scored 6 in the 7th and broke the game open. It was a bases loaded double from Von Hayes that helped them along. Backup catcher, Stan Holmes added 3 RBI's. The Cubs had 13 hits to the Dodgers 10. Kelly Downs (10-4) allowed 9 of them over 6 innings. John Denny pitched 3 innings for his first save of the year.


Dave Stieb throws the first no-hitter of 1988. The Twins pitcher, and 3 time 20 game winner had 2 sub par seasons for the Twins, but this year he's 11-6, with a 2.46 ERA. The Baltimore Orioles couldn't do anything. Stieb walked 2, but only faced 28 batters. The last No-No was Doc Gooden in July of 1987.


7/16 4-2 (10) W over the Cubs
A Von Hayes solo home run in the 10th (12) lifted the LA Dodgers to another win today. LA got 8 innings from Tanana who didn't figure in the decision. LA had lead for most of the game but a Glenn Wilson HR (7) in the 7th tied it up. LA got 3 hits from Schmidt. Tekulve got the win (5-0) and Franco pitched the 10th for his 17th save.




The LA Dodgers are now 10 games above .500, but are still 8 games behind the Astros.


No rumors yet as we work our way to the trade deadline.


7/17 5-4 L to the Cubs
We still win the series. Four hitters get 2 hits each, but Valenzuela (4-11) allowed 10 hits and all 5 runs in 6 innings. He loses again, or the offense failed to pick him up again. The Cubs saw rookie Bobby Thigpen make his major league debut in the 9th. He walked 1, but notched his first save of his career.


Garry Templeton was given his unconditional release from the team. He batted .239/.253/.347 and filled in at short for Smith when he was down. Ultimately, it was the rise of Ken Caminiti at second base that cost him his job.


7/19 DH Game 1 4-3 W over the Cardinals
Bryn Smith (11-7) goes 8 innings and could've finished the game, he was that on. LA got a go ahead run in the 6th inning when Ozzie hit his 2nd HR of the year against his former team. Franco got into some trouble in the 9th after Mell Hall cracked a 2-run HR off of him to cut the lead to 1, but he got pinch hitter, Tom Pagnozzi, to ground into a double play with the tying run on third. Franco earns his 18th save.


7/19 DH Game 2 3-2 (16) L to the Cardinals
Let's just call this Tom Pagnozzi's revenge. Game 2 of the doubleheader he homered (3) in the third to put the Cards up. He doubled 3 times, including with the bases loaded in the 16th to send everyone home. He would finish the game 4-6, with 3 RBI's. In 16 innings LA only could get 8 hits (only 1 in the final 6 innings). Jim Beattie started, went 6. Pitched fine. Frank DiPino threw 4.2 scoreless innings in what had to be his longest outing of his career. It was Don Robinson (0-2) who couldn't lock it down in the 16th and let the Cards have it. Dave Winfield had to leave after making a catch in the outfield.


Bert Blyleven, who is having a helluva comeback year after he signed a 1-year deal for a very economical 240k, picked up his 250th career win.


7/20 3-1 W over the Cardinals
Von Hayes hit a 2-run HR in the first (13) to take the lead, and it took until the 8th inning before anyone else other than Hayes or Smith got a hit. Ozzie went 3-4 and scored twice. Kelly Downs (11-4) allowed 3 hits over 8 and didn't allow a hit until the 5th. John Franco pitched the 9th for his 19th save.


7/21 3-0 L to the Pirates
Despite getting 9 hits LA couldn't break through against rookie Melido Perez (4-3). Catcher Ronald King went 2-3 with 2 SB's and that was the top player for us. There was a big issue early on though, Frank Tanana left the game in the 2nd inning with some sort of injury. There's no update on his condition. LA did bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th with only 1 out, but couldn't get any in.


Ken Howell was activated from the DL and in a shocking move the team not only optioned Tom Niedenfuer back to Albuquerque, they put him on waivers and designated him. The team has room on the 40-man, they didn't need to do this. A 4-time All Star and Rolaids Reliver of the Year in 1984, we're not far removed from his glory days. He's only 28 with 2 years left on his contract.


7/22 4-3 L to the Pirates
We lose. In the 9th. After being up thanks to a Mike Schmidt HR (11) in the 9th off of Tom Henke. John Franco (2-2) couldn't lock it down as he blew his 4th save of the year. The worst news of the day, as if that wasn't bad enough, was losing our heart, Fernando Valenzuela to some sort of injury in the 2nd inning. Ken Howell pitched a great 4.1 in relief. We may need him in the rotation depending on how bad those injuries are. Ozzie Smith also left the game with an injury. Ugh. Not a good couple of days.


Ozzie Smith is on the 15 day DL with a groin strain. Curtis Wilkerson will take over at shortstop. Chuck Jackson is called up from AAA to fill the roster spot. Jackson is hitting .330 with 6 HR's and 32 RBI's.


Valenzuela has some shoulder inflammation and the team is concerned. He's going to be out a while. The team puts him on the 60 day DL meaning that at the earliest, it'll be late September before he might be back. Brian Holton is called up from AAA to take his place. Holton pitched in 2 games earlier this year. He has 16 saves for Albuquerque and a 0.93 ERA. Ken Howell is penciled in to replace him in the rotation.


7/23 6-3 (7) L to the Pirates
A rain shortened game that saw the Pirates down the beloved Dodgers. A top prospect, by the name of Jack McDowell (2-0) was getting his 2nd career start today. LA jumped all over him with 3 in the first. The Pirates chipped away at Bryn Smith (11-8) getting 1 in the 4th and 5th and 3 in the 6th. Pete O'Brien had 2 doubles and went 2-3. LA committed 3 errors to help the Pirates out.


And the news is in for Frank Tanana and it's bad. At 35, Tanana has a partially torn UCL in his elbow and that will require some surgery. He's gone to the 60 day and his return won't be until sometime next year, hopefully before the All Star Break. Tanana is in his 5th season with LA and has racked up 63 wins pitching for us. He's been a gopher ball hound, but was in the middle of one of the best seasons in a while. LA has brought up Michael Cunningham from Albuquerque to take his place. No word if he'll go into the rotation or if it will be John Denny returning. Cunningham, 27, is a knuckleballer who made his ML debut last year. In 2 starts he is 0-1 with a 14.04 ERA. This year in Albuquerque he is 5-9 with a 5.54 ERA in 19 starts. He has a career record of 43-82 in AAA. Things are bleak.


7/24 2-1 L to the Pirates
This is 4 straight losses as the Pirates end our great month. Mike Scott (10-8) didn't allow a hit until the 6th inning and despite going 7 strong, Jim Beattie (1-1) just didn't get the support he needed. Leon Durham homered in the first (7) with a runner on and that was all they needed. Old sidewinder Kent Tekulve left the game with an injury, and there's no word on the severity of it. Scott struck out 9.


Niedenfuer was returned to the roster and Holton was optioned back to AAA. Not sure what that was about.


7/25 4-2 W over the Giants
Just what we need! A series against the worst team in baseball. Despite Kelly Downs serving up a leadoff HR to Stan Jefferson (2), LA would come back to win it. Caminiti went 2-4 with a bases clearing double. Von Hayes hit his team leading 14th HR in the 4th and Downs improved to 12-4. Franco closed out the 9th for his 20th save.


News is back on Tekulve and it's as good as we could have hoped for. Just some minor back spasms and he won't need to go on the DL.


The White Sox have lost closer Dennis Eckersley for the year due to elbow surgery. He had 22 saves with a 1.72 ERA in his best season as a converted starter turned closer.


7/26 5-4 W over the Giants
Lasorda went with Cunningham for the start and even though he walked 4, he did leave the game in the 8th with a 3-1 lead and a guy on. Pete O'Brien had given LA the lead with his 12th HR of the season. A Caminiti error and a struggling John Franco (3-2) let the Giants tie the game up, blowing his 5th save of the year. LA would not be denied and got 2 in the top off of Giants closer Dan Plesac. In the 9th Franco's struggles continued and he allowed another hit, before tiring and giving way to Tekulve who was able to shut the door for his 2nd save.


7/27 11-2 W over the Giants
The Giants are bad. I like seeing the team beat them over and over again. Today, the story was the start by Ken Howell (1-0) who went 7 in his first career start, allowed 3 hits, and struck out 7 and the other half of the story is Dodgers #4 catcher, Stan Holmes, claimed off of waivers from Baltimore, with a grand slam in the 4th (2). It was his 5th career dinger. Von Hayes homered in the 9th (15) to keep leading the team.


Mike Scioscia was activated from the DL and is back. Ronald King was designated and placed on waivers. King was a waiver claim from the Braves in April. In 27 games, he batted .179/.309/.205 with 3 SB's. He did catch 57% of baserunners trying to steal. Otherwise, I doubt he'll be missed, let's hope he isn't needed again.


7/29 5-1 W over the Astros
The division leading Astros come to town and Bryn Smith shuts them down over 8 innings to get his 12th win of the year. Rickey homered in the 6th (9) off of starter Tom Candiotti (6-3), as part of a 4 run inning that saw 8 batters come to the plate. Scioscia had 2 hits in his first game back. Dave Winfield left the game after making a diving catch with back pain.


7/30 6-3 L to the Astros
Houston came storming back on us, with a lead off triple by former Dodger, Cecil Espy followed by a balk by Kelly Downs that put Houston up right off the bat. Downs (12-5) was victimized by errors and allowed 5 unearned runs. Downs struck out 6. Kirk McCaskill (7-8) pitched 7 for the win. The bad news on the day though, was Scioscia leaving the game with a back injury. Tough break.


Good news on Scioscia. Tests are negative and he is being treated for tightness. Not going to the DL. Bad news though on Winfield. He's heading to the DL with a herniated disc in his back. Inky will take his place in the lineup. In a surprising move the team has purchased the contract of top prospect OF Lee Stevens from AA San Antonio. Stevens is batting .340/.431/.580 with 20 HR's. Doug Jennings is out with an injury and the team just straight bypassed Tom Beyers, who once again, is having a good year in Albuquerque, but at 30 his time may have passed.


7/31 5-1 L to the Astros
Dale Murphy (17) and Jerry Willard (5) went back to back in the 2nd inning off of our starter Jim Beattie (1-2) as part of a 3 run 2nd inning. That gave the Astos all they would need as starter Greg Swindell (16-2) added another win to his season total. Inky and Scioscia had 2 hits a piece, and also accounted for LA's only run of the day.


The trade deadline passes with no major trades or moves by any team. There were some minor spot filling by the Mets, Yankees and Mariners, but no superstar found a new home. Kind of a surprise, and a little bit of a surprise that LA wasn't involved anywhere.


Ronald King was claimed by the Yankees.
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