Dodgers almost perfect against Angels, Astros

The Dodgers shut out the Los Angeles Angels twice, won two of three games against the visiting Houston Astros and nearly went undefeated in five games last week.

It was quite the turnaround.

The Dodgers have developed a bad habit this season of blowing leads, ruining quality starts and destroying the confidence of their best pitching prospects.

There was some of that going on in the games against the Angels and the Astros. But the Dodgers came up with some clutch hits, timely offense, and even some much-needed bullpen help to go 4-1 last week.

But the most important play of the weekend was the balk that made Astros reliever Ryne Stanek go ballistic.

The Dodgers were down 7-3 against the Astros in Saturday’s game. They had a 3-0 lead earlier, but it turned into one of those games that the Dodgers like to lose. 

However, the Dodgers scored two runs in the seventh inning to cut the lead in half and scored three runs in the eighth inning to take the lead.

Perhaps these Dodgers are showing signs of life after all.

James Outman hit an RBI double in the eighth inning to tie the score. It was a ground-rule double when the ball got stuck in the fencing in the right field wall. But it was Stanek’s balk that gave the Dodgers the lead. 

When the inning ended, Stanek started yelling at anyone in an umpire uniform. He was thrown out of the game. Astros manager Dusty Baker was thrown out of the game. The Astros were in disarray, and the Dodger fans loved every second of it.

It gave the Dodgers a four-game winning streak and put them in position to go undefeated for the week.

Clayton Kershaw started the winning trend by tossing seven shutout innings against the Angels in Anaheim on Tuesday. He won his ninth game and lowered his ERA to 2.72.

“I just don't see a better competitor out there than Clayton Kershaw,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the Associated Press after Tuesday’s game. “Right now, he's the only one standing from (the rotation on) opening day. For him to realize that, but not put any added pressure on yourself, it's a skill.”

The Dodgers followed Kershaw’s gem with a bullpen game. Brusdar Graterol opened, pitched two innings, and seven relievers held the Angels scoreless. The Angels were shut out only once in their first 74 games and the Dodgers did it to them twice in two days.

To make it even more impressive, the Dodgers beat Shohei Ohtani in the game on Wednesday.

That set up a weekend series against the Astros. 

Rookie Emmet Sheehan started the first game of the series and won the first game of his career. He was the hard-luck pitcher in his first start against the San Francisco Giants last week. He was pulled after six innings of no-hit baseball and leading 4-0 only to see the Dodgers blow the lead and lose 6-5 in extra innings.

It was a much different story in Friday’s game against the Astros. 

Sheehan won a nail-biter, 3-2, and benefited from fellow rookie Michael Busch’s RBI double in the fourth inning that gave the Dodgers the lead.

Even though the Dodgers ended the week with a lone loss, they showed plenty of fight. Trailing 4-1 inm Sunday's game, the Dodgers scored three runs in the eighth inning, two on a home run by Will Smith, and tied the score. The game went into extra innings and the Dodgers lost 6-5 in 11 innings. But they made the Astros earn every run.

Dodgers starting pitching power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Emmet Sheehan
3. Brusdar Graterol
4. Tony Gonsolin
5. Bobby Miller

The Dodgers (43-34), still in third place in the National League West standings, head to Colorado to start a three-game series with the Rockies on Tuesday. The Rockies lost to the Angeles, 25-1, on Saturday, but also won two of three games against the Angels over the weekend. The Dodgers travel to Kansas City for a weekend series against the Royals starting on Friday. 

Dodgers bullpen blows another lead, ruins no-hitter

It was another rough week for the Dodgers.

They went 2-4 and are 4-8 in their past 12 games. They are 12-18 in their past 30 games.

They were swept by the San Francisco Giants for the first time at Dodger Stadium in 11 years.

They dropped to third place in the National League West standings, behind those annoying Arizona Diamondbacks and those surging Giants.

The losses to the Giants over the weekend were historic. They were shutout 15-0 on Saturday, the Dodgers biggest home loss in 125 years. It was the worst loss in Los Angeles Dodgers history since being shut out 18-0 by the Cincinnati Reds in 1965.

To make matters worse, the Pride Night game on Friday drew hundreds of protesters. Catholics and Christians blocked the entrance to the stadium at Sunset Boulevard, but it didn’t affect attendance at the game. An announced crowd of a little over 49,000 was at the game, which honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of cross-dressing nuns who do charity work in Los Angeles and throughout the state, and also drew the ire of Christians nationwide.

Reports of angry protesters at the game were greatly exaggerated. The protesters didn’t get much farther than the parking gates.

The Dodger fans in the stands for the game, however, left more upset than the protesters.

Emmet Sheehan made his major league debut and pitched six no-hit innings before Dodgers manager Dave Roberts took him out and handed the game over to the bullpen.

“It was a special moment he'll remember forever,” Roberts told the Associated Press after the game. “He delivered. It was fun to watch. We made some nice plays behind him. I wish we could have ended it with a win.”

Roberts isn’t the only one who wishes the Dodgers could have won the game for Sheehan.

Sheehan left with a 4-0 lead. The Giants scored two runs in the seventh-inning on a two-run home run by Wilmer Flores. They scored three runs in the eighth inning to take a 5-4 lead before the Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score and send the game to extra innings.

But the Giants scored two runs in the top of the 11th inning to break the tie. The game ended on a wild play in the bottom of the 11th inning.

With Michael Busch on second base and one out, Mookie Betts hit an infield pop up that the Giants let drop near the mound. The throw to first base ended up in right field and Betts sped around the bases to third.

But Busch stopped midway between third base and home on the errant throw and was caught in a rundown. Betts and Busch both ended up at third base with Busch being tagged for the second out in the inning. 

Instead of scoring a run and cutting the lead to 7-6 with a runner at third and one out, the Dodgers still trailed 7-5 with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Miguel Rojas grounded out to end the game.

It wasn’t the first time the Giants ruined a no-hit bid by a Dodgers pitcher.

In 2016, Ross Stripling took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Giants only for the Dodgers to lose 3-2 in 10 innings.

The Dodgers bullpen in 2023 is developing a bad habit of blowing leads and ruining quality starts. But the game on Friday night was particularly painful.

Dodgers starting pitching power rankings:

1. Tony Gonsolin
2. Emmet Sheehan
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. Michael Grove
5. Bobby Miller

The Dodgers (39-33) start a two-game series in Anaheim against the Angels on Tuesday and host the Houston Astros for a weekend series starting on Friday.

Dodgers pitching problems prove to be troublesome

 

The Dodgers dropped two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds, dropped two of three games against the Philadelphia Phillies and dropped out of first place in the National League West standings.

It was a rough week for the Dodgers.

They went 2-4 in six games on the road. Their pitchers are also dropping like flies. Noah Syndergaard was the latest Dodgers pitcher to land on the injured list, depleting an already thin Dodgers rotation.

He joined Julio Urias and Dustin May on the injured list. It’s only a matter of time before Clayton Kershaw heads to the injured list. That leaves the Dodgers using bullpen games, relief pitchers and minor leaguers to fill the gaps.

One of those minor leaguers has been a pleasant surprise.

Bobby Miller is doing things as a starter Dodger fans haven’t seen since the days of Kenta Maeda and Fernando Valenzuela.

Miller pitched six shutout innings against the Phillies on Saturday, improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.78. The Dodgers shut out the Phillies 9-0. Fellow rookie Andre Jackson pitched three shutout innings to complete the shutout and earn a save. 

Miller joined Maeda in 2016 as the only Dodger starters since at least 1901 to pitch five or more innings and allow one run or zero runs in each of his first four appearances.

Miller is reminding Dodger fans of Valenzuela, who won his first eight starts and pitched five shutouts in 1981.

“When you play for this club, we’re not about development — we’ve got to win,” Roberts told the Associated Press. “It doesn’t matter the age, the service time — if you’re going out there and performing, then you earn those opportunities.”

Roberts and the Dodgers don’t have much of a choice right now. Miller is definitely making the most of his opportunities. But he wouldn’t have those opportunities if May, Urias and Syndergaard were healthy.

The Dodgers are basically down to three reliable starters: Miller, Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin.

Reliever Victor Gonzalez started the game against the Phillies on Friday. He lasted two-thirds of an inning before giving way to Michael Grove.

The Dodgers kept it close, but the Phillies won the game in the ninth inning on a walk-off home run by Kyle Schwarber, a .177 hitter by the end of the weekend. Caleb Ferguson gave up the game-winning home run to Schwarber and the Phillies won 5-4.

The Dodgers used eight pitchers in the game against the Phillies on Sunday. That strategy didn’t work either with the Dodgers losing 7-3. This time Ferguson started and gave up a run on three hits in his one inning of work.

The Reds won their two games in walk-off fashion against the Dodgers. The Reds scored three runs in the ninth inning to win 9-8 on Tuesday. Matt McClain drove in the winning run with an RBI single off — guess who – Ferguson.

Will Benson hit a walk-off home run for the Reds against the Dodgers on Wednesday. The Reds won that game, 8-6, after the Dodgers blew a four-run lead.

The Dodgers are definitely going through a rough patch and are now 3.5 games behind those annoying Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West standings.

Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Bobby Miller
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Tony Gonsolin
4. Victor Gonzalez
5. Noah Syndergaard

The Dodgers (37-29) start a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Gonsolin is scheduled to start the first game. Maybe the Dodgers can start the homestand on a winning note. The San Francisco Giants come to LA to start a three-game weekend series on Friday. The Friday night game is Pride Night at Dodger Stadium.  

Dodgers-Yankees rivalry is one for the history books

The Dodgers lost two of three games to the New York Yankees over the weekend reviving a rivalry that started in the 1940s.

After winning the first game of the weekend series at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers lost the next two. Sunday’s game was a heartbreaking 4-1 loss behind a masterful performance by Dodgers rookie starter Bobby Miller.

He pitched six scoreless innings giving up only one hit and struck out seven. He became the first Dodger starter since at least 1901 to give up only one hit in a game in his first three starts. He left the game after the sixth inning with the score tied 0-0.

The Yankees scored three runs in the final two innings to break a 1-1 tie and win the game.

The series included eight home runs by the Yankees and an incredible catch by Aaron Judge who broke through the bullpen fence in right field after catching a line drive off of JD Martinez in the eighth inning of Saturday’s game.

The Dodgers and Yankees have played in 11 World Series. The first time was in 1941. The Yankees won in five games. The Dodgers and Yankees met four more times in the World Series, with the Yankees winning five times in a row. The Dodgers finally broke the Yankees streak in 1955 with a team that included Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. 

The Dodgers won only three of the World Series they played against the Yankees. The second time was in 1963. The third time was in 1981, the last time the Dodgers and Yankees played each other in the World Series. The rivalry has become more of a regular season affair since interleague play started.

When I was in sixth grade, and the Dodgers were in the World Series against the Yankees in 1981, the Dodgers helped me get out of history homework for almost the entire year.

My sixth-grade history teacher, Mrs. Dent at Pinecrest Elementary School in Van Nuys, assigned us to keep a timeline in the classroom. It was a string of current and news events she posted on note cards in the classroom. We were supposed to bring in one a week for all of sixth grade.

Mrs. Dent was from New York and a proud Yankees fan. When the Yankees won the first game of the World Series in 1981, she brought in her own card that read, “Yankees win World Series.” I challenged her. The Yankees only won Game 1. They did not indeed win the World Series, just one game.

She refused to believe me and kept up the card in the timeline.

When the Yankees won Game 2, and she realized the Yankees had to win four games to win the World Series, she took the card down.

I made a deal with her. I said if the Dodgers win the World Series, I wouldn’t have to add to the timeline for the rest of the year. My last contribution would be “Dodgers win World Series.” If the Yankees won, she could put her card back up and I would go back to adding weekly news events to the timeline.

The Dodgers won the next four games in a row and their fifth World Series in franchise history. And I didn’t have to do that history homework assignment for the rest of the year.

Dodgers starting pitcher power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. Bobby Miller
3. Tony Gonsolin
4. Michael Grove
5. Noah Syndergaard

The Dodgers (35-25) are tied with those annoying Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West standings. The Dodgers are in Cincinnati to start a three-game series against the Reds on Tuesday. They move on to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the Phillies over the weekend.

Saugus High Marching Centurions shine in rainy Memorial Day parade

It literally rained on the National Memorial Day parade in Washington, D.C., on Monday, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the Saugus High School band and color guard.

Through the raindrops, the Saugus High Marching Centurions joined the Memorial Day ceremonies in the traditional parade down Constitution Avenue and the National Mall.

About 70 members of the band and color guard marched proudly with their parents and families watching and marching alongside them.

“I loved that I was able to do this for my band, with my band for the country,” senior drum major Raquel Atilano said. “It was just a great experience for all of us.”

It was the pinnacle of a Memorial Day weekend in the nation’s capital for the Saugus High band members and families. It included trips to the White House, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court and Arlington National Cemetery.

It was at Arlington National Cemetery where the band members paid tribute to the American soldiers who died in times of war and conflict at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was a sobering reminder of why Memorial Day is celebrated in America. It gave some of the kids a deeper appreciation of the significance of the day and it made participating in the ceremonies in Washington, D.C., all the more significant.

Band director Bob Grigas said the visit to Arlington National Cemetery made the students “very solemn, very serious.” 

“They said it was an incredible experience,” Grigas said. “They didn’t realize how big everything was. The history, how long it took people to create what we’ve created. They said they have more of an appreciation for everything that they do and everything that they have.” 

The trip to Washington, D.C. created memories that will last a lifetime. Visiting historic monuments and landmarks was only part of it. Playing a Smash Bros. tournament the first night at the hotel in Virginia was another.

Junior Rodrigo Del Rio, who will be a drum major for the band next year, said he liked visiting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. 

“It was very different than all the other buildings in D.C.,” Del Rio said. “It’s not actually one building. It’s almost a more natural thing, there’s a bunch of small waterfalls and stuff and quotes from Roosevelt carved into the surface of the rocks. It’s very peaceful.”

One quote that stood out for Del Rio was from Roosevelt’s Arsenal of Democracy speech given in the early months of World War II. It was in 1940, before the United States entered the war. But it was also to urge Americans to support the countries in Europe fighting for democracy and supplying them with the arsenal to do so.

"We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Atilano said she enjoyed visiting the Lincoln Memorial. 

“It was really beautiful, especially at night,” she said.  

The day before the parade, the band visited the White House, Lafayette Square, the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial. The band ended the day in a music clinic with Col. Dennis Layendecker, the conductor of the United States Air Force band and orchestra.

“Everyone was just laser focused on the colonel, and giving such great information to the kids that they came up to me afterwards and said I want to change some things,” Grigas said.

Del Rio said he learned how to be a better conductor after watching and listening to Col. Layendecker.

“I was assuming it would be a lot of intonation stuff,” Del Rio said. “For me, because I’m going to be drum major next year, something that really stood out to me, when he was talking to Raquel about conducting, he was telling her, don’t just keep time the whole time. Use some expressions, show them dynamics, cue them in.”

The day of the parade, the band toured the U.S. Capitol and visited the Supreme Court before heading to the National Mall for the parade. While warming up and preparing to march, it started to rain. It was definitely a soggy start to the parade.

As the band made its way to the end of the parade route, it started to pour. The harder it rained, the louder the bands played. Some of the band members said it took on a rave feel, with music and dancing in the rain. One of the bands from Michigan started playing and others joined in keeping the music going well after the parade ended.

“We ended up very drenched,” Atilano said. “They have an incredible brass section and they just kind of went crazy after the parade. We were hyping them up. We were listening, dancing with them. The drum major was dancing. It was really fun.”

Soaked by the rain and the holiday ceremonies, the Saugus High band finished the day with dinner at the Catholic University Pryzbyla Student Center.

It was a comforting end to a packed weekend of sightseeing and Memorial Day activities. Before the parade, Grigas said he wanted the band to enjoy every minute of it. 

“We’re just going to have a good time and have some fun,” Grigas said. “We’ve been preparing for this for a long time and I’m ready for them to rock out.”