SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: Winners of four straight, the Giants make their first visit to Dodger Stadium this year… SF went 1-8 last year here at Chavez Ravine, with their lone win coming on September 5…after this weekend, the Giants won’t be back here in LA until September 21-24 on their last road trip of the season.
HEY SIRI, CANCEL MY DINNER RESERVATION: ESPN announced earlier today the selection of SF’s game at New York-NL on June 2 as part of their Sunday Night Baseball coverage…the game time has been changed from 1:40 p.m. ET to 7:10pm ET.
NEW LEVEL UNLOCKED: SF enters today at a season-best four games above .500…the Giants’ 36-32 record marks their first time four games above .500 since July 21 of last season, when they dropped their first game after the All-Star break here at Dodger Stadium to finish the day with a 48-44 record.
MASTERFUL MONTH: The Giants enter play today having won 19 of their last 28 games (.679) dating to May 15, the best winning percentage in the Majors in that stretch ahead of Arizona and Miami (both at 18-10, .643).
GOING THE DISTANCE: The Giants homered nine times in their last three-game set here at Chavez Ravine from Sept. 5-7… the nine homers were their second-most in any three-game road series vs. the Dodgers behind their 11 HRs on July 6-8, 1954 and their most since moving out West…SF homered five times in their sole win in the series opener on September 5, matching their most in any road game against LA (Stats, LLC).
KEEP THEM IN THE YARD: The Giants have allowed just 29.9% (46 of 154) of their runs from home runs since the beginning of May, the lowest figure in the NL…in contrast, the Dodgers’ offense has scored over half of their runs (50.2%) via homes in the same span, third-highest in the NL (Stats, LLC).
TRAVEL EXPERTS: The Giants have gone 11-2 in their last 13 road games since May 22, outscoring their opponents 81-43 (+38)…their .864 road winning % in that stretch is second-best in MLB behind Arizona (7-1, .875)…SF enters today 18-15 away from Oracle Park and has won six straight road games after sweeping both Colorado and St. Louis in its last two road series.
‘PENMANSHIP: The Giants success on the road since May 22 is partly due to their bullpen, who’s boasting 0.90 ERA (6er, 60.0ip) away from home in that stretch with a .133 opposing average and 73 strikeouts while converting all nine save opportunities.
MASHING MATOS: OF Luis Matos singled in his first Major League at-bat on Wednesday to record his first career hit… he became one of the youngest Giants players to achieve the milestone in the last 40 seasons according to Stats, LLC (see chart below)…Matos is the second-youngest player to record their first career hit this season behind STL’s Jordan Walker (20 years, 312 days old).
LOS ANGELES DODGERS NOTES:
LET’S START A STREAK: The Dodgers won in dramatic fashion last night, claiming their fourth walk-off win of the season with a 5-4, 11-inning-victory over the White Sox in the rubber match of their three-game series. The win snaps a three-series losing streak and improves the club’s record in extra innings to a perfect 3-0. The Dodgers are 12-9-1 in their 22 series this season and have a 5-7 record in the month of June. Tonight, the Dodgers welcome in the third-place Giants to Chavez Ravine for the first of three games as San Francisco makes their first visit to Dodger Stadium this season. Following Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. matinee on Father’s Day, the Boys in Blue will have an off day Monday and then hit the road for a trip down the I-5 for two games in Anaheim vs. the Angels on Tuesday and Wednesday. Following another off day on Thursday, June 22, the club will host the Houston Astros from June 23-25. The Dodgers are in second place in the National League West, 2.0 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. Los Angeles is 22-11 (.667) at Dodger Stadium this season, which is the best home record in the National League. The Dodgers hold the third best record in the National League, behind the Atlanta Braves (.623) and Arizona Diamondbacks (.594). This evening at Dodger Stadium is the 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night, sponsored by Blue Shield of California. The Dodgers and Giants will both wear on-field Pride hats and the special caps will be sold at the Top of the Park and the Left Field Team stores while supplies last. Fans who purchased the special ticket pack will receive a commemorative LGBTQ+ Dodger game jersey. Following the game, there will be a drone show, presented by California Pizza Kitchen.
EXTRA, EXTRA!: The Dodgers climbed back from a 4-0 hole thanks to a sixth-inning grand slam by Chris Taylor and then walked-off the White Sox in the 11th frame on a bases-loaded single by Freddie Freeman. The recently maligned Dodger bullpen stepped up in a big way, firing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing only one hit while striking out nine. Shelby Miller and Evan Phillips each fired 2.0 scoreless frames and Caleb Ferguson tossed a perfect 11th to snap a personal three-game losing streak and record his fourth victory of the season. In addition to the heroics of Taylor and Freeman, Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas collected two hits apiece. Taylor became the first player in Major League history to hit a grand slam for his first and 100th home run. The Virginia native and eighth-year Dodger cracked a grand slam at Chase Field on July 15, 2016 for his first-career homer in just his 11th game with Los Angeles. Betts extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the third inning. He’s hitting .316 (12-for-38) with two homers, seven RBI and eight runs scored during the run. Betts is tied for third in the NL with 53 runs scored and ranks eighth with an .895 OPS.
WE SHEE YOU: Prior to the game, the Dodgers selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Emmet Sheehan and he will get the start tonight in his Major League debut vs. the Giants. Sheehan has been lights out for Double-A Tulsa, going 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA (11 ER/53.1 IP) and 88 strikeouts in 12 starts. He led the Texas League in ERA, strikeouts, batting average against (.131) and WHIP (0.88), while allowing just one run in the month of May (24.2 IP). Last season, he split the season between High-A Great Lakes and Double-A Tulsa, going a combined 7-2 with a 2.91 ERA (22 ER/68.0 IP) and 106 strikeouts. He has been in the Dodger organization since being taken in the sixth round of the 2021 First Year Player Draft out of Boston College and he is a combined 14-3 with a 2.76 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 137 minor league innings.
PROVIDING THE POP: The Dodgers’ offense continues to sizzle, leading the National League in various categories, including runs per game (5.52), runs scored (381), home runs (116), extra-base hits (251) and walks (293) while ranking second in OPS (.784) and slugging (.454).
STEADY FREDDIE: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman went 1-for-5 with his 13th-career walk-off hit and RBI, snapping a rare two-game hitless streak. Freeman is tied with Marcus Semien for second in the Major Leagues with 58 runs scored, trailing just Ronald Acuña Jr. (60). Freeman leads the Major Leagues with 24 doubles and 38 extra-base hits (tied with Shohei Ohtani) and is third in batting average (.328) and total bases (155). He is just seven hits shy of 2,000 for his career.
LONG BALLS: The Dodgers hit their Major League leading 116th home run last night, one more than both the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays. Los Angeles has 19 3+ homer games, which also leads the Majors.
THE OLD WEST: The Dodgers are 12-7 vs. the National League West this season, including a 7-2 mark at Dodger Stadium. Overall, Los Angeles has won five consecutive games vs. division opponents and are 66-29 (.695) against the National League West dating back to last season. The Dodgers have posted nine straight winning seasons against the National League West division, including four 50+ win seasons against their NL West foes (2014, 2019, 2021-22). Since 2014, the Dodgers are 419-249 (.627) against the NL West.
TONIGHT’S STARTER vs. GIANTS: RHP EMMET SHEEHAN (4-1, 1.86 ERA in 12 G, 10 GS in AA)
2023 SEASON NOTES:
- New York native looks to make his Major League debut tonight against the Giants
- Owns a 4-1 record across 12 games (10 starts) with Double-A Tulsa with a 1.86 ERA (11 ER/53.1 IP) with 88 strikeouts and 23 walks…has limited the opposition to a .131/.246/.235 slashline
- He led the Texas League in ERA, strikeouts, batting average against (.131) and WHIP (0.88)
- Currently ranked as the Dodgers’ 13th ranked prospect
VS. GIANTS:
- Will make his Major League debut tonight against San Francisco
