Padres Series Starts Friday - Scheduled Autograph Sessions, Pregame Info and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts tomorrow against the San Diego Padres, and several former Dodgers are scheduled for an autograph session with fans.  Below are the scheduled autograph opportunities and other odds and ends for this upcoming homestand.

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Friday, April 29th at 7:10 PM
RHP Cesar Vargas vs. LHP Alex Wood
SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Tonight's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:10 PM.  It is Friday Night Fireworks, so fans will be able to go down onto the field after the game to watch the spectacle.  The evenings fireworks theme will be set to Prince’s greatest hits.

DJ Adam will provide musical entertainment in the right-field plaza and Hair Feathers will be in the left-field plaza from 5:00 PM. to 7:00 PM.  Also, Orel Hershiser will greet fans in the left-field pavilion from 6:40 PM to 7:00 PM (via twitter).

Steelers wide receiver and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Antonio Brown will throw the ceremonial first pitch tomorrow and will also officially start the game with “It’s time for Dodger baseball!” alongside his “Dancing with the Stars” partner Sharna Burgess. Aimee Garcia, known for her role on “The George Lopez Show” and now playing Sergeant Didi Diaz in the new CBS show “Rush Hour,” will perform the national anthem.

The Dodgers will celebrate the 6th annual Catholic Schools Night tomorrow. Dodger broadcaster Nomar Garciaparra, alumnus of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower and St. Mary of the Assumption Elementary School in Whittier, will throw the ceremonial first pitch for Catholic Schools Night. Garciaparra’s high school math teacher, Patrick McMorrow, and St. Mary’s Principal Marisabel Ortiz-Lopez will accompany Garciaparra on the field for the pregame ceremonies. More than 3,000 students, parents and teachers from more than 25 schools throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will be in attendance tomorrow.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Army Sgt. 1st class Alejandro Alatorre of San Bernardino who currently works as an Army recruiter for the Los Angeles battalion. His accolades include a 2008 Southern California Recruiter of the Year award, Combat Action Badge, two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, three Good Conduct Medals, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) conducts silent auctions throughout the season featuring signed pieces of memorabilia from Dodger players, coaches and alumni. Auctions take place behind the Vin Scully press box on the club level. The items up for auction tomorrow include a Clayton Kershaw autographed jersey, Adrian Gonzalez autographed baseball and Yasiel Puig autographed photo.

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Saturday, April 30th at 6:10 PM
RHP Colin Rea vs. RHP Ross Stripling
SNLA / AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Saturday's game starts at 6:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 3:40 PM, and stadium gates open at 4:10 PM.  The first 40,000 fans in attendance will receive a Justin Turner Chia Pet.  See it on the right.

DJ Adam will provide musical entertainment in the right-field plaza, airbrush face painting will be offered in the left-field plaza and the Smokin Cobras band will provide musical entertainment in the right-field reserve from 4:00 PM. to 6:00 PM.

Kevin Barron, 7, who just completed his second treatment for leukemia at Cedars-Sinai, will throw an honorary first pitch. Kevin was 2 years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia at Cedars-Sinai. His cancer returned last year, and he just completed a grueling, three-month round of chemotherapy.

Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, record producer and engineer Eric Bellinger will perform the national anthem.

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Marines E4 Corporal Keith Jenkins of Westchester who has served in the U.S. Marines for 10 years. Jenkins served as part of the Marine Security Detachment assigned to the U.S. Naval Magazine in Guam from 1984-1986. He deployed with 3rd Battalion 7th Marines on West-Pac deployments from 1986-1988. He also served as a marksmanship instructor for marine recruits at Edison Range Camp Pendleton. During Desert Storm, Corporal Jenkins served in the 9th Marine Regiment as part of the S3 in the Regimental Headquarters, providing logistical support as units deployed from Okinawa, Japan.  His accolades include being a 10th award Expert Marksman and receiving the Navy Achievement Medal. Jenkins has worked in fulltime ministry for 20 years and is lead pastor of New LifeLA in Los Angeles.

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Sunday, May 1st at 1:10 PM
LHP Drew Pomeranz vs. LHP Clayton Kershaw
SNLA/AM 570 (Eng.), KTNQ 1020 AM (Span.)

Sunday's game starts at 1:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 10:40 AM, and stadium gates open at 11:10 AM.  The first 15,000 ticketed kids (14 years old or younger) in attendance will receive a kid sized Corey Seager replica jersey.  See it on the left.

It is Viva Los Dodgers in the Dodgers parking lot at the Historic 76 Station.  Festivities begin at 11:10 AM.  Musical entertainment will be provided by Sonsoles and El Tropi Corillo. A classic car show with vehicles provided by the ID agency will also take place Sunday.  De La Hoya will make a special appearance for an on-stage interview at Viva Los Dodgers.  The Dodgers will also present a Community Hero Award to Maria Jimenez-Torres, executive director of Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center.  Dodger alumni Al Ferrara and Kenny Landreaux will sign autographs at Sunday’s Viva Los Dodgers from 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya, who is also a 10-time world champion in six different weight classes, an Olympic gold medalist and an International Boxing Hall of Famer, will throw the ceremonial first pitch. Moya Angela, star of the six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Dreamgirls” will perform the national anthem. Irving Piken, a longtime Dodger fan who will be celebrating his 107th birthday, will officially start the game with “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”

• The Military Hero of the Game is U.S. Navy E-5 Second Class Petty Officer Daniel Contreras of Hacienda Heights. Contreras joined the Navy in July 2010 and served for five years on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in Norfolk, VA. While serving on the Eisenhower, he was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012 and 2013. Contreras was awarded Sailor of the Quarter for the Engineering department on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Navy and Marine Corps achievement Medal. He is currently stationed at Assault Craft Unit 5, Camp Pendleton Marine Base, in Oceanside.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) conducts silent auctions throughout the season featuring signed pieces of memorabilia from Dodger players, coaches and alumni. Auctions take place behind the Vin Scully press box on the club level. The items up for auction Sunday include a Corey Seager autographed jersey, Scott Van Slyke autographed baseball and Kenley Jansen autographed photo.

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