Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 7/27/2018 - Dodgers Links

Friday, July 27, 2018

Blog Kiosk: 7/27/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Let's hope that Rich Hill is now back to his ol' self again after making some adjustments. Last night he hurled a three-hitter over seven scoreless innings against the Braves to win, 8-2. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"The changes were very minuscule, but huge overall," he said. "Looking back on it, absolutely, it was a good thing. Tonight was a good night. The ball came out really well, and I'm looking forward to continuing that. That's what the bullpen and the work are for in between starts, to keep that feel and make sure you stick with the mechanical changes we made and don't veer off."

Hill said he dropped down sidearm more than usual on Thursday night with great success, helping to continue his career dominance over the Braves. He's 5-0 with a 1.74 ERA in nine games (seven starts) against them. This was his first start in Georgia since 2007.

Photo above of Rich Hill and Joc Pederson via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018 at Dodger Insider. Below are more links to check out:

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1890 the Brooklyn Gladiators (the ballclub that replaced our beloved Brooklyn Bridgegrooms -- who had jumped to the National League) of the American Association found themselves with an 13-8 lead going into the eighth inning against the Columbus Salons when they ran out of baseballs to use. Brooklyn, since they were the home team, were forced to forfeit the game. This club would disband before the season ends. In 1918 Robins (Dodgers) starter Harry Heitman, in his major league debut, gave up four consecutive hits (all of whom eventually scored) and is then pulled for a reliever. He would never pitch in the majors again -- effectively ending his career with a career ERA of infinity.
Happy Birthday, Charlie Robinson, Jack Doscher, Zach Taylor, Jim Faulkner, Leo Durocher, Bill Sayles, Tom Goodwin & Shea Hillenbrand!
FYI: National Baseball Card Day is coming and as part of the promotion every Major League club will be giving away special limited edition team-centric Topps National Baseball Card Day packs at a game. The Dodgers will be giving out this pack on August 1st. Go here for more information.
MLB Pipeline's annual midseason prospect rankings are out and several new faces show up for the Dodgers; including pitchers Edwin Uceta and Michael Grove, and catcher Diego Cartaya. Go here to check out the new list.
Via Rick Bozich at EDRB.com; "Former U of L catcher Will Smith powering toward the Dodgers."

“Just trying to create more power,” Smith said. “In college I was more of a bat to ball, line-drive hitter. Now I’ve definitely shown more power, driving the ball into the gaps and over the fence.

“It’s just more of a little bit different swing. Creating backspin, creating a little bit more of a launch angle and creating power with my body and using my power more efficiently. I knew it was a change I was going to have to learn and make.”

Via Forest Stulting at Beyond the Bricks; "Rocky Gale Shines at Triple-A All-Star Game: Oklahoma City Dodgers catcher Gale makes most of first All-Star appearance."

“It made it fun to get a knock,” Gale said. “I got to face Kevin Quackenbush, who I played with for years in the Padres organization. It wasn’t like I was facing a stranger. I had a leg up on him. It was cool.”

Wow! Per Jefferson Graham at USA Today; "Flippy the robot hamburger flipper has a new gig – at Dodger Stadium."

The robot can automatically detect the temperatures across the fryer, monitor the cooking process in real-time and also display the cooking time on a screen, according to Miso Robotics. This alerts stadium employees when each basket of chicken and tater tots is ready to be manually temperature-checked and served.

Miso, the Dodgers and the staff at Levy Restaurants, which operates fast-food concessions at the stadium, have been training employees on how to work with Flippy.