Blog Kiosk: 9/20/2018 - Dodgers Links - Sweep!

The dazzling duo of Buehler and Puig handcuffed the Rockies last night, 5-2, as they completed a series sweep to give the club a 2.5 game lead in the NL West -- their largest lead of the season.  Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“This game, this series was emblematic of our ballclub — how many people had their hands in this series to help win three games,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Yasiel, to be able to put him in a leverage spot and to be prepared for that moment and to come through was huge, obviously.”

Yasiel hit a deciding three-run homer in the seventh inning to knock any air that remained against the sails of the quickly sinking Rockies vessel. Buehler put in six innings of work and struck out a career high 12 batters in the no-decision.

Photos above of Buehler and Puig via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018 at Dodger Insider. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1907 the Dodgers are no-hit by Pirates rookie Nick Maddox, 2-1. In 1959 the Dodgers and Giants play the last ballgame ever at San Francisco's Seals Stadium. The Dodgers defeated the Giants 8-2. The Giants would play at Candlestick Park the next season. In 1993 pinch-hitting machine Dave Hansen collected his 18th pinch-hit of the season to set a new franchise record. In 2011 Clayton Kershaw becomes the first Dodger twenty game winner since Ramon Martinez in 1990. He defeats the Giants 2-1. BTW, DodgerFilms was there and shared a video that you can watch here.
• Happy Birthday, Nelson Greene, Vic Lombardi & Chuck Dressen!
• Cat Loves the Dodgers shares her sweeping pics from last nights game here.
• ICYMI: Chase Utley was named the winner of the 13th annual Roy Campanella Award - which is given to the Dodger player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher. A special ceremony will take place before Saturday's game with Campanella's daughter, Joni Campanella Roan, and his grandson, J.T. Campanella, presenting the award. Check out a press release here.
• Via Doug Padilla at MLB.com; "Dodgers set NL record with 7 20-HR players." BTW, for this team accomplishment Topps has issued a 2018 Topps Now card to celebrate it -- available til tomorrow morning. Check it out below. Go here to place an order. Having seven players with 20 or more homers is a first for any Dodger team, and it also ties a National League record. Featured on the card is Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson.
  
• Via Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs; "The Quiet Boost to the Dodgers’ Bullpen."

(Dylan) Floro, this year, has been very good. Since joining the Dodgers, he’s become even better. And you don’t have to rely on Statcast statistics to see it. Floro has a better ERA with the Dodgers than he had with the Reds. He has a better FIP, and he has a better xFIP. His strikeout rate has improved by 12 percentage points. His swinging-strike rate has improved by six percentage points. Looking at everyone before and after the date of the Floro trade, only Matt Barnes has seen a greater whiff-rate increase. Floro’s improved, and he’s been trusted with higher-leverage appearances as a member of a bullpen that had caused an awful lot of headaches.

• This is just weird. It's like there's an organized conspiracy to steal from Puig. Per TMZ; "Dodgers Star Yasiel Puig Burglarized for the fourth time."

Law enforcement sources tell us cops were called to Puig's San Fernando Valley home Tuesday night around 8 PM after one of the Dodger's assistants got a security alert on his phone, which showed 3 men leaving Puig's property.

Yasiel has a security camera set up that captures motion, and it automatically sends the video to a cell phone programmed to receive it. When Yasiel's associate saw the footage, he immediately called police ... but the bad guys had already fled. 

• Per Bill Gutman at Baseball History Come Alive; "The Story of Bill Bergen: The Ultimate 'Good Field, No Hit!'" 

On August 23, 1909, he cut down six St. Louis Cardinals runners trying to swipe a base. Of the 13 catchers in the Hall of Fame, only five of them ever had as many as 100 assists in a season. Bergen went over the century mark in assists in nine of his 11 big league seasons. He finished with 1,444 assists in just 947 games. That’s ninth all time. Why just 947 games? Well, Bill Bergen was never a regular. Only twice in his 11 seasons did he appear in more than 100 games. And there was a good reason for that.

As good as he was behind the plate, Bill Bergen was arguably the worst hitter in baseball history.

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