2018 Topps Home Run Challenge - The Cody Bellinger Card

There's a cool quirk found within packs of both Series 1 and 2 of Topps' flagship Baseball card set. They are the Home Run Challenge promotion cards, and as the name suggest these little lottery-styled tickets can earn its bearer a nice little prize if you can pick the day when said player hits a homer.

Blog Kiosk: 6/21/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Yesterday's 4-0 loss at the hands of the Cubs marked our first series loss since mid-May -- a string of nine straight. Fortunately, I don't feel so bad about it. For whatever reason, I can't help but think that nothing but sunny skies are in front of us. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"We're going to be somewhere in October," said Roberts. "I can't speak to the opponent, but we're going to be somewhere."
...
"It was a fun series. Two good clubs, very evenly matched. The series could have gone either way. You're not going to win every series, but going into New York, we feel pretty good about ourselves."

Photo above of Chris Taylor via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018 at Dodger Insider. He had left the game early due to a hamstring issue. Per a Gurnick story:

"It wasn't a pull or anything, but after that play, there were a couple instances where it kind of grabbed. I don't expect to miss any playing days. If everything goes as planned, I think I should be in there."

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1998 the Dodgers replaced their manager, Bill Russell, with coach Glenn Hoffmann. Tommy Lasorda also becomes the GM. In 2016 the Dodgers signed Dean Kremer -- the first ever Israeli to sign a contract with a major league club. He had just been drafted in the 14th round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft.
• Happy Birthday, Randy Moore, Jackie Collum & Rick Sutcliffe!