Blog Kiosk: 6/5/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

ACE!

Ryu was fantastic, once again. He spun seven innings of shutout ball against the Diamondbacks, recorded only two strikeouts and walked none to earn his ninth victory of the season, 9-0. Per Jesse Sanchez at MLB.com:

“Baseball is never easy, but I’m executing my game plan and things are working out for me,” Ryu said. “There’s always a challenge, especially when commanding my pitches. I’m trying to make sure that I throw each and every pitch in a very competitive fashion.”
...
“He’s just in complete control,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s front and back, it’s all quadrants, it’s changing speeds and mixing up the sequence.”

Photo above via Joe Cortez/MLB.com at Dodger Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1957 Don Drysdale recorded the first shutout of his career against the Cubs at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey, 4-0. In 1977 the Dodgers retired former manager Walter Alston's uniform number #24 at Dodger Stadium. He compiled a 2040-1613 (.558) record for the franchise. It was also Old-Timer's Day as the Dodgers defeated the Padres, 4-2. 
• Happy Birthday, Bill Maloney, Fred Mitchell, Duke Sims & Russ Ortiz!
• Video: MLB analyst Jon Morosi is on The Jim Rome Show to discuss the greatness of Cody Bellinger (video link).
• Video: Check of the Los Angeles Dodgers Top Plays of the Week (YouTube video link).
• ICYMI: Catcher Kyle Garlick has been called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City and infielder Matt Beaty has been palced on the 10-day IL due to a left hip flexor strain.
• Cat Loves the Dodgers shares her pics from a Dodgers Premium Batting Practice event for season ticket holders.
• Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider provides a breakdown of the Dodgers' draft picks from Day 2, here.
• Per Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs -- "Powerhouse Dodgers’ Bullpen Misadventures Stand Out."
• Via Jason Turbow at LA Magazine -- "In 1981, an Unknown Pitcher from Mexico Changed the Game for the Dodgers."

Valenzuela was a physical curiosity, with chubby cheeks and rotund belly, his Mayan features accentuated by bushy black hair spilling straight down from his cap. Wrote Jim Murray in the following day’s Los Angeles Times: “He is, how shall we say it—he is—well, he’s fat, is what he is.” 

• DBack fans are salty. Check out this post at AZ Snake Pit.
• Wow! Per Cyd Zeigler at OutSports -- "Dodgers LGBT Night was team’s most-attended game in 7 years: The Dodgers sold 56k tickets, with an estimated 12k people showing up specifically for LGBT Night."

The Dodgers told Outsports that an estimated 12,000 fans attended the game specifically because it was the team’s LGBT Night. The team sold out of its LGBT Night ticket package and many LGBTQ fans bought regular game tickets to attend the game.

LGBT Night also drew the biggest crowd of any Major League Baseball game this season. 

• The Cardboard Connection shares some preview pics from Topps 2019 High Tek set that is coming out in early October. See a Bellinger die-cut card on the right. Go here to see more.
• Via Bob Nightengale at USA Today -- "Cody Bellinger, having the greatest season in Dodgers history, wants World Series rings like his dad."

Bellinger giggles at the thought of a ring, dreaming of someday earning bragging rights with his dad.

“He’s got three of those rings, and I’m always reminded of it,’’ Bellinger says. “We need to get one. And then keep going to pass him. 

“Maybe, one of these days, right?’’

• How good has Ryu been? This good, via a tweet from Jeremy Frank (Hat Tip: u/GrantMeThePower on Reddit):

Hyun-Jin Ryu has allowed no more than 2 runs and 1 walk in 12 consecutive starts.

No other pitcher in the last 110 years has done that in more than 10 straight starts.

— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) June 5, 2019

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