Dodgers on Deck (4-24-24)

Tim Cates walks you up to first pitch between the Dodgers and Nationals. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
And now your host former Wrongo CasinoDodgers Tam Case, Hi everybody, and
welcome in to more Wrongo Casino Dodgerson Deck. Hope you're well. Los
Angeles Dodgers feeling good fourteen and elevenon this season. After some late inning
offense to win the series opener yesterday, the Dodgers look to do it again

(00:24):
in our nation's capital this afternoon withLandon Knack on the mound. First pitch
from Washington, DC, coming upat three forty five. Coming up over
the next hour. Here on MarongoCasino Dodgers on Deck, you will hear
from Dodger manager Dave Roberts. We'llpreview this pitching matchup with Landon mac making
his second start in the big leagues. David Vassa goes one on one with

(00:46):
Andy McCullough. Former LA Times DodgersBeat Ryder now covers Major League Baseball on
a national level. Shortly, we'llcheck in with Kirsten Watson, and in
just a few minutes we will headout to the Gallpin Motors broadcast booth and
check in with Rick Monday and TimNever Well yesterday in Washington, DC,
o'tani with a bomb the bottom ofthe lineup with some big hits. James

(01:07):
Paxton got the start for the Dodgers. The big Maple would pitch into the
fifth inning four and two thirds,one run, five hits, one strikeout,
three walks. The one run thathe gave up came in the second
inning, Jacob Young a punt single, scoring the first run of the game,
and the Nationals led one to nothing. The Dodgers offense, meanwhile,
struggled against leftander Patrick Corbin, justthree hits overre five and a third innings.

(01:29):
Once Corbyn was gone, though,the Dodgers bats finally woke up still
in the sixth, ti Oscar Hernandeza one out base hit. Max Munty
walked that brought up Key K.Here's a one to one swing on airs.
A base HiT's a left center field. T Oscar's gonna turn third.
It's bobbled in center by Young Ty. Oscar comes into the score. It's

(01:51):
one to one. Key k herNamdez with a game time, two out
single. Harbi single for Key K. Dodgers, Nationals tight at one.
In the eighth, Dodgers got afterthe Nationals bullpen. T Oscar Hernandez a
lead off walk, after stealing second. Two batters later, James Alban women
right field with the Rosario out there. He's playing more of them regular depth

(02:14):
for the left handed hitting out thepitch on the way, there's a swing
and that's down the right field line. That's a base hit. Hermandz around
third. He'll score. Heading forsecond is up, but here's the throat.
Not in time. James with adouble that scores the go ahead run
and the Dodgers lead it two toone. RBI double for Altman. Dodgers

(02:35):
with their first lead of the game, up two to one, and they
weren't done. Two batters later,following a pitching James mcguil Rojas with an
RBI single to right that scored JamesAlman Dodgers of three to one. Then
at the top of the ninth,Matt Barnes on in relief for the Nationals
with the Dodgers tacking on another run, this one coming off the bat of
show Hey On balling those strikes Barnes, the right hander for space side of

(03:00):
the rubber Kickson deals and showing Heycrush his luck. This is way back
and it is going into the upperdeck in right field, and that ball
got out of here in a blinkof an eye, a lightning bolt off
the back of show Hey La Tonyfor career home run number one seventy seven
and it's four to one Dodgers.Four hundred and fifty feet to the second

(03:23):
deck at Nationals Park is where itlanded. Otani's six to run of this
season, the hardest hit of hiscareer at one hundred and eighteen miles per
hour off the bat he smoked it. It was also the hardest hit home
run for a Dodger player in thestat Cast era. Dodgers a four to
one lead in the bottom of theninth, Evan Phillips on in relief,
things got a little interesting. Phillipsloaded the bass before finally striking out Jesse

(03:47):
Winkerd in the game. Dodgers comeback. They beat the Nationals yesterday four
to one. Alex Vessia. Thewinning relief Evan Phillips his sixth save of
this season, show Hey Otani withan absolute bomb. Dodgers now fourteen in
eleven on this season. They havenow won two straight overall, looking to
make it three in a row inour nation's capital. Landing nack on the
mound first pitch at three forty five, and with more we head out to

(04:11):
the Gallop of Motors broadcast both aswe welcome in Rick Monday and Tim Neverritt.
Guys, Tim, thanks very much. Another nice night here in d
C from cloud cover. A littlebreezier than it was yesterday, but still
pretty good night for baseball. AtNationals Park is the Dodgers and Nationals get
set for Game two of this threegame series. Dodgers a game and a
half up in front of the padresto start the night, fourteen and eleven

(04:33):
I meantime, the Nationals dropping inthe National League East. There's six in
back of the leaders with a tenand twelve record, Land and Knack all
and one. Jake Irvin, whothe Dodgers just saw. He's one and
one. And when you talk aboutthe Dodgers offensively, you know, right
now you'd like to say it startsand ends with Showey Hotani, but it

(04:54):
doesn't because you've got Mookie Betts andFreddie Freeman. Freeman's hot again. But
you know, we're still talking afterthe game last night about Otani's home run
four hundred and fifty feet, whichwas impressive, one hundred and eighteen point
seven miles per hour, hardest homerun hitting Major League Baseball this year.
But one thing that Max Montsey pointedout after the game is that he hit

(05:15):
it with topspin. Usually you're goingto hit a home run four hundred and
fifty feet, it's gonna have alot of backspin and carry. But well,
the difference between top spin and backspinis huge when it comes to home
run hittings. But it doesn't matterwith Otani. No, it's amazing.
I would love to see an ultrahigh speed video of that swing into contact
and exactly how the ball came offof the bat. You know, there's

(05:40):
only a fraction of an inch thedifference maybe between a line drive and a
fly ball, and then another fractionof an esk between a fly ball and
a pop up and hitting the baseball. To me, and you know,
I'm a little I'm a little prejudicedas far as you're talking about hitting a
ball. To me, it's thehardest thing in professional sports that you can

(06:02):
have because you're taking it's the oldline taking a round bat, trying to
hit a round ball and hit squarely, but there's so little room and margin
for air is really off the charts. So you hit the ball that far
and that hard, it is amazingwhat happens. Also, when you look
at his numbers this year, they'reterrific. He leads the league in batting

(06:24):
average right now, he's up topof a number of categories. But when
you take it over the last onehundred and sixty two games, going back
through last year and whatnot, hisaverage three to eleven, fifty home runs,
one hundred and nine runs batted in, one hundred and twenty two runs.
Score. Yeah, here's the otherthing that gets overlook. We're talking
about the home run and the factthat he has eleven doubles, which leads

(06:46):
Major League Baseball in the hitting endof it, and we kind of overlook
the fact, Hey, by theway, he also is leading baseball in
batting average at three sixty four.The guy just above him isn't too bad
either, Mookie Betts is second highestat three forties it. And also don't
overlook Will Smith. He's at threetwenty nine. That's the fifth best average.
And as you mentioned right off thetop, Freddie Freeman and said,

(07:06):
hey, wait a second, boys, I'm going to join you soon.
The way he's swinging the back.Gavin Luck's back in the line of tonight,
hitting eighth. He's nine four sixtyone, hitting one forty eight.
Dave Roberts saying, just a shorttime ago, they really want to give
him a solid look again. Hehasn't played fully at the major league level
in a year. They're looking atat a line of demarcation at about one

(07:27):
hundred and fifty played appearance exactly.And it's not easy all of a sudden
to get that engine kick started againwith you're not being able to compete,
and also you start to look atGavin Lucks he comes back, and it
comes back to what I said inspring training. You can be told by
the physicians, you can be toldby the trainers and everybody else around you.
No, your knees okay, reconstructedknee or not, you're fine,
But until you can prove it toyourself. And we're beginning to see that

(07:51):
at least I am. When Isee Lux defensively moving to his left and
to his right, and also whenyou see him now swing the bat and
run run the bases. He's nowcaptured the confidence to understand, hey,
my knee is okay. He mayneed a rest after he plays seven or
eight games and maybe a breather hereand there, but the knee appears to

(08:13):
be pretty close to one hundred percent. Last seventeen road games in Washington,
the Dodgers are fourteen and three,looking for another win tonight. Jake Irvin
for the Nats. It'll be LandingNeck making a second major league start for
the Dodgers, counting it down withthe first pitch here in DC. Tim
all right, thank you guys,as we call you down to first.
Bitch Dodger fans, remember, getyour game day meal on is Shaky's Pizza

(08:35):
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Is shakysi dot Com? Coming uphere on Dodgers on Deck, you will
hear from Dodger manager Dave roberts Well, check in with David vat Say.
You will hear from Annie McCullough.Get a national perspective on this Dodgers team
in the NLS. Will break downthis bitching matchup. But I'm next.

(08:56):
We visit with Kirsten Watson from Sportsto that LA as we lead you up
to first on this Wednesday, Dodgersand Nationals, thanks for being with us.
I'm Tim Katsi's Los Angeles Dodgers audionetwork is Morongo Casino, Dodgers on
Dodgers on deck y'all on the officialhome of LA Dodgers, Baseball, Dodgers

(09:18):
and Nationals landing neck Jake Irvin.The pitching matchup, first pinch from Washington,
DC, coming up at three fortyfive. This is the Otani rewind
Show Hey Otani yesterday with one ofthe longest home runs of the season,
certainly the hardest hit home run everfrom show Hey. One ball, no

(09:41):
strikes. Barn's the right hander firstbase side of the rubber kicks and deals
and show Hey, crusher's luck.This is way back and it is going
into the upper deck in right field. And that ball got out of here
in a blink of an eye,a lightning bolt off the back of show
Hail so Tony for career home runnumber one seventy seven and it's four oh

(10:05):
one Dodgers, one hundred and eighteenmiles an hour off the bat of Showyo
Tani, Hardy's hit ball of hiscareer four hundred and fifty feet into the
second deck at Nationals Park. Andthat home run last night helped the Dodgers
get the win over than that.So Tani rewind. Brought to you by
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(10:28):
N dot com. This is Kirston'sCorner with Kirston Watson. Hey, Kirston
now joins us from Nationals Park beforethe Dodgers and Nationals. Brought to you
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Carsfrokids dot org. That's Cars witha K. Last night Kirston Show.

(10:48):
Hey, O Tani with an absolutebomb into the second deck there at Nationals
Park. I saw your interview withJames Autman after the game. Everybody was
buzzing about it. Listen one.And you know what's funny is when I
saw him hit the ball, Iwas definitely like, oh my goodness,
that went far. But I thinkyou kind of get used to seeing him

(11:09):
do that, so I don't thinkI realized just the magnitude of how hard
he hit that ball, And Ishould have really understood as soon as Eric
Carrows was at a loss for wordson the broadcast, like he genuinely was,
just like he didn't know what tosay, everyone in that clubhouse had
the same reaction. Everyone has justcontinued to be like what he does is

(11:31):
truly remarkable. And so today we'vegot to talk to show hey just about
you know, the hit literally heardaround the world. It feels like,
uh, one hundred and eighteen offthe bat, four hundred and fifty feet
Like I had Show Hays like,when you made contact with the ball,
did you expect it to be notonly just that much power, but that
far one of his hardest hits ofhis career. And he was like,

(11:52):
he said, yeah, he did. He said he felt like he got
it really good. It was kindof in the sweet spot, you know,
so he felt like he made reallygood content with the ball to get
that result. And then the otherquestion is, you know, he's coming
off of having a major surgery thisoffseason, Tommy John and to have this
much power. You know, wedid ask him, and his focus was
more unjust his elbow is healthy,it's in a really good spot, so

(12:15):
he's not really thinking about it inthat sense anymore. He's now more focused
on his pitching rehab, so hedoes expect these type of results for himself
hitting wise, but with talking toDave Roberts about it, he said that
when you see that much power andit's consistent, it seems like almost every
hit that shoh has it's one hundred. The exit velo is one hundred,
one hundred and ten, you nameit. So that's the part that everyone

(12:39):
has been like, you just don'tsee anyone like that, and even like,
you know, some of the writerswere asking him to compare it because
last night, he said, AaronJudge and Jim Carlo Stanton and Diday was
like, well, what about BarryBonds And Dave was like yeah, but
like there's just something, there's somethingto how Sho Hee O Tani hits the
ball that there's really there's nothing likeit, and that's literally makes him a

(13:01):
one of a kind player. Tonight, Land and Mack on the Mount as
the Dodgers look to win their thirdstraight overall second straight in this series in
Our Nation's Capital. Land and Neckgot to start last week and he's hoping
for better results. Yeah, youknow, and look it was only gave
up two runs and I think that'skind of the more important piece of his
outing. They weren't able to getthe win, but look second go round

(13:24):
and hopefully less nerves. That's kindof what Dave Roberts is hoping to see
from Landon today. He has nowbeen around obviously the guys this past week
and even spent obviously a good amountof time with them in spring training as
well as with going to South Korea, but just feeling a little bit more
comfortable on the mound, more confident, really focusing on getting first pitch strike,
and so that's what Dave wants tosee from him today. He does

(13:46):
suspect that it will be a strongouting from Landon. They've been pleased with
what they've been seeing from him,but today is really just, you know,
hopefully there's less nerves. This isnow his second outing and so hopefully
he can build off the first one. Yeah, get settled in here and
start number two. Kirston, appreciateit. We'll check in with you after
the game. Still to come here, I'm wronggo Casino Dodgers on deck.
We'll dive deeper into this pitch matchup. David vat Say goes one on one

(14:09):
with Amy mccolla, National Baseball writerup next, so your injury report and
we'll hear from Dodger manager Dave Roberts. We leads up to Dodgers and Nationals
on this Wednesday first pitch at threeforty five. I'm Tim Kass, Los
Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. This isMarongo Casino Dodgers Hunt game on your home

(14:31):
for LA Dodgers Baseball. Wronggo CasinoDodgers on deck continues as we lead up
to Dodgers in Nationals Wrongo Casino Resortin Spy Grand Slam for a good times.
First pitch coming up at three thirtyfive, it's the LA Dodgers Injury
Report, wheresented by UCLA Healthy Officialmedical partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

(14:54):
With eleven players right now on theinjured list, Kyle Hurt on the IL
with the right shoulder in flam fromBobby Miller, Connor Brogden, Jason Hayward
Blake trying to Walker Bueller on theIL as well. We're gonna update on
that coming up in just a littlebit. Clayton Kershaw Brusdar ground Role image
and Tony Gonsolin Tustin may A lotof pictures on the sixty day. I
let's head back out to Washington,DC. Check you with the Dodger Skipper

(15:18):
anything answer questions for Dave? Dave? Can you just describe Dave? Can
you talk about the pressure in thedugouts with Dave Robbers? Well, Dave
van Landon's last outing, we gotto see him make his major league debut.
As he prepares for his second outingin the big leagues, what are
you hoping to see, whether thatmaybe you didn't see in his first outing,
or just a way for him tokind of maybe have less nerves or

(15:41):
kind of be where he wants tobe tonight. I think that's what That's
what I'm looking for. I thinkthere should be less nerves albeit his first
road game in the big leagues,but he handled himself really well his last
outing. So it's a team that, like all pitchers, where you see
a team and then you see hima week later the cat and i'se the
adjustment that he's gonna have to make. But I think that Lennon's got many

(16:04):
weapons, and so I just thinkthat today, like we've talked about in
the last couple of years about beingaggressive with his fastball as far as velocity,
intent early and being on the attackwith his pitch mix is what also
is what I'm also looking looking for. I guess with the bullpend just seeing

(16:25):
a good amount of arms with thepitch counts getting out last night, as
much as they were effective, howdo you have to now kind of handle
just their usage to prepare for youknow, two more cities on this road
trip. Yeah, you know,I think trying to Uh yeah, it's
a it's an interesting threading of theneedle because we've got eight games left on
the road trip and we need lengththat you're trying to win every game as

(16:51):
many games as you can. Sofor me, most of the guys are
up, I'll watch and hear backfrom our pitching guys as far as catch
play who's still available once the gamestarts. But knowing that we got Yarborough
today for some length will be veryhelpful, actly like a prospect for so
long that like now we're actually seeingit. I mean, when he's right,

(17:14):
what does it look like? Whenhe's right, it strike one with
the with whatever pitch he wants tothrow. It's the ability to command the
fastbault to both sides of the plateand it should be ninety two to ninety
four and getting some soft contact andfrom swinging. This is the wing Rojas

(17:42):
is playing right now, Like,how do you kind of balance you know,
somebody who's playing well, maybe wantedto give him more playing time with
Also, you know the kind ofmiddle infield situation, are you guys farther
enough into the year yet where you'rekind of looking at changing the balance of
playing time at all? No,No, I'm not. I think that
Gavin said maybe sixty played appearances,So I don't think that that's Uh,

(18:06):
I think that would be very reactionary. Miguel's role is to be on this
team to play versus left handed pitching, and then you know, when called
upon another spots to play and soso I don't think that'd be fair to
anyone, to be quite honest.All right, there's Dave Roberts down to
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(18:30):
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here on Dodgers on Deck, Wellcheck in with the David vad says,
we lead you up to first pitch. Dodgers and Nationals. I'm Tim Kates's
Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. Thisis Marongo Casino, Dodgers on Deck on

(19:00):
your home for the Blue all seasonlonged Dodgers and Nationals. Game two of
this three game set, landing neckon the mount, first pitch, coming
up at three forty five. JoiningTim Kats on Dodgers on Deck. I
accept everybody for who they are.This is Dodger insider David Bassei, right
DV. People still buzzing about thatbomb that show hey Otani hit last night

(19:23):
in the ninth inning. Yeah,we actually had two fans called Dodger Talk
after the game last night, andone group of fans that called said they
were one section over from where theball landed out there in right field on
the second deck, and they alsodescribed that once the Dodger fan by the

(19:44):
way that caught the ball after hesecured it, within minutes, there was
a horde of Japanese media there tointerview the fans. So whatever Otani does,
it is going to get a lotof attention in Japan, and certainly
that home run, the longest byany Dodger hit this season four hundred and

(20:04):
fifty feet, is getting a lotof buzz, not only on social media
but around the world. Dodge fans, make sure you know that Dave is
driven by Ford. Our teams arealways built Ford tough, just like your
Ford trucks and SUVs. Gavin locksDV. It's been a slow start to
twenty twenty four. Yeah, it'sinteresting. Right in spring training he was

(20:26):
having a hard time playing defense atshortstop, but he was hitting the ball
really hard, and once the regularseason started he has played really good second
base, no errors at second base, he has made pretty good plays with
a lot of range as well.But offensively, it just hasn't been there.
He's not even hitting the ball hardwhere you can say, okay,

(20:48):
it might be starting to turn forhim. Similar to James Outman. We
saw that happen last night where Jameson the last homestand was showing the Dodgers
that he was starting to get somefeel early on this season, and yesterday
he got the results with a pinchhit double, a go ahead double for
the Dodgers. But as far aslux goes, he was telling me on

(21:10):
Sunday morning that he was told thatit takes eighteen months neurologically to get his
right knee to cooperate and do thingsthat he would like it to do at
the plate. I don't know ifthat adds up or not, Tim,
And I'm not sure the Dodgers havethat much time to wait for his neurological
brain wires to connect to his rightknee, because it feels like the Dodgers

(21:33):
are going to give him a littlebit of a leash here, but not
too much longer before they decide,you know what, either you're gonna start
hitting or you're even going to loseeven more playing time. Well a certain
keep watching this Dodgers Nationals game tonight, but got some eyes watching the Oklahoma
City Dodgers as well. Right,Yeah, A big part of tonight's rehab

(21:53):
start for Walker Bueller. His fifthis in Albuquerque, and as you know,
Albuquerque is at the same altitude asCourse Field in Denver, so it's
not pitcher friendly. But we'll seewhether or not Walker Bueller can get better
fastball command, get better shaping ofhis pitches. As he said, so

(22:15):
tonight's a big one for him,but I'm not going to overreact if it
doesn't go his way because Albutquerque isnot a place that you really find out
how good your stuff is. Forinstance, last night, the Oklahoma City
Baseball Club was down nine runs andthey came back to beat Albuquerque fifteen to

(22:37):
eleven. Wow. And that wasa game that saw Blake trying to make
his first rehab appearance. He gaveup three runs in the fifth inning.
So that's not ideal to send yourmajor leaguers out on a rehab appearance.
DIVI, and I've heard you talkabout Andy pa Has and his brief time
up here in the big leagues.He's had some really good at bats and
good composure at the play. Hehit a home run a couple of days

(22:57):
ago at Dodger Stadium. Last nightagainst the Nationals. Didn't have the success
if you look in the box score, but his at bat late in the
game wasn't at bat that a veteranwould have, just really milking the pitcher
out there. Yeah, that wasa twelve pitch at bat last night for
Andy Pajez in the eighth inning afterthe Dodgers took the lead, and that

(23:18):
was against a really good reliever,Hunter Harvey. So those are the type
of at bats that are very muchDodger like. And if you go back
to the last homestand he made pitcherswork, I remember he had a ten
pitch at bat as well. Sothis guy has that something the Dodgers have
been looking for from young players goingback to twenty seventeen, twenty sixteen,

(23:42):
and last night in the ninth inning, he was a big part of helping
Evan Phillips get out of a verytangled situation with a strong throw to third
base and that completely created havoc onthe basis with Luis Garcia Junior being hung
out to drive by third base coach. No doubt about it. He's looking

(24:02):
good so far. All right,time now for the Dodger Derby, brought
to you by Santa Anita. Racingresumes on Friday. We're gonna pick the
first race. It's a one milerace. Currently seven horses in that race.
David, who do you like?Well, I'm not sure what the
Iran parentheses are, but I amgoing to go with the number one horse.
Marina's Tina. Marina's Tina. Ithink it means they're from Ireland.

(24:25):
The horse makes sense, I thinkso yeah, I'm gonna go with the
six horse. We miss Grammy isthe horses six doors. So all right,
good luck to you. David Gettingthe action every Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday at Santa Anita Park.Fridays are free admission. Hey weekend the
mission parking in program combined just tendollars with millions in payouts every race day.

(24:45):
Explore new track side experiences every weekendat the Great Race Place. Tickets
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We'll see you when we come backhere. On Dodgers on Deck when we
hear from Rick Monday, we aregoing to to check in with Andy McCullough.
We're gonna dive deeper into this pitchingmatchup. But up next you Dodgers
Magical moment, Oh a moment involvingRick Monday, Dodgers Nationals first pitch in

(25:08):
three forty five. I'm Tim Kasis, Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. As
we were saying yes, is MarongoCasino Dodgers on Jack on the official home
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(25:52):
one, Game five of the NLCSin Montreal, Dodgers and expos our own
Rick Monday hit one of the biggesthome runs in Dodger history. Here's the
three to one pitch and it swungon fly ball center field. Dawson going
back onto the warning track, Dusonat the wall. That ball is a
home run. That ball is outof here and a home run for Rick

(26:14):
Monday. And the Dodger bench clearsto congratulate Rick Monday, who has hit
a two out home run here inthe ninth inning, And it appeared that
Andre Dawson had room as he wentback to the fence, and he just
fled ran out of room as theball cleared the fence at about the three
eighty five mark. A ninth inninghome run and the Dodgers have gone ahead

(26:37):
two to one. Con Roush onthe call for the Expos broadcast home run
Rick Monday to help the Dodgers getto the World Series. This Hoffey Magical
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(27:00):
I'm Tim Kas's Los Angeles Dodgers AudioNetwork is Lorono Casino. Dodgers on Dodgers
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Landon. Next Jake Irvin the pitchingmatchup. Dodger Fans. Start your future

(27:22):
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broadcaster and World Series champion Dodger RickMonday. Well, I am keeping the

(27:45):
scoreboard, Rick Monday, And yousaid on Saturday afternoon, Freddie Freeman looked
like he was coming out of hisslump. And here we are three games
later and he is six for hislast twelve. Yeah, that's too bad
at all. And the other parttoo, is you look at the fact
that now seven different times make thatsix, seven, eight, eight different

(28:11):
times he's been on base now overthe last three games. So he's really
turned things around. And how aboutthe Dodgers, I mean, you start
to look at their record, DavidBesse, while they had played here a
National's park, they're now fourteen andthree when they played in this ballpark,
had come from behind victory last night, and tonight we get a rematch really
of what we saw last Wednesday atDodgers Stadium, and that's going to be

(28:34):
land and Neck, who did takethe loss in that game, but he
pitched much better than to be handedthe loss against Jake Irvin, who picked
up the victory. So this shouldbe a good game, middle game of
this three game series before tomorrow thefinale, and then the Dodgers moved up
Toronto and then eventually finish up thisroad trip in Phoenix against the Namabacks.
A lot of these schedules are sodifferent every year, Rick, as you

(28:56):
know. But to see the samepitcher twice in less than a week,
whose advantage is it? Who learnedmore? Who learned more about the other
team? Irvin and picking up thevictory. Went six scoreless innings against the
Dodgers, only one walk, onlyfour hits, seventy three pitches. And
then at Land and Neck. We'lltalk about it a little bit more during

(29:18):
the broadcast, but he pitched verywell on top of it. He went
five innings, two runs on fourhits. He did give up a leadoff
home run to CJ. Abrams toopen up the ballgame that came out a
one ball, two strike count.He gave up another hit in the first
inning, struck out the last manin the first inning, and then retired
ten in a row before another manreached base. So it's going to be

(29:40):
interesting to watch Landon Nac, thetwenty six year old right hand start today.
He's not overpowering per se with thevelocity of the fastball, but I'll
tell you what he mixed in avery good curveball, slider and a change
up in that outing. So lookingforward to watching him tonight. Show,
Hey Otani is back in the startinglineup again, Rek been in there.
By the way, has that ballthat he hit last night, the ballet

(30:03):
hit last night, has it landedyet? Well, that's what I was
gonna ask you. Have you everseen a ball hit that hard or that
far in recent memory, not withoutjet propulsion tied to the back of it.
I mean, normally you see maybeyou know, an F twenty two
and F thirty five take off fromone of the Air Force bases or marine
bases and do some damage. Thatwas an absolute blue dart that he hit

(30:26):
out of here yesterday. It's interestingtoo, because yesterday before the ball game,
Dwayne McDonald or producer engineer, pointedout red seats that are that are
painted in the upper deck down theright field line. Had that ball been
hit a little bit higher, itwould have gone past the highest mark of
a red seat out there. Imean, that was just that was an

(30:48):
absolute rocket. Oh. By theway, show, hey Otani. When
you start to look at it,we mentioned the home runs, that's all
well and good. You know,he's he has the highest batting average in
baseball at three sixty four, Soit's more than just well a home run.
He also has hit eleven doubles ontop of it. That's the one
part I feel like gets lost.I know everybody falls in love and gets

(31:10):
enambored with how hard he hits thebaseball. But he has a plan and
he's not just trying to hit theball out of the ballpark. No,
no, not at all. Andyou begin to look at this ball club
too, David, very quickly.Not only is Otani hitting three sixty four
the highest average in baseball right now, who's second? Well, he's leading
off for the Dodgers, that beingMookie Benz is hitting three forty seven.
And do not overlook Will Smith asthe highest the fifth highest average at three

(31:37):
twenty nine. So you've got someoffense mixed in there. And you mentioned
earlier right off the bat Freddy Freemanhas gotten red hot over the last three
games. Now, well, hopefullyfor the Dodgers tonight it will be rockets
red glare in our nation's capital.Thanks Rick, Okay, David, stay
well, we'll see in about eightdays. Sounds good. We'll send it
back to you in the studio.Tim all right, thanks a lot to

(31:59):
youve Seed. Dodgers Baseball is broughtto you by Speedy Cash, official sponsor
of every LA Weekend. Find outmore at Speedycash dot comer stopping at LA
Area Speedy Cash Store. Still tocome here on Dodgers on Deck, we
will preview this pitching matchup. Rick'llbe back with Tim Neverett as they give
you the keys to the game.Up next, though, we go high
in time with Annie McCollough covers theDodgers in Major League Baseball at national level

(32:22):
Dodgers and Nationals first pitch at threeforty five. I'm Tim Kasi's Los Angeles
Dodgers Audio Network. This is MorongoCasino Dodgers Hunting game on your home for
LA Dodgers Baseball. Dodgers in Washington, DC to take on the Nationals.
Dodgers Baseball is presented by Children's HospitalLos Angeles. When you need the very

(32:45):
best care for your child, goto Children's Hospital LA rank number one in
California for pediatric care by the rightdoctor at CHLA dot org. David and
now what will likely be vass afielding insults from a Dodger player engagement of
endearment. This is high and tight. We're drawing right now by a man
that has a brand new book aboutto be released on May seventh, just

(33:09):
in time for Mother's Day and Father'sDay. It's a great book. I've
already dove into it, The lastof his kind. It's a biography on
Clayton Kershaw by a man that obviouslyknows Kershaw, covering him for a number
of years. He's the athletics AndyMcCullough, and we are granting him time
to promote his book. How youdoing, Andy, Thank you, David.

(33:30):
That's very kind of you. Yeah. So, I guess this is
in some ways an endorsement of yourbook by having you on the show.
I mean, I don't know.You told me you read the first two
chapters, so you know that's allthat matters to me. Hey, it
hooked me. It hooked me.Yes, I don't know if I need
your endorsement, but I do appreciateit. It doesn't hurt You're very popular.

(33:52):
I wouldn't say it's a full endorsement. Kershaw still has not given me
the green light on that, sowe'll hold on a copy. But he
says he's not going to read it, so who knows. We'll see.
You got a lot of cooperation fromKershaw, you spent some time at his
house. What did you find outthat maybe surprised you the most as you
were doing research for this very indepth book about Kershaw's life and career.

(34:17):
Yeah, I mean I think itwas. That's a great question, David,
I wrote it. Well, Idid write this book. That's not
writing, that's typing, as Isay, But yeah, I think what
was really interesting to me, Iguess I think, you know, I
think there's gonna be a lot ofnew insight into you know, his his

(34:39):
childhood, into his career with theDodgers, you know, the postseason,
all the ups and downs. Butwhat I guess really interested me was kind
of near the end and just gettingto spend a little bit of time with
him last October, soon after hehad decided to keep playing and to get
surgery and to eventually come back tothe Dodgers. And I just found it

(35:04):
very interesting to spend time with someonewho is going to be a first ballot
Hall of Famer, knows that understandsthat knows that his best days as a
picture are behind him, knows whatthe physical toll is required of him,
but doesn't want to be done withhis career, and the sort of calculations

(35:24):
that go into that, and thesort of conversations you have with people about
what is important to you, andyou know, the merits of keeping going
versus stopping. I just found thatwhole sort of I don't know to describe
it as dilemma, but just thatsituation that he's been in for several years
now, and none more acute thanthis past winner to be really fascinating,

(35:45):
you know, to be at apoint where you've accomplished so much and just
trying to decide if you want tokeep putting your body and your mind and
your spirit through it for another youknow year. Those of us that have
been with him every day have kindof had a sense that he's a lot
more were complicated than what is onthe surface. How complicated is he and
how much do we try to untanglethat? In your book? Yeah,

(36:08):
I mean, I think that anyonewho's covered the Dodgers, if you walk
into Dodger Stadium at two pm fora night game, you will see him
out in left field running, youknow. And I think a question that
I and you know that's without fail, you know, unless he's starting that
day. But you know, fourout of five days a week, he's
out there doing his workout every day, no days off, no corner's cut,

(36:31):
And sometimes you just kind of wonder, like why why are you like
this? You know, like whywhy do you hold yourself to these standards?
Why do you not forgive yourself?Why do you not permit you know,
days off, corners cut, allthat sort of stuff. And I
think the book really tries to untanglethat, you know, getting back to,
you know, how he grew up, the things he you know,

(36:52):
learned as a kid that you know, the way sort of his faith is
interwoven into the way he carries himselfon a day to day basis. And
so yeah, I mean I thinkthat you know, it's it stems back
to childhood. It stems back to, you know, the way he really
committed at a young age to tryingto you know, be as good as
possible, and he can be athis craft, and you know, it's

(37:15):
it's a lot of pressure. Imean, I think it's he's been it's
like been living in the hull ofa ship almost for like twenty years,
dealing with the you know, theinternal pressure more than the external pressure,
and what does that do you know? To your body, to your to
your mind, you know, toyour spirit, all that sort of stuff
as you trying to navigate that,And I think the book tries to get
into that as as best it can, you know, And I think he's

(37:37):
just become more open to talking aboutit, you know, especially since the
team won in twenty twenty. Youcan you can see that there's a bit
of a weight off his shoulders insome ways, and he's more reflective than
he was, and so we're ableto get into that, I think in
ways that he kind of isn't ona day to day basis. Now.
Andy McCullough is live at National Sparkin Washington, d C. The book

(38:00):
is the last of his kind,Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness.
Now, you spoke to a lotof people, former teammates, family members,
friends. Was there one person thatyou spoke to that gave you more
insight or you felt new Kershaw betterthan most outside of his wife Ellen,
besides Ken Garnick and Dylan Hernandez.I mean, I think his relationship with

(38:27):
a j Ellis Is is well documentedright, they're they're very very close.
But I think has Barnes a jEllis in his h you know, total
poll of people, I don't thinkso, but it's close. I mean,
they're you know, it's pretty it'spretty close. Austin Barnes obviously has
done an admirable job emerging as ayou know, Kershaw's go to sidekick.

(38:49):
I guess, but yeah, Imean I think, you know, definitely.
I think one of the things Itried to do, you know,
is obviously talk to people at differentpoints in Kershaw's career and so like people
who know him best. It's thepeople he grew up with, you know,
the friends he's had since he wasyou know, twelve years old,
ten years old. It's you know, aj Elis, it's Rick Honeycutt has

(39:10):
incredible insight into him. But itwas I found it was really helpful to
just talk to people who were therefor you know, snippets of time and
had insight, you know, sopeople like you know, Orlando Hudson,
you know, Juan Pierre, RandyWolfe. If you spoke to the dog
I did, Yeah, I did. He was great. Yeah. Cycle

(39:30):
in two thousand and nine opening daysure, Okay, that's that sounds like
something that probably happened. I don'tknow, I was in college. Man,
That's not in the book. Unfortunatelyfor Dodgers fans. If you want
to read about the Odog cycle,you got to read Vessays biography of but
but Yeah, I mean I foundthat guys like that had insight into him

(39:52):
as a as a younger person.And then talking you know to teammates who
have been here for this kind ofrenaissance period with the Dodgers, you know,
whether it's you know, Justin Turner, Alex Wood, Ross Stripling,
Kenley Jansen, you know, justhe's affected people in so many different ways.
And so it was really it wasreally interesting just kind of getting all

(40:12):
those perspectives together and trying to sortof parcel them out across the book.
Well, I'm excited for this bookto come out for everybody else to be
able to dive into it. Itwill be released on May seventh. The
Last of His Kind Clayton Kershaw andThe Burden of Greatness. It is a
great book I must read for notonly Dodger fans, but baseball fans.
And Andy McCullough was the right guyto do it, and he did.

(40:35):
Kershaw Justice, So at a boy, Andy, We're proud of you.
Thank you, David, I missyou. I appreciate talking shop with you.
There he goes Andy McCullough from theAthletic and a great author, the
last of his kind, Clayton Kershawand the Burden of Greatness. You can
get it wherever you buy your booksonline or Barnes and Noble, or wherever
you go. Send it back toyou in the studio, Tim, all

(40:57):
right, thanks a lot. DV. Dodgers Baseball is brought to you by
Shaky Pizza Parlor, the official pizzapartner the Dodgers Audio Broadcast. When it's
game day, it's group day atSHAKY'SI dot Com. Lead you up to
first pitch Dodgers and Nationals coming up. We'll break down this pitching matchup.
Don't go anywhere. I'm Tim Kats'sLos Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. This is
Marongo Casino Dodgers on Tap on yourhome for the Blue All Season Low Dodgers

(41:24):
and Nationals. Game two of thisthree game set. First pitch coming up
in three forty five and now beforethe Dodgers hit the dining we look at
the pitching Matchup presented by your SouthernCalifornia Toyota Dealers, turn your trail dominating
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Toyota Dealer today. They make iteasy. Landonnac oh to one with a

(41:45):
three sixty ERA. The twenty sixyear old right hender made his Major League
debut last Wednesday at Dodgers Stadium againstthese same Nationals. Five innings, two
runs, four hits, four strikeouts, and a loss. You gave up
two runs in the first at thebasis load, worked out of a jamp,
but was really good the next fourinnings. Former second round pick in
twenty twenty out of East Tennessee Statesplit last season between Double A Tulsa and

(42:07):
TRIPLEA Oklahoma City, where he wasreally good at both levels. He is
facing Jake Irvin. It's a rematchof last Wednesday's day game at Dodgers Stadium.
Jake Irvin won in one three thirteenERA. Twenty seven year old right
hander, fourth round pick of theNationals in twenty eighteen at the University of
Oklahoma fastball curveball sinkers. What hethrows that fastball can get mid nineties.

(42:28):
Making his fifth start this season lasttime out, Like I said, against
these Dodgers, six shutout innings,four hits, six punchouts and a win
at Dodgers Stadium. This season,he's done really good against righty's, holding
it into a one to sixty oneaverage, good for tenth in the National
League. He's also holding opponents toa one to eighty eight on base percentage,
good for top ten also in theNational League. Jake Irvin Landon nackt

(42:51):
the pitching matchup Dodgers and Nationals werefifteen minutes away for first pitch. Keys
to the game are next on TimKass Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. As
we were saying, yes, he'sMarongo Casino Dodgers on Jack on, the
official home of LA Dodgers Baseball,Dodgers and Nationals landing Knack on the Mount

(43:14):
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by La Care Health Plan serving allAngelinos Lacare dot Org. All right,
let's head back out to Washington,DC. Before first pick, let's check
in with Rick Monday and Tim Never. Guys, Tim, thanks again as
you get you ready for the firstpitch of this ball game. It'll be

(43:37):
thrown by Jake Irvin. Irvin oneand one in a three point thirteen Era
pitched against the Dodgers last Wednesday throughsix scoreless, gotta win, and he
has been very stingy. He's onlyallowed one run in the last fifteen innings
pitch. The Dodgers had trouble figuringhim out. In need of a new
approach against him tonight. Yeah,he went six scoreless against the Dodgers a

(43:58):
week ago today, in fact,same matchup, it was Irvin against Landon
Knack. Who will start for theDodgers. One thing that's going to be
interesting for Dave Roberts. Five lefthanded batters in the lineup tonight. Why
is that imperative to look at well? Lefties of at three hundred against Ervin.
Right handers have hit just one twentytwo against him. So we'll find

(44:19):
out tonight that the adjustments Dodgers make. Irvin had that fastball ninety five ninety
seven with a good curve ball againstthem a week ago. Landon Knack.
Actually, when you look at hisnumbers and fight of the fact he took
a loss in his major league debutagainst these Nationals last week. He got
in trouble a little bit in thefirst inn and gave up a home run
on the second pitch of the gameto see j Abrams, and that really

(44:40):
decided After that, he settled innicely, Yeah, he did. He
struck out the final man in thefirst inning, and that was the first
of ten in a row that heretired, So kind of looking forward to
see what Landon Nack. He's notoverpower of the fastball, but the good
curveball, the slider in the chamgeupto go with it. And he spotted
his pitches very well after the openingframe. And how can that be different

(45:01):
for a pitcher in his second startas opposed to his first start. Now
that he's gone through the routine andhe's had that first major league start behind
him, well, he understands hecan exhale now because he knows that he
pitched very well. Okay, heran into prows the first batter and gave
up both runs in that first inning, but that after that particular time,
he believed in himself. He walkedonly one batter in those five innings.

(45:23):
One other pitching note, Walker Bueller, will be pitching in Albuquerque tonight in
a Triple A game, and duringthe course of our game tonight, we'll
try to keep the updated on WalkerBuehler's progress. Dodgers looking to get him
through five innings in that one tonight, and whether he'll rejoin the club kind
of depends on how he does tonight. They'll know later in the week whether

(45:43):
he'll be rejoining the Dodgers' rotation ornot. Dodgers Nationals lineups. First pitch
just around the corner, Tim allRight, first pitches next. Don't forget
after the game. David Vessie's gotyour cover with all the highlights and postgame
reaction. I'm Tim Kates's been RonggoCasino. Dodgers on Deck on the Los
Angeles Dodgers Audio Network