Dodgers on Deck (7-4-24)

Tim Cates gets you ready for the series finale between the Dodgers and Dbacks on the 4th of July. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
And now your host for Morongo CasinoDodgers on Deck. Damn Cays Hi everybody,
and welcome into Morongo Casino Dodgers onDeck. More importantly, Happy Fourth
of July to all of you outthere listening and hope you're enjoying this Fourth

(00:20):
of July. I hope you're enjoyingthis Independence Day with friends and family and
most importantly being safe out there.You're Los Angeles Dodgers, fifty three and
thirty four on this season, firstplace atop the NL West. After splaying
the first two games of the serieswith the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers now
look for the series win over theSnakes tonight with landon Mack now on the
mound, first pitch coming up atsix' ten, coming up over the

(00:43):
next hour, we got a lotto get to here on Morongco Casino Dodgers
on Deck, you're gonna hear fromDodger manager Dave Roberts. We're gonna preview
this pitching matchup. David Vassey isgonna go one on one with a guy
who is tormenting the Dodgers not onlythis series, but his entire career.
That's Chris Walker. You're gonna hearfrom him coming up in forty five minutes.
We got your Dodgers magical moment.Shortly we'll check you with Kirsten Watson

(01:06):
live on the field at Dodger Stadium, and in just a few minutes we'll
head out to the Galloping Motors broadcastbooth and hear from Rick Monday and Steven
Nelson. Well, last night,things started good for the Dodgers, but
didn't end well for the boys inBlue. Gavin Stone got the start.
It was not a polished gym fromthe right hander. He gave up a
run at the top of the first, three more third in the thirty four
run seven hits, his shortest outingof the season. The Dodgers offense,

(01:30):
meanwhile, came out swinging. Inthe bottom of the first showy Otani let
things off with the single Will Smithand walked, and that brought up Freddy
Freeman. Freddy swings and unleash isa fly ball deep bright center. That
ball is out of here. Well, he put it on the tee exactly
where he would like to have it. It was a home run hitting contest

(01:52):
and hits that two old bitch.It's a different ballgame. Old run number
thirteen for Freddy free put on theboard for the Dodgers. They're a hits
three to one, three run homerun for Freddie Freeman. That's the top
tier play of the game sponsored byArco Quality, top tier gas for less.
Dodgers up three to one. TheDodger Stadium crowd buzzing after that home

(02:14):
run, and they would keep buzzingfor the next batter. Tasker Hernandez,
you had more hits last night andthe previous six games combined. He swings
again. Tao ts off this deepto left by the scoreboard, had another
to the scoreboard. Back two backhome runs for Freeman, it Hernandos and

(02:35):
now it's four to one. Nineteenthhome run of the season for Tay Oscar
RBI fifty nine. That's most amongNational League outfielders this season. Back to
back home runs from Freddie Freeman andTay Oscar the sixth time the Dodgers have
done that this year. Freddy Freemanhas been involved in all six scenarios.
By the way, Dodgers up fourto one, but that lead did not

(02:55):
last long time. It backs withthree runs of the third to tie it
up. Christian Walker Homeward in thefourth to give the Snakes a five to
four lead. Arizona would score runningthe fifth, two more in the sixth,
one in the eighth, leading nineto four, and the ninth when
Christian Walker hit a three run homerun. Walker now his seven home runs
in eight games against the Dodgers thisseason. His seventeen career home runs at
Dodgers Stadium since twenty eighteen ranked firstamongst opposing players. Diamondbacks go on and

(03:21):
beat the Dodgers last night, twelveto four. The Dodgers offense scored those
four runs in the first They hadfour hits in that inning, but then
just two hits combine the rest ofthe game. A rough night for the
Dodgers' offense. Good news, newday, new game on the fourth of
July, the rubber game of thisthree game series. Hoping for some fireworks,
daring and after the game, landand knack on the mound. First

(03:43):
bitch is six' ten and withmore we head out to the Gaping Motors
broadcast booth and we say hello andhappy fourth. So Rick Monday and Steven
Nelson, guys, thank you somuch. Tim Happy fourth of July to
you and yours into everybody listening RickMonday. The Dodgers will play on this
fourth of July. It's a Thursday. It's weird. It fuel it just
feels different having a Fourth of Julyon Thursday. I don't know if the
calendar backs it up going back afew years. But the point is the

(04:06):
Dodgers are playing baseball today, serieson the line against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
As we approached the end of thefirst half, I think one of the
things that throws you off is thefact that we had Monday off. Yeah,
you're not used to having the offdays, but that was the story,
and especially on it's an off dayat home. Dodgers, they had
an off night last night, andthey need to get it back into gear.

(04:27):
I mean, losing it twelve tofour. In fact, you begin
to now look at the last threegames, and they're against teams that are
not really in the uprashl on SanFrancisco Giants. If you look at the
last game of that series and thefirst two games of this series, Dodgers,
first of all had been out hitforty two hits to twenty six.
They've also been outscored in the lastthree games twenty seven runs to just fourteen.

(04:51):
That has to change, and changein a hurry. Yeah, because
the pitching staff just seems gassed rightnow. There hasn't been much production from
the starting pitching outside or since ratherGavin Stone's complete game in Chicago, and
all the bullpen seems pretty taxed.And so it's just sort of like this
really dull stretch from this team andthey got to snap out of it.

(05:12):
The Padres have already beaten the Rangerstoday, so they're leaving. The division
is down to seven pending the resultof tonight's game, and again, the
Milwaukee Brewers are just a game backin the lost column, behind the Dodgers
for the second. Yeah, andeverybody else that might be listening to us
at the ball club saying, whatare you guys doing? You're crying over
a spilled note, because the Dodgersare still won ten of the last fifteen,
but they have higher expectations, andwell, it's a good point.

(05:34):
The bullpen has been taxed with theDodgers. And then you look at the
Arizona Diamondbacks, who are two gamesbelow five hundred, but the last ten
games that they had played, theirstarting pitching has gone six innings only three
times, and in that time thestarters have an ERA of over seven and
a half, so their bullpen hasbeen taxed, although you would not have

(05:55):
known it last night. Well,the good thing for the Dodgers playing on
the fourth of July the last nineIndependence Day games, the Dodgers have an
eight and one record. Hopefully theycan keep going. It's easier said than
done. They're facing one of thebest pitchers in baseball and certainly the ace
of the Diamondback staff that is ZachGallan. We'll talk more about him and
Land the next turn when we comeback. All right, so count you

(06:16):
down to first pitch. Dodger fans, get your game to a meal long
at Shaky's Pizza Parlor or are yourShaky's Pizza shake you mojos right now at
Shaky's dot com. Coming up hereon Dodgers on dec You here from the
Dodger manager Dave Roberts. We willcheck in with David Vassa throughout the show.
Dav goes one all well with ChristianWalker. We'll break down this pitching
matchup. But up next to youro Tani rewind and we'll head down to

(06:41):
the field and visit with Kirson Watson. Lead you up to Dodgers and Diamondbacks
on this fourth of July. Firstpitch is six' ten. Thanks for
being with us. I'm Tim Kays'sLos Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. It is
Laurento Casino, Dodgers on Dodgers onDeck. Y'all on the official home of
La Dodgers Baseball, Dodgers and Timonbacks. Happy fourth of July Dodger Fans.

(07:05):
Final game of this three game serieslanded knack on the mount. First bitch
coming up at six ten. Thisis the Otani rewinde. One ball,
one strike. The pitch to Otaniis grounded through the right side in the
right center field, a lead offbase hit for show Hay his fourth hit

(07:27):
of the series. Shoey Otani letoff the Dodgers in the bottom of the
first with a hit. He wouldscore on the Freddie Freeman three run home
run, but just the only hitlast night for show Hey now hitting three
to nineteen on this season. ThisOtani rewind brought to by Eto ns Oocha,
Japan's number one green team. TheTea that showe Hey Otani loves and
drinks available your local diso stores Amazonat etoen dot com. That's it O

(07:51):
e N dot com. This isKirston's Corner with Kirston Watson and Kirston now
joined us on those fourth of Julylive from the field the Dodgers Stadium before
the final game of this three gameseries Dodgers and the Diamondbacks and some good
news as far as the Dodgers injuryfront heres and Clayton Kershaw through baseball.

(08:13):
See Danny through a bullpen today.Guy, that's about thirty pitches. He
said, he used his full pitchmix and so this is a really good
step for him. He's coming offand being shut down for a week.
Dave Roberts told us that he actuallygot a shot in his shoulder just to
help with that residual sort it sojust kind of to alleviate that. So
he said he feels a lot better. He doesn't know per se if this

(08:35):
storm is he's going to have tocontinue to deal with. He's hopeful and
everyone's doctimistic, including doctor Elatroc,that he's not going to continue to do
be dealing with it. But todayit was just a really good step for
play. And he said the nextthing for him, will be taking part
in a sin game facing some hitters, said he wasn't sure just yet just
to how many innings he would bethrowing in that, and then hopefully he'll

(08:58):
get back to get back on trackfor his rehab assignment. So Dave and
He's still going to need two orthree of them. But the good news
is that he's not necessarily starting fromscratch with his rehab assignment. He's still
pretty built up and moving in theright direction, so it's just a matter
of not getting him ready for areturn. Looking at the Dodgers right now,
back on the field tonight's you gotLand and Nak, who hopefully can

(09:20):
give them some length because look atthis bullpen, Kirsten, a lot of
guys getting a lot of use.Yeah, exactly. So as you mentioned,
I mean with Land and Nat we'veprimarily been seeing him take down like
side innings. So the hope isthat he can maybe get a little bit
deeper. I know Dave always tellshim the goal is just to go for
as long as you can, throwas hard as you can, for as
long as you can. But asyou mentioned, the bullpen usage has been

(09:43):
pretty high, and yesterday we sawthem take down majority of the innings,
and so with those guys, Davedoes feel that, you know, as
much as we've seen a lot ofarms come out, he feels like things
are in a good spot. Evenyesterday, I got to stay away from,
you know, most of that superhigh leverage arm. They feel good
about willing for the win today andhe has available to help support Land and
Knact. But also they're looking aheadto Sunday against the Brewers, in which

(10:07):
that is cent of looked at asTVD and they said that could be a
bullkon game. So the hope isto really stay away from Ryan Yarborough,
who's going to be down no matterwhat today, but stay away from him
over the next couple of days.But he can be available in that Sunday
game against the Brewers. It's thefourth of July. That means fireworks?
Are you a fireworks galak here soon? I really am. However, like

(10:31):
the thing in la Is, they'rejust going off everywhere and that kind of
scares me sometimes, But I reallyam. But I'd love fireworks. I
grew up like in Orlando, soDoozey was right there. So every Fourth
of July we would always watch theDisney fireworks and so yeah, no,
I love them and I can't wait. I'm hoping that we'll be to see
some of it tonight here Dodgers Dated, which would be a special little for

(10:52):
holiday performance for the fourth of July. No doubt, fireworks during the game
and afterwards should be good for theDodgers. Appreciated, Garrison, Dodger fans
and Hans. You're listening experience bydownloading the iHeartRadio app and listening in HD.
It's all powered by LA Care HealthPlan serving all Angelinos la Care dot
Org. Coming up here on Dodgerson Deck, we'll dive deeper to this
pitching matchup. David Massego is oneon one with Christian Walker, but I'm

(11:16):
neck. We'll get you an injuryreport and we'll hear from the manager himself,
Dave Roberts. It's the Dodgers andDiamondbacks on this fourth of July.
I'm Tim katesis Los Angeles Dodgers AudioNetwork. This is Morongo Cassino Dodgers on
your home for LA Dodgers Baseball.Marogo Casino Dodgers on Deck continues as we

(11:39):
lead you up to first pitch.Dodgers and Diamondbacks on this fourth of July
Marongo Casino Resort and Spy Grand Slam. Four good times landing Nack Zach gallon
the pitching matchup, first pitch comingup at six ten. This it's the
LA Dodgers Injury Report, presented byUCLA Healthy Official medical Partner the Los Angeles
Dodgers. Mookie Bets on the IELat the fracture left hand. Yoshinobu Yabamoto

(12:03):
on the IEL at the strained rotatorcuff, Walker Buehler on the eel with
this sore hip. Michael Grove onthe I L at the sowre lat Max
Munsey working his way back. Lookslike post All Star break when he'll return.
David vess A a lot more onthat. Clayton Kershaw through today.
That is good news. Joe Kelly, he had a rehab assignment a couple
of days ago in Rancho Kucamonga.Dodgers looking like they're slowly but surely starting

(12:24):
to get healthy. All right,Let's head back out to Dodger Stadium and
check out with the Dodger Skipper.Anything else? Questions for Dave? Dave?
Can you just describe Dave? Canyou talk about the pressure in the
dugouts with Dave Roberts and with withKershaw. How satisfied and how are you
can you be that this was justa one off. He's not going to

(12:46):
experience soreness every time he tries toyou ramp up that I'm holding out hope.
But I do think that, youknow, doctor Elatross did say that
there's going to be some things thathe's gonna have to go through, some
soreness. He got the shot,took the week off, and from that

(13:07):
point on he's had no soreness.The strength is there, his body is
moving well. So I think thatfor us, yeah, there can always
be something that pops up. Butright now, where we're at today really
encouraging. Have you been able tolay eyes on Len see if he's swinging
or what the swings look like.I haven't laid eyes on him. I've

(13:31):
heard it's been slow. To behonest, you know it's slow. It's
been slow. There's still some sorenessin the oblique. He has been swinging
a little bit recently. I stillthink it's a slow, slow process.

(13:54):
So outside of giving a hard timeline, which I don't think anyone knows it's
gonna be. Certainly, you know, well after the all start break in
my opinion expressed how long this iscondragged on. I am very surprised.
I think we all are. Youknow, there was a quick thought of
you know, not even putting onthe il and so now you look at

(14:16):
north of sixty days, it's gonnabe. It's I think it's a surprise
all of us. But they arevery tricky. Yeah, all right,
there's Dave Roberts talking about Clayton Kershawwho threw off a mount today, and
certainly talking about Maxi Munsey in thelingering oblique injury. Now looking at well
passed the All Star break for hisreturn, Dave Roberts down the dugout brought
to you by Service Titan. DaveRoberts is a Titan in his own right.

(14:37):
He's got a plan before his teamhits the field. You need one
for your growing contracting business too.Let Service Titan help you implement it.
Learn more at Service Titan dot com. I'll wait continue here on Dodgers on
Deck. We'll check in with DavidBassay lead you up to first pitch on
this fourth of July. Dodgers andDiamondbacks. I'm Tim Katsi's Los Angeles Dodgers

(14:58):
Audio Network. This is Marongo Casino, Dodgers on Deck on your home for
the blue all season of Dodgers andDiamondbacks on those fourth of July, final
game of this three game series.Homestead will continue tomorrow night when the Milwaukee

(15:18):
Brewers come to town. Landing nackon the mountain tonight, first pitch coming
up at sixten, joining Tim katson Dodgers on Deck. I accept everybody
for who they are. This isDodger insider David Bass. All right,
David Big News Today Clayton Kershaw talkingabout his bullpen session. How did it
go? Thirty ish pitches in hisword, and he said he threw his

(15:43):
full compliment of pitch mix bastball,curveball, slider, and also mixed in
a couple of changeups. And wehad a chance to catch up with Clayton
after the bullpen session was done.You know, it doesn't really matter how
good you do out there. Itall matters. It's how you do when
the come on. So I reallyjust wanted to check a box today without

(16:03):
giving away too much during this wholeperiod of time, is there when we
do see you pitch. Is therenew pitches that we may see that you
unveiled during this period of time.Have you had a chance to mess around
with new things? I mean,I through some change ups in that lot
I've started in Rancho that uh,I mean, they're pretty decent results.
So yeah, at the end ofthe day, I really don't know,

(16:26):
you know, I think when youget out there, stuff changes, obviously,
so you kind of rely on whatyou've been good at in the past.
But it'd be nice to be ableto throw a change up every once
in a while. But I reallydon't know. We'll see, Okay,
have any answers for Christian Walker thatyou could share. I've got some thoughts.
Yeah, not for for for ourguys, not for you though.

(16:47):
Yeah. Yeah, I guess thescout and report will remain quiet. But
hopefully whatever he has, the Dodgerscertainly need an answer against Christian Walker tonight.
Tim, Yeah, we'll hear fromChristian Walker. You go one along
with him and coming up about fifteenminutes or so. DV. Hey,
your southern California Ford dealers were greatoffers on a Ford Broncos Sport or any
Ford model during Ford's fourth of Julysale of thon. All Right, David,

(17:11):
Dodgers in a tight race. Lookat the standings and they're pretty much
in front of everybody in the division. Who are they in a tight race
with? Well, since we talkedabout October, Tim is in seeding a
big deal these days. If youare one of the first two seeds in
either league, you get a firstround by and don't have to play that
wildcard best of three. Well,right now, the Dodgers are just a

(17:34):
game ahead of the NL Central leadingBrewers for that second seed in the National
League postseason picture, and the Brewerscome to town tomorrow for a three game
series. So it would behoove theDodgers to get some separation between them and
Milwaukee between now and the end ofthe year. David. At the end

(17:56):
of the month, it's the tradedeadline, guy, get into some trade
talk. Mind numbing trade talk.What are you hearing, Well, I'm
starting to hear. Randy a Rosa. Raina's name, the Tampa Bay outfielder
who had a awful first two monthsof the season, but in the month
of June came to life with anops of eight ninety three. He hit

(18:18):
two ninety one with three home runs. The Dodgers, ideally, Tim would
love to acquire an outfielder that couldplay every day so they could platoon Andy
Pajez and Jason Hayward. So Randya Rosa, Raina's name is a name
that I'm starting to hear more andmore, and we'll see whether or not
that comes to fruition. David AustinBarnes gets to start tonight. No,

(18:41):
Will Smith is just a case ofsix games in six days to get him
off his feet or what. Yeah, it feels that way right. The
Dodgers obviously want to do well againstthe Brewers, so they're saving Will for
those three games. Dave Roberts saidhe'll start all three games going into it
as of now now. But youknow, Will Smith is very valuable and

(19:03):
placed the most demanding position on thefield, as you know, so,
uh, they're trying to keep himhealthy. But obviously, especially without Mookie
Betts and Max Munsey, their lineupis a lot thinner without him in it.
Yeah, no doubt. David greatstuff will check back in with you
in just a little bit coming uphere on Wrongo Casino Dodgers on Deck.
We'll hear from Christian Walker. Youhear David ask Clayton Gershaw about him.

(19:26):
We're gonna hear from the Diabacks firstbaseman and a guy who's had his way
with the Dodger pitching this season andthis series at Dodgers Stadium. Also dive
deeper to this pitching matchup. Butup next your Dodgers magical moment on the
fourth of July. We're gonna getvery patriotic Dodgers Diabacks. Thanks for being
with us. I'm Tim Katson.This is Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network.

(19:52):
As we were saying, this isMarongo Casino Dodgers on deck on the official
home of La Dodgers Baseball. Dodgersand Diamondbacks wrapping up this three games series,
Dodgers won the opener walk off fashion. Diamondbacks blew out the Dodgers last
night's the rubber game tonight, landingneck Zach gallon the pitching matchup. Dodgers

(20:17):
then will play host of the MilwaukeeBrewers for a three game series beginning Tomorrow
night out at the Ravine. Dodgersfirst place atop the NLS, looking to
keep pace with the Padres, Giants, and Dia backs behind them. First
pitch tonight on the fourth of July, coming up at six ten. Here
who wants the hot It's time forthe Hawfey Magical Moment Ditch Magical presented by

(20:44):
Hawfy Hot Tails. Well on thisfourth of July, no better time to
go back to April twenty fifth,nineteen seventy six, Dodgers playing host of
the Chicago Cubs, when two fansdecided to run on the field and on
Rick Monday the greatest save of hiscareer. Um, all right, I'm

(21:07):
not sure what he's doing out there. It looks like he's gonna burn a
flag, and Rick Monday runs andtakes it away from him. As on
Monday, I think a guy wasgonna step fire of the American flag.
Can you imagine that? Well,they've got to lose him in a hari.
Then Monday, when he realized whathe was gonna do, race over

(21:30):
and took the flag away from him. The great Van Scully on the call
back in nineteen seventy six. Thencomes outfielder Rick Monday saves the American flag
from two people who rent on thefield trying to burn it in left field
at Dodger Stadium. Rick Monday comesin, swoops in and pulls the American
flag away before they can do anydamage. Great save Rick Monday. April

(21:55):
twenty fifth, nineteen seventy six.This Haffey Magical moment brought to you by
Hoffy hot Dogs, a So Caltreasure for over one hundred years. Visit
hoffeybrand dot com to find out whereyou can purchase Cray Malicious Haffey hot Dogs.
When we continue here on Dodgers onDeck, we'll check in with the

(22:15):
Rick Monday to lead jump to firstpitch on this fourth of July Dodgers and
Diamondbacks. I'm Tim Katson. Thisis Los Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. This
is Lorongo Casino, Dodgers on Dodgerson Deck. Y'all on the official home
of La Dodgers Baseball. It's aDodgers and Diamondbacks on this fourth and July

(22:41):
from Dodgers Stadium Land and Knack ZachGallum. The pitching matchup will dive deeper
into those numbers coming up in justa little bit. First pitches six ten
Dodgers Fans start your future to CaliforniaCommunity College. Financial aids available to help
with the tuition, the books,and sometimes even the rent. It's time
to take that next big step.Classes can fill up quickly, so en
roll today. I can go tocollege dot com. Still to come,

(23:02):
We'll get you those keys to thegame. But burst and now joined by
David Basseying, here's La Dodgers broadcasterand World Series champion Dodger Rick Monday.
Rick, Happy fourth of July.Great to be at the ballpark with you.
I you know, my family's atthe swimming pool. But I said
I want to be at Dodgers Stadiumwith Rick Monday, And they kept telling

(23:22):
you to go to the deep end, right. Yeah, well that's true.
That's all right. And for allof those that are listening, please
make it a safe one. There'stoo many things that happen up with the
July. And watch out for anaccidents, and watch out for the kids.
Take care of one another. Rightnow, it feels like Independence Day
and baseball go together for as longas I've been alive. Rick, Yeah

(23:45):
it is. Let me ask youa question now, now we're only into
I mean, we're in the gameeighty eight, right, is it too
soon to talk about wildcard standings?Not at all. I say that because
this morning, looking at some numbers, if we include the teams, it
expanded into three teams for the wildcardselection now with the new rules. Correct.

(24:07):
So if we include those three teams, which right now are the Atlanta
Braves, the San Diego and Andres, and the Saint Louis Cardinals, those
are the top three. But ifwe go to teams that are four and
a half games out of and that'swithin reach, there's nine teams in the
National League, and there are sixteams in the American League right now within
four and a half games of oneof those three wildcard spots. I mean,

(24:32):
this is unbelievable. Fifteen teams inMajor League Baseball, half of Major
League Baseball right now within four anda half games of making one of those
three wildcard spots. And in theNational League, rick a lot of those
teams still in the hunts are noteven at five hundred, including the Arizona
dinadback exactly. I mean Arizona,they're two and a half out of the

(24:52):
wildcard right now with a record offorty two and forty four. The New
York Mets prizingly enough, I meanyou start to look and said, well,
everybody was hysterical Oak. The Metscan't do this. They're a game
in a half out at a fivehundred pace. They're at forty two and
forty two thanks to America's DH JDMartinez, who has carried the Mets to
that position. Yeah. Yeah,but he can only bat once. Although

(25:17):
it seems as if in this series, in just about every series, it
seems like Christian Walker is batting atleast once every inning for the Arisola Diamondbacks.
When they faced the Dodgers, Hey, well, it's interesting you brought
up Christian Walker's name. Rick theDodger Killer himself is going to join us
in a few minutes. I didn'tknow that, Yes, exactly. Yeah.
I had a chance to catch uppretty J Walker. I mentioned last

(25:40):
night deceiven and he looked at melike a you know, yeah, that
look. I said, he's oneof those guys, mean Walker. When
he comes to home plate, youshould just tell him what's coming to home
plate. Hey, Christian, we'regonna throw your breaking ball. Here's why.
First of all, if you cameto home plate and I'm the catcher,
David Besseying, and you step intothe box and said, hey,
we're going to throw your slider righthere. Would you believe me? No,

(26:03):
okay, that's my point. Nowwe throw you a slider right now.
I say to you, Hey,David, we're going to throw you
fastball. Would you believe me?What if we throw you fastball? Now
you're going wait a minute, he'sgoing to lie to me at some particular
time, I would not believe you. You would not believe me if you
go to home plate and it's happenedin the past. Rick, we talked
about this last night on the show. Jose Motor brought this up, and

(26:26):
we forget about it. But whena hitter is doing what Christian Walker is
doing against you, why not dothe Don Drysdale and knock him down or
at least move his feet a littlebit. Well, you can move his
feet by just coming inside. Acouple of pitches were inside and he didn't
like it. If you think ofone pitch last night, he kind of
glared back at the mount. I'mnot talking about hitting people because baseball has

(26:51):
really moved the rules to where they'renot going to put up with it.
Because it is imperative that you keepplayers on the field. They don't want
knockdown pitches can't do that anymore,and that's a good thing. You don't
want to hurt players and keep themout for a considerable period of time.
So that's the reason for the rulingthat takes place, and they're right on
top of it, and the finesand suspensions are rather lengthy. That being

(27:15):
said, there's nothing wrong with movingsomebody's feed at home plate, moving inside.
And again, we saw some pitcheslast night inside. Oh he hit
one out of the ballpark inside,but it was not really a good pitch
at that particular account. It wasa hitters count where you can expand the
strike stone if you want. Well, Rick brushes me back every day right
here, you know, thanks alot, Rick. At least I'm not
throwing at your hit. I appreciateit. Not today, I know hunting

(27:38):
today. By Happy fourth of July, Hapy, fourth of July, everybody,
we'll send it back to you inthe studio. Tim all right,
thank you, DV, thank you. Mowe. Dodgers Baseball is brought to
you by Speedy Cash, official sponsorof every LA Weekend. Find out more
Speedycash dot com or stop in anLA area Speedy Cash store. Still to
come here on Dodgers on deck.We'll get you a preview of this pitching
matchup. Rick'll be back with StephenNelson gets to the keys of the game.

(28:02):
But up next we go high andtight with the Dodger Killer himself,
Christian Walker Diamondbacks first base. Leadyou up to Dodgers and Diamondbacks on this
fourth of July. First pitch issix ten. I'm sim Kates's Los Angeles
Dodgers audio note. This is MorongoCasino Dodgers Hunter on your home for LA

(28:26):
Dodgers Baseball. It's the Dodgers andDiamondbacks on this fourth of July, landing
Nack Zach gallon the pitching matchup inthis series finale. First pitch coming up
at six ten. Dodgers Baseball ispresented by Children's Hospital LA. When you
need the very best care for yourchild, there's only one place to go,
Children's Hospital Los Angeles because they're rankednumber one in California for pediatric care.

(28:49):
Find the right doctor at CHLA dotorg. And now what will likely
be Vassy fielding insults from a Dodgerplayer. It's an engaged of endearment.
This is high and tucked. TheDodgers and Diamondbacks wrapping up this three game
series on the fourth of July,and I'm with a man that I have

(29:10):
now labeled a Dodger killer public enemynumber one here in Los Angeles because he
has done amazing things, not againstthe Dodgers only, but against major League
Baseball. He has twenty home runs, tied with the best first basemen,
among the most hit this year,and that's the one and only Christian Walker.
Christian, thanks a lot for thetime. Appreciate it. Yeah,

(29:32):
thanks for having me. I feellike I was obligated to come over here
just so Dodger fans can hear whatyou sound like, what your personality is
like. So I guess this isyour personal introduction after your bat has done
all the talking. No, it'san honor. There's a ton of history
in the stadium, in this organization, so you know, to be even

(29:52):
on anybody's radar of you know,having success against the team or the organization,
it's it's humbling for sure. Afterlast year the Diamondback going to the
World Series sweeping the Dodgers in thefirst round, is there a different era
of confidence among this group of players. Yeah, it's no secret. You
know how good this Dodgers team isyear in and year out, and especially
last year. So I know,I know personally that that gave us and

(30:15):
and me a ton of confidence anda ton of momentum moving forward. That
was that was something that was circledon our on our postseason to do list,
and you know, to be proudof that that that series win and
and you know, it felt likethat was that was a big stepping stone
for us and in our success inthe postseason. I know there's an extra
wild card berth now, and itseems like teams like the Dodgers, the

(30:38):
Phillies they talk about October. Butfor other teams and for them as well,
doesn't there need to be a senseof urgency and not try to diminish
the regular season. Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, I
think it's it's all part of thepreparation. You know. Some some teams
have the luxury they they know they'regoing to be able to put up a
certain amount of wins every year.They have the luxury to you know,
set their sights on the postseas andand you know, it doesn't seem to

(31:02):
affect how they go about their businessduring the regular season. I think other
teams that are, you know,a little unfamiliar with the postseason and how
hard it is to get in.Uh, you know, their their focus
is day to day and and tryingto win every game. I know the
pitching has been hurt for you guysso far the first half of the season.
Do you feel like you're in thesame position or a better position to
make a run in the second halfthis year if you get guys like Eduardo

(31:25):
Rodriguez and Merril Kelly back. Yeah, any anytime you get your you know,
your your your top guys back,that's that's huge. But you know
that being said, it's there's stilla lot of baseball left. You know,
there's there's gonna be there's gonna bemore injuries, right There's gonna be
guys that come back from the iL. It's just it's part of the
season. It's the nature of it. You know, there's there's a lot
of good talent in this in thisclubhouse right now to win games. And

(31:47):
yeah, it's just a matter ofyou know, trusting each other and having
each other's backs and and just leavingit on the field. That's the voice
of Christian Walker ahead a first pitchbetween the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. All right,
Christian, we all know how wellyou done here at Dodgers Stadium.
Is it something about the way yousee the ball here? Is it the
heightened atmosphere here at Dodger Stadium?Can you put your finger on why you've

(32:08):
excelled? No, I mean alittle bit of both, you know,
all of the above. It's youknow, it's definitely a you know,
there's a there's a play to yourcompetition type type expectation when you come here.
We know, you know that theDodgers are going to give us some
some good games. And yeah,it's you know, I wish there was
you know, a rhyme or reasonto it. It's just I think it's
just one of those funny baseball stats. When you go inside that batter's box

(32:31):
last night, obviously you're locked in. Is there a feel, like you
can use an analogy sort of likeKlay Thompson or Steph Curry when they're making
threes from half court? Is therethat same feel in the batter's box for
a hitter? I know, Iknow, you know. One major difference
that comes to mind is is justthe size of the park, not that

(32:52):
this is like a small park byany means. But playing at Chase,
you know, I hit a balllast week that was a four hundred and
twenty foot double, So like right, like, sometimes it's it's a little
daunting feeling like you have to hitthe ball so hard and so far to
get rewarded there at Chase sometimes,and you know, there's there's other pros
that come with it. There's alot of doubles, there's a lot of
triples to be had in that bigoutfield. But you know, I would

(33:14):
say maybe maybe it takes a littlebit of effort level out where, you
know, maybe on that like eightyninety percent effort level and it's maybe a
little bit more efficient and just trustingthat you know, if I put a
good swing on it and put theball in the barrel, I can be
rewarded for it. So you havetwenty home runs this year? Are you
telling us your short change playing inwhat hitters consider a hitters ballpark? No,

(33:35):
you're talking about Chase. Yeah,Yeah, that's not a hitter's ballpark
anymore. I think I think fiveor six years ago it definitely was.
But I think since you know,the humidors have been added, and it
seems like the league is trying toregulate how the ball, how the ball
flies around the league. You know, there's still some parks that it's it's
still a good place to hit,right, Like Cincinnati comes to mind,
Colorado comes to mind, stuff likethat. But yeah, for whatever reason,

(33:59):
you know, I just enjoy Ienjoy competing at Dodger Stadium. I've
always felt, no matter who itis or what team you're playing for,
when you go to a visiting ballparkand you get the booze, I feel
like that's a sign of respect.Do you feel like maybe you could feed
off of that because I hate totell you, Christian, I feel like
you're a household name now in LosAngeles. Yeah. Yeah, any anytime

(34:22):
the fans, you know, acknowledgeyou good or bad, I think there's
something positive to be taken from there, for sure. But yeah, like
I said, man, it's justone of those things. It's uh,
you know, I wish I wishI had like a good juicy nugget for
you. Why it's here, Butyeah, I think it's just one of
those one of those funny baseball stats. That's awesome. Well, great meeting
you and thank you for the time. I really appreciate it. Yeah,

(34:42):
thank you. You're okay with meending this by calling you Dodger killer?
Still right? Hey, I'm notsaying it at a lot of games have
you played? You know? Therehe is Dodger killer Christian Walker on the
fourth of July. We'll send itback to you in the studio. Tim,
all right, thank you, David. Christian Walker is certainly a Dodger
killer. He's a on fire inthis series so far against the Blue.
Dodgers Baseball is brought to by Shaky'sPizza Parlor, official pizza partner of the

(35:07):
Dodgers audio broadcast. When it's gamenight, it's group night at shakys dot
Com. Leading up to first pitchon this fourth of July, it's the
Dodgers and Diamondbacks up next. We'lldive deeper into this pitching matchup, landing
knack on the mound for the Dodgers. I'm Tim Katson. This is Los
Angeles Dodgers Audio Network. This isMarongo Casino, Dodgers on deck wa on

(35:31):
your home for the Blue All seasonLow. It's the Dodgers in Diamondbacks on
this fourth of July. First pitchfrom Dodgers Stadium is coming up at six
ten, and now before the Dodgershit the dining we look at the pitching
matchup resented by your Southern California ToyotaDealers. Turn your trail dominating off roading

(35:52):
dreams into a reality in the allnew twenty twenty four Tacoma See your Toyota
Dealer today, they make it easy. Zach Gallon on the mound for Arizona,
six and four with a two toeighty three EERRA. The twenty eight
year old right hander already now inhis sixth season in the big leagues,
making his thirteen start this year.He missed a month on the il with

(36:13):
a hamstring injury. This is hissecond start since coming back last time out
six shutout innings, just one hit, seven punchouts in a win over the
Oakland A's, and his career againstthe Dodgers. They've seen him a lot.
Eleven career starts, he is onein four with a three forty eight
RORA a two to oh five opponent'sbatting average, but he's also got seventy
five strikeouts. This is his sixthcareer start at Dodgers Stadium on the mound

(36:37):
for the Dodgers on this fourth ofJuly. Landon Nack one and one with
a two to oh eight ERA.The twenty six year old right hander recalled
a couple of weeks ago. Makinghis seventh start of this season in Triple
A Oklahoma City, landon Ack wasthree and two with a three fifty four
ERA in ten games ninth starts withfifty two strikeouts. This is his third

(36:57):
start in a row since being calledup from oh Okay see last time out.
Four and two, third innings,one run, five hits, seven
strikeouts and a no decision against theSan Francisco Giants. Dodgers Diamondbacks on this
fourth of July were fifteen minutes awayfrom first pitch. Keys to the game
with Steven and Rick Our Next,I'm Tim Katson. This is Los Angeles

(37:20):
Dodgers Audio Network. As we weresaying, this is Marongo Casino Dodgers on
deck on the official home of LaDodgers Baseball. It's the Dodgers and Diamondbacks
on this fourth of July. LandingNack Zach Gallon the pitching matchup. First
pitch coming up at six' ten. Dodgers fans, enhance your listening experience

(37:44):
to Dodger games by downloading the iHeartRadioapp and listening in HD. Take it
with you on the go. Yourmobile device is crystal clear and a great
way to listen to Dodgers Baseball.All powered by LA Care Health Plans serving
all Angelino's Lacaret or all Right.Before first pitch, we head back out
to the two guys on the calltonight, Rick Monday, Steven Nelson,

(38:06):
Thanks DC. Back here with Moe. We're getting closer to first pitch the
series finale for the Dodgers against theDiamondbacks. It'll be Land and Knack for
the Dodgers and Zach Gallan for theDiamondbacks, who the Dodgers have not seen
the Rity since last year's NLDS whenhe picked up his first ever win at
Dodgers Stadium. He has not wona game here in the regular season,

(38:29):
though He's going four with the fourto two nine ERA here at Dodgers Stadium
in six career starts here. Butmake no mistake, at the last handful
of years, there have been afew pitchers in baseball, few pitchers in
the National League definitely who are betterthan him. Yeah, then you start
to look at the last three years, er fourteenth best in Major League Baseball,
just a fraction above three in thatperiod of time. Dodgers know him

(38:50):
well, they've seen him eleven differentstarts that they've had during the regular season.
But one thing that they do knowthey have to make sure that Gallan
does not fool them with off speedand with breaking stuff. I say that
because a he gets the bowl downgood breaking pitches, No question about it.
That curb bol throws at almost thirtypercent of the time, and he
gets a high percentage of swings andmisses at breaking balls that are not even

(39:13):
in the strike zone and something thatwe were talking about earlier. Mo Is.
Again, the series is on theline, but the Dodgers are thinking
about the big picture, right,not just the one hundred and sixty two
game marathon that is the regular season, but getting guys to the postseason in
their best form. And so withthat comes you're monitoring playing time. And
so the two guys who have probablyhad the most success against Gallen are not

(39:37):
in the starting lineup. That's WillSmith, who's six for nineteen against Gallen,
that's a three to sixteen average,and Miguel Rojas who's three for six
small sampracized, but a five hundredbatting average, and just trying to make
sure you protect players and for landonneck. You know, seven starts now,
this is the seventh that he's made. His last outing that was bridy

(39:57):
in San Francisco, allowed just onerun, went four and two thirds.
They kind of protected him. Hegave up a home run, had a
career high seven strikee counts in thatballgame. Then he faced these Arizona Diamondbacks
back on the thirtieth of April.He lowed just one run on five innings
of work, had a no decision. I was eventually a ten inning,
four to three Dodger loss. Hedid give up a home run and guess

(40:19):
it was hits mine. Yeah thatguy, Yeah, Christian Walker and the
Dodgers have to figure out a wayto kind of cool off his bat and
do it in a hurry. No, his last couple starts. Land and
Nak has pitched very well. He'spitched well enough to get wins, but
that just hasn't happened. He's leftin the line or with the team ahead,
but the team was not able tohold on in those games to get
him his second major league win.The Dodgers would love to get him a

(40:44):
win tonight, because he's deserved thatof late, and because they want to
win the series they need to takeTonight's a serious fal he gets the Diamondbacks
to do so. First pitch rapidlyapproaching. Tim. Let's get it back
to you, all right, Thankyou, Nelly. First pitched coming up
on this fourth of July fireworks show. Hopefully during the game and afterwards,
no doubt, first pitch is comingup. Don't forget after the game,

(41:05):
David Messe's got you cover with allthe highlights, postgame reaction, and of
course Dodger talk as well. Enjoythe game, Happy for the July I'm
Tim Kates. This has been MorongoCasino Dodgers on Deck on the Los Angeles
Dodgers Audio Network.