Dodgers spend Jackie Robinson Day honoring baseball legend’s courage and legacy
All 30 Major League Baseball clubs celebrated the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day on Friday.
But no team did it quite like the Dodgers.
In the morning, David Price and Mookie Betts were out in the community; Price at Longfellow Elementary School in Pasadena, reading the book “I Am Jackie Robinson” to students; Betts at Robinson’s nearby alma mater, John Muir High School, helping unveil a mural of Robinson in the campus’ courtyard.
“Walking around and seeing where he played baseball and where he walked to class, it’s just neat,” Betts said. “[The whole day] is kind of like a holiday here. It’s a holiday everywhere, but it’s a little more here.”
In the afternoon, the team donned its No. 42 jerseys and walked to the center-field plaza at Dodger Stadium, gathering around a statue of Robinson during an address from his son, David.
“To have David here today, knowing that there’s going to be 42 jerseys all over the ballpark and everyone in baseball is going to be wearing blue jerseys with the No. 42, it’s special,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “What he did was incredible, but we’ve got to do him right by keep going.”
Dodgers defeat Reds 3-1 on Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium
Top of the ninth: Closer Craig Kimbrel retired the Reds in order in the ninth inning, picking up his third save of the season in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win Friday at Dodger Stadium on Jackie Robinson Day.
⚾ Final score: Dodgers 3, Reds 1
Dodgers take a 3-1 lead over the Reds into the ninth inning
Top of the eighth: It’s another 1-2-3 inning for Dodgers reliever Tyler Anderson, who has allowed two hits, one run, struck out four and walked none over four innings in a close game. Craig Kimbrel will pitch the ninth for the Dodgers, facing the bottom of the Cincinnati order.
Bottom of the eighth: Reds reliever Ryan Hendrix strikes out Gavin Lux with Chris Taylor on first to end a scoreless eighth.
⚾ End of the eighth: Dodgers 3, Reds 1
Dodgers take 3-1 lead into the eighth inning
Top of the seventh: Dodgers reliever Tyler Anderson oversees a 1-2-3 inning, with Jake Fraley and Tyler Naquin grounding out to second and Tommy Pham popping out.
It’s been another solid outing for Anderson, who has delivered a good helping of quality innings for the Dodgers in his two outings this season.
Bottom of the seventh: Trea Turner singled down the right-field line off Reds reliever Alexis Diaz, but after stealing second, he went nowhere with Max Muncy and Justin Turner flying out.
⚾ End of the seventh: Dodgers 3, Reds 1
Former Dodger Kyle Farmer cuts into the Dodgers’ lead
Top of the sixth: Cincinnati’s Kyle Farmer hit a run-scoring single to center off Dodgers reliever Tyler Anderson to make it 3-1 Dodgers.
Farmer’s hit drove in Aristides Aquino, who reached first on a fielder’s choice. Mike Moustakas then moved Aquino to third on a single to right.
Anderson then struck out Aramis Garcia to get out of the inning, limiting the damage. Not the greatest inning for Anderson considering he allowed two hits and plunked Joey Votto in the head, but the reliever got out of a jam.
Bottom of the sixth: Reds reliever Dauri Moreta strikes out Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor, walks Gavin Lux and then gets Mookie Betts to ground out to get through the inning on 14 pitches.
⚾ End of the sixth: Dodgers 3, Reds 1
Joey Votto not happy about getting hit by pitch, exchanges words with Tyler Anderson
Reds slugger Joey Votto had some choice words for Dodgers reliever Tyler Anderson after being hit in head with a pitch during the top of the sixth inning.
The 78.8-mph changeup hit Votto in the brim of the batting helmet and sent him down to the ground, and it was immediately clear Votto was not happy after his helmet went flying. As he walked to first, Votto exchanged words with Anderson, but the benches did not clear and the situation quickly was defused on the field by players and umpires.
Votto appeared to be fine despite the scary incident and even waved off team trainers.
Dodgers score another run on a bases-loaded walk
Bottom of the fifth: Reds reliever Jeff Hoffman walked Justin Turner with the bases loaded, plating Gavin Lux and giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.
Lux led off the frame with a triple down the right-field line before Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch and Freddie Freeman drew a walk to load the bases. Jeff Hoffman then replaced starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez and promptly struck out Trea Turner before getting Max Muncy to pop out. After Justin Turner walked, Will Smith flied out to left to cap the inning.
Top of the fifth: Dodgers reliever Tyler Anderson retired the Reds in order, striking out Jake Fraley and Tyler Naquin in the process.
⚾ End of the fifth: Dodgers 5, Reds 0
Dodgers go down in order, but still lead 2-0 heading into the fifth
Top of the fourth: Former Dodger Kyle Farmer hit a two-out double off Tony Gonsolin into the left-field corner, but he went nowhere when Aramis Garcia popped out to shallow left field.
Tyler Anderson will take over on the mound for Gonsolin in the fifth. Gonsolin, in his second start of the season, allowed three hits, struck out two and walked three over 74 pitches.
Bottom of the fourth: Reds starting pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez strikes out Will Smith, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor.
⚾ End of the fourth: Dodgers 2, Reds 0
Trea Turner’s run-scoring triple gives Dodgers a 2-0 lead
Bottom of the third: Trea Turner drove in Gavin Lux on a run-scoring triple down the right-field line, extending his hitting streak to 26 games to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead.
Lux continued his strong start of the season with a leadoff single to left. He then stole second and advanced to third on a Freddie Freeman groundout. The speedy Turner then cracked a 93-mph fastball from Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez into the right-field corner to easily reach third base.
If Turner continues to play like this, Andrew Friedman better have his agent on speed dial (Turner is eligible for free agency this offseason).
Top of the third: Tony Gonsolin is pumped. The Dodgers starter was feeling the Chavez Ravine love after striking out Cincinnati’s Aristides Aquino with the bases loaded to escape with the Dodgers’ lead intact.
Dodger Stadium isn’t being too friendly to hitters tonight. In the second inning, Will Smith nearly left the yard with a deep hit to center that seemingly ran out of steam for a routine out. An inning later, Cody Bellinger managed to chase down a deep shot to center off the bat of Cincinnati’s Tommy Pham that must have drawn a sigh of relief from Gonsolin.
After walking Joey Votto to load the bases, Gonsolin got Aquino to whiff on a well-placed, 85-mph splitter to get out of the inning.
⚾ End of the third: Dodgers 2, Reds 0
Chris Taylor’s single gives Dodgers a 1-0 lead after two innings
Bottom of the second: Chris Taylor drove in Max Muncy on a run-scoring single off Reds starter Vladimir Gutierrez to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead after two innings.
Taylor’s liner to left field nearly resulted in a second run crossing the plate, but Justin Turner was tagged out at home after a spot-on throw by Reds left fielder Aristides Aquino that arrived well before Turner.
Muncy led off the frame with a first-pitch double off the wall in right field to wake up the Dodger Stadium crowd. Turner reached base on a walk.
Top of the second: Cincinnati’s Brandon Drury reached base after a successful review challenge overturned a double-play call on the field. But he was left stranded at first when Will Smith caught a popup behind home plate from Mike Moustakas and Kyle Farmer lined out to right.
⚾ End of the second: Dodgers 1, Reds 0
Tony Gonsolin looking comfortable on the mound in second start
Top of the first inning: Tony Gonsolin had a shaky start in his 2022 debut last week against Colorado, but he looked pretty comfortable in the first inning despite giving up a four-pitch walk to open the game. Jake Fraley, who drew the walk, was left stranded at second base when Gonsolin struck out Tyler Naquin before Tommy Pham and Joey Votto grounded out.
The Dodgers are hoping Gonsolin can stay healthy and be a workhorse starter for the team. Jack Harris took a look at what’s expected from the Dodgers’ rotation this season:
Will a lack of depth haunt the Dodgers’ rotation in 2022?
Bottom of the first inning: Cincinnati starter Vladimir Gutierrez retires the Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner in order.
⚾ End of the first inning: Reds 0, Dodgers 0
Dodgers honor the legacy of Jackie Robinson before game vs. Reds
Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s wife, attended Friday’s game at Dodger Stadium and took part in the pregame ceremonies. Robinson, who will turn 100 in July, was given a jacket from former Dodgers Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson commemorating the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Students from Muir High School in Pasadena also took part in pregame ceremonies.
Complete coverage: Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier 75 years ago today
In 1972, 25 years after he broke MLB’s color barrier, Robinson reflected on the ongoing fight for equality. Former Times sportswriter Ron Rapoport recounts that interview just months before Robinson’s death.
Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, one of two Black managers in MLB, says the shortening of the draft has made it harder for Black players to reach the majors.
Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine was teammates with Jackie Robinson from 1948 to 1956. He recalls his relationship with the man who broke baseball’s color barrier.
Seventy-five years ago Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier. Fifty years ago he returned to Dodger Stadium, a thaw in a frosty relationship.
Jackie Robinson’s role as leader in baseball and the civil rights movement served as the inspiration for a painting unveiled at the Negro Leagues Museum.
Maury Wills shares what would have been his thank you speech if he was at the special night honoring him at Dodger Stadium.
Kostya Kennedy discusses “True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson,” which takes on pivotal years in the life of baseball’s first Black player.
Why the Dodgers game tonight is being shown on Apple TV+
For decades now, the way you watch your baseball team has been pretty much the same. You paid a cable or satellite company a monthly fee for a bundle of channels, many of which you would never watch.
Your team’s regional sports network (or RSN) — SportsNet LA for the Dodgers, Bally Sports West for the Angels — was one of those channels. If your team’s game was selected for a national broadcast — on ESPN, Fox, FS1, TBS or MLB Network — you also could find those channels within your bundle. You might have to look up which channel would carry that day’s game, but you already had paid for access to it.
The bundle format is in decline, with customers balking at paying for dozens of channels they never watch and streaming services offering the chance to pay only for the programming you do want to watch. There might be no more critical concern for Major League Baseball, where teams have grown accustomed to ever-higher payments from cable and satellite companies, all based on the concept that each home subscriber should pay perhaps $5 per month for a team, even if 95% of those customers do not watch the games.
Trevor Bauer may fight leave and try to return to Dodger Stadium on Sunday, sources say
Could Trevor Bauer try to rejoin the Dodgers as soon as Sunday?
On Wednesday, a league source said the commissioner’s office and players’ union had agreed to extend the leave for Bauer through April 22. The leave previously was set to extend through Saturday.
However, according to people familiar with the matter, Bauer is exploring whether there is in fact a binding agreement in place.
A spokesman for the league declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the players union.
There is a written agreement between the league and the union, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The person said the league considers that agreement binding and said Bauer would not be eligible to play until the leave expires.
If Bauer does take the position that the most recent extension to his leave is not binding, commissioner Rob Manfred might have to levy a suspension by the end of the day Saturday or risk Bauer showing up at Dodger Stadium on Sunday.
Dodgers’ Dave Roberts calls out MLB for reducing opportunities for Black players
Dave Roberts, Reggie Smith and Fred Claire reveal how the Dodger legend has influenced their lives.
The word Dave Roberts kept coming back to was “uncomfortable.”
Jackie Robinson Day is the day Major League Baseball celebrates all it has done to bring Black people back to baseball. On this 75th anniversary of Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, Roberts is using the day to call out MLB for cutting back on opportunities for Black players.
“It’s really hit me in the face,” Roberts said, “that I have to be uncomfortable.”
To call Robinson a Hall of Fame baseball player is a painfully incomplete description, almost a mythology. He was an activist for civil rights and for social justice.
Dodgers’ starting lineup for Friday vs. Reds
Here’s the starting lineup for the Dodgers (4-2) against the Cincinnati Reds (2-5) on Friday:
Dodgers’ home opener delivers emotion, history and a memorable ‘Fred-die!’ welcome
It was dark, it was chilly, and the national anthem was interrupted by the flyover.
There were empty seats, rushed introductions that didn’t give the fans enough time to properly serenade Clayton Kershaw, and an initial feeling that this was just another weekday night.
Then the Dodgers showed up, and thousands of their neighbors roared, and their 60-year-old house shook, and suddenly it all made sense.
Welcome back. Welcome home.
For only the fourth time in 46 years, the Dodgers’ home opener took place at night, and while Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds initially felt weird, Dodger Stadium was eventually raucous and rollicking and…
“Fred-die! Fred-die! Fred-die!”
Freddie Freeman is crowned homecoming king in Dodgers’ victory over Reds
Before the game, one of the loudest ovations belonged to the Dodgers’ longest-tenured player.
At the height of Thursday night’s home opener, however, a sold-out Dodger Stadium was chanting for the team’s newest star.
In his first regular-season home game since signing with the Dodgers last month, Freddie Freeman delivered the loudest blow in the team’s 9-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds, lacing a leadoff double in the eighth to spark the team’s six-run, game-winning rally.
As Freeman pulled into second base, a crowd of 52,995 rose to its feet. Chanting along to the trumpeting beat of Dayvi’s “Baila Conmigo,” the fans shouted “Fred-die! Fred-die!” until the $162-million first baseman acknowledged them with a tap of his chest and left-handed wave.
How to watch and stream the Dodgers this season
Here’s the TV and streaming schedule for the Dodgers’ 2022 season: