Entries from LAist tagged with 'garymatthews'
December 6, 2007
He's 30, he spells his name funny, when he's not injured he's tearing the cover off the ball, and he's got a gun for an arm. If he passes his physical Andruw Jones will be on the happy end of a $36.2 million, two-year contract to play for the Dodgers. But should Dodger fans be happy about another outfielder, especially one who had such a miserable season last year (.222 batting average, .311 on-base......
Continue Reading "Dodgers Sign Jones to 5th Largest Salary in the Majors"October 9, 2007
If you're a local sports fan, hopefully you had Columbus Day (International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People, whatever) off to nurse a wicked hangover. In fact, maybe you should take tonight off from Sports Center, too. It's Leif Erikson day. Honest. Even George W. Bush knows that (and don't worry, he's probably not working today, either). Maybe it wasn't the worst, but it was up there. T.J. Simers hit the nail on the......
Continue Reading "Worst (Long) Weekend In LA Sports History?"October 1, 2007
Ducks 4, Kings 1 - After Los Angeles shocked Anaheim 4-1 in Saturday's season opener in London (yes, London), the defending champs showed who really is king. Despite 10 goals in two days, British fans were reportedly most excited about a good ol' fashioned hockey fight. Welcome back, NHL. Welcome back. A's 3, Angels 2 - The AL West champion Halos hit a skid when they clinched the pennant, but they saved face in their......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Ducks-Kings Again in London"August 29, 2007
Dodgers 4, Nationals 3 - Maybe, just maybe, Los Angeles is turning things around. The Blue Crew won for the third straight game and are within 4.5 of first place. Takashi Saito has been perfect in each of those games, retiring the final three opposing batters in each contest. Andre Ethier was 0-for-3 on Tuesday night, but drove home the winning run on a sac fly. The Dodgers go for the sweep against Washington tonight.......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Dodgers, Angels Roll"August 27, 2007
Dodgers 6, Mets 2 - Los Angeles might be wishing they picked up Boomer sooner. They took advantage of the shiny new toy latest addition, as 44 year old veteran David Wells pitched five innings to pick up career win 236. He allowed two runs on seven hits, but did throw four scoreless innings. He also had a bunt single to lead off the fifth and scored later in the inning. Angels 3, Blue Jays......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Here Comes The Boom(er)"August 17, 2007
Dodgers 6, Astros 2 - Too bad the Dodgers weren't playing double or nothing. The Blue Crew split the series against Houston 2-2. In the final game, they turned four double plays. Second baseman Jeff Kent hit three doubles, including one for a two runs. His counterpart, Craig Biggio, also had a couple hits. Angels 4, Blue Jays 3 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep thanks to a home run by Gary Matthews, Jr. and a......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Double Your Pleasure"August 8, 2007
Angels 10, Red Sox 4 - LAnaheim has won the first two games in a clash of baseball's best records. Gary Matthews, Jr. shone with 4 RBI, 3 runs, and 3 hits in five at-bats. He hit a homer in the 8th and robbed another from Boston's Coco Crisp. Joe Saunders allowed four runs on eight hits, but still got the win on just 5 and 1/3 innings of work thanks to a five run......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Matthews Hot, Cincy Hotter"August 2, 2007
Dodgers 6, Giants 4 - Barry Bonds didn't make any headlines on Wednesday, which was good news for Dodger faithful. Los Angeles needed an eigth inning comeback featuring a home run by Nomar Garciaparra. Nom-ahh also was one of four Dodgers with a stolen base. Russell Martin nabbed one of those bags, matching the team record of 18 stolen bases by a catcher (first set by Con Daily in 1892). For the first time this......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Dodgers Comeback, Angels Almost"August 1, 2007
Giants 3, Dodgers 1 - Barry Bonds surprisingly was all smiles despite a bitter reception at Chavez Ravine. While he didn't tie Hammerin' Hank for the career home run title, he did reach base on two walks and scored a run. Brad Penny allowed all three runs in six innings for just his second loss of the year. Baseball royalty on hand included Tommy Lasorda, Bud Selig, and Alyssa Milano. Wait, did we just write......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Not-So-Welcome To LA"July 6, 2007
Braves 8, Dodgers 6 - The Dodgers couldn't hold an early lead against Atlanta, as Brad Penny's stellar stats were tarnished with six runs and nine hits in just four innings. Chipper Jones was the star of the game, going yard from both sides of the plate. His 372nd career home run sealed the win for the Braves and set the club's all time record. Angels 5, Rangers 2 - LAnaheim avoided a sweep against......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Local Teams, Players Stumble"May 31, 2007
Ducks 1, Senators 0 - Anaheim needed another last-second goal to beat Ottawa, but in the NHL finals they'll take any victory they can get. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was clutch in the net again, guiding the Ducks to a 2-0 series lead. The teams head to Canada for the next two games. If necessary, five and seven would be in Anaheim. But does anybody care? Dodgers 5, Nationals 0 - It's going to be a good......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Victory On The Bill"May 14, 2007
Dodgers 10, Reds 5 - All nine Dodger starters had at least one hit or run scored, giving the team moms something to be proud of. Cincinnati's Ken Griffey, Jr. didn't disappoint, either, going deep on Mother's Day for the sixth time in his career. Ducks 4, Red Wings 3, OT - The Ducks evened the Western Conference Finals against Detroit at a game each and claimed home ice advantage heading into the next two......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Plenty For Mom To Talk About"May 11, 2007
Angels 8, Indians 0 - Anaheim's anemic offense finally looked hungry with a run total matching their previous three games combined. They scored eight against Cleveland, five coming in just one inning. Gary Matthews Jr. smacked a three-run homer in the third inning outburst and Jose Molina stole home in the next frame. Kelvim Escobar pitched a complete game shutout, notching seven strikeouts and giving up no walks. The Angels are now off to Texas......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Angels Blast Indians"May 10, 2007
Dodgers 5, Marlins 3 - The bad news for Los Angeles this season is that a low percentage of their baserunners make it home. On Wednesday they left the bases juiced three times and stranded a total of 13. The good news is that so many Dodgers are getting on base, they don't need all of them to score. Brett Tomko helped his own cause by bunting home a suicide squeeze, but was more impressive......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Tomko Delivers"May 2, 2007
Ducks 3, Canucks 2, OT - Trailing 2-0 in the final period, Anaheim came storming back in Vancouver. All three of the team's goals came within 20 minutes of ice time, the last one just a couple minutes after the puck was dropped in overtime. The Ducks now lead the series 3-1 and can advance with a win at home on Thursday. Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1 - Brad Penny is still smoking hot, hurling six......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Ducks Unflappable"April 29, 2007
Padres 3, Dodgers 2 - Jeff Kent drove home a run in the first and the third, helping Los Angeles jump out to a 2-0 lead against San Diego's Greg Maddux. Then Maddux started to pitch more like, well, Maddux. He retired the final 14 batters he faced and went home with the W against his old team (you may remember he wore blue, albeit briefly). Angels 3, White Sox 0 - Gary Matthews Jr.'s......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Little Bit Of Everything"April 27, 2007
Lakers 95, Suns 89 - After getting smacked around in the first two games of the series, the Lakers were looking up at a 17 point Phoenix lead in game three. Then something snapped. Kobe went on a 45 point rampage and -- surprise! -- Kwame Brown had 19. Lamar Odom had 18, but more important were his 16 rebounds (6 on the offensive glass). Los Angeles finally has the spark of hope that sometimes......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's (Belated) Action: Lakers Win! Lakers Win!"April 24, 2007
Tigers 9, Angels 5 - Mike Maroth threw 105 pitches over just 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, five walks, and three runs (two earned). He left the game with the bases loaded. Yet the only reason he didn't earn the win is that he didn't pitch the minimum five innings required of starters. Despite his ugly stats, Detroit still won thanks to a barrage of seven runs in the first two innings.......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Big Games Coming Up"April 10, 2007
Some might call it acting in lock-step, some might call it a grand and fitting tribute to an American hero. Today the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that every one of their players will don Jackie Robinson's number 42 on their jerseys on Sunday, the 60th anniversary of the day Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball. In an unprecedented move, the number was retired from all MLB teams ten years ago, only being......
Continue Reading "Entire Pittsburgh Pirates Team to Wear #42 on Sunday"April 5, 2007
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, all 25 Dodger players will don the Hall of Famer's number on the back of their uniform on April 15th, a stunning tribute that will charm everyone except the official scorer. The number 42 was officially retired from MLB ten years ago, allowing those who still had the number to continue to wear it, but barring anyone new from sporting......
Continue Reading "Garret Anderson Doesn't Care About Black People"March 31, 2007
AP Photo by Chris Carlson I'm not going to write anything about the pre-season freeway series with the Dodgers. Why you ask? Well, it's because exhibition baseball games tend to be about as meaningful as promises by Pacman Jones to stay on the right side of the law. Teams are working on specific things; giving guys looks who won't even be on the team, so essentially, the scores are meaningless. This blog is over......
Continue Reading "Freeway Series Insignificant; Shields Inks Extension"March 2, 2007
Kings 4, Ducks 3, OT - LAist revels in rivalries, especially local ones. Take Los Angeles and Anaheim. Despite gaining parity in baseball and cartoon production, they've seen a major gap in hockey. The Kings are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, while the Ducks have spent most of the season on top. Yet when the teams face off, that doesn't mean a thing. Los Angeles won in overtime, giving them three wins......
Continue Reading "LAst Night's Action: Lots Of It"