Fri.-Sun., June 20-22, 2025
There really is nothing much to report about our doings on Friday and Saturday as we both were in need of rest and relaxation after our 12 day fun filled, action packed road trip to the Pacific Northwest.
Being a homebody can be a wonderful thing at times.
As for Sunday, well, that was another thing altogether as we had joyfully accepted an invitation from two of our favorite people, Paul and Joanne Sabolić, to join them for a brilliant Summer day at Dodger Stadium, a.k.a., "Blue Heaven on Earth."
This would afford us the rare opportunity to attend a second major league baseball game in a week after viewing the Astros vs. A's game in Sacramento last Wednesday night.
Fourth Place
National League East
32 Wins - 45 Losses
at
First Place
National League West
47 Wins - 31 Losses
Fernando Valenzuela
One of the all-time greats
of Los Angeles Dodgers history
R.I.P.
We settled into our third baseline
seats feeling that it was MUCH
hotter than the posted 77°F/25°C
Before the game started, we enjoyed Dodger Dogs and frosty adult beverages in the Left Field Plaza Fan Fest area behind the outfield bleachers. We were in for a good day.
Paul, Joanne, Laurie and George
Dodger phenom Shohei Otani
was the Los Angeles starting pitcher
Otani is the reigning National League MVP and has been the Dodgers' Designated Hitter for the last two seasons, but has been unable to pitch until recently as he recovers from Tommy John surgery to his elbow.
The Dodgers are keeping a tight leash on Otani who was making only his second start for the Dodgers. He started a game for the Dodgers about six days ago, his first pitching start since August of 2023 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
He only pitched one inning against the San Diego Padres allowing one run.
How would he fare today?
It was a GORGEOUS day for Dodger
baseball at the old ball yard
Only Boston's Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago's Wrigley Field (1914) are older major league baseball parks than Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium (1962).
As for Otani, he was only allowed to pitch the first inning again but this outing he recorded two strikeouts and did not allow a run. Now it was back to just his designated hitting duties for the rest of the game.
The Dodgers boast of their eight
World Series Championships,
one in Brooklyn and seven in Los Angeles
A similar photo from the Sacramento game showed that the A's have captured the World Series pennant nine times in franchise history, five in Philadelphia and four in Oakland.
The Dodgers were hitless and trailing 3-0 after five and a half innings until the fateful bottom of the sixth inning.
That's when Dodgers third baseman,
Max Muncy said enough is enough
This photo of Muncy at the plate was taken just a pitch before he blasted a Grand Slam home run to give the L.A. club a 4-3 lead.
We contained our exuberance inwardly
Muncy would later add a three-run home run to bring his day's RBI total to a whopping SEVEN!
Shohei Otani finished his day at the plate with a two run home run and a three run triple for a total of five RBIs, a solid finish after striking out in his first two at bats.
Much to the delight of Paul, the
Dodgers brought in position player
Kiké Hernandez to pitch the ninth inning
Dodgers Manager, Dave Roberts, nicknamed "Doc" due to the PhD. in Computer Science that he earned at Pepperdine University years ago, opted to have crowd favorite Hernandez pitch this final inning with the Dodgers leading by ten runs. The idea was to give the L.A. bullpen a bit of relief for a change.
As it turned out, it was a bad move as Hernandez only got one National out while allowing two hits, three walks and four runs, all earned. He only threw 11 strikes vs. 19 balls as his E.R.A. ballooned to 15.19.
Alex Vesia thankfully relieved Hernandez to get the final two outs of the game.
The Dodgers rolled to their
48th victory of the 2025 season
Of the 30 MLB teams, only the American League's Detroit Tigers have more victories than the Dodgers with 49.
A shared post-game meal at nearby Highland Park's El Huarache Azteca was the perfect end of a great day.
THANK YOU PAUL AND JOANNE
FOR ANOTHER FUN DAY!
Meanwhile, in EuroBall action . . .
The Catania Elephants (9-0) earned a
spot in the Italian DII Championship Game!
They will take on the Padova Saints (8-1) on July 5th in Silver Bowl XXXI.
In the Italian DIII playoffs the two
teams competing in the Championship
Game are also now set
The Northern Conference Champion Castelfranco Cavaliers (7-1) will take on the Southern Conference Champion Bari Navy Seals (8-0) on the 4th of July in Nine Bowl XXV.
Italian DII football is played with only nine players on each side, hence the Nine Bowl appellation.
Then there's the ELF to consider . . .
88-7?
That can't be good for the European League of Football's already shaky reputation when it comes to competitive football.
Actually, having two close games decided by seven and five points was good.
Three somewhat competitive contests that ended in victory margins of 28, 23 and 19 points was better as well.
Then there were the two blowouts of 32 and 81 points, not good.
After six weekends of games,
there are still three winless clubs
These three teams (Helvetic, Fehérvár and Cologne) are all 0-5 on the season with vast scoring differentials in their five losses.
Zurich, Switzerland's Helvetic Mercenaries have been outscored by 170 points, an average of 34.0 in their string of losses.
In Budapest, the Fehérvár Enthroners are also struggling having allowed 185 points more than they have scored, a point differential of 37.0 points per game.
And then there are Germany's hapless Cologne Centurions. They have been routed by 284 points, an incredible average point spread of 56.8 points per game.
Again, not good.
The only undefeated team left
in the ELF is the Nordic Storm (5-0)
The remarkable thing about the Storm who are based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is that they are a first year expansion team.
They lead the ELF in most points scored (213) and fewest points allowed (52) making their average victory margin 32.2 points per game.
Reading Is FUNdamental!
A real corker set in the U.K. the
first few days after war against
Nazi Germany was declared in
September of 1939
Winspear's historical mystery yarns never disappoint.
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