And now your host of Dodger Talk, David Vasse.
Welcome the Dodger Talk David Vasse live at Globelive Field in Arlington, Texas, where the Dodgers fall to the Rangers in Game two of this three game series.
By a final score of four to three.
A Dallas Garcia with a walk off two run home run off of Kirby Yates was the difference in the game after Josh Smith just missed hitting a game tying home run to lead off the ninth inning off of Yates. Instead, it went wide of the right field foul poll and
then he doubled down the left field lines. So Josh Smith and Adallas Garcia were not fooled by anything Kirby Yates was doing, and standing next to the Dodger dugout by the camera, well, just didn't feel like Kirby Yates was confident that he could get his former team out in the ninth inning, and it just didn't seem like he had had the stuff to get those guys.
Out, and it proved, unfortunately to be true.
Eight six six seven two five seventy is the phone number like I mentioned with Jose Mota during the Clubhouse Show, I felt like the secrets of events were changed dramatically as far as the way Dave Roberts was lining up his bullpen for the final six outs of the game. Evan Phillips making his season debut. He was activated before the game in case he missed it Blake trying and placed on the il with right forearm tightness.
We'll get to that in a moment.
But Phillips comes in, gets the first two batters and
he looked really good. And then Marcus Simeon, the leadoff hitter for the Rangers, gets on, and Dave Roberts had Alex Vesia warming up to be able to face Corey Seeger and possibly some right handers after that, and when Vessia had to come in in the eighth inning to get the last out and face Seeger, that did not allow Dave Roberts to have Alex Vesia out the game, because I'm sure he was thinking, in a perfect world, he would love to have had Alex Vesia start the
ninth inning by facing Corey Seeger and then going up against the left handed Josh Young and then excuse me, Josh Smith, and then take his chances against a Dollas Garcia because Vessia is really good against lefties and rightyes, So to me, that was the key hit that completely rattled what the Dodgers' plans were in the eighth and
ninth inning of today's game. Now, you might say, why not Tanner Scott, Well, it would have been three games in four days, and let's be honest, Tanner Scott hasn't been the Tanner Scott we saw last year, at least to start the year.
Yeah.
Yeah, seven saves, but even Dave Roberts conceded that his slider and his fastball have not had the teeth that they had last year and that we're accustomed to seeing Tanner Scott have. So you know, I can understand why he's going to occurs in that situation because obviously he had Vesia up, and you know, you can't run these guys into the ground after just the first we're not even at the twenty five game marks, so you got to be able to use different pitchers and high leverage situations.
And the reality is the Dodgers have invested a lot of dollars in Kirby Yates and if you need him to close out the game, and he's done a really great job. Today was probably the one game where he wasn't on, and that had a lot to do with him facing his former team. But the Dodgers have invested a lot of dollars in the veteran and they've gone to him in certain situations. Today, he just was not able to deliver. Now, the one guy that was able to deliver out of the bullpen was Jack Dryder.
Drag Dryer.
I don't want him to be lost in the shuffle of today's loss because Dryer came in after Sazaki went six innings. Jack Dryer came in and pitched another scoreless inning. Jack Dryer now has twelve and two thirds consecutive scoreless innings. That's pretty good. So I just want to shine a
light on that before we start moving on. I mentioned as well that Evan Phillips pitched in this game and was activated a little series early because Blake Trinon unfortunately was placed on the injured list before the game with right forearm tightness, and you start to look at it. Trina had not pitched in almost a week. The last time he pitched in a game was on Sunday Night Baseball against the Cubs. Did not pitch against the Rockies did not pitch yesterday, and the Dodgers have had a
day off mixed in there. Dave Roberts filled us in Trina was warming up yesterday late in the game, but still felt some discomfort in that right arm, that right forearm area, and when you're talking about the right forearm, that sounds off alarm bells for elbow issues, so that whenever a pitcher has right four arm tightness to symptom of elbow issues. How significant are these elbow issues for Blake Trinon. Well, he had Tommy John surgery just a few years ago, and he had shoulder surgery a couple
of years ago, and he's thirty six. So yeah, there's concern the Dodgers are getting an MRI on the elbow of Blake trinen But safe to say Blake Trinon probably is not going to pitch for at least a month, maybe longer, and that's a significant.
Blow to the Dodger bullpen.
I was already in favor of the Dodgers maybe having a conversation with the Cardinals for their closer Ryan Helsley. Now I'm even more in favor of that happening. I don't know if it could happen before the July thirty first trade deadline, but certainly something to keep your eye on. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number Dodgers fall to the Rangers today. Four we do have an Otani baby watch update show. Hey Otani and his wife welcomed in their first child, a
healthy baby girl. He posted that announcement before the game today on Instagram, and Dave Roberts did not rule out the fact that Otani, now that the birth was safe and healthy, may return to be part of tomorrow's game before the Dodgers head to Chicago. So we'll have to wait and see about that. Eight six six nine seven two five seventy is the phone number. And by the way, the Dodgers have only had the Big three of Otani, Bets and Freeman in the same starting lineup seven times
out of their first twenty two games. Let's head out to North Carolina. Matt, you're on Dodger Talk with David vasse Hi Matt ub DV.
How are you.
I'm doing great well.
I know you always like to say where were you when Freddie Freeman hit the Grand Slam?
Right?
That door is open all season long win loser draws. So, yes, I want to hear where Matt in North Carolina was when Freddie hit the walk off grand Slam.
Well, okay, I'm gonna take you on a little story. So I was out on the porch with my son's he was an ex college baseball player, played at unc Asheville, and when Freddie hit that home run, we just went nuts. It was it was unbelievable and it's a memory that we'll always have and it was great. And I called Tim Kates after Game five because we had plane flights out to LA to go to Game six, but I was glad that we did not get on that flight.
And you know what, we went to LA for the opening series against the Tigers and we won all three. So you know what, I'm not worried about one game in Texas in April. We're gonna be just fine and we're gonna raise a banner for twenty twenty five.
We're great.
It's fine, no problem, all right.
I appreciate that, And thank you for the phone call. Matt.
I like your confidence and love hearing where you were for Freddy Freeman's walk off grand slam in Game one of the World Series. You know, when we think back to that grand slam by Freddy in Game one of the World Series, obviously a momentum switch for that entire World Series. But it didn't stop there. It wasn't just Freddy having one swing of the bat and that was it. He was the World Series MVP for a reason. It wasn't just because he hit that humongous walk off grand
Slam against the Yankees in the first game. He didn't stop there. He had four home runs and twelve RBIs. He had a batting average of three hundred. He was let's see, six for twenty in that World Series. Four of his six hits were home runs and the other one was a triple, So he had a triple, a single, and four home runs in.
Last year's World Series.
He literally carried the Dodger offense through that entire World Series. So you got to give him a lot of credit for that, because it wasn't just one swing of the bat. He was the World Series MVP because he did it all October long on a bad ankle and also had a bad rib cage.
So come on, Freddie Freeman.
One of the herculean performances I've ever seen in a World Series. And I know we always compared to Kirk Gibson's heroics in Game one of the eighty eight World Series. Yes, a lot of parallels, but that was the only swing Kirk Gibson took in the World Series. Freddie Freeman kept playing on a bad ankle and a bad rib cage. So just keep that in mind when you put it into historical context. Eight six six nine eighty seven two
five seventy is the phone number. We have phone lines open, and when we continue you will hear from Mookie Betts.
There was a.
Surprise bullpen dog visitor to Globalize Field. We'll share with you who that was. And I had a chance to catch up with one of them the great left handers in Dodger history. No, not Sandy Cofax, No, not Clayton Kershaw. There was another great lefty in the sixties that was part of the Dodger rotation when they won the World Series in sixty five. We'll share that with you when
we continue from Globelive Field in Arlington, Texas. Our producer engineer Dwayne McDonald corrected me, just to remind me we're in Arlington, So we're in Arlington and the Rangers walk off the Dodgers with a four to three win on A five to seventy LA Sports.
On air at AM five seventy, online at AM five seventy LA sports dot com, and available by podcast on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Dodger Talk.
With David Bass Sam.
Here's the two oh. Freddie swings said on the ear right hill. The deep disc balls.
Hooking toward the pole fits where on Freeman lets one fi his fourth of the season, ties the game at two.
Freddie Freeman keeping the ball fair. That's what he does.
A two run home run to tie the game in the fourth inning today. Max Munsey a go ahead double in the fourth inning today to give the Dodgers a three to two lead. They would not be able to hold on, as Kirby Yates gave up a walk off two run home run to a Dallas Garcia and the Rangers take Game two of this three game series here in Arlington, Texas. Daniels Jewelers presents the home run Forecast.
Go to AM five to seventy LA sports dot com and use the keyword home run for your chance to win a fifty dollars Daniels Jewelers gift card predicting the number of home runs in the next game. Daniels Jewelers own the Dream. Eight six, six, nine, seven, two, five seventy is the phone number. Corey seeger wash for three. Today, Andy Pa has robbed him of what would have been a solo home run in the first inning. Jock Peterson oh for two with the strikeout. His early season woes
have continued. He is just three for fifty six to begin his Rangers career. So Bruce Bochi is putting him out there every day, especially since the Dodgers have three right handed starters in this series. But Jock Peterson really hasn't been a factor early on in the season. Also, I want to bring up, you know we talked about the bullpen about the World Series. I want to bring up that we saw an old friend today and not
that old of a friend. He's thirty years old and he was a big part of the Dodgers October run last year. Brent Honeywell was here at Globalize Field. Honeywell lives nearby and wanted to come see his old teammates because they haven't seen each other since the parade and it was great to see honey Well out here, same guy, very emotional still about what that team was able to accomplish. And he had no idea that the Dodgers were going
to surprise him with his World Series ring. You're going to hear our full conversation with Honeywell tomorrow on the pregame show. So I don't want to give away too much, but Honeywell thought he was going to get his ring somewhere sometime in LA and the Dodgers knew he was coming in to visit, and they got him to come into the clubhouse and he was choked up when they gave him his championship ring. So awesome to see Brent Honeywell, and I can't wait to share that conversation with you
tomorrow on the pregame show. We have our coverage beginning on Easter Sunday at ten thirty. Also got to see a Dodger legend of the nineteen sixty five World Series. Left hander Claude Ostein was actually here at Globelize Field. He pitched for the Rangers at the end of his career and he was here. I saw in the big board JumboTron Claude Osting hosting a meeting Greed at one
forty five at Rangers Alumni Alley. So I said Rangers alumni Alley, Claude Ostein is known best for his days as a Dodger and a Dodger pitching coach, and his heroics in Game three of the nineteen sixty five World Series when the Dodgers were down two losing, Drysdale and Cofax starts against the Twins, and then Claude Ostein was starting Game three the sixty five World Series and pitched a masterpiece, one that, if you're old enough to remember,
changed the entire momentum of the nineteen sixty five World Series when Ostein pitched a complete game shutout against the Twins, and that's when things changed. The Dodgers went on to win in seven games that year. So here's part of my conversation, Well, my whole conversation.
With I think more than anything is the camaraderie that we all had when we did so many things together off the field, and during that period of time, it was a constant conversation.
About baseball.
It was if the pitching staff was together, it was how to get somebody out, and if hitters were involved. It was what the opposition was going to do to them, but it was about baseball, and we left every minute up.
You were not only a great pitcher, but you turned out to be a great pitching coach. A lot of great players don't turn out to be great coaches.
How are you able to do that?
You know?
About the last five years of my career, I started thinking that I wanted to go into coaching, and I thought I could relay everything that I had learned and help guys with.
Mostly their deliveries.
If you notice most of the Japanese players that you watch today, the one common thing that they all have is they have control of the wind up the delivery, great balance, and that's what leads to great control and watching that. I studied all those things and I was able to pass a lot of that on to young pictures.
What about of questions?
Do you have your favorite Dryasdale or Covac story that you always tell the people like?
I guess it would be the sixty five series when Donald Sam didn't get the best end of the deal in the first two games.
We didn't play very good defense.
Behind him and we ended up losing the first two. And here I came along as the third guy, and I was faced with unbelievable pressure. This was my first year with the Dodgers, first World Series ever, and the first World Series start, so a lot.
Was expected of it.
And I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world in the way that it turned out, because I was able to turn it around for us and then Cofex won the seventh game one nothing.
Lolatt Ostein will always be a Dodger even though you're here at Rangers Alumni day.
Oh you always believed Dodger blue. As Tommy used to say.
Hey, I love that Claude Ostein, evoking the great Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda. Awesome to see Claude Ostein and his sons were here accompanying him. I guess the
Rangers on Saturdays always have a connection. A former player, former coach come to this Rangers alumni alley, and once I saw Claude Ostein was here, I had to go down and just give you all an update on a legendary Dodger pitcher that obviously had such a big part of them winning the World Series in nineteen sixty five, pitching that complete game shutout against the Twins in Game three of the World Series, and to get the Dodgers back in that World Series to go on and win
in seven games. As you heard Sandy Kofex pitching on short rest to win that game against the Twins. Game seven one of the all time great pitch games as well in Dodger and Major League Baseball history. Claude Ostein, I mean, that was his second year with the Dodgers, but he went on to be a three time All Star with the Dodgers. You know, those early seventies teams were not very good, so a lot of those pitchers kind of get lost and players get lost, like Wes
Parker and Claude Ostein. But Ostin was a tremendous pitcher. If you look at his sixty seven All Star season, he had two hundred and ninety eight strikeouts. In sixty nine he had two hundred and ninety three strikeouts, leading the league both years.
So he was really good.
And once his playing days were over, he was a great pitching coach. Minor league pitching coach, major league pitching coach, so a really great pitching mind. And Rick Monday told me to joke with Ostin when I went down to see him, whether or not he brought his fishing pole, because I guess he's known to love to fish and golf, and he still does both of those things. So if he ever wondered what happened to Claude Ostein, he's doing just fine here in Texas. Eight six six nine eighty
seven two five seventy is the phone number. Dodgers fall today to the Rangers four to three after a Dolls Garcia hits a walk off, two run home run off of Kirby Yates. And in case you missed the news earlier, we'll say it again that Blake Trinan was placed on the injured list with right forearm tightness. He was expected to get an MRI here in Texas either today or tomorrow morning. So we'll learn the extent of that injury.
But never good to hear that. And look, that's the toll a lot of these guys probably are going to have to pay for the heroics of the bullpen last year. I mean, you look at Michael Kopek already, he was pitching through Payne last year during the World Series. Through the World Series, he has not pitched a game Yet you look at Evan Phillips, who was off the World Series roster because of.
That torn shoulder muscle.
He makes his season debut twenty five games into the twenty twenty five season. Bruce dar Graderol, who has not pitched yet this year or may not pitch this year, had shoulder surgery. So there is a toll to pay, and we have seen that with other pitchers that have won the World Series, that have laid it on the line for other teams. A lot of times the following
year is when the injury sets in. But I know for a fact none of those guys would do anything different than what they did last year to help the Dodgers get through a postseason with just two and a half starters. Basically, you had Yamamoto, Flaherty, and a Walker Bueler if you remember that wasn't the Walker Buehler that we saw in the ninth inning of Game five of the World Series. There were some up and downs, there was some short starts, so that's why we all say
two and a half starters. But you know, an amazing season last year and just remarkable. No other team in recent memory can say they had two and a half starters, and they tax their bullpen as much as the Dodgers did, and basically in certain games where they fell behind big I don't like to say this word a lot, especially when it relates to playoff baseball, but it's true, they basically said, all right, you can have this game. We're
trying to get to four wins before you do. And I'm thinking the NLCS specifically, and also Game four of the World Series where they let the Yankees have that one, and it was getting dangerous because all of a sudden, Aaron Judge started to get his confidence back, as we saw not only in Game four, but also early in Game five. So it would have been a little dicey for the Dodgers if that.
World Series would have returned home.
Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. Maybe the brightest spot for the Dodgers today was Roki Sazaki, going six innings, allowing just three walks and two earned runs. He threw seventy eight pitches and threw more sliders today than he has in his previous starts so far to begin the season. He had seventy eight pitches and twenty five of them were sliders.
We've seen three to seven sliders in his previous starts, but he really committed to it, and Will Smith did a great job of shepherding him through the start today, a career high six innings through seventy eight pitches, thirty of those were fastballs, twenty five split fingered knuckleballs, and he threw twenty three sliders. So he did a very good job of keeping the Rangers off balance and did a great job and hopefully this proved something to him.
Where his fastball velocity wasn't consistently where it was or where he probably wants it to be, but he had more command of his fastball. And you hear a lot of times managers and pitching coaches and even veteran pitchers talk about this as they get experience, that maybe you don't have your best command when you're trying to throw as hard as you can, but if you take a little something off, maybe you have better command and you can be more effective. I feel like that was the
case for Roki Sazaki today. So slowly but surely there's some building blocks here for Suzaki and the Dodgers believe by the second half of the season, Roki Sazaki is going to be a real weapon in the starting rotation for them, so so far, it's trending in that direction. Also, the Dodgers believe they can get by with Mooki Bets
as their shortstop. We had a chance to catch up with Mooki yesterday during our pregame show, and I thought it was perfect timing to catch up with Mooki Bets for the first time this season, being back in the same place where he made his first impression on Dodger fans his first year with the Dodgers. They win the World Series. He makes tremendous catches, comes up with a
big hit in Game six of the World Series. It was great to catch up with Mooki Bets and the house the Dodgers made their own in twenty twenty.
Yeah, you know, they always, as they always say in every sport, defense wins championships. But yeah, that's that's one thing I definitely remember. I remember, you know, down and
right for a lot. I know people can't see, but my wife was always down there and every game with the kid, with my daughter at the time, and I remember just looking in between pitches looking at her and uh, we were just kind of doing our little sign language through pretty much every game, and that was she kind of kept me calm, and you know, especially during those World Series games because they were you know, we were going back and forth, and I mean it was just
a lot, you know, in winning the World Series. It's hard to do. And so I'll never forget her just standing there, staying right there and me just looking at her between every pitch.
Now you're a proud papa of too.
How are the kids and how did they make your life that much better?
They My son's birthday is today, so we got a little breakast with him and now I'm at work, but he's with his fans, with his grandparents and the whatnot, hanging out. You know, they they make it. They make it to where you have something to look forward to, you know, especially when I'm done playing. You know, each and every day you wake up, there's something to do with them, something new that they can learn and whatnot. And obviously I'm in the middle of my grind right now,
so it's kind of hard to do both. But the time that I don't get to spend right here, right here, right now, would am I'm definitely looking forward to it because I mean, we don't play this game for so so for that long, but they grow up for a long time and then so that's that's kind of what I'm looking forward to right now.
Your daughter has your smile, Yeah, that you're out there.
She she she's a she's a work of art man. She she loves dancing and all the other things. Actually, it's really neat having a daughter, just because I'm only child, obviously being a boy and coming from a sports family. My daughter is like anti sports, so you know, me learning about how to play, how to play dolls and
dance class and all those other things. Actually is really neat and fascinating because it's a new world that I've never experienced, and now that I'm kind of going through it, I have a new appreciation when I see dancers or cheerleaders and all those type of things because my daughter wants to do that.
Girl.
Dad, Mookie de Beets is our guest here in that house that him Seeger and Jock made famous.
Mookie, Now you're playing shortstop.
You put in so much work this offseason and continue to do so.
Where would you assess where you're at right now?
I think I'm doing okay. You know, I've had a couple of errors early. You know, it's hard to say that's part of the game when I work so hard and whatnot, because I'm not really accepting of you know, that's part of the game. But at the end of the day, at the end of the day, it is, and so I need to be accepting of failures that happen.
But you know, it's I I genuinely love coming to work, like it's just coming to work and going to work as short like it's just actual fun for me, Like I would just wake up out of bed just to like how people go play golf. Yeah, that's how I feel about coming to to to practice at shortstop. And so it's definitely, uh, I'm not saying a new or a new light or whatnot, but different energy for me, and I truly loved it. It's been fun. It's hard,
it's really hard, but yeah, it's fun. I'm catching myself now during games asking Tommy in months like, all right, what do I do here? Because some of these situations I've never been in, and so you know, just being in them, Uh, you know, have to kind of talk through it as you go because there's so many different things that kind of go on, and so you know, it's been fun. I know I have a lot more experience to go, but it's been fun so far.
I'm glad you brought up Tommy Edmund. How much does he help you because he seems to be one of the smartest, most underrated players on the field.
Yeah, he is, I mean smartest, I mean one of the smartest obviously one of the most talented, whether you believe it or not, you know he is. I mean, you know, he's really been someone I can talk to, is really easy to talk to because I can go ask him a dumb question and he's not gonna look at me and like why did you ask me that? Or you're supposed to know that? Like he literally will just tell me if it's a pretty simple answer. He just says it simply. He doesn't try and be little
me or or and nobody does. But definitely Tommy, you know, he just he's really easy for me to talk to and ask those those questions that I probably should know as a major league shortstop, but I don't because I haven't been And so you know, he's he's definitely been there for me the whole time, I mean, hitting, fielding, everything, you know, he's he's He's awesome.
So is Smookie Bets. You're an easy gutta root for.
La loves you and man, you are doing something that no major league player has ever done, and it feels like you're doing it better than most could even come close to. So we're on the ride with you and just keep going every day.
Yes, sir, have you been You've been good?
Yeah, everything is good, you know, hitting the streets in Dallas. I'm trying to stay out of trouble.
Mookie, What did you do yesterday? I went to a fancy dinner with your clubhouse staff.
Okay, okay, did you pay?
Of course I did. There's some I'll let you in on a secret.
Some of your staff when the check comes, they all of a sudden have to go to the bathroom or their Their arms are really short.
It's weird. But not you that.
That's not You're not that kind of guy, not that long arms.
I got long, long reach. I'm a guy that like you. I'm a pleaser, so I'm trying to please everybody.
That's why I love you, man exactly.
All right, sir, I need to buy one of these necklaces you're selling online.
Bye, I got you. I make sure I bring one.
You're you're part of the LA squad. Oh I love, make sure I bring you one.
We'll get back home.
Love it, MOOKI thanks a lot for the time. Great to share you with the people in LA.
And this is the house the Dodgers built, make no mistake about it.
You better know it. You better know it.
All right, there's Mookie Betts, who has played pretty good shortstop. I know all of us are wondering why the best right fielder is playing shortstop. It feels like I didn't even have to ask him the question. He gave us the answer. I mean, this is something he wants to do. He wants to take on the challenge, and he believes he can do it, and he believes he could help the team. It obviously has opened up more mobility for
the Dodgers to get more offense in that lineup. But I thought he gave us a lot of insightful answers. And I had never heard the story of him and his wife and his daughter during the twenty twenty playoffs, where they would be down the right field line and they would have some sign language with each other. I thought he really opened up in that interview. If you missed any of it and you want to hear the full conversation, you can find it on the iHeartRadio app.
That'll do it for us. Tonight on Dodger Talk. Coming up tomorrow, it will be another great pitching matchup with Tyler Glass now on the mound going up against Tyler Mally. Mally is three and zero with an ERA of zero ninety two this season. Morongo Casino Dodgers on Deck begins at ten thirty tomorrow with first pitch at eleven thirty five. Thanks to Calling Yee back at our Burbank Studios, Thanks to Dwayne McDonald out here at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas,
and thanks to you for listening. We will talk to you tomorrow morning. On Easter Sunday, once again, the final score from Globe Life Field, the Rangers walk it off against the Dodgers four to three.
Have a great rest of your Saturday. See you dam