Watch: Yasiel Puig makes a tremendous throw to prevent a double.

TORONTO — You won’t find a more accurate throw to second base from the right field corner than this one, courtesy of (who else?) Yasiel Puig.

This laser-accurate throw in the third inning of the Dodgers’ game against the Toronto Blue Jays erased a possible double by Darwin Barney. Through five innings it remains the Blue Jays’ only hit:

The throw wasn’t as long, but it was just as accurate, as this one last month that retired Trevor Story on a would-be triple at Coors Field. After the game, Puig called it the best throw he’d ever made.

We’ll call this one top-five.

Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick among the Dodgers’ designated hitters in Toronto.


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Justin Turner is the Dodgers’ designated hitter today, the finale of a two-game mini-series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Dave Roberts has a couple more possible DHs lined up for the Dodgers’ three-game series in Toronto this weekend.

“The DH, also some off-days, and also the depth — we’ve used a lot of players, given them at-bats and spread them out — the bodies feel good,” Roberts said. “The DH is really nice. Kiké yesterday. JT as a DH today. (Adrian Gonzalez) will DH most likely the last day. Most likely Howie (Kendrick) will DH in Toronto.”

Here are the lineups for both teams for the 4:10 p.m. (PT) game:

Continue reading “Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick among the Dodgers’ designated hitters in Toronto.” »

Dodgers trade Darwin Barney to Blue Jays for Jack Murphy.

Jack MurphyPHOENIX — The Dodgers traded minor league infielder Darwin Barney to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday for a player to be named later. A couple hours later, they named him after a famous sports writer.

Jack Murphy is a 27-year-old catcher who has 14 games of experience in Triple-A and 122 games of experience in the Australian Baseball League. Murphy stands 6-foot-4, was born in Florida, educated at Princeton and has a mustache. Since the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates are done playing this year, Murphy seems unlikely to get into a game before the season ends. He slashed .220/.309/.315 for the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate in 2015.

Continue reading “Dodgers trade Darwin Barney to Blue Jays for Jack Murphy.” »

Detroit Tigers trade David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Detroit Tigers traded pitcher David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday for three left-handed pitching prospects. The Dodgers had been heavily linked to Price in advance of the 1 p.m. Friday trade deadline.

Jairo Labourt, Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris are the three pitchers going to Detroit.

The Blue Jays already acquired star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies earlier in the week.

The Dodgers are in the process of acquiring two starting pitchers — the Miami Marlins’ Mat Latos and the Atlanta Braves’ Alex Wood — in a three-team trade that has yet to be announced. While there was some thought the Dodgers might use Latos or Wood in some combination of players to acquire Price, that ship has sailed.

Daily Distractions: The Dodgers return to Canada.

Dave Roberts

Who can forget all those memorable Dodgers-Expos battles over the years? Certainly not Dave Roberts and Brian Schneider. (Associated Press)

The Dodgers play the Toronto Blue Jays today at the Rogers Centre. Here’s a brief history of Dodgers in Canada:

1. From 1939-60, the Montreal Royals are the primary minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, churning out such notable talents as Jackie Robinson, Tommy Lasorda (then a pitcher) and Walter Alston (then a manager).

2. The Dodgers beat the Expos 5-3 in Montreal on May 27, 1969 in the Dodgers’ first regular-season game ever played in Canada.

3. Don Drysdale is found dead at his hotel room in Montreal on July 3, 1993, the same day he was scheduled to broadcast a Dodgers-Expos game.

4. Raul Mondesi is traded to Toronto for Shawn Green, Nov. 8, 1999.

5. June 8, 2007: The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 4-3. The game features Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez for the Dodgers; Matt Stairs, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus and Royce Clayton for the Blue Jays. Stunning that they were all still productive major-league hitters in 2007.

Today’s game will be just the 13th ever between the teams.

Some bullet points for a Monday morning:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: The Dodgers return to Canada.” »