The Dodgers announced most of the details of their pregame ceremonies for Tuesday's home opener, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium. Will the ceremonial first pitch be thrown by 1962 MVP Maury Wills, or perhaps a family member of 1962 Cy Young Award winner Don Drysdale?
Nope. It will be thrown by Terry Seidler, daughter of Walter O'Malley. Seidler's mother, Kay O'Malley, threw out the first pitch at Dodger Stadium on April 10, 1962. Seidler will be accompanied by Peter O'Malley and members of the O'Malley family.
Wills and several other members of the 1962 Dodgers will be on hand and will be introduced before the game, including Larry Burright, Tommy Davis, Tim Harkness, Ken McMullen, Wally Moon, Ron Perranoski, Pete Richert, Ed Roebuck, Norm Sherry, Daryl Spencer, and Stan Williams.
Drew Drysdale, daughter of Don, will perform God Bless America during the seventh inning stretch. The Beach Boys, also celebrating their 50th anniversary, will sing the national anthem.
The Dodgers also said that Vin Scully, Jaime Jarrin, and Nancy Bea Hefley will be a part of the ceremonies as well.
The ceremonies will be carried live beginning at 12:15 p.m. on Prime Ticket.
Tonight's Pitching Matchup
Chad Billingsley returns to the site of his major league debut, and looks for his first win at Petco Park since July 27, 2010. In each of his last two starts in San Diego, the Dodgers have scored zero runs.
In 11 career starts against the Padres at Petco Park, Billingsley is 4-4 with a 2.65 ERA, with 25 walks and 53 strikeouts in 68 innings. With that 7.01 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate, perhaps Billingsley has been more challenging to hitters in the pitcher friendly Petco Park - Don Mattingly called Petco, AT&T Park, and Dodger Stadium "where fly balls go to die" earlier this week - but Billingsley has seen his strikeout rate decline for each of the last three years, from 9.0 in 2008 to 7.3 last year.
Cory Luebke, who has 172 strikeouts in 157 major league innings, gets the call for the Padres. Luebke has a 3.09 ERA against the Dodgers, though he has lost two of his three starts against Los Angeles.
Notes
- Since the Dodgers played only 161 games last season, Matt Kemp's home run on Thursday gave him 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the club's last 162 games. But that was also already the case as Kemp ended his 2010 campaign with a home run in five straight games.
- The Dodgers are 7-3 in their last 10 games at Petco Park, dating back to the start of last season, and have won three straight series in San Diego.
- The brand new Fox Sports San Diego has broadcast five Padres games "in good faith" so far, but their $1 billion, 20-year TV deal with the Padres is "all but finalized," writes Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
Game Time: 7:05 p.m.
TV: KCAL, MLB Network