By Jon Weisman
We’re through the first 81 games of the 2015 season, and the Dodgers’ first half was nothing if not action-packed. To be completely honest with you, I tried to trim this collection of top Dodger plays down to 50 — removing some really fine moments — but if you count, you’ll find a few extra.
So I say, revel in it. Sit back, click and enjoy …
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April 6: On Opening Day, Joc Pederson lays out to make an outstanding diving grab in the right-center gap, taking a hit away from Will Middlebrooks.
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April 6: Jimmy Rollins sends Dodger fans home happy with this three-run, tiebreaking home run down the right-field line in the eighth inning.
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April 7: Yasiel Puig tracks a fly ball in foul ground and makes a great catch, then unloads a strong throw to nearly nab the runner at third.
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April 8: Adrian Gonzalez’s third homer of the game — and fifth in three days — makes him the top story in baseball in the season’s first week.
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April 13: The Dodgers already have six walkoff victories in 2015. Alex Guerrero, who would win National League Rookie of the Month honors, delivers the first with this 10th-inning single to beat Seattle.
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April 14: Howie Kendrick made it back-to-back, 6-5 walkoffs — this one with the Dodgers trailing in the ninth — going the opposite way (of course) for a broken-bat, two-run, game-winning single.
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April 15: Pederson races hard toward a sinking liner and makes a terrific diving catch in center, robbing Mike Zunino of a hit.
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April 15: Juan Uribe snares a hard-hit grounder and makes a strong throw to first to get the out and end the inning.
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April 17: Andre Ethier fields a single in right field and fires home to throw Wilin Rosario out to end the top of the fourth inning.
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April 22: Puig dives out in right field to snag a sinking fly ball hit by Buster Posey.
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April 23: Kendrick makes a great diving catch on a line drive up the middle, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the eighth inning at San Francisco.
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April 26 Guerrero makes a terrific diving stop at third and throws across the diamond to rob Jedd Gyorko of a hit to end the second inning.
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April 27: Pederson makes a great running catch in center field, then throws it back in to double off Nori Aoki at first base.
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April 28: Barehanded heroics: Uribe one-hands a ball that deflects off Kershaw, then fires to first in time for the out.
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April 29: Ethier races into the gap in right-center and makes a terrific diving catch to rob Joe Panik of an extra-base hit.
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April 29: Pederson runs some of the best outfield routes in baseball, but sometimes he guesses wrong — and then adjusts better than just about anyone else in baseball.
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May 1: Kendrick makes a full-extension diving catch on a hot shot off the bat of Mark Trumbo to steal a hit and save a run.
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May 1: Pederson chases down a fly ball from David Peralta and makes a running catch before hitting the wall, stealing a hit and a run.
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May 3: Yasmani Grandal records the first and only run of the ballgame in the bottom of the 13th with a dramatic walkoff home run to left-center field.
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May 4: Rollins slides between second and third to grab a ball off the bat of Martin Maldonado and pops up to fire to first and get the out.
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May 4: Kershaw grabs a one-hopper behind his back and throws to first to retire Elian Herrera.
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May 7: Grandal hits his second three-run homer of the game in as many innings, giving him eight RBIs for the game, the most by a Dodger in 8 1/2 years.
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May 8: Amid a downpour in Colorado, with one out standing between the Dodgers and an official game, Gonzalez throws out Charlie Blackmon at the plate to preserve a 2-1 victory.
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May 10: Rollins goes to the ground to make the backhanded catch on Troy Tulowitzki’s sinking line drive.
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May 10: Justin Turner’s pinch-hit two-run homer on Mother’s Day bat puts the Dodgers ahead to stay in the eighth inning.
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May 11: This was a huge ninth inning for Scott Van Slyke. First, he snags a line drive to left, then makes a strong throw to Grandal, who tags out Christian Yelich at the plate …
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… then Van Slyke drives a walkoff three-run home run to center field to give the Dodgers a 5-3 victory.
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May 16: Kiké Hernandez races back on a deep fly ball and makes a great over-the-shoulder basket catch before slamming into the wall.
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May 16: Rollins dives to field a grounder up the middle, then spins and fires to first from a knee to nab Jorge De La Rosa.
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May 26: Kendrick ranges to his left and makes a terrific diving stop to retire Pedro Ciriaco.
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May 31: Alberto Callaspo slides to his right, then spins around and throws to first to take a hit away from Randal Grichuk.
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June 2: After Nolan Arenado hits a ball off the mound, Hernandez leaps to make the grab and turn the unassisted double play.
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June 2: Pederson has hit more monster home runs than anyone this side of Giancarlo Stanton. Here’s his longest, measured between 470 and 480 feet.
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June 2: Guerrero hits the first ninth-inning, two-out, come-from-behind, game-winning grand slam in Los Angeles Dodger history.
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June 3: Hernandez makes a nice over-the-shoulder catch to take a hit away from Carlos Gonzalez.
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June 7: Here’s one from the fielding stream of Zack Greinke, who corrals a slow roller and makes a high toss to first, where Gonzalez comes down with the ball in time for the out.
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June 7: Ethier ranges into foul territory while tracking a Jason Heyward fly ball and leans over the wall to make a terrific catch.
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June 8: Turner charges hard on a bunt up the third-base line and fires a throw to first to get the out on a close play.
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June 9: Gonzalez goes down to field the grounder and then toss from his knees to Carlos Frias to get the out. Extra points for the batter being Paul Goldschmidt.
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June 10: Pederson races back to deep center field and makes a leaping catch at (and over) the wall to rob Yasmany Tomas.
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June 10: Callaspo lays out to make a diving stop on Nick Ahmed’s grounder, then fires across the diamond to complete the play.
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June 10: Kendrick knocks a single to right field that scores Puig and sends the Dodgers to a 7-6 walkoff win over Arizona.
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June 13: Rollins makes a diving stop on Justin Upton’s ground ball and flips to second base for the out.
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June 14: Three, three, three great plays in one for Pederson, capped by his game-saving catch at the wall of Justin Upton’s ninth-inning drive.
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June 15: Kendrick skies to catch Joey Gallo’s line drive for the first out in the bottom of the first.
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June 16: Pederson tracks down a deep fly ball off the bat of Shin-Soo Choo and reaches up to make the catch for the out.
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June 18: The balkoff. A daring Hernandez scores the only run of the game in the bottom of the ninth against the Rangers.
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June 19: Pederson sprints to his left and lays out to make an incredible diving catch to rob Gregor Blanco of extra bases in the sixth.
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June 21: Turner chases down a ball that deflects off Brett Anderson and fires a heads-up throw to nab Matt Duffy trying for second.
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June 22: Pederson slips trying to track down a fly ball but dives to recover and make a nice catch in center.
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June 24: Rollins loses his glove on a Starlin Castro drive, but still makes the throw to second in time for the out.
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June 24: Van Slyke has surprised baserunners all year with his throwing arm. Despite limited playing time, he is second among National League left fielders with six assists. Here, he nabs Chris Denorfia at second trying for a double for the final out of the game at Chicago.
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June 25: Rollins might not need a fielding glove at all. Here, he barehands Jonathan Herrera’s grounder and fires to first to complete the play.
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June 28: Ethier races toward the line in left field and makes a diving catch to rob Dee Gordon of a hit
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July 1: Scott Van Slyke fields A.J. Pollock’s single, then throws him out at first after A.J. Ellis hustles from home to make the tag.
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Thanks to MLB.com for housing all the videos and providing some of the text.
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