At first I thought I was just seeing things. Then I thought I was seeing things over and over and over. Thankfully I wasn't.
The Dodgers put up a 10-spot on the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night to get the easy victory, 11-3. They went into the bottom of the 1st down 2-0 thanks to a Garrett Atkins 2-run homer. Then they must have realized that they were about to face Mark Redman, someone who hasn't had a quality start since Little League. Seriously, how in the world is this guy starting for the defending NL champions? Mind boggling.
Anyway, Redman was his own worst enemy. He walked 3 straight batters, hit 2, gave up 4 singles, 1 double, 1 sac-fly, and the big grand slam to Matt Kemp. The Rocks must have acknowledge defeat early on because they let Redman stay on to pitch 6 innings. His ERA alone after the first inning jumped 4 runs to somewhere in the 9's.
For the Dodgers, it was another case of hitting being contagious. The 1st actually started with Rafael Furcal grounding out, but Juan Pierre singled, stole 2nd, went to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored on Kemp's sac-fly. Again, for all of the Pierre haters out there (and I've been one of them), that's why he's kept around - he causes plenty of trouble on the bases. Kemp ended the inning with 5 RBI, and Brad Penny even chipped in with an RBI-single.
After the 1st inning where Penny gave up 2 runs, he was really good. He finished at 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. After starting the year with control problems, this now makes his 3rd game in a row where he has been in command and picked up the W. He's their ace, so if he can keep the walks down, he'll have success. His ERA is now 2.89 with a WHIP of 1.31.
Of course, for those of you that have been watching Sportscenter at all today, this game will best be known for home plate umpire Kerwin Danley being knocked out by a 96 MPH fastball from Penny. It seemed obvious to me that Russell Martin was crossed up, and was most likely expecting something off speed. Martin didn't even react to the ball until it was over his glove. The reports were that he's doing much better in the hospital, so hopefully he'll be back on the diamond soon. But man, that looked scary. It's a good thing he didn't get hurt much worse.
The Dodgers will look for their first sweep of the season when Esteban Loaiza takes the mound against Jeff Francis this afternoon. Loaiza is part of the revolving door for the 5th starting spot with Chan Ho Park and Hong-Chih Kuo. But let's be honest here, we're all just waiting for the inevitable call-up of Clayton Kershaw, who's dominating Double-A ball. Loaiza has a chance to look really good with a quality start today and a Dodgers' win.
2 comments:
What an eruption. They get 10 in the 1st against the defending NL champs. Imagine if Andruw Jones was actually hitting.
Exactly. But I've all but given up on thinking he'll break out at some point. He looks like one of the worst hitters in baseball right now. What a downfall it's been for him.
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