At the end of the day, the good news was that the Dodgers took 2 of 3 from the Anaheim Angels.
The bad news was that they had a golden opportunity for a sweep by allowing 1 run and loading the bases in the 9th, but could not get the big hit they needed. The Angels scored in the 2nd inning, and that was enough to take the game, 1-0.
Taking 2 of 3 from a team with the 2nd best record in the Majors is actually a very good accomplishment. To give up only 1 run in 3 games - not too shabby at all. Which is the fact that they did not get the sweep makes it seem even more absurd. But, that's the Dodgers' offense for ya. No surprise there.
Derek Lowe posted his 7th great start in the past 8 games, though his record for his efforts is a measly 3-4. I can't even imagine how frustrating that must be for him. He pitches his guts out, but gets absolutely jack crap for run support. Ridiculous. The bright side is that with injuries to Brad Penny and Hiroki Kuorda, his great pitching could not have come at a better time.
As for the offense... uh, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 9 K's. In other words, another day at the office. And then there's the Juan Pierre injury. He stole 2nd in the 6th inning, yet left the game clutching his left leg. And this from a guy who is almost never hurt. That can't be good. Just add him to the list of the walking wounded I guess. Lousy hitter or not, he's a huge threat on the bases, so let's hope he's ok.
The 9th inning got interesting as John Lackey was going for the complete game shutout. He got Luis Maza to fly out, then gave up a single to Delwyn Young. Andre Ethier then struck out, and it looked like another feable inning. But, Russell Martin worked a walk, and in a 1-run game, Mike Scioscia had to make a change. In came Francisco Rodriguez, one of the top closers in the game.
K Rod started things off by uncorking a wild pitch that sent Young to 3rd, and a single away from tying the game. Jeff Kent was the perfect guy up in this situation, and he too worked a walk. With the bases loaded and 2 down, James Loney could not come through as he grounded out to 2nd to end the game. Can't say I'm too surprised by that, as getting any sort of hit, much less a game-winner off of an All-Star closer, just wasn't going to happen. Sorry for being pessimistic, but I have plenty of reasons to be.
As I said in the beginning, I'll happily take 2 of 3 from these guys and move on. They now go to Houston for 4, and the Astros just took 2 of 3 from the Boston Red Sox, no easy feat at all. Eric Stults goes today, opposed by Roy Oswalt. Oswalt had a horrible start to the season, but has since settled down in the month of June.
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