The Dodgers were able to put 2 runs on the board in the 1st inning against the horrible Barry Zito. It looked like a great night, and another miserable one for Zito to add to his resume.
Then the Dodgers remembered that they're the Dodgers, and couldn't possibly do things the easy way.
Zito ended up with 10 K's as the Giants had a big 7th inning rally to take the game, 5-2. Chan Ho Park tried his best, but the bullpen of Joe Beimel and Brian Falkenborg let him down from getting his 5th win.
Instead, Zito was the story. He sure looked awful in the 1st, when Matt Kemp led off with a long drive to center that some clown reached over the fence to catch. I would guess that it would've hit the wall anyway, but we'll never know. That guy got the boot, and Kemp was given 2 bases. Andre Ethier then doubled down the right field line for the quick lead.
After Russell Martin struck out, Jeff Kent barely landed a single into center for runners on 1st and 3rd. Andruw Jones came up and actually didn't strike out! Hooray!!! But he did score Ethier on a groundout, kind of a cheeseball way for an RBI but it worked. Nomar Garciaparra walked, but James Loney grounded out to end the inning up 2-0.
Park was dealing until finally giving up a run in the 6th, when Aaron Rowand doubled home Ray Durham. He finished at 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K. With news that Brad Penny won't be returning until after the All-Star break, Park will be rewarded with another start Thursday night against the Florida Marlins.
The 7th is when everything went downhill, as Beimel gave up a double to Jose Castillo right away. Omar Vizquel sacrificed him to 3rd for 1 down, and Brian Falkenborg came in and got Rich Aurilla swinging for 2 outs. Needing only 1 more walk, it was a single, walk, single, and double that scored 4 runs. The bases were actually left loaded, so it could have been that much worse.
Of course, when the offense strikes out 10 freakin' times against BARRY F'N ZITO, there's no way they can expect to win anyway. That's really, really sad. Zito is one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball, so leave it to the Dodgers to make him look like his Oakland A's days again. That's just a pitiful performance.
The rubber match is today with Eric Stults taking the mound against Matt Cain. Since Arizona lost as well yesterday, the Dodgers are still only .5 games back. Nomar and Jones will get the day off, but Jones has been playing like he's been off all along. Nice to see him 0-9 in his return with 5 K's. Some things never change.
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