All of that momentum the Dodgers had before this series has quickly gone ka-poof.
Despite a game-tying solo shot by Andre Ethier in the 8th inning, the Florida Marlins scored 2 in the 11th to beat the Dodgers, 5-3. That's now 3 straight losses, mostly because the offense has been in the Witness Protection Program.
It's another frustrating loss in a long line of them, mainly because they make things so hard on themselves. Let's take a look at the 1st inning. Nomar Garciaparra hit leadoff (better than watching Matt Kemp strike out again) and hit an infield single. Andre Ethier followed with a single, and Russell Martin drew a walk.
So that's bases loaded, nobody down. How do they capitalize on such a golden opportunity? Jeff Kent grounded out to short to score a run and move Ethier to 3rd and Martin to 2nd. Andruw Jones struck out swinging. Big shock. James Loney grounded out to 2nd. Instead of posting a big inning, they get 1 damn run. Pitiful, just plain pitiful. But then again, the Dodgers ARE pitiful.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Kent, Jones, or Loney flopped in a big spot considering all of their averages with RISP: Kent - .235, Jones - .068, Loney - .291. Ok so I guess Loney's isn't too bad, but he's grounded into something like 400 double plays this year, so it all evens out in the end.
Even with that embarrassing inning, there was still plenty of hope for a win. Kemp started the 2nd with a home run to right, his 9th, for a 2-1 lead. Florida got one back in the 6th when Jorge Cantu hit a homer of his own to even the score at 2, then took the lead in the 7th on an Alfredo Amezaga RBI single.
The 8th is when Ethier tied the game at 3 with a homer, which was a good sign that they could battle back after coughing up the lead. Of course, it all meant nothing in the end when Ramon Troncoso allowed a Dan Uggla double and a Cody Ross sac-fly in the 11th. Another waste of a night.
Hiroki Kuroda came back to Earth a bit, but he still was pretty good, finishing at 6.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. On normal teams, that would be enough to win. But this is the Dodgers, so that must mean it's still not good enough.
Another bit of news from this game is that Takashi Saito joins the long list of injured players when he left with 2 outs in the 9th, saying he had a right elbow injury. Ugh... just what they need. He's 38, so it'll probably mean a DL stint. I don't know for sure, but what the hell, he may as well get added to the long list.
The Dodgers really, REALLY need a win today as Chad Billingsley gets the ball. He has a 3.38 ERA... and an 8-8 record. That's almost laughable to look at. The guy has an ERA that low and 8 losses. Wow. Let's hope it changes today.
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