The Dodgers hung a 16 spot on the Rockies on Monday night, and all was well in the world. But after scoring only 4 combined runs the last 2 games, it's not hard to see why the Dodgers can't consistently win.
The Rockies used a 3-run 3rd inning to take the lead for good as they downed the Dodgers, 5-3. The loss pushes the Dodgers back to 49-52, and once again looking to find any way to play good all-around ball.
It looked like another long day in the 1st when the Rocks got 2 runs on a Matt Holliday single and Garrett Atkins fielder's choice. But, the Dodgers did battle back in the 2nd to at least pose somewhat of a threat. Jeff Kent singled to start and Andruw Jones walked with 1 down. Andy LaRoche finally got a hit to score Kent, but Jones was nailed trying to go to 3rd (a bad play from him... shocking, I know). Danny Ardoin then singled to score LaRoche and tie the game.
That's about as good as it gets, as Hiroki Kuroda again struggled to start the game, much like his last start in Arizona. I know Coors Field is tough, but man have the starters looked like crap this series. Holliday, Brad Hawpe, and Ian Stewart all had RBI's to open the game up a bit. That was all they needed.
Jones did the unthinkable in the 4th... he hit an RBI double to close the deficit to 2. That increases his RBI total on the year to 12! Woo-hoo!!! What a great player! That blistering hitting now shoots him up to #10 on the team list in RBI's. It's a good thing, too. Chin-lung Hu is hot on his trails with 7 RBI's... even though he's been in the minors since early June.
Oh ya, Jones still sucks.
Anyway, once Kuroda reached the 4th, he was fine, but the damage was done. He finished at 6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. He kept the Dodgers within striking distance at least, but the bats let him down. They got 11 hits, but hit into 2 double plays, left 8 on, and 5 of those in scoring position with 2 outs. Not gonna get it done.
Pretty much the only guys to show up on offense were Matt Kemp (2-4, BB) and James Loney (3-4, R). That was it. Today was Nomar Garciaparra's 35th birthday, and he celebrated by going 0-4 with a K and 2 double plays. Uh, not the best way to party.
After laying an egg the last 2 games in a place where hitter's salivate to play in, they now get Thursday off and then return home for 3 against the Washington Nationals. Obviously, these are very winnable games. They need to get at least 2, if not a sweep. With the way they operate, who knows. Chad Billingsley will give it a go on Friday.
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