Sunday, August 10, 2008

Broxton coughs up lead in 11th

Jeff Kent gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the 11th inning by blasting a solo homer to left. Enter Jonathan Broxton, who's been on fire since taking over closer duties from the injured Takashi Saito.

And then exit Jonathan Broxton, who gave up 2 runs while only getting 1 out.

It was an ugly bottom of the 11th, as the light hitting Giants easily tied the game and then won it, 3-2. The Dodgers could have claimed first place with the win because of the Diamondbacks loss, but it was not meant to be.

It was a pitcher's duel for most of the game, as Hiroki Kuroda had his 2nd straight great start. He finished with 8 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. He's about the toughest pitcher I know to figure out. Brilliant one start, horrible the next. The good has definitely outweighed the bad, however, and he's now given up 2 runs in 15.1 innings.

Kuroda also helped his own cause by getting the Dodgers on the board in the 2nd. Manny Ramirez began things with a single. He eventually reached 3rd on a walk to Russell Martin and Angel Berroa's hit by pitch. With 2 down, Kuroda singled to get the lead.

There really wasn't a whole lot of action until the 6th, when Dave Roberts led off with a double. He went to 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored on Fred Lewis' sac-fly. Other than that, both teams were putting up blanks all game.

Kent's homer in the 10th was leading off, and Manny immediately followed with a single on his 3-5 night (and a nice .485 AVG). A couple of groundouts later, Casey Blake was given the intentional pass to put 2 on with 2 down. With Hong-Chih Kuo due up, Andruw Jones pinch hit.

Bet you'll never guess what happened next?! Yup, he struck out. And still sucks.

Broxton was pretty much lost in the 11th, as Roberts again started it off with a double. Broxton didn't help himself at all by throwing wildly past first base for an error. With the infield drawn in, Aaron Rowand ended the night with a single. Opportunity lost.

12 men left on base did them in, along with 5 with RISP and 2 outs. Same old story for them when they lose tough games. Great pitcher, horrible clutch hitting. You know how it goes.

Today features a great pitching matchup with Chad Billingsley vs. Matt Cain. Does it seem like the Dodgers are always facing Cain? Well, it's actually a good thing, as he's never beaten the Dodgers before in 8 starts. After today's game, they will return home for 4 huge games against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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