The Dodgers found themselves in a 4-0 hole on Tuesday night, mostly because everybody not named Manny Ramirez could buy a hit. The good news was that the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen is as about as weak as a piece of grass.
Neither Ron Villone, Jason Isringhausen, or Ryan Franklin could hold the lead, as the Dodgers battled all the way back to knot the game up at 4. It didn't matter, because in the end, Ludwick sent the fans home happy as they won in the 11th inning, 6-4.
The game wasn't that exciting at all through most of the game, due in large part to the pitching of Chris Carpenter and Chad Billingsley, and 2 rain delays in the 5th that lasted just over an hour. Once play resumed for good, things picked up. Well, they did for the Cardinals, at least until the 9th.
Billingsley had another great outing, going 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. He wiggled out of trouble in the 2nd when 2 were left on. He gave up his first run in the 5th on an Adam Kennedy single with 1 out. It could have been much worse, though, as Albert Pujols struck out and Skip Schumaker was caught stealing 3rd. That turned out to be a huge play.
Through the first 8 innings, the Dodgers could manage just 4 hits, and 2 of them by Manny. They also hit into 3 inning-ending double plays, which is really pathetic. And 2 of them were hit by the Double Play King, James Loney. I've got to say this about him. I'm not trying to say I don't think he's a good player, because he is. But there just seems to be something missing to him - kind of like a "wow" factor. Last I checked, he was leading the league in GIDP, and there's absolutely no reason that should happen.
I guess what I'm saying is, I really hope he becomes more than just a singles hitter. He can be so much better than that. But leading the league in double play balls? That's just mind-boggling.
Back to the game, and the 9th inning rally started with the rarest of all rare sights - a home run by Andruw Jones. And he creamed it too. That's a good sign, though he has a whole long way to go. Andre Ethier and Russell Martin singled, and Manny was walked. Loney hit an infield single (a very lucky hit... trust me), and Jeff Kent singled to get it to 4-3. A sac-fly by Casey Blake evened the score.
Still, it wasn't meant to be. They had more chances in the 10th with the bases loaded and 2 down, but Loney lined out to left. Ludwick ended it in the 11th.
This was a game they could have rolled over and died, but instead they fought back. But it was also pretty frustrating because they hit into 3 double plays, left 8 men on base, and overall looked lost for most of the game. They had chances to win, but couldn't. Then again, the Cards are probably just as frustrated that they blew a 4 run lead late, so it evens out in the end.
Derek Lowe takes the mound tonight, and he was on the bad end of a 2-1 loss last start against the Diamondbacks. He's steadily lowered his ERA since it ballooned into the 5's in May. He'll look to get back to an even 9-9 tonight.
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