Quick, name the combination of players that hit the first back-to-back homers for the Dodgers this season last night?
If you were to guess Blake DeWitt and Angel Berroa... well, you cheated, because you already knew the answer.
No matter how many times I look at that above sentence, it still doesn't seem true. The only thing that matters is that it is, as the Dodgers swept the San Diego Padres by winning, 6-4. The win gets them back up to .500 after being 5 games under a week ago. 5 also is the number of games in a row won by them as they are now 1.5 games back of Arizona.
The 3rd inning marked the first run of the game for either team, though the Dodgers had a chance to blow it open but couldn't. Russell Martin singled home Berroa, who had doubled. The bases were loaded with 1 out, but Casey Blake hit into a fielder's choice and James Loney flied out. Still, it was 1-0 LA.
The Padres got 3 in the 4th, and at the time made the Dodgers blowing it with the bases loaded look a lot worse. Kevin Kouzmanoff led off with a home run, and Josh Bard doubled home 2 with 2 outs. After the pitcher Wade LeBlanc singled to put 2 on, the game could have gotten quickly out of hand, but Brian Giles grounded into a fielder's choice.
DeWitt and Berroa got right to work next, as DeWitt's homer scored Matt Kemp, and Berroa followed with his 1st shot of the year. After failing with RISP last time, Blake came through by singling home Andre Ethier. The lead was 5-3, and they would not look back.
Bard got the Pads within 1 with an RBI single, but Blake tacked on a homer to close out the scoring. Hitting in the cleanup spot for the first time in blue, Blake was 2-4 with a homer and 2 RBI. Even Berroa was 2-4 with 2 runs. I'll give credit where credit is due: he's finally starting to look like a solid player. The defense has always been there, but it's his offense that has come through lately. That's now 7 hits in his last 8 games, raising his AVG 25 points to .235. It's still low, but at least he's coming on.
Hiroki Kuroda wasn't sharp at all, but thankfully the offense gave him the win anyway. He went 5.1 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. The bullpen of Scott Proctor, Scott Elbert, Cory Wade, and Jonathan Broxton shut the door the remainder of the way. With Proctor healthy (and hopefully not pitching like he was at the start of the year) and more additions to the 'pen like Elbert, the back end of the game is looking really good.
It's an off day today before hosting Arizona for 3. Man oh man do the pitching matchups look good. Friday: Derek Lowe vs. Dan Haren, Saturday: Chad Billingsley vs. Brandon Webb, Sunday: Clayton Kershaw vs. Randy Johnson. Wow. Don't miss a minute of those games... I know I won't.
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