The Dodgers knew they were in a mismatch with Eric Stults taking on Tim Lincecum. The hope was that Stults could pitch well enough to keep the Dodgers in the game, that the bats could scratch something out against Lincecum, and possibly they could steal one.
Too bad none of that happened, as Stults was shelled, Lincecum was awesome, and the Dodgers lost to the Giants, 9-4. This one really wasn't in doubt all night.
It's tough to blame them for not doing much against Lincecum, since he's already the reigning Cy Young Award winner and seemingly only getting better. If not for some late runs in the 8th, it would have been a scoreless outing by him. He still got 8 K's, but hey, it's better than the 13 he got last September. So it's baby steps.
As for Stults, this was really the first start in which he didn't have anything going for him. He finished at 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K. It started right in the first when Edgar Renteria and Pablo Sandoval singled, and Bengie Molina's triple drove them both home for the early 2-0 hole. And it got no better after that.
Renteria added an RBI single in the 2nd. The 3rd is when Stults would be chased thanks to some guy named Nate Schierholtz hitting an RBI double and a single by Emilio Burriss. Ramon Troncoso had to come in to get the last out of the inning. Yikes.
It got up to 7-0 in the 7th after Molina added a solo shot. At least the Dodgers somewhat got to Lincecum in the 8th on RBI's from Orlando Hudson's double, Andre Ethier's groundout, and Brad Ausmus' single. But it was obviously too little, too late. The final run was on a double by Juan Pierre.
After Troncoso relieved, Hong-Chih Kuo, Scott Elbert, and Guillermo Mota came in as well. That's not exactly what Joe Torre wanted to see considering they have another youngster, James McDonald, going today. He has yet to pitch past 5 innings in 3 starts. The Dodgers better hope the bullpen doesn't need to be called on early again.
16 of the first 22 games have been on the road, and the Dodgers have split them 8-8. That's actually pretty darn good. Considering they're 6-0 home, it looks even better. Now it's back home for and 11-game homestand starting tonight with 4 against the Padres. They stand at 11-10 and have been quite the surprise so far. Both Jake Peavy and Chris Young are lined up to start on Friday and Saturday, so it'll be a good test.
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