With 3 runs in the 1st inning, the Dodgers scored more than enough runs to win 3-1 and get their perfect run at home to 12 games. That win will put the Dodgers in the record books once again as they now have a tie with the 1911 Detroit Tigers for the best home start in MLB history.
The 1st inning swayed from "uh-oh" to "whoa" by the end of the frame. Augie Ojeda lead off with a double off of Jeff Weaver. The old man came back with consecutive K's and a pop up to end any threat.
With 1 down in the bottom of the 1st, Orlando Hudson continued his scorching ways with a double, and the runs soon followed. Manny Ramirez was intentionally walked (in the 1st inning?!?!) to set up a potential double play ball by Andre Ethier. But, Ethier singled home O-Dog for the 1-0 lead. James Loney grounded out, but Manny still scored from 3rd. An error by Josh Wilson off the bat of Russell Martin got the 3rd run in.
The Diamondbacks used a wild pitch by Weaver to score Max Scherzer to make it 3-1. It was still only the 3rd inning, and plenty more game was left. The Dodgers would only get 3 more hits after the 1st inning, so the DBacks sure seemed like they'd have their chances to end the streak.
But thanks in large part to leaving 6 men in scoring position with 2 outs, the DBacks never could break through. 9 men were left on total, and the Dodgers' bullpen was against light-out to keep the score at 3-1.
Weaver earned his start partly because he has pitched really well in the Minors at in relief duty last week, and because James McDonald faltered so badly. Whatever the reason, he was great last night, going 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Combined with Eric Stults the night before, and that's 2 great starts from the bottom of the rotation. On a night where the bats weren't doing a whole lot, Weaver was money when they needed him most.
Ramon Troncoso pitched 1.2 innings scoreless, and he hasn't given up a run since April 18, making his ERA 0.98. Ronald Belisario struck out the side in the 8th, and Jonathan Broxton K'd 2 in the 9th to go 8-8 in save situations. There's still a lot of youth in those players mentioned, but boy are they rock-solid right now. Just hope it keeps up.
While the record is obviously sweet, being an MLB-best 20-8 and 5.5 games up in the NL West is just as nice. They've completely dominated the rest of the division at 19-6. That's just plain impressive.
With a win over the Nationals tonight, the Dodgers can find themselves in sole position of 1st place in the record books at 13-0 to start the season at home. It's up to young Clayton Kershaw to get the job done. After getting rocked in his previous 2 starts, he bounced back for 7 scoreless his last one.
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