For the third night in a row, the Dodgers were locked in a tight game with the visiting Mets. When one of the teams needed a big hit the most, it was once again the Dodgers that were money.
Russell Martin hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth to lead the Dodgers over the Mets, 2-1. The win gives the Dodgers a sweep, a 17-3 record at home, and an MLB-best 29-13 record.
Plus, they're 8-5 since a certain left fielder was suspended 50 games. Not too shabby considering they were 1-4 a little over a week ago.
The game was a matchup of two veterans trying to give their teams good innings, Jeff Weaver and Livan Hernandez. Neither man disappointed. Weaver went five innings, giving one run on four hits. Hernandez topped him with seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits. Despite their best efforts, each did not factor into the decision.
As the Dodgers have done better than any team this season, they struck in the first inning. Juan Pierre and Rafael Furcal singled to start. Orlando Hudson advanced them on a groundout, and Andre Ethier lifted a sac-fly RBI to score Pierre.
The Mets were able to tie it in the third on an RBI double by Carlos Beltran down the right field line. That's the biggest hit the Mets could garner, as they left nine on base, including six with two outs and runners in scoring position. They pretty much shot themselves in the foot the whole series and paid dearly for it.
Following the third inning, both teams couldn't do a whole heck of a lot. The Dodgers put two men on in the seventh and the Mets did the same in the eighth, but to no avail. With the bullpens doing battle, it seemed like the team that got the next big hit would win.
That happened in the bottom of the eighth for the Dodgers as O-Dog singled with one down. Ethier drew a walk to put two on. Martin had been hitless thus far in the series, but he came through with a hard grounder through short and third to score Hudson with the winning run.
Like the previous two games, the Dodgers' bullpen was really good. They combined for four scoreless innings. Ramon Troncoso pitched two, Ronald Belisario and Brent Leach combined for one, and Jonathan Broxton got his 11th save in 13 chances.
As I said before, the Mets really didn't give themselves much of a chance to win these games. Despite the Dodgers only owning a 10-6 edge in scoring, errors and lack of clutch hitting had to have made for a long flight home to New York.
Thursday is an off day before the Dodgers and Angels begin the annual Freeway Series. Clayton Kershaw is coming off his best start in his young career, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in Florida. He's opposed by Jared Weaver, who's been really good this year, and completely dominant against the Dodgers in the past.
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