The Dodgers found themselves in a repeat of yesterday's game against the Rockies: a small lead in the 9th, the bases loaded, and one down.
Just like in Colorado, they survived.
Randy Wolf pitched another gem, and the Dodgers took advantage of a whopping four double plays by the Cubs to get the win, 2-1. With the Padres idle today, the lead in the NL West is up to an amazing nine games, and we're not even 1/3 done with the season yet. That's just crazy.
The first inning started off much like many other games - the Dodgers got on the board. Juan Pierre continued his hot streak by singling and stealing second. Rafael Furcal returned from sitting three games with a sore back and managed to bunt the ball past a diving Mike Fontenot at third, scoring Pierre for the 1-0 lead.
Casey Blake looks like he has permanently moved up from the #8 spot in the order to hit fifth today, and he collected an RBI on a groundout in the third to make it 2-0. The score would hold up quite awhile, as Wolf and Cubs starter Randy Wells both pitched very well.
Wolf looked like he would get a complete game shutout as he entered the eighth, but that was all for naught as Bobby Scales worked back from an 0-2 count to hit a 3-2 pitch over the center field wall to make it 2-1. That was all for Wolf as Ramon Troncoso was called on to keep the narrow margin in tact.
It wasn't the prettiest, but Troncoso got the big outs when he needed them. In the eighth, he got Alfonso Soriano swinging and Ryan Theriot to ground into a double play to strand two runners with none out.
Joe Torre really couldn't use Jonathan Broxton today since he threw 38 pitches in Coors yesterday, so he let Troncoso hit for himself in the eighth and let him try to close it out. But just like the eighth, two men reached on a bunt by Milton Bradley and a single to center by Derek Lee.
Following a groundout, Geovany Soto was given the intentional walk to load 'em up for a forceout. In a pressure situation, Troncoso got Scales and Jake Fox swinging to end the game. The strikeout of Fox was particularly impressive seeing as how he was scorching the ball in Triple-A and had a chance to be a big hero. Didn't happen, and I'm not shedding any tears!
Today was a win that can be credited fully to the pitching and defense. Wolf pitched seven innings, giving up six hits, one run, one walk, and seven strikeouts. Troncoso went two innings for his third save. The defense turned four double plays, which included ones to end innings six through eight. Not bad.
Friday afternoon's matchup should be a good one, as Chad Billingsley takes on Ted Lilly. For those of you that can't normally catch the games, Saturday is on Fox (which includes New York, finally) and Sunday is an ESPN game. So enjoy watching them while they're hot.
No comments:
Post a Comment