The Dodgers had a lead, lost a lead, battled back to tie the game in extra innings, but eventually fell to the Giants in 13 innings, 7-5. The loss ends their homestand on a down note, which adds to the rest of the gloomy mood of the last few days.
Going into this game, the Dodgers knew they'd have their hands full facing reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. Plus, Casey Blake and Russell Martin were given the day off. So it was looking like an uphill climb.
To their credit, Lincecum was not at all the reason they lost. In the 1st, Juan Pierre started things with a walk, then went to 3rd on an errant pickoff throw from Lincecum. Orlando Hudson's sac-fly 1 out later gave them a 1-0 lead.
Jeff Weaver coughed up the lead the next inning, as a sac-fly by Lincecum and a bases loaded walk to Edgar Renteria gave the Giants a 2-1 lead. That was soon tied in the 3rd after Pierre singled, stole 2nd, and scored on Rafael Furcal's RBI single.
With everything knotted up in the 5th, the Dodgers put 2 more on the board. Brad Ausmus got the start at catcher and singled to lead off, but was forced out at 2nd on Weaver's grounder. Pierre came through again with a long double to score Weaver for the 3-2 lead. Then O-Dog hit what seems like his millionth double this season to score Pierre and grab a 4-2 lead.
Randy Winn chased Weaver to start the 6th with a double. Ramon Troncoso entered, but the Giants cut it to 4-3 on a single by Emmanuel Burriss. Will Ohman and Ronald Belisario kept the Dodgers ahead by pitching scoreless 7th and 8th innings.
The Dodgers found themselves in a situation where they needed someone to hold the lead in the 8th and bridge the gap to Jonathan Broxton. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. Winn singled off of Belisario to start, and Cory Wade came in. Wade gave up singles to Aaron Rowand and Burriss, and with 1 down, Nick Schierholtz's sac-fly RBI made it 4-4.
The game would come down to a battle of bullpens, and both teams put up blanks in innings 9-11. Following 2 scoreless innings by Broxton and 1 by McDonald, the Dodgers had to no choice but to trust Guillermo Mota. With all the other top relievers used, it was a gamble that would prove costly.
Rich Aurilla gave the Giants a lead at 5-4 with a sac-fly in the 12th. With closer Brian Wilson on to try and seal the deal, Blake was clutch with a huge solo homer to left with 1 out. Just like that, the Dodgers had new life and momentum...
...but Mota would again give up the lead. This time it was a 2-run single by Winn in the 13th, and that was too much for the Dodgers to overcome. Groundouts by Hudson, Andre Ethier, and James Loney would stick a fork in this day.
The Dodgers really had a golden opportunity to get a win over a fantastic pitcher before heading off to the road, but it just didn't happen. From the 7th inning on, they could only muster 5 hits, and the only big one was Blake's home run. So of course, that meant one thing - they missed Manny Ramirez. And as Dodger fans, we're going to have to live with that fact for awhile.
Monday is an off day, then it's a rematch of last year's NLCS in which the Phillies won 4-1. Clayton Kershaw gets the start against old Dodger Chan Ho Park. Thursday's game should be really good with Chad Billingsley vs. Cole Hamels, so make sure to check that one out.
2 comments:
Is there something wrong with leaving a pitcher in for more than one inning? Torre again mismanages his bullpen. I've never thought of him as a good manager.
I'm assuming you're referring to McDonald, and I really don't know why he was pulled after one inning. But keep in mind his ERA is 7.27, so it's not like he's been doing so much better than Mota. But in hindsight, he should've pitched the 12th as well.
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