Matt Kemp did it all on Tuesday night. He got the Dodgers' first hit of the game in the fifth with a double, he kept a rally alive with a single in the eighth that lead to a tie game, and he hit a two-out RBI single in the 10th to get the win over the A's, 5-4.
With the win, the Dodgers improved to a ridiculous 12-1 in one-run games at home, including 6-1 in extra innings. I'd say the ball is totally bouncing their way this season.
Kemp's double in the fifth was the first baserunner of any kind for the Dodgers, as A's starter Dallas Braden was mowing them down with ease. Clayton Kershaw matched him pitch-for-pitch, as the game was scoreless entering the sixth.
The Dodgers were the ones to get on the board first, as a two-out rally lead the way. Orlando Hudson singled, and consecutive RBI doubles by Casey Blake and James Loney made it 2-0.
Still at 2-0 in the eighth, Ramon Troncoso finally came back down to Earth, as the A's tagged him for four. The major blow was a three-run bomb by Jason Giambi, and Bobby Crosby added a solo shot.
As they've done all season long, the Dodgers just refused to quit. Rafael Furcal lead off with a double in the bottom of the eighth, and he scored on Blake's RBI single. Andre Ethier's RBI fielder's choice tied the game at four, and there was new life for L.A.
Jonathan Broxton came on in the ninth and got three groundouts with a single mixed in the middle. But, the Dodgers got nothing going themselves, and it was off to extras we go.
Guillermo Mota, who hasn't given up a run in his last 10 appearances (LOWERING his ERA to 5.06 from 9.00), threw a perfect 10th. Brad Ziegler came on for the A's, someone I thought was a closer but only has five saves. Maybe he was hurt or something along the way, I don't know. Anyway, he didn't get the job done.
O-Dog singled and Blake reached on an error. Loney had a chance to make something happen by either getting a big hit or bunting the runner over. Unfortunately, he didn't do either one, as following two straight foul balls bunted, he grounded into another double play.
No need to worry, as Kemp was the hero with a single to score Hudson and win the game. Once again, the Dodger fans go home happy after another dramatic win.
Kershaw shouldn't be forgotten in all of this, as he rebounded nicely from a very shaky outing against the Padres. He finished with 5 and 2/3 innings, four hits, no runs, three walks, and eight strikeouts. Good for him.
Two more games are left with the A's before the Dodgers head to Anaheim for the Freeway Series. Hiroki Kuroda is coming off a bad start in Texas, so he'll look to get things going tonight.
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