Saturday night's game saw an unusual sight in Arlington - a nearly two hour delay because of a light failure. At the time, the game was scoreless, as Randy Wolf and Scott Feldman were throwing blanks.
When play resumed, it was the Dodgers that were able to win a battle of the bullpens, as Matt Kemp's two-run homer in the eighth inning broke up a one-all tie, giving the Dodgers a 3-1 win. The win avoids the Dodgers from getting their first three-game losing streak of the season.
I'm sure the hitters on each team were glad the lights went out, because both starters were really good. Wolf allowed no runs on two hits in five innings, striking out four. Feldman matched him, giving up no runs on only three hits in five innings. After the delay, the bullpen had to settle this one.
"Everyday" Eddie Guardado came in to start the sixth. Actually, I'm not even sure if he's called that anymore. He was once a dominant closer, but now he's a forgotten middle reliever. Anyway, Juan Pierre singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a bad throw. A groundout by Rafael Furcal scored Pierre for the 1-0 lead.
Cory Wade was called upon for the Dodgers, and gave up a homer with two outs. Who hit it? Why of course, Andruw Jones. The same guy who was recently whining that the Dodgers never really wanted him last year. So THAT explains the big contract he was given. Yup, it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he was fat and had a horrible swing. What a complete idiot.
Thankfully, Jones' blast wouldn't be a big deal, as in the seventh, Mark Loretta drew a walk with one down. Following a strikeout by Russell Martin (still with no home runs this year... ugh), Kemp hit a towering fly ball over the left field fence to break the game open.
Kemp was hitting in the #9 spot, but after a 2-3 night, he's up to a .309 average with eight homers and 35 RBIs. So maybe he's just getting it all together to move back up in the order.
Ronald Belisario was a little shaky in the seventh, giving up a couple of singles. With two outs, Ramon Troncoso relieved and got Hank Blalock to fly out and end the inning. Troncoso would then go on to pitch a scoreless eighth.
The Rangers had no rally in them, as Jonathan Broxton easily shut the door in the ninth, gathering his 15th save.
As the games without Manny are slowly winding down, this game was all about the Dodgers finding another person to step up and lead the team to a win. Kemp, Wolf, and the bullpen were the leaders in this one. Different people stepping up is exactly why the Dodgers have an MLB-best 41 wins.
Today is the finale of the three-game series, as Chad Billingsley will look to give the Dodgers a series win. He'll look to become the first pitcher in the National League with nine wins.
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