It sure wasn't easy. But then again, it never is against the Cardinals.
Looking to avoid getting swept in a four-game set, the Dodgers woke up in the 10th inning on a two-run single by Matt Kemp and held on for the win, 5-3. Thankfully, the Dodgers regained a little bit of confidence by making the plays to win late.
The Cardinals did not waste any time in getting on the board and sending a signal that a sweep may be near. With two down in the first, Albert Pujols doubled, and Matt Holliday drove him in with a single and a 1-0 lead.
Kemp started his big night in the second. Casey Blake, who's starting to really hit well again, doubled with one out. James Loney's groundout moved him to third, where Kemp singled up the middle to tie the game at one each.
Holliday again struck for the Cardinals in the fourth by hitting an opposite field solo homer to grab the 2-1 lead. Man, he makes that lineup really tough. Great move by the Cards to get him to protect Pujols.
The Dodgers couldn't do much against Kyle Lohse (I really don't know why), but with his pitch count at 92, he was yanked after the sixth. Kyle McClellen would come on, and that would be just what the Dodgers needed.
With one out, Brad Ausmus singled. Juan Pierre hit for Kuroda, and after Ausmus went to second on a wild pitch, Pierre legged out an infield hit. Rafael Furcal came through in the clutch with a big double to left, putting the Dodgers ahead, 3-2.
That lead was short-lived... very short-lived. Guillermo Mota came in the bottom of the seventh, and Rick Ankiel uncorked a long homer to right to lead off. Hence, you can see why Ned Colletti got George Sherrill to shore up the bullpen.
The bottom of the eighth was pretty scary, as the Cardinals were knocking on the door again. Nick Stavinoha lead off with a double, and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Skip Schumaker. Hong-Chih Kuo then got Ryan Ludwick swinging for a big second out.
Now came a dilemma for Joe Torre: Should he pitch to Pujols or Holliday? Well, he chose neither. Two straight intentional walks brought up Ankiel with two down and the bases loaded. Kuo strutted his stuff, getting him swinging easily to end the inning.
James McDonald did a great job in the ninth by getting the Cards in order, putting the game into extras. Ok, so I was fully expecting to see McDonald crumble, but thankfully I was wrong.
Andre Ethier walked with one out in the 10th, and Casey Blake singled. Both men advanced bases on a wild pitch, but James Loney struck out. Now with two down and the demoted Todd Wellemeyer on in relief, Kemp delivered a great two-run single for the 5-3 lead.
Jonathan Broxton made Dodger fans sweat by walking Joe Thurston to lead off the bottom half. Two straight fly outs to Manny brought up Pujols. There would be no more dramatics for him tonight, as he weakly grounded back to the mound, ending the game.
It was great to see the Dodgers toughen up late in the game and grab the win. Granted, this series wasn't very successful for them, but at least they got one win. You get the feeling that these two teams will run into each other again in October.
The Dodgers hopped right on a plane for Atlanta for a three-game set. The first game is quite interesting. Jason Schmidt will take on Tommy Hanson. In other words, it'll be a look at what Schmidt used to be, compared to what he is now. Randy Wolf and Chad Billingsley are lined up for the weekend.
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