A few hours after the Dodgers failed in their pursuit to land Roy Halladay, Jason Schmidt took us back a few years to when he was one of the best pitchers in the league.
Schmidt gave up only one hit in six scoreless innings, Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer and RBI double, and the Dodgers cruised in Atlanta, 5-0. After dropping three in a row to the Cardinals, the Dodgers have now won their last two.
It was quite a sight to behold, as Schmidt was on the verge of getting booted out of the rotation and perhaps the team as a whole after two horrible starts. He certainly didn't blow anyone away like he did in years past, but he used his off-speed stuff to keep the Braves off balanced all night. Overall, he struck out three and walked five.
With Schmidt putting up blanks, Tommy Hanson was doing the same for his team. That is until the fifth, when Ethier struck. Russell Martin singled to lead off. Orlando Hudson and Schmidt could not reach, but Rafael Furcal singled, leaving it up to Ethier with two down. He hit a liner just over the right field wall for the 3-0 lead.
The Dodgers tacked on another run in the seventh. O-Dog walked to start, and he was sacrificed over to second by Juan Pierre. Raffy then ripped a single to right, putting the Dodgers up 4-0.
The final run was scored in the ninth, again by Ethier with two outs. This time, Hudson singled to start, and Pierre and Furcal got out. Ethier hit one off the wall in dead center, completing his four RBI night.
The best moment came in the bottom of the seventh. Ramon Troncoso relieved Schmidt and gave up a couple of weak singles. Joe Torre didn't waste any time in giving the ball to the newly acquired George Sherrill.
Sherrill strutted his stuff right away. He struck out both Nate McClouth and Kelly Johnson swinging. Chipper Jones worked a walk on a full count to load the bases. But, Brian McCann was caught looking to end the inning. In his Dodger debut, Sherrill struck out the side. Talk about a great first impression!
Situations like that are exactly why the Dodgers reached out to get him. It was a tight situation, the Braves had their heart of the order coming up, and the Dodgers needed big outs. To come through with two on, none out, and not give up a run was just huge.
James McDonald retired all six men he faced to finish the game. After getting beat around lately, that's now two straight good appearances for him, so perhaps his confidence is coming back.
I think it's safe to say Schmidt earned himself another start. The Dodgers must have some tired legs from playing four in St. Louis, including the last two in extra innings. They needed a big start, and that's what they got. Good for him.
Randy Wolf will get the ball tomorrow against old friend Derek Lowe. It'll be a FOX game, and with the Yankees being one of the options, there will be no Dodgers for me. To those of you that can see it, enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment