It was about the worst possible ending for an already bad night for the Dodgers.
Up 3-1 in the ninth, Jonathan Broxton gave up two long home runs, and the Diamondbacks went on to win the game in the 10th, 4-3. Not only did the Dodgers flat out blow this one, they also had to deal with a scary injury to Hiroki Kuroda.
Kuroda cruised through the first five innings, giving up only two hits and no runs. He looked like he had complete game stuff, as the DBacks were not getting good swings against him. Just when things were looking good, it all came to a crashing halt.
Pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal started the sixth by lining one off of Kuroda's head, causing the ball to ricochet all the way to the crowd for a double. Kuroda laid on the ground in obvious discomfort as all of the Dodgers looked on in concern.
Kuroda was carted off the field, but he was clearly moving his arms and appeared to be responsive. We'd all later find out that he actually was in pretty good shape for someone who took such a nasty shot to the head, as he never lost consciousness. Still, a totally scary sight that could have been much worse.
Back to the game, and James McDonald had the tough task of being thrown in there out of nowhere. After given all the time he needed to warm up, the Australian Trent Oeltjen hit a sac-fly RBI to go down 3-1.
The Dodgers scored all of their runs before Kuroda's injury. It started in the second when Matt Kemp walked to lead off. Another walk to Mark Loretta put two on with two down. Brad Ausmus went opposite field for an RBI single and 1-0 lead.
A bit of luck got the Dodgers another run in the third, as Doug Davis threw a pickoff throw away at first to let Rafael Furcal score from third. A sac-fly RBI in the sixth by Loretta scored Casey Blake, who tripled to lead off the inning.
All signs pointed to the Dodgers getting a win for Kuroda heading into the ninth. Hong-Chih Kuo and George Sherrill pitched the seventh and eighth, respectively, and were fantastic. Then came Broxton in the ninth, and boy did he get smoked.
Broxton struck out Gerardo Parra to start it, though it was clearly ball four if Parra didn't swing. Mark Reynolds took a weak slider and slugged it to deep center for the solo shot. Miguel Montero followed that with a shot to right, and after all of that, the DBacks tied it at three.
Kemp tried to get the Dodgers back into it by walking and stealing both second and third. But, as was the case most of the game, the offense could not come through, stranding him at third. That was pretty much a sign that this game was going to slip away.
And lucky me, I was right. Ramon Troncoso came on and was terrible. A single, an intentional walk, and another walk loaded the bases with one down. With the outfield playing up, Parra smacked one to the wall in center for the walk-off.
With everything to happen in this game, it's a shame that the Dodgers couldn't win this. They had so many chances to get it done, and couldn't. Another late-inning loss, and the Dodgers are the ones taking it on the chin in close games lately, as they continue to be pretty much a .500 team since the All-Star break.
Kuroda deserved a win for this one, but Broxton couldn't come through. Broxton's last seven appearances have seen him blow three saves, as his ERA has gone from 2.89 to 3.25. Maybe his toe is still hurting, or something else is hurting, but he clearly isn't the same pitcher lately.
Hopefully it's just a bad stretch and he'll work through it. If not, Joe Torre seriously needs to consider letting Sherrill getting some shots at closing. Sherrill has not given up a run in 8 and 1/3 innings with a WHIP of 1.08. I'm not saying Broxton should be fully demoted, but Sherrill can at least get some cracks in the ninth inning.
With the lead in the NL West down to 4 and 1/2 games over the Rockies, the Dodgers send Randy Wolf to the mound this afternoon. If Kuroda's out an extended period of time, Wolf's starts become even more important. At the very least, the Dodgers just can't get swept in Arizona. That would be, uh, not good.
No comments:
Post a Comment