Despite going into the seventh inning with a 5-2 lead, the Dodgers' bullpen did something that hasn't happened much this year - they flat out blew it. The Braves scored in the ninth to give Broxton his fourth blown save, then went on a tear in the 12th to beat the Dodgers, 9-5.
The turning point of this game could very well have been Chad Billingsley being forced out of the game after six innings. Once again, it was a leg issue. Last Sunday it was his right hamstring, and Friday night it was his left one. It was described as "mild," so hopefully it was just a precautionary thing.
Still, there's no doubt Billingsley's exit gave the Braves the hope they needed. His final line was six innings, four hits, two runs (one earned), three walks, and three strikeouts. Just when it looked like he was getting over his mid-season struggles, he hurts his legs. Should I be worried? I hope not.
Ryan Church would play a big role in this game, and he got the Braves on the board first with an RBI single in the second. A single and stolen base by Russell Martin allowed Orlando Hudson to get and RBI single in the bottom of the frame to tie it at one.
A bad walk to Jair Jurrjens would come back to haunt Bills, as that was followed by a bunt single and an error by James Loney for runners on the corners. Martin Prado grounded into a double play, but a run still scored to make it 2-1.
The Dodgers would take over from there... though they definitely got some help from the home plate umpire. After the game was tied at 2-2 in the fifth, Rafael Furcal singled to lead off. As he took off for second for an attempted stolen base, Ethier took a pitch on a 3-1 count that the umpire looked to signal a strike.
Only... it wasn't a strike. Or so the guy claimed, despite making what sure looked to be a "strike" motion with his arm. Raffy was gunned down but it didn't matter, as there were now two runners on. Bobby Cox, predictably, got ejected, though he had good reason.
What did all of that mean? Casey Blake launched a three-run shot for a 5-2 lead.
Everything looked to be lined up nicely for the Dodgers, but Kelly Johnson hit a two-run shot off of Hong-Chih Kuo to slice it to 5-4. George Sherrill got two outs in the seventh and a scoreless eighth to continue his solid pitching and get the ball to Broxton.
It's not like Broxton got drilled, but a one-out walk to Nate McLouth proved to be costly. He stole second, and Garrett Anderson grounded a two-out single by Hudson to tie it at five.
The Dodgers sure had their chance in the 11th to end it, but came up with nothing. Martin singled, Juan Pierre walked, and Ethier was intentionally walked with two outs. The newly called up Tony Abreu had his chance to be a hero, but grounded out.
From there, it all fell apart. Ramon Troncoso and Scott Elbert pretty much did a big pile of nothing. Yuniel Escobar hit an RBI single to break the tie, and Church cracked a three-run homer to put it way out of reach at 9-5.
About the only good news in all of this is that Giants suffered their own collapse, as the Reds scored five times in the ninth to blow open what was a tie game. The Rockies did win, however, so both teams are now 6 and 1/2 games back in the NL West.
With a cushion like the Dodgers have, they can afford to have some games like this. Still, it was pretty frustrating that Broxton couldn't close the deal. It's his first blown save at home, so maybe he was due at some point. It was one that definitely got away.
Clayton Kershaw goes to the mound tonight, as he looks to rebound from a loss to the Brewers on Monday. He's never faced the Braves, but does have a sparkling 2.06 ERA at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment