Manny Ramirez had a chance to relive some of his magic from a few weeks ago against the Reds. Perhaps you've heard about his grand slam he hit on his bobblehead night? The situation again called for a big hit with the bases loaded, two down, and down by two in the ninth.
This time, Manny went down with a whimper.
Francisco Cordero used his slider to catch Manny looking, and the Dodgers fell to the Reds, 4-2. The ninth inning was the only exciting one for the Dodgers, as they looked like they had no life in their legs for the first eight.
Homer Bailey was a highly touted prospect coming into the league two years ago, but hasn't come close to living up to the hype. You wouldn't know that after watching tonight, as he pitched eight innings of scoreless ball, striking out seven. And with that, he lowered his ERA to 6.07.
So ya, I'd say the Dodgers' offense blew a great chance tonight.
At least the Rockies lost, as they had the pleasure of facing Tim Lincecum. Ubaldo Jimenez was good, but Lincecum was just too much, as the Giants won, 2-0. The lead in the NL West for the Dodgers remains at four games.
Chad Billingsley was the other starter, and he never found a rhythm. I'm not one to place blame on umpires... but it seemed to me like home plate ump Chuck Meriwhether didn't give him a whole lot of love. Billingsley scuffled, and Meriwhether made sure it stayed that way. And that's the best way I can put it.
Bills ended with five innings, seven hits, four runs, four walks, and one strikeout. It could have been worse had he not stranded the bases loaded in the fifth. He started the sixth, but immediately after giving up a solo homer to Jonny Gomes, Joe Torre had seen enough.
Gomes was also responsible for putting the Reds up 1-0 in the second on a soft RBI single to left. A single by Daniel Stubbs and double by Joey Votto scored two more runs in the third.
Down 4-0 entering the ninth, the Reds went with Nick Masset to get the last three outs. But, James Loney greeted him with a long homer to right, making it 4-1. After Russell Martin popped out (shocking), Dusty Baker gave the ball to Cordero.
The Dodgers at least made Cordero work. After Orlando Hudson grounded out (shocking again), Mark Loretta and Rafael Furcal singled. Matt Kemp then drew a walk, and the bases were juiced. Andre Ethier found a way to strike out on a ball that hit his foot. The ball then went far enough away for Ethier to get to first and Loretta to score, and it was 4-2.
Manny has definitely experienced a power outage lately (cue the steroid jokes), as he hasn't hit a home run since August 11 in San Francisco. All he needed in this spot was a single to most likely score two, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Taking two of three in Colorado was a big boost, but it's not like they totally broke out of their slump. They hit three homers on Wednesday, but that was pretty much it. Combine that with Billingsley having an off night (and getting no help from the guy behind the plate), and it was a pretty listless performance all-around.
Charlie Haeger will get his third start of the season, as he's been a pleasant surprise thus far. He's facing some guy named Matt Maloney, who probably wouldn't be anywhere close to a starting rotation had he not played with the Reds. Let's see if the offense can get cracking again. Saturday is the perfect opportunity to do so.
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