Manny Ramirez was given a golden opportunity to add to his L.A. lore. It was the bottom of the ninth, there were two down, and the bases were loaded. Exactly the type of situation Manny thrives in.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, it was also the type that Trevor Hoffman has made a living of. Hoffman got Manny to fly to right, and despite a late charge, the Brewers held on for the win, 6-5.
The weary Dodgers had Clayton Kershaw on the mound to start. He's been terrific lately, quickly establishing himself as one of the NL's best hurlers. But, his Achilles' heal flared up again last night, as his wildness just handed the Brewers plenty of chances.
Kershaw only lasted four innings, walking six, giving up four hits and three runs. His six strikeouts were good, but that's about all there was good about that start. This is the kind of start that reminds you that he's still a young guy, and is still learning how to be a good starting pitcher.
The Dodgers took the lead in the third against Manny Parra. Brad Ausmus started it with a soft single up the middle. Kershaw laid down a bunt, but it was thrown wide of first by Parra, putting two on. Rafael Furcal found a hole for an RBI single and a 1-0 lead.
Maybe Kershaw would have been better off resting on the bench, as he was all over the place in the fourth. Ryan Braun started it with a single, and then the walks kicked in. With one out, Mike Cameron, J.J. Hardy, Bill Hall, and Mike Rivera all walked, forcing in two runs. Yikes.
Three straight singles for the Brewers started the next inning. Cameron grounded into a double play with the bases loaded, so somehow only one run scored, putting the Brewers up 3-1.
The game was certainly still in striking distance, but Braun flexed his muscle and creamed a three-run homer in the sixth. At 6-1, it looked like that was all she wrote for the Dodgers.
To their credit, they didn't give up on this one. Matt Kemp doubled to lead off the bottom of the seventh, and came around to score on Orlando Hudson's groundout, making it 6-2.
Parra was looking to get a complete game by taking the mound in the ninth. He didn't last long, as Casey Blake singled and Kemp doubled for runners in scoring position. Exit Parra, enter Hoffman.
James Loney greeted him with a ground rule double to right to score both, and just like that it was 6-4. O-Dog's RBI single made it 6-5, and there was still nobody out. Juan Pierre laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Hudson on second with the tying run and one out.
Russell Martin flied out to deep center, and Hudson was now on third with two outs. Raffy bunted and reached for runners on first and third. Andre Ethier was hit by a pitch to load 'em up, but Manny flied out to end it.
It was an incredibly exciting ride in the ninth, as the Dodgers shook off their tiredness to push this game to the limit. If that same situation comes up again, the Dodgers would easily take it with Manny in the batter's box. If Manny's hand was completely healthy, maybe it would've been a different result.
Hiroki Kuroda will try to get the Dodgers back on the winning side by going tonight. He's had and up and down season because of injuries, so he's still looking to get his fourth win. A WHIP of 1.15 shows that he's still capable of pitching very well.
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